I’m still recovering from this holiday weekend, and not in the way you might think, despite its containing the drunkest day of the year (Wednesday before Thanksgiving, if you weren’t aware — fun fact of the day!).

I had double rush orders of holiday cards and other projects for a couple of clients. The first (above) was designed by Anna of Modern Printed Matter. I can’t get enough of her crystallized snowflake pattern — it’s so elegant in a blind emboss. Because it’s an all-over design, there’s no place for the displaced paper fibers to be absorbed into, so I had to tighten my press to the point of almost not being able to make a full rotation. (In fact, my mom tried to do a couple because I was exhausted and she couldn’t! Apparently printing can double as weight training.) Anyway, although the soreness in my muscles is still lingering, the cards turned out beautiful and were well worth it.

On the other end of the spectrum, I also imprinted holiday cards for Z2 Marketing in Milwaukee. I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank Kerry Tasch, a friend from the design program at UWSP, for looking me up! In addition to the lovely cards below, I also embossed the front and back covers of their leave behind book, images of which I hope to post soon. I love the sheer simplicity and perfect symmetry of the cards as much as I love the complexity and randomness of the top ones. These, however, were much easier to create, the plate took a perfect bite out of each card, leaving sharp edges and a deep emboss.