DivaTude Creations Handmade Crafts: Christmas 2008: Sugar Plums

Friday, November 21, 2008

Christmas 2008: Sugar Plums

As kids, regardless of religion, we were all exposed to the famous story, "The Night Before Christmas," by Clement Clarke Moore or Henry Livingston. One of my favorite lines from the story is, "...the children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads." I always wondered exactly what dancing sugar plums looked like and hoped that one Christmas Eve, I would be able to see them in my head, too.

As I shopped for paper this summer, I found two lovely shades of purple, but wondered how in the world I could associate those two colors with the holiday season. I stared and stared at the paper until finally --after about 15 minutes-- my favorite line popped into my head.

Here, on paper, is my interpretation of dancing sugar plums.

I did my best with my camera to capture the light reflecting off of the sugar (literally, a very fine glitter with the texture of grains of sugar) against the rich plum colored circular pattern. The pattern itself is hand-painted with lavender, gold and silver paints before being "sugared." The pattern is layered on iced-amethyst cardstock with the words, "...the children were nestled all snug in their beds," above the design, and "while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads" below it. The inside of the card reads, "May visions of sugar plums dance in your head all season long. Happy Holidays!"

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Card Packages and Purchasing

DivaTude Creations cards are available as singles, single-theme (various quantity of the same style/theme of card) or multiple-theme packs. There is some flexibility with colors and embellishments. Card prices my vary due to time and materials cost, but I aim to make all cards affordable. Discounts will be made for theme packs. All cards are handmade and come with an envelope for mailing.

Please email DivaTudeCreations@yahoo.com for more information on options and purchasing my cards. Thank You!

How DivaTude Creations Was Started

I fell in love with paper and "scrapbooks" at a very early age. My father is a printer by trade, so I always had books of paper around the house...samples of textures, patterns, colors, etc. I have very fond memories of creating a "living" scrapbook on my bedroom walls as a young girl/pre-teen. From top-to-bottom and wall-to-wall, my bedroom was loaded with images of my favorite celebs and I kept my scrapbooks in a milk crate by my bed. Scrapbooks were my way of collecting my favorite things. I'm pretty sure my mom tossed all of them when I moved out, but I hold the memories close. I remember how much fun I had, lost in my own little world.

When I think of a "Diva," I think of a person who is strong in character and poise, simple but has an elegant flair, a perfectionist (which can be misconstrued as arrogance) who will not stop until a project is "just so," down to the tiniest detail that no one else can see. The "Tude" is short for attitude. Again, I think attitude comes along with confidence. It's not a nasty attitude, but one of self-assurance. Within those definitions, they also describe the style of my cards and scrapbook projects; simple, but elegant. Some of them are extremely simple with one very small embellishment. Some of them have several elements, but still manage to be understated and smooth. Like any good Diva, they stand the test of time and maintain their elegance, no matter the mood or sentiment you are trying to get across.

Simply DivaTude!

Card Design Theory

DivaTude Creations cards are designed with simplicity in mind. One of my goals in creating cards is to make an impact with simple design elements. I love the "clean" aspects of the cards; simply embellished with a beautiful outcome. While some cards could be considered more masculine or feminine than others based on their color scheme, they are created with a versatility in mind.

I believe in the value of communicating on the basic level. Forget about email, e-cards, text messaging and other computerized methods of "convenient" communicating. The sentiment is there, but the personal touch of mailing a card to someone you care for is a forgotten art. Sending a card in the mail demonstrates the thought you put in to card selection, sitting down and writing a message, and reaching out on a person-to-person level instead of a computer-to-person level.

It is my hope that the simplicity of my cards will bring joy and happiness to the purchaser as well as the recipient of each card.

Enjoy!