A Very Pokémon Christmas (And an Epic Crafting Challenge)
Recently, Marc asked if I would make some handmade Christmas cards for his fellow Pokémon Professors. Knowing this particular crowd, I knew immediately that a standard robin or snowman just wouldn’t cut it. It absolutely had to be Pokémon-themed.
Of course, I happily accepted the challenge!
Finding the design
I headed straight to Etsy to search for something suitable. It’s usually my go-to for finding unique digital files. After a little bit of scrolling, I found the absolute perfect design: a cheerful little Pikachu all dressed up for Christmas. It was too cute to resist, and I knew it would bring a smile to their faces.
The epic jigsaw
I fired up my trusty Cricut Maker 3, perhaps a little naively thinking this would be a straightforward cut-and-stick job. Oh, how wrong I was!
Once I loaded the file, I realised just how intricate this design really was. When the machine finally finished doing its thing, I was left staring at a veritable mountain of tiny, minuscule pieces of coloured cardstock.
It suddenly dawned on me: this wasn’t just card making. This was destined to become an epic jigsaw puzzle. Each individual card was made up of layer upon layer of tiny pieces that had to be meticulously stuck down, one at a time, to build up the overall image. It required a lot of patience, good lighting, and a very steady hand!
Perfectly imperfect
I will be completely honest with you—I made many mistakes along the way. In the late-night crafting haze, a couple of poor Pikachus ended up with their pieces placed slightly the wrong way round, and there was definitely an unfortunate overspill of glue in a few places.
But you know what? I decided not to worry about it. That is the beauty of handmade items; they are perfectly imperfect, and it shows that time and love went into making them. Despite the fiddly process and the glue mishaps, I was actually really happy with how the finished cards looked when they were all lined up ready to go.
The reaction
Honestly, any memories of stressful late-night gluing sessions completely faded away when the cards were handed out. The reaction from the recipients was extremely positive! It is always such a joy to give something handmade and see it truly appreciated; it really made the whole challenge worthwhile.
Final thoughts
Although this turned into a much huger project than I ever anticipated when I first said “yes,” I really enjoyed the process. There’s something quite meditative about piecing it all together once you get into the rhythm of it.
Make it yourself
If you fancy setting yourself a festive challenge and want to make this design yourself, you can find the SVG file over on Etsy.
