An Eevee-lutionary Secret Santa Surprise

It seems this Christmas was destined to be a very Pokémon-themed one in our household!

Along with the epic Pikachu card challenge I mentioned in my last post, Marc also asked if I would create something special for his work Secret Santa. The theme was “Eeveelutions,” and honestly, as soon as he said it, I knew exactly which image I wanted to use.

The Design

I had actually found this particular image a few years ago and had squirreled it away, wondering how I could eventually incorporate it into a craft project. It was too detailed for many things, but I realized it would be perfect for this.

After a little bit of digital editing—converting the background to white and creating a strong black outline—I managed to make it work for a book fold pattern. This ensured the colours would really pop later without the entire background needing to be solid black card.

The Fold

For the technical bit, I used the cut and fold technique with a 180 fold, adding cardstock to ensure the intricate details were clear. It took me a couple of diligent weeks to complete the folding stage.

I must admit, when it was just folded paper, I couldn’t initially make out each of the different Pokémon very clearly. It looked a bit like a jumble of shapes! I knew the magic wouldn’t really happen until I added colour so I just had to trust the process.

The Colouring Conundrum

Once all that folding was finished, it was time for the scary part: committing to colour. I went through my stash and hit a few roadblocks immediately. My neon markers didn’t have a purple; my glitter markers had no pink. Typical!

Then, I remembered a new set of acrylic pens I’d recently picked up from B&M. They turned out to be absolutely perfect, having every single shade I needed to bring the design to life.

A Test of Patience

Adding colour to a book fold is no quick task. First, I tried holding the book closed and just colouring the visible edges of the folds, but I just wasn’t happy with the finish. It looked a bit messy.

So, I took the plunge and decided to colour the front and back of every single folded tab. I didn’t colour the whole tab, but enough so that the white pages didn’t show through. This process felt like it took forever, especially with such a range of colours required for all the different Eeveelutions! But, looking back, it was absolutely worth the extra time. It made the colours truly pop and gave the whole design a much cleaner, professional finish.

Final Thoughts

I am super happy with how it eventually turned out. It was opened by the recipient this past weekend, and I’m relieved to report it seems to have been received very positively! It’s always a nerve-wracking moment when a handmade Secret Santa gift is opened, isn’t it?