This was originally written for my Patreon and I’m reposting it here. In 2018, my personal Christmas card for friends and family was shaped like a cute Christmas Stocking. Here’s how I created the character and turned it into a card.
![Christmas Stocking Cards](http://blog.askingfortrouble.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/stocking-640x640.jpg)
How I come up with a new character varies – sometimes I need to sketch a few different ideas and other times I figure it all out in my head before I start. This was one of the latter types and done very quickly to get my cards in the post.
![Christmas Stocking Cards](http://blog.askingfortrouble.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/stocking1-640x640.jpg)
My whole thing is that my characters are generally created almost entirely from geometric shapes. If you look carefully, I’ve made a stocking shape here with a few different circles and a rectangle. This is in Adobe Illustrator.
![Christmas Stocking Cards](http://blog.askingfortrouble.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/stocking2c.jpg)
I then delete the bits I don’t need and join the rest together, making adjustments until I’m happy with the shape.
![Christmas Stocking Cards](http://blog.askingfortrouble.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/stocking3.jpg)
The stocking top was made in the same way with a line of circles and a rectangle – later changed to a rounded rectangle.
![Christmas Stocking Cards](http://blog.askingfortrouble.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/stocking4-logo.jpg)
I prefer not to have outlines for my characters so I added some colours (pretty randomly at this point) so that I can see all the shapes.
![Christmas Stocking Cards](http://blog.askingfortrouble.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/stocking6-logo.jpg)
Time to choose a face! I went with the standard happy face and also added tiny hands. Despite how simple my style is, it is recognisably mine because of these two features.
![Christmas Stocking Cards](http://blog.askingfortrouble.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/stocking7-logo.jpg)
At this point, I was planning to cut the whole thing with my Silhouette Portrait (a paper cutting machine) so I added cut out stencil text – and also a tab for hanging/clipping.
![Christmas Stocking Cards](http://blog.askingfortrouble.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/stocking8.jpg)
However my machine was only cutting some bits, plus I realised it was going to take too long. Instead I printed the text and outline on to red card and cut them out by hand.
![Christmas Stocking Cards](http://blog.askingfortrouble.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/stocking9c.jpg)
I did cut the tops with my Silhouette once I figured out the issue (my blade had come unscrewed a bit). Here’s a look at the cutting process and the finished pieces. I love my Silhouette – and have since upgraded to a Cameo!
![Christmas Stocking Cards](http://blog.askingfortrouble.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/1-7-640x640.jpg)
To finish things off, I attached the top to the stocking with a few pieces of double-sided tape. I wrote my greetings on the back and sent them out.
![printable kawaii stickers](http://blog.askingfortrouble.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/stockings-christmas-640x452.jpg)
I made these printable stickers/tags for my patrons too. I’ve not managed to bring this character back yet but I would still like to try adding a pattern or motifs to the stocking, putting presents in the top and/or turning into a repeat pattern. Maybe next year. I have finished this year’s Christmas card though, so will share the process behind that in January.