Pet portrait Christmas cards

Life is really busy at the moment as I focus on finishing a number of pet portraits in time for Christmas. I was, however, still determined to create some Christmas cards and open my online store before December.

To stand any chance of doing that, I needed a laptop which could run Photoshop, but there was no way I could afford it at this early stage of my business. Thankfully, I live in Broadland District Council which, as I have discovered, is amazingly encouraging and supportive of new businesses, and after a really helpful visit by Jane Bagley, I was awarded a start-up grant to help take my fledgling business forward.

It was just what I needed to help me purchase a refurbished MacBook and get going with Photoshop. Here is me opening my new computer and using it to create my very first Christmas card:

A massive thank you to Jane and the team at Broadland District Council for your support and encouragement at such a key time, and to Kate Wilde for alerting me to the grant in the first place.

It took a bit longer than I had hoped to design, draw, scan, edit and print my first card, but I got there in the end and I’m really pleased with the final result. I hope you like it:

If you’re looking for a quality animal-themed Christmas card, why not visit my shop and purchase my very first one. I do have some more designs planned but I ran out of time with all the Christmas commissions that came in. I will be able to start preparing earlier next year!

There may be one or two more items in my store soon, so follow me on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or here on my blog to be the first to know about new cards and prints when they become available.

Also, while it’s a bit too late to get a pet portrait completed in time for Christmas (I’ve been booked up for a while now), you can purchase a gift voucher or get in touch to commission me for 2023!

As always, thank you for supporting my small business. It’s great to have the first product in my shop!