Oh. My. Goodness

OK, now don't be too alarmed. But there's been a kidnapping. And I've been emailed a ransom note.

‘Hello
These toys are being held hostage in the loft at No £$.*
Ransom required, one christmas card idea.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx’

*[I have blanked out my mother’s house number here so she doesn’t worry about burglars].

How many cuddly tortoises have you seen before? Me = none

Well, this is just terrible, because obviously these toys have quite a lot of sentimental value. Because I made them myself, when I was very young. And I think it took quite a lot of skill to make the panda look quite that camp. And the hedgehog you can see on the left of the picture is actually a mascot my Aunty Kath bought me for when I was doing my finals, and I used to take him along to all my exams hidden in my mortar board (I had to wear full sub fusc for my exams. Don’t get me started). I think I had the biggest mascot in the Exam Schools. Everyone else had small sophisticated objects from countries they’d visited in their gap year. Well, I have, actually, worried about Mr Hedgehog’s whereabouts over the years, so I am delighted to see he has popped up again – but in captivity! Oh no!

Anyway, I have been looking for card ideas, and I'm not quite there yet. I found this idea for a Christmas zine on the Post Punk Kitchen, which I thought was a nice idea – incorporating a recipe into a card. And I love the look of paper cutting, although I’m not sure I could pull (a simple version of) it off (ditto lino printing). So I’m not sure I'm quite in a position to get Hedgehog, Panda, Seal et al (Seal is stuffed with foam chips – he’s hard as a rock! He can look after himself) out of their hostage situation yet - make sure you treat them well, cruel kidnapper! I do keep seeing on blogs and things that other people are doing well with the whole card swap situation, though – well done everyone, keep at it, and I shall continue looking for inspiration and report back (and I can’t wait to see everyone else’s – I’m quite fascinated!).

(You know what would be lovely, actually? Making biscuits and icing them as Christmas cards. Not for a card swap or posting, obviously, but for people you give them to in person. Because there is no situation that isn't improved by a biscuit!).