My Holiday Card Dilemma

Do you have a holiday card tradition?

I have long wanted to start a tradition of sending out handmade cards each holiday season. But I always think about it at the beginning of December, which is obviously too late.  This year, I’m ahead of the game!  I used my #CarveDecember Workbook and went through all the steps that class teaches: research, sketching, troubleshooting...

...and then ended up with this hand carved block:

When I was carving it, I knew that I wanted to make chine-collé prints with it.  Here's what the first batch looks like:

Because they're chine-collé prints, each one is slightly unique. The hand made collage paper I used and the way I cut it, is different each time.

And now, here's my dilemma. These take a looooong time to make.  For each card, I need to:

• make/find the collage paper
• cut the collage paper into the shapes I want
• add adhesive to the collage paper
• ink up the block
• carefully place the collage paper on the block
• line up the card to print properly
• print it
• hang it to dry

Whew! 

So here’s the part I’m questioning: I know that some people on my list will appreciate all that work and keep the card. But I also feel like some people on my list won’t care and it will go into the garbage. I thought about having two lists - one who appreciate handmade and one who don’t care. But it feels weird to me to do that. Plus do I really know what people will do with them?!  And in the spirit of the holidays, it’s a gift that’s meant to be given with no strings attached, right?!. And yet, I hate the idea of spending hours making something that will go straight into the bin.

And so, one solution I've come up with, is to put stickers on the back of the card that say:

"This is a hand made chine-collé monoprint.  Chine-collé is a printmaking process and roughly translates from French as “chine”= tissue, and “collé” = glue or paste. The word chine is used because the thin paper that printmakers traditionally used for this process, was imported to Europe from China, India and Japan.  I use paper that I paint, stamp, and draw on. After I make the paper, I hand cut it to fit the design.  Then, during the printmaking process, paper and the hand carved design are fused together to create the final result.

This 4x6 work of art is designed to fit into a 5x7 photo frame. The white edge of the card will appear as a mat when it's in the frame."

But I can't decide whether that's obnoxious?

Steve suggested that I should simply send hand made cards to a few people I know will appreciate it and then make copies (like through a holiday card service) for the rest of the list. 

What do you think?