Arty Ellie wraps up Christmas for town council with winning card design

Crafting crazy 10-year-old Ellie Hutchison has had her first taste of artistic success with the news that she has won the Gerrard Cross Town Council’s Christmas card competition.

The St Mary’s School pupil, from Moreland Drive in Gerrards Cross, said she entered the competition just for fun because she loves anything to do with making and crafting and was amazed to hear her winning design would be on the front of all the council’s Chritsmas cards this year.

Said Ellie :

“From the start I decided I would create something a bit different from the usual Christmas tree or snowman. I started by drawing a penguin toy with its eyes closed to give it a cozy, peaceful look. Then I added a large Christmas stocking decorated with stripes, topped with a white cuff. A small candy cane peeks over the edge, tilted so it looks as though the penguin is holding it. For the lower part of the stocking, I used Posca paint markers to carefully draw diagonal lines, and on top of these I added three bright yellow-gold stars that really stand out.”

She added:

“It took me about three hours and I listened to Christmas songs playing in the background. I just let my mind and the markers do the trick. I enjoyed every second of it!”

Ellie’s mum Jordana added:

“When I received an email from  St Mary’s announcing that Ellie had won the competition, I was over the moon. I kept the news a secret until we got home from school. When I finally told her, Ellie was speechless, especially since she hadn’t expected to win at all.”

St Mary’s head Lars Fox added:

“Ellie has done a great job and her card is beautiful. We are very proud of her!”