Christmas Foliage

I have had a few problems with trying to make my ideas work out recently, lots of stuff has ended either in the bin or lying around unfinished. I did just about manage to get this one done however. It's just as well as it's my DT card for the Creative Card Crew Challenge this week, sponsored by One Stop Card Crafts and Doodle Pantry. Check out the challenge blog for great prize details. This is to be my last card on that team as I have decided to step down.
I made the backing paper using a Rollagraph Tiny Leaves wheel with SU Mellow Moss ink. The image is from Artemio, which I partly inked with Stazon Olive Green, leaving the cone to be inked with Versafine.
After stamping I embossed the cone detail with gold embossing powder. When it had been die-cut, I sponged it with Mellow Moss ink, whilst still in the die to leave a white border.
The sentiment is part of a Papermania clear stamp which I chopped up and the panel is edged with a Martha Stewart border punch. I punched out a couple of ribbon slits so that the ribbon could be threaded behind the sentiment. I tied the ribbon using my bowmaker but tying the last wrap around the flat piece of ribbon which I had already attached to the card, making it look as though it is an actual fastening!
I love this image and I think that the sentiment style suits it quite well!
Sweet Stampin Challenge - Make your own backing paper
Crafty Catz - Happy New Year
Alphabet Challenge - Foliage

Reindeer Greetings

The more I do it, the more I like it... Clean and Simple that is!
A card couldn't be much simpler than this... One image and one sentiment that's it. Both are from Penny Black and both have been heat embossed in gold.
I like how the sweep of the 'l' in the sentiment echoes the shape of the reindeer's front legs. This lovely stamp was one of my acquisitions from the NEC recently.
It's my DT card for My Time to Craft  this week where the challenge is Reindeer Greetings.
It's great that the snow has disappeared, it's lovely to look at but causes such problems. Some friends had a car crash into their garage wall while they were in bed in the room above. It has had to be propped up and needs to be repaired very soon., They were lucky that the whole building didn't collapse. Some other neighbours around the corner have had their front garden wall smashed down by another car out of control on the slippery roads. My neighbour opposite, (the one on the right of the two houses on my snowy day picture a few posts back) lost traction on his drive and his new BMW slid along his fence leaving a long scratch down the side of the car.
Penny Black - Stamp on any colour but white
One Layer Wednesday - What first inspired you in stamping... Heat embossing! What magic!

Deck the Halls

I really do love simple stuff.
Here we have a fab Penny Black wreath stamp embossed in gold on red cardstock. The sentiment is also from Penny Black and has been treated in a similar manner. The main image has also been dry embossed with a random dots folder and the edge of the sentiment panel punched with my Fiskars Upper Crest border punch.
I thought that a cream card blank complemented the colours in preference to white and so with that the card was completed.
Yesterday we received a snippet of video of our granddaughter decorating their Christmas tree, she was really intent on doing it and a small section of the tree was adorned beautifully! I reckon she did really well for a two year old.!
Penny Black - Stamp on any colour but white
Keep it Simple - Deck The Halls
Christmas Card Challenges - Monochromatic
Caardvarks - Monochromatic
Corrosive Challenge - Red & White
Let's Ink it Up -  Christmas Sparkle
Craft Your Days Away - Texture (Heat and dry Embossing)
Stamp Something - Christmas colour combo (red & gold)
Paper Play - Monochromatic
Southern Girls - Anything using heat

Winter trees

I'm so grateful to the lovely Julia in her Stamping Ground for introducing me to the fabulous clear stamp set from Artemio from which this tree image originates. Here I've used it for the sketch challenge 119  from Clean and Simple.
I sponged Stampin' Up inks in Bashful Blue, Mellow Moss and Almost Amethyst for the background and then stamped the trees in 3 shades of green. Mellow Moss for the distance, then Bundled Sage Distress ink and finally first and second impressions using Stazon Olive Green for the foreground.
The buckle is from a Spellbinder die using dull silver card further distressed with Stazon Stone Grey ink.

Raise the bar - Trees

Secret Crafter - Christmas

Alphabet Challenge - F Foliage

Ooh La La - Christmas Song inspiration - O Tannenbaum (Oh Christmas Tree)

Speaking of winter trees, here's mine.
It has come out for the 35th year, having been used every year since my husband arrived home with it on the top of the car when we were living in Virginia in 1976. I think that's probably quite ecologically 'green'.

For some years I have been collecting Christmas decorations from various places around the world which also come out each Christmas and remind us of the wonderful holidays we have spent. I try to write the place and year of their purchase somewhere on them as my memory isn't as good as it might be.
Here's an angel from Barbados in 2008...

and some snowshoes from Quebec City in Canada in 2006.
Our latest acquisition is this cut-out wooden candle from New Zealand, made from from Kauri Wood which had been  buried for 45,000 years. We bought this one on our trip earlier this year.
Pretty amazing!

We have heaps more, but I won't bore you with them now. I just find it really nostalgic when I get out the tree each year... and remember!