Merry Christmas!!! (And a challenge as well.)

Hello, good morning, and above all,

 Merry Christmas!!!

  
There is much sadness of late (Newtown, CT being at the forefront), and my heart goes out to the victims, who are in my thoughts and prayers daily; however, there is still something about which to be joyful, and that is we are celebrating the birth of Christ, which is the whole reason for this season.   Joy to the World, the Lord is come!

This week over at Tuesday Alchemy we have Challenge #46 - Anything Goes.  That's right, ANYTHING.  There are some fabulous prizes and much inspiration, so get thee over there and play along!  The prizes are:

$10 store voucher



and

3 digital images




Today's card was made with  Christmas Candles 3 from Stitchy Bear.  It's a great line stamp, perfect for coloring.

 

I used Copics with which to color the image, then die cut it into a circle and layered it onto a slightly larger circle.  The papers I used are mostly from SU with the addition of musical paper from The Paper Studio Old World Winter stack.  I LOVE that paper.  All papers were inked on the edges with Vintage Photo distress ink, and the music paper was distressed around the edges.

I added gold glitter glue to the candle flames and red glitter glue to the holly berries.  I have very few Copics at this time and have to make do with them, hence the slightly startling visual surprise of purple ribbon on a Christmas card, but I have a feeling Santa is going to rectify that little problem.  Future images will be colored with more depth and better color selection.  By hook or by crook.

I painted the poinsettias with Creative Inspirations paints, first with Rustic Red for the veins and then with Ivory over that.  These are die cut using the SB Layered Poinsettias die.  Yellow Flower Soft completes the flower.

The greeting is computer generated and printed on vellum as I didn't want a bright white strip to detract from the centerpiece.  Red stickles decorate either side to hide the glue dots underneath.  That's the thing with vellum - adhering it without adhesive "show through" can be a little tricky, but I'm always looking for an excuse to add more sparkle, so...win/win.  I've also added a bit of sparkly burlap ribbon under the flower and centerpiece.  I discovered it hidden in a closet the other day and I think it adds the perfect touch of a little rough, yet glittery, see-through texture.  A couple of vintage buttons finish the look.

So that is my card for this week's challenge.  I hope you enjoyed it, and I look forward to seeing YOUR creation(s) at Tuesday Alchemy this week!

Happy crafting!!

Supplies:

Stamp:   Christmas Candles 3 from Stitchy Bear Digital Stamps
Ink: printer, TH Distress Ink Vintage Photo
Paper: SU Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler, Regals dsp stack, The Paper Studio Old World Winter, vellum
Accessories: SB Layered Poinsettia die, Dienamics Circles Stax 1 and 2, glitter glue, CI paints, Flower Soft, burlap ribbon, buttons, Copics

Challenges Entered:

There She Goes #187 - Last Minute Christmas 
Tammy's Scrappin' Corner #42 - Come Play Bingo (blue, image, flowers)
Anything Goes #82 - Traditional Colors
Simon Says...Merry Christmas (anything Christmassy)
Delightful Challenges - Anything Goes
Divas By Design #66 - Anything Goes 
Really Reasonable Ribbon #62 - Anything Goes plus ribbon (mine is the burlap ribbon)
3 Girl Jam Challenge #8 - Christmas Inspiration
Frosted Designs - 3rd Day of Christmas (3 mists/ink/paints - Copics, CI paints, distress ink around edges )
CI Paints - Inspired by Merry Christmas
Pile It On #49 - Pile On the Embellishments
Eclectic Ellapu - Anything Goes
Digi Darla's #43 - Peace On Earth w/ribbon
The Pink Elephant #180 - Anything Goes