Decking the halls with CAS holly

What a lot of exciting news there was yesterday! I've managed to calm myself down though and am back to making Christmas cards.

There's a fabulous new sketch over at CAS(e) this sketch and I used it to make a card for the final St Lukes Charity Challenge. Tara, the founder, has worked tirelessly for nearly two years to raise money for the St Lukes hospice but has now made the difficult decision to close the challenge. Do visit the site to applaud her efforts and to join in with her just-for-fun last challenge: 'Make a Christmas card using a traditional festive image'. Come and see what I made:

Holly is one of my favourite traditional festive images and I love the gorgeous red berries against the glossy leaves. I've made my leaves with my oval punch, nibbling round them with my 1/2" circle punch.

Since the holly is the focus of my card I gave it a bit of extra interest by using two colours of card stock and embossing the leaves with my Lattice embossing folder. Real Red brads make lovely, touchable red berries! The beautifully pared back sentiment is a favourite of mine from For My Family.

This is the sketch I was working with today - the fourth one at the challenge. I have loved them all! It's good to hear that DT members on the east coast of the US have all got through the hurricane ok. My heart really does go out to those that weren't so lucky.

Here's what you'll need to make today's card
Stamps: For My Family
Ink: Real Red
Card stock: Very Vanilla, Real Red, Gumball Green, Garden Green
Other: Large oval punch, 1/2" circle punch, Lattice embossing folder, Big Shot, Real Red brads, stamp-a-majig
I'd be delighted to order any of these items for you and have them delivered straight to your address in the UK, France, Deutschland, Nederland or Osterreich. I'm committed to providing excellent customer service and am always happy to offer help and advice. To place your order, just send me an email or give me a call on +44 (0) 1280 820593. Check out current special offers here.

Yesterday my husband showed me an email he'd received from a hotel that we've never even stayed at, apologising 'most profusely for the extremely unfortunate situation yesterday evening' and offering a free stay in recompense! "Good grief!" said my husband. "That was quite a night out we had there!" I giggled (but frankly I would've been quite willing to have put up with whatever ghastliness had taken place - we could have done with a nice weekend away!) We've been amusing each other ever since by making up stories about what might have happened.

Have a lovely weekend and I'll see you very soon,