Winter joy

Hello, crafting friends!

 

I thought it was time to catch up with some challenges today! I scrolled through Challenges for Days to check out the latest challenges and was inspired to make...

 

 

... a Christmas card!! You'd think I'd have had enough of festive creativity but there's some great inspiration out there and it's never too early to make a start on this year's card stash. This card began with the background: I swiped the bottom of a card panel with a pale blue ink pad, then masked off the ground with a sticky note and blended purple, pink and blue inks over the sky area. I added the fir trees from Stampin' Up's retired Snow Front stamp set, stamping repeatedly to get an illusion of depth, and a tiny church from a thrift shop find.

 

The sticky note was removed and I stamped the tree from Stampin' Up's retired Sheltering Tree, adding a little bird from Snow Front and extra details and shading with coloured pencils and markers. A load of snow was dotted in with a Posca acrylic paint pen and the sentiment was stamped using an old magazine freebie. Finally, the panel was attached to a card base and I'm delighted to have a 2024 Christmas card under my belt!

CHALLENGES

I was inspired by the gorgeous colour palette at Colorful Options so I'm linking up there; The Sisterhood of Crafters have an Icy Cold theme and Little Red Wagon's challenge is Still Snowing, so I'm joining in there too; And last but not least, I've gone for A is for Anything Christmas at ABC Christmas. (They also have B is for Berries there so I may well pop in again soon!)

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

My worry over Lulu's cut pad is subsiding a bit as I can see it's on the mend. I have come up with a way of bandaging her foot for the outdoors with an 'inner' of bubble wrap secured with an 'outer' of lots of vet wrap and this has enabled me to let her off lead for short periods. She needs some good runs though and is beginning to be a little bit naughty (stealing some chocolate off the coffee table - luckily I caught her before any harm was done - and even jumping up at my husband, who admittedly has a very excitable energy!) I can't wait to get out into the countryside with them again - not least because this gentle on-lead walking isn't doing anything for my waistline!!

Sending hugs,