Christmas Candle

I got this image from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps', thinking it would make a really great Christmas card. I felt the image was enough to stand on its own, so I chose a simple sketch from Operation Write Home to feature it:

I thought an oval would lend itself better to the image, so I substituted that for the rectangle in the sketch.

I printed the image onto a piece of Strathmore Mixed Media Paper, and die cut & embossed it with a Spellbinders "Classic Ovals SM" die. I colored the candle with Inktense pencils and a damp paintbrush. The holly leaves were the hardest element to get the coloring right. I wanted them to be vibrant, but not garish. Thankfully, I finally found the right combination of colors--without going overboard!

For the greeting, I used one from this Hero Arts set. I stamped it in Versafine Onyx Black ink onto another scrap of Mixed Media Paper. I then die cut & embossed it with one of the dies from Spellbinders' "Labels Eight" set. While the paper was still in the die, I sponged Spun Sugar Distress ink over the inner portion. This gives the effect of a matted piece, without adding an extra layer.

I chose a striped patterned paper from my scrap stash for the background. After adhering a piece of mauve cardstock to that, I die cut the panel with one of the dies from My Favorite Things' "Blueprints 13" set. I then glued the focal panel & greeting to that.

Because I couldn't find cardstock in my stash that was the "right" shade of pink for the background mat, I die cut a piece of white cardstock with the A2 die from Avery Elle's "Custom Panels" die set. Then I inked around the edges with Spun Sugar. Finally, I adhered that & the main panel to an A2 card base.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Monday "Anything Goes"
a2z Scrapbooking's December Challenge: "Watercolor"