Peace Joy & Love

The theme for Merry Monday Christmas Challenge this week is an inspiration photo. I liked the idea of the greenery spilling out of the tea cups, but didn't have anything die- or stamp-wise that would work for the cups. So I made a mason jar from vellum, following this tutorial, and filled it with greenery & pine cones from the "Poinsettia & Pine" die set by Essentials by Ellen. I also used 3/4" & 5/8" circle punches to punch several "baubles" to help fill the jar.

After creating my mason jar, I die cut several pieces of greenery & berries from 140 lb. watercolor paper. I left the die cuts in the negative pieces, to help hold them in place while I colored them. I watercolored the greens with Shabby Shutters, Crushed Olive, & Peeled Paint Distress inks; the berries with Barn Door & Brushed Corduroy; and the pine cones with Brushed Corduroy & Vintage Photo. Once I got the color depth that I wanted, I set those aside to dry. I painted my circle punches, also from watercolor paper, with Mermaid Lagoon, Peacock Feathers, Barn Door, & Seedless Preserves Distress inks.

I created my background with patterned papers from graphic45's "Christmas Carol" & Echo Park's "Home for the Holidays" 6x6" pads. I lightly traced the outline of my mason jar onto the panel with a pencil, and used that as a guide for where to place my elements. Once I had everything glued down, I erased my pencil lines. I ran my jar through my Xyron Creative Station to apply adhesive to the back, adhered it in place, and glued a couple more berry sprigs at the bottom. I pierced holes on either side of the jar top, and threaded gold cording through. Finally, I tied more cording in a bow around the lengths across the jar.

I die cut a label from some tan cardstock, using one of My Favorite Things' "Blueprints 13" dies. I stamped my greeting, from Hero Arts' "Joy to the World," in Versafine Vintage Sepia ink, and added a heart from the same set with Hero Arts Red Royal ink to either side. I then adhered that to my jar. I added some detail with a white gel pen, and adhered my card front to a 4.5x7.25" card base. I finished my card by adding Star Dust Stickles to the berries and drew dashed lines around the label with a red glitter gel pen.

I'm also entering my card in the following challenges;

Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
A Blog Named Hero: "Vellum"