Merry Xmas ...

... although it is only relating to the card designs at the moment. But it is scary that we have already nearly reached the end of October and Christmas is not really that far away.

A lovely designed Christmas sentiment of a good size can also be a beautiful focal point of cards. And the large candle and holly merry Christmas image (XM137HF) by Crafty Stamps is just perfect for this. For this card I opted for a mainly monochrome design with splashes of colour introduced by paper roses and the candle and holy image within the stamped image, which I coloured in using Spectrum Noir pens.

For the topper I used a Spellbinders label die. The main feature of the panel underneath is black cardstock with a white core, which I embossed using a Snowflake embossing folder and sanded using a Tim Holtz sanding grip. A quick wipe with a Dust Buddy by Core'dinations then brought out the colours nicely.

For the holly die-cuts I used a Cheery Lynn die. The holly sections underneath the paper roses are created with the same die, but I trimmed off the end sections. A snow writer by DecoArt helped to give the snow on the letters more of a 3D feel. Clear adhesive gems and Stickles glitter glue in 'Frosted Lace' applied to the paper roses provided the finishing touches.

And Crafty Stamps/Stamper's Grove (that is their craft shop in Edinburgh) will also be at the Hobbycraft show at the SECC in Glasgow from 25 to 28 October 2012. If you are going, perhaps pop along to their stand C26 and say hello to Emma. Loads of gorgeous stamps are already packed up and ready for the trip to Glasgow.