Merry Moday #278 O'Tannenbaum, O'Tannenbaum

O'Tannenbaum, O'Tannebaum...how lovely are your branches! Welcome to this week's Merry Monday Christmas Challenge! I had so much fun putting this card together, pulling in little bits of this and that!

This week Debbie has challenged us to create a card using this inspiration photo! It is a visual treat jam packed with little bits of inspiration here and there! My mind was racing with the possibilities, but really, I don't have any dog images, I had recen used a wreath,etc. etc. So...I just decided to focus on the fabulous Christmas tree that is front and center! I chose to use the traditional red and green color scheme that is used in the photo as well.

I used this same "seed packet" idea for one of my Keeping Christmas projects from last year that you can see HERE. The funny part is that when I made those tags, it was because I had been wanting to make a card using the "Christmas Tree seeds" idea. Now...here I am making a card based off of my tags! I guess it all comes full circle sometimes! All of the stamps and ink for this project are from Papertrey Ink with the exception of the Always Artichoke ink that I added around the edges of some of the foliage.

To begin, I got to work creating the tag portion of the card. I die cut the seed packet piece using the Garden Variety stamp set and the coordinating seed packet die. The Christmas tree image that I used is from the O'Tannenbaum stamp set and is one of my favorites! The tree, and most of the foliage is stamped using Simply Chartreuse Ink and the berries and pot are stamped using Pure Poppy Ink. After I was done making the seed packet portion of the card, I got to work making a bundle of greenery from the Spruce and Sprigs stamp set and then die cut them using the coordinating dies.

While I was organizing my craft area for THIS challenge over at Papertrey Ink, I found this old Christmas paper that I thought would work nicely for this card. I don't remember the manufacturer, however. I layered it onto a Kraft card base and then layered all of the greenery underneath the seed packet focal piece. I also added a bow of red baker's twine and a gold jingle bell to accent the "O' Tannenbaum sentiment strips. I didn't intend to add both of them but as I was deciding which color strip to use, I ended up liking both of them! And...the song does say it twice in a row! LOL! They are both stamped using Versamark ink and then embossed using gold powder. One is Kraft and the other is Ripe Avocado cardstock. Our numbers were small last week,so I urge you to play along with us if you get a chance this week! It really does make the holidays less stressful when you've made a beautiful stack of handmade cards all through the year! Thanks for fluttering by!