Winter trees

This card is a bit like the style of the previous ones shown here, but much simpler this time, using a Stitchy Bear digital image 'winter trees'. When I saw that this week's One stitch at a time challenge is 'Choccy's Christmas challenge' to use a Stitchy Bears digital stamp, I had a look on their site to see what I might purchase and the 'winter trees' seemed perfect to use with the brayer and Big & Juicy Happy Birthday (toned down by rolling on to rough paper a few times first. I put a post-it note circle for the moon before brayering and masked off the bottom for snow. In real life, the lower bit at the base of the tree looks far more pink than it does here.

It's hard to see the sentiment here because it's silver on grey, but it says 'Season's greetings'.

And, yes, this is my first Christmas card since Christmas!!

This is also for:

AiFactory 99: Christmas
Gingerloft 30: Christmas and winter
Incy wincy 126: winter wonderland
One stop craft 163: winter wishes
Digital Tuesday 141: winter wonderland
Paper pretties Monday challenge: winter wonderland
Fairytale 31: something simple
Everybody art 173: anything goes
Order of the opus gluei 120: I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Lexi 55: untraditional Christmas - no red or green
Stamp n doodle: it's Christmas
Crazy amigo: oh Christmas tree
Creative belli 133: merry Christmas
Friendship's garden 6: anything goes Christmas
Little darling 13: Christmas
Crafty purple frog: Christmas
PaperPlay 50: Christmas
Rainbow lady 184: white Christmas
Alphabet: W for white Christmas
Prairie fairy Fridays 68: holly jolly Christmas - no red or green
Raise the bar 86: it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Bee crafty: it's Christmas
Allways something creative 20: merry Christmas
Joanna Sheen 1: Christmas wishes
Bizzy becs: Christmas
St Luke's: let it snow
Christmas cards all year round: anything goes
Crafft room: anything goes
Top tip Tuesday 66: anything goes
Aud sentiments 44: anything goes
Crafts and me 66: anything goes
Let's craft and create 35: anything goes
My mum's craft shop 37: anything goes
Scrapbook sisters 66: anything goes
Digi doodle 88: anything goes
Secret crafter Saturday 166: anything goes
Mark's finest papers speedy the cat 87: anything goes
Party time Tuesday 48: anything goes
Make it Monday 69
Inspire me Fridays 38

Inspired by Barbara Gray

For Christmas, I was very fortunate to get some DVDs by Barbara Gray of Clarity Stamps along with some of her stamps and other bits and pieces.

Before Christmas John had a chest infection - in fact, he ended up having to go to A & E two days before Christmas to be checked out - he's still being troubled by the airways disease, but the infection has subsided. Meanwhile, he passed his germs on to me just at the wrong time! I began to feel unwell on Christmas Eve and am not sure how I got through Christmas Day with all the cooking etc, but I did. However, yesterday is a bit of a blur and today likewise. I stayed in bed for quite a while today and am still in my PJs now.

I've been curled up watching some of the DVDs by Barbara, so I thought I'd have a bit of a play to see if it helps me to feel better.

This first card involved brayering with a rubber band round the roller. I inked up with Adirondack wildflower rainbow ink pad, but, unfortunately, this hasn't been used for ages and had become muddied, so the background turned out to be very dull and dark, but I stuck with it, using the Clarity tree stamp in various ways, including the hedgerows from using the stamp sideways.

For the second card, I've brayered with Big & Juicy vibrant primary (toning this down by brayering a lot on paper before committing to the card) adding a little stormy sky DI across the top. I stamped the Clarity Christmas tree and then used the tree silhouette that I'd used for the previous card several times in the background, all stamped with Adirondack espresso.

The background of the third card was brayered using Big & Juicy Happy Birthday, once again using the tree silhouette in various ways together with a My Mind's Eye wild asparagus stamp.

I think I need to practise a lot before I can get anywhere near the standard of success Barbara Gray achieves, but at least I've had a play and tried to divert my attention from how I feel.

I'm linking these for:

Anything goes 57: the colour blue and one other colour (the first card)
Gingerloft 30: Christmas and winter
Incy wincy 126: winter wonderland
One stop craft 163: winter wishes
Fairytale 31: something simple
Sunday stamper 186: do anything you wanna do
Crafty cardmakers58: use it three times - I've used the tree silhouette stamp more than three times in different ways on each card
The stamp man: use a technique you've not used before (rubber band for hills and paths)
Little miss muffet 25: anything goes
Stampin for the weekend 23: anything goes
Stampelsonne 52: free choice of subject
Our daily bread 90: anything goes
The crafty pad 152: anything but Christmas
Sparkles forum 27: anything but a Christmas card
Everybody art 173: anything goes