The Holly and the Holly

Hello all... and yes, I did mean to put that as the post title.  This tag is holly and then more holly!

I hope you were able to hop over to PaperArtsy yesterday to see my Golden Letters from Samarkand... one non-tag post in the midst of all this 12 Tags mayhem.

But today we're back on the fast track to the deadline.  I'm here with my eighth tag in the Funkie Junkie's 12 Tags of Christmas, and I'm finally getting around to tag number five.

Okay, I admit it, I was waiting for an order to arrive.  I know, I know... I said I was using this challenge to reacquaint myself with the contents of my craft room, and to force Mr Mojo back into action, but I will confess that I have been tempted into a couple of purchases along the way.












The Mixed Media Christmas Thinlits, with this fabulous holly cut-out was one of them, and it only arrived yesterday, so I sat straight down to play with it, and here we are today with the finished tag.

If you take a look at Linda's original, you'll see it's pretty much a direct CASEing, apart from the changes in colour and final embellishing.













I started with some wrinkle-free distress smooshing using various green Distress Inks and a spritz or two of Brushed Pewter mica spray.














As we had on Tag 9 Pine Cones Galore! and then the leftovers used for the greenery on Tag 8 Tis the Season, you get a lovely shimmer built in to the colours.












Die-cutting, tearing and inking the sprays of holly was all pretty straightforward.

I love the Gothic font of Wendy Vecchi's Vintage Text stamp, so that's one I do have.













It's stamped in Olive Archival both underneath the torn holly panel, and on the cut out leaves which wind their way around the rest of the card.













I chose a sentiment where the font is similar to the Gothic of the background stamping, and stamped it on white card.  As I've done on a couple of occasions during this challenge, including Tag 10 Snow Flurries, I traced around the rubber base of the stamp to guide my cutting of the panel.











And my embellishing takes the form of some twine wound around the card and topped off with some small pine cones.











It's a feature I've borrowed from my own design for one of my closest friend's barn wedding in November - see, I haven't been entirely craftily idle this year!












There are more pine cones to come on my favourite two tags of all... but I'm saving them until last, so you'll just have to contain yourselves!











The final touch was some spatter with the PaperArtsy White Fire Fresco paint - it has such a subtle pale shimmer to it - I love it a lot.

It's the second appearance for White Fire splatter - you saw some on my favourite so far, Tis the Season, too.  I'm still working to create links across the tags to make them work as a group.







I promise the White Fire shimmers (as does the mica background) - it's just that there's not enough light to make a star twinkle today...

So that's my version of tag five, coming in out of order, but fulfilling two-thirds of the challenge.

I'll let you in on a secret... I've actually now finished all twelve (some full-on crafting time on Wednesday did the trick), but I'm going to stick to a post a day.  It's also time-consuming taking, sorting and editing the photos, not to mention writing the posts, so I'm going to pace myself.

Thank you so much for stopping by today, and I can pretty much promise I'll be back with a fresh tag tomorrow (barring internet issues, computer collapses, camera malfunctions or appalling photograph-unfriendly weather).  Hope to see you then.



"If I could work my will," said Scrooge indignantly, "every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart.  He should!"
From A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

I'd like to share this as Tag 5 in the Funkie Junkie's 12 Tags of Christmas, sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique