Winter Wood and Pine Panels

Hello all!  I'm back in the UK for three months for work, so once again I've had to pack more craft supplies than clothes in my suitcase so that I don't get withdrawal symptoms!  I'll share some pictures of my temporary craft stash if you're interested, but for now I thought I'd show you this pair of wintry panels I created just before leaving the Czech Republic last week.

I wanted the new Tim Holtz 3D embossing folders Tree Rings and Pine Branches the moment I saw them.  I knew they'd make perfect settings for my PaperArtsy botanical stamps, and I just had time to make one panel with each while I was doing my packing.

The first one was this weathered wood panel created with the Tree Rings folder.

I tinted the gorgeous wood texture with Distress Sprays and Crayons - sorry, I can't really remember what colours I used but Pumice Stone, Hickory Smoke, Walnut Stain and Weathered Wood were definitely in the mix...

some pinecones gathered on walks, and real twigs interspersed with die-cut ones...

and of course my EAB Hawthorn Edition stamps.

I kept the colours very muted and wintry - it's all done with Distress Inks, including the new(ish) Lumberjack Plaid mixed with Festive Berries.  The leaves are a combination of Pumice Stone, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain and Weathered Wood.

The quote is from the same set, embossed in Wow Primary Bark powder, and it's resting on some coils of rusty wire.

The second panel uses the Pine Branches folder.

Again, the colours are a bit hazy - there's certainly some Rustic Wilderness, Speckled Egg, Evergreen Bough and Walnut Stain around...

a lovely Idea-ology Quote Token, with Picket Fence Distress Crayon highlighting the words...

the berries from my EAB29 Mistletoe Edition with a touch of Glossy Accents crackled with a heat gun...

background stamping with the theatrical ephemera from the same set...

and some more pinecones.

Of course, the BigShot was one thing I couldn't put in the suitcase (too heavy, too big, too awkward!), but I did pre-press a few more of these panels to bring with me.  Keep an eye out for them in future makes... they're definitely going to become a regular part of my creations.

I hope you like them, and I hope you are enjoying a gentle and peaceful weekend full of good things.  See you soon.

I prefer winter and Fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape--the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show.

Andrew Wyeth