X is for Xanadu

I was determined not to fall back on the abbreviated form of Christmas for this tag - I really don't like it at all but of course this posed a problem of just what to use for this letter.  I trawled through the dictionary to no avail and then someone suggested Xanadu as a possibility so of course I had to read the poem to remind myself of what it contained.  Fortunately some of the words made me think of this image from the Moonlit River set of clear stamps by Chocolate Baroque so that is what I've used.  Image was coloured using Polychromos pencils with the addition of some clear Sakura glitter pen.  The poem in general conjured up images of tropical forests as would be seen in paintings by Rousseau so I added some stamped and cut out leaves (also from CB) and a butterfly which was a stamp given away with Craft Stamper.  Thanks to Florence for suggesting the word Xanadu to me - aren't online friends wonderful??  If you want to read the poem it can be found easily online - just Google the word and you can also find images of paintings by Henri Rousseau in the same way! I will have to get my brain working on Y and Z now for next month - ideas are forming though so watch this space.

Christmas Step Card

Another card to add to my Christmas pile - a straightforward step card this time. Background was made by stippling blue Brilliance ink then stamping snowflakes (stamps by craftwork cards), some trees (stamp by Art Impressions) and reindeer from a clear set by Papermania. The snowman is a stamp by Personal Impressions coloured using Sakura pens, wavy greeting and small trees in front were printed from Jingle Jangle Christmas by Polkadoodles and the message was created on the computer and punched out using SU oval punches. A bit of Art Institute glitter was added here and there.

Three Jolly Snowmen

Actually it is only one jolly snowman stamped three times using a post-it note mask!! Coloured with Sakura Stardust pens, a bit of fine glitter added and the sky was stippled with Brilliance ink, which was also used to stamp the random snowflakes. Snowman is from Funstamps (I've had him for several years and he is so useful), snowflakes are from a clear set by Craftwork Cards and the printed ribbon strip is by Polkadoodles, background paper is some left over from last year's Christmas purchases. The greeting is computer generated and popped onto an ever popular Stampin Up ovals punch piece.

Strawberries

I was asked by a friend to make a birthday card for her sister who collects things related to strawberries so I used the free stamp which came with Craft Stamper a while ago for the cut out images and also made two shrink plastic ones as well. Colouring was done with Sakura glitter pens. I do hope my friend thinks it is suitable!

Penny Black challenge

The Penny Black challenge this week is to make card using a Penny Black stamp and to include three shapes on the card (not including background). The Penny Black flowers have been coloured with Sakura glitter pens.