Christmas with Mo

Hey folks, I have a Christmas card to share with you today, which features a gorgeous Mo Manning image. Two in fact, that I've merged to appear on the same page. That makes it sound way fancier and computer savvier than I actually am. Truth is I have NO IDEA how to merge two images together, so actually, I just printed them side by side on a word document page. So low-tech it's embarrassing! Which means they're a little further apart than I'd have liked, but I made it work, and with the sentiment stamped straight on the page I think it kinda works. I filled the 'white space' with lots of snowflakes, so it didn't seem so sparse.

I just love Mo Manning's images, they're always so enchanting and all so different. If you've not discovered this talented artists work, go check out her site, she's amazing. Here's a close-up of her lovely Christmas Fairy Holly. I just love the snowglobe she's holding. The detail in that little globe is fab. I added some glitter to the trees and church roof before covering it in Glossy Accents to create the glassy effect. I also used Glossy Accents on the berries in her hair and on the bells at her waist. I love this image, so sweet and wistful. The lovely snowflakes are from a Panduro snowflake stamp set, which I just added a hint of glitter to each centre.

I really love this lamp post image of Mo Manning. There's just something old-world and charming about it. I wanted to keep the colour palette very silvery, to hint at a twilight hour, without having to colour the background black, so I've used lots of my Promarker greys in this image. It's not really visible here, but I did lots of shading on the lamp post and was really pleased with the effect. It's very subtle in the picture, but it's there. I added a little glow around the lamp light and Glossy Accents to the candle guard. I graded the colour of the flame, which came out quite well. You can see in this picture the lovely three colour bakers twine I've used to add the bells too - white, green and gold. The sweet bells are from a Molly Blooms pack I had in my stash and came in varying sizes, so I chose three different sizes to tie up here.

The border die was a sweet gift along with some other bits and pieces the lovely Tracy from 'Dies to Die For' popped in with a recent order of mine. It was a good colour match for my fairy's wings, so I added it last minute after realising there just wasn't enough going on with only the plain white chiffon ribbon behind the image. So I trimmed a tiny bit off the ends of the die, and snuck them under the edge of the already glued down image. I started with only a strip on the underside of the ribbon, but it really needed top and bottom as there was so little of it showing to bring balance and colour. I'm pretty pleased with that sneaky fix. Just a hint of colour, but I think it really works.

The card I used is a really pretty shimmery cardstock in gunmetal grey that I picked up from a local arts supplies store here in Auckland. It really shimmers in the light and was the perfect backdrop for my very grey palette image. There's not much else to say about this card, so I'll leave it there and wish you a happy day. Thanks for stopping in on my lil' blog, I hope you stay and have a look around. Hugs, Wends x

Challenge Entries:
Divas By Design: Use Some Red
I Love Promarkers: #196 ~ Anything Goes
Cute Card Thursday: #297 ~ Anything Goes
Party Time Tuesdays: #148 ~ Anything Goes
Crafty Calendar Challenge: All Things Christmas
Sister Act Card Challenge: #35 ~ Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Countdown to the Holidays

Crafty Little Fairies: Classic Christmas - Red, Green & Gold (gold accents in bakers twine, lamp and shoe)