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Sunday, 1 January 2017

Church Spires


A couple of years ago, I bought a stack of this red, green and white 12x12 DP in the after Christmas sales.  I think they were 3 for a dollar!  I cut it up into 6x6 sheets and stored it away for Christmas cardmaking. The colourful stripes are heavily glittered and it never seems to require a lot of embellishments as it is so strong on its own!

I think this is the last time I shall use this Church Spire stamp.  It is hard to use as the church and spire are on an angle and do not stand straight like the trees. I always angle the stamp towards the left when I stamp it and that way I try to "correct" the off kilter look.  I think it is a pretty stamp as it reminds me of the church spires you see when you take a train across Canada. Especially in the Eastern provinces. The church spires are the first thing you see in the distance. Before the village or the town, you see the spires standing so proudly. Such a delight!

But I have received enough new stamps this Christmas, that I think I shall retire this one!

                         

I painted the trees with Twinkling H2O's in three shades of green. I went over the church spire with a Sakura Jelly Roll pen in silver.

I tried something new for the snow. I painted smatterings of a heavy weight glue on the branches and the ground and sprinkled pearl glitter over it and left it overnight to dry.  Quite a bit came off in the morning, but I was pleased with the final look of it.



The Noel stamp is an unknown as it got separated from the package a few years ago! It fits the Stampin' Up oval and scalloped oval really well. I made up a few of these from some snippets, just before Christmas.  I tend to use the same 12 Bazzill heavy weight card for my mats and trims and there is just one red shade, so it is safe to die cut or punch ahead from the snippets. It always matches!

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
1. Pixies Crafty Workshop - must use snippets (till Jan  7th)
2. Sparkles Christmas Challenge - lots of glitter (till Jan 30th)
3. The Ribbon Girl - 1st Sunday Challenge Anything Goes (till Jan 14th)
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33 comments:

  1. brenda1 January 2017 at 00:34

    I always think the traditional colours never fail to please on Christmas cards Mo and your pretty card proves. And the lovely image carries the greens perfectly.

    Wishing you and yours a Happy New Year and a healthy and crafty 2017. Can I also add my thanks for your friendship.

    B x

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  2. Whisper1 January 2017 at 01:35

    Absolutely delightful hun and i'm loving the glittery card too, Luv Sam x

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  3. Marianne1 January 2017 at 02:45

    Such a clever idea to make multiples if you know thay are going to match. i enlarged the image to catch a better glimpse of the glitter and sparkle. It must be really sparkly IRL. Your card also perfectly fits the theme of Sparkles Christmas challenge, wich is Lots of glitter.
    Happy new Year

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  4. Sue's Crafty Corner1 January 2017 at 03:07

    It's a shame that you are retiring this stamp Maureen, it's gorgeous and looks great against the lovely stripy background. Happy New Year.

    Sue xx

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  5. coldwaters21 January 2017 at 03:43

    Happy New Year Maureen all the best for 2017. Love this beautiful card the stamp is awesome I hope you decide not to retire it the scene is truly wonderful.
    hugs
    lorraine x

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  6. Barb1 January 2017 at 03:57

    I love the traditional colours and design of this lovely card Mo. It seems a shame to retire this lovely stamp. Barbxx

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  7. mamapez51 January 2017 at 04:24

    I love the paper as frame to your image, and the church spire stamp too. All the tiny Spanish villages around here have a big church. They have lots of different styles of spires, but they all dominate the skyline. Kate xx

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  8. Donna1 January 2017 at 04:33

    Mo this is such a gorgeous card! I really love the church spire and it also brings memories of things I love. Your paper and the beautiful techniques really made a sparkly card that's stunning. Just wanted to wish you a very Happy New Year! May 2017 bring you everything you'd ever want. Also wanted you to know that my die arrived yesterday. Thank you so much!

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  9. Jane1 January 2017 at 06:01

    What a lovely card Mo.... but I know what you mean about not being happy with a stamp and retiring it. Enjoy the new ones! Happy new year and wishing you good health and lots of creativity xx

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  10. Aquarius1 January 2017 at 07:02

    A lovely traditional stamp and the glitter card is just right

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  11. Heidi MyLittleStampingBlog1 January 2017 at 07:37

    Very pretty! It i hard to see the angle of the church spire, but I think I see it. I love the paper you used too!

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  12. Jean1 January 2017 at 08:06

    What a lovely little scene Mo, and I love your sparkly snow effect too. The glittery stripy card makes a super background.
    Happy New year
    Jean x

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  13. Brenda1 January 2017 at 11:24

    I am loving the striped paper in the traditional colors Maureen and I really love that stamp, to bad you are retiring it. I do know how frustrating it is trying to get a stamp to line up and stamp right though. Sure is a pretty one! I love seeing the church steeples light up at night and during the day here too. You can always see them way off in the distance. Love it when I see my own church steeple! Happy New Year!!!! Hugs, Brenda

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  14. Sandra H1 January 2017 at 11:28

    So lovely Mo thank you for joining in out challenge over at Sparkles Christmas Buddies "Lots of Glitter" good luck an hope to see you again Dt member Sandra H x

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  15. cotnob1 January 2017 at 12:53

    A lovely card Mo, such a pretty scene and lovely traditional striped papers.
    Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year.
    Pauline
    x

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  16. Carol L1 January 2017 at 13:43

    you caught a great bargain with that pretty paper and what a shame to retire this beautiful stamp! It makes very pretty cards!

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  17. Kathleen1 January 2017 at 14:44

    Super card and love the papers, the trees are magnificent and I suppose there comes a time when you have to retire certain stamps it is a pity that you can't mask out the spire and still use the magnificent trees.
    Oh by the way I found the die today, under an old cutting mat, phew.

    Kath x

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  18. Mary1 January 2017 at 14:58

    Maureen, your card is very nice, and until you mentioned it, I didn't notice the spire was leaning a bit. Very pretty stamp, thank you for sharing how you created the glittery snow. Thank you for entering this month's Sparkles Christmas Challenge.

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  19. Di2 January 2017 at 02:44

    Love this card Mo - and why not just keep that spire stamp hidden away - just in case? :)

    Hugs

    Di xx

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  20. Jenny L2 January 2017 at 04:59

    Hi Maureen,
    a very Happy New Year to you and yours.
    This card is very lovely and that stamped image is very fab.
    I do hope you managed to do your baking this Christmas with your hand.
    Love and big hugs from my house to yours.
    Lots of crafty love. Jenny L.

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  21. Jules2 January 2017 at 05:10

    Hi Maureen

    So sorry to read of your hospital experience over Christmas .. .. I hope that you are feeling lots better now.

    Your card looks lovely, even though the stamp is difficult to use. I have had a couple that never seemed to stamp straight and I ended up taking them off their blocks and using them in my Misti, where it is much easier to tweak them.

    All the best for 2017 Maureen.

    Love Jules xx

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  22. Sandy2 January 2017 at 07:35

    I have some really old striped paper that I never know what to do with. I think you have found a wonderful solution.
    (Too bad about that stamp because it's such a nice peaceful scene.)

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  23. MagsB2 January 2017 at 11:59

    So pretty, Maureen, the image is lovely, a classic - and if you hadn't mentioned that the spire was askew I'd never have known!! Happy New Year!

    love Mags B x

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  24. MaryH2 January 2017 at 14:54

    Your bargain paper stripes look just splendidly festive on this pretty card. I've some stamps that seem to do the same thing as you described with this one, but you had great success with your 'angle' technique. The scene looks very straight to me. I'm in awe of your H20 technique on these gorgeous snowy trees. Ditto with the glue & sparkle...what a good idea to try. Your card is lovely, and I'm happy you got some new goodies too! Happy New Year, and we did have a pleasant visit in the Fla sunshine. Now to get back to normal, disperse my 'blues' and make some cards. I got some stash too, but need to list in the spreadsheet. Also managed to get some duplicate stuff as well (UGH!). TFS & Hugs.

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  25. Di2 January 2017 at 15:56

    I was sure this card was familiar - and earlier this afternoon it was confirmed when I was carefully packing the Christmas cards away! Thank you again Mo!

    Hugs

    Di xx

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  26. Rainey's Craft Room3 January 2017 at 05:22

    Happy New Year Maureen!
    A beautiful CAS card design. Lovely to have new stash to play with too.
    Lorraine

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  27. Pia S3 January 2017 at 13:01

    You're right about that paper, it's beautiful on its own. The stamp is beautiful too, but I understand your wish to discard it if it's difficult to use. Love the glittery effect.
    I wish you all the best for the new year!

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  28. Chris3 January 2017 at 15:14

    Beautiful card, the trees are magnificent, love the snow effect from the pearl glitter. Hope you are fully recovered now! Happy New Year!
    Chris
    x

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  29. Em Louise Fairley4 January 2017 at 05:21

    Beautiful card, Mo. Happy new year!
    Hugs,
    Em x

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  30. Greta8 January 2017 at 13:34

    Beautiful card, Maureen--love how you did the sparkle on the image & that paper is stunning!

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  31. Donna13 January 2017 at 08:12

    Absolutely gorgeous crafty make.
    Thanks for joining in with with The Ribbon Girl January card challenge and good luck in the prize draw.
    Happy New Year!
    Hugs, Donna xx

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  32. scrappymo!15 January 2017 at 19:29

    Great!

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  33. Cazro29 January 2017 at 08:39

    An absolute stunning card, your glittery trees are amazing. Thanks for joining us at Sparkles Christmas Challenges Caz DT

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