Ornamental Pine for Merry Monday {MM133}

Hi everyone...bet you're surprised to see posting on a Monday!  You know what?  Me too!  I was asked by my good friend Lesley Croghan to be November's featured designer over at the Merry Monday Challenge  and, of course, I said YES!  I am excited to work with all the wonderful folks at Merry Monday AND to bring you a full month's worth of holiday inspiration every Monday in November.

This week, Nina is our hostess and I love the inspiration photo she chose.  The challenge is to create a rustic looking card using creams, tans and browns.  Lovely!  I knew right away which stamp set was perfect for this challenge:

 

Ornamental Pine is one of those stamp sets that is just so classically beautiful, it will live among my craft supplies for years to come.  Here I paired it with Burlap Ribbon and some [retired] Early Espresso core-dinations cardstock sanded to show the Woodgrain embossing. 

After the pine bough was embossed in white on Crumb Cake cardstock, I sponged over it with Crumb Cake ink to add shading and depth.  I also added some falling snow with the Gorgeous Grunge splatters inked in Whisper White craft ink.  Some dazzling diamonds added just the right amount of sparkle!  Love this pine cone--especially when it's fussy-cut and popped up.  With a little Linen Thread bow it coordinates nicely with the Early Espresso background and the rustic texture of the Burlap Ribbon.

Did I mention how pretty this pine bough is?  Yes, I'm quite sure I did.  It stamps so beautifully and one swipe with an Early Espresso marker and the branch is colored easily.  Love that it also comes with such a lovely sentiment for the inside.

Be sure to check out the work of the amazing Merry Monday Design Team.  I know that you will be inspired by their wonderful creations and will want to play along!  I shudder to think how quickly Christmas is coming so why not join in the fun and get some of your cards made!  Thanks for stopping by today, friends!

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.