Bah Humbug!!

Hello and welcome to Magpieheaven! Over at Country View Crafts they have a great challenge by the name of 'Bah Humbug' - click Here for details, while at The Artistic Stamper the challenge is 'Anything Goes'. Both challenges have some fabulous vintage inspiration for December makes! Well, wasn't 'Bah - humbug!' Scrooge's favourite phrase? When I was twelve I had the part of 'Little Fan', Scrooge's younger sister in a school production of Charles Dickens' 'Christmas Carol'. I grew to love the book, even though my character dies early - typical Dickens to have ailing female characters who die young!!! It has continued to mean Christmas to me. I decided to go with a vintage look for this card and to use an image that suggested to me the wonderful, jovial Ghost of Christmas Present who takes Scrooge on a magical tour to show him how those around him are rejoicing in the spirit of Christmas.

I began by sponging and spritzing a card blank with some Vintage Photo, Evergreen Bough and Broken China. I then stencilled over with some Snowflake Fresco paint through a Crafters' Workshop honeycomb stencil, dabbing some thin wisps of the Snowflake in places.

I then added this image from Bo Bunny's Silver and Gold paper collection. The snowflakes are punched from some Crackle Glazed card - Fresco Antarctic over Baltic Blue. I distressed the edge of the paper with Vintage Photo and Evergreen Bough and turned down the corners to reveal the lovely holly design, as it's double-sided paper. I just had to add a little Treasure Gold, Green Amber too.

Then to add my 'Ghost of Christmas Present'. He was stamped onto a die-cut oval, painted with Fresco Nougat edged with Frayed Burlap distress ink. I used Wendy Vecchi Potting Soil Archival ink for the image and just stamped on the edges with the fir bough from Artistic Outpost, Snowy Woods. The Saint Nicholas or Spirit of Christmas Present is from the same plate. I used Wendy Vecchi, Fern Green Archival to stamp my fir boughs in the corners.

I had lots of fun creating the background for my tag, swiping and spritzing and flicking with Vintage Photo, Frayed Burlap and Evergreen Bough and sprinkling with gold Perfect Pearls powder. I stamped the script from Paper Artsy mini 26 in Versamark and embossed with Stampendous fine, copper embossing powder.
 The tiny leaves are punched out of card painted with Fresco Hey Pesto and  frosted with dry distress glitter.

A pine cone brad and some Festive Berries dyed seam-binding providing finishing touches. As always just click on the images if you would like to see how the background textures look in more detail.

The stencilled snowflakes are sponged with Evergreen Bough through the card left when I punched out the Crackle Glaze snowflakes..

 The text on the paper originally said 'Winter Wonderland', but I liked what was left behind when I guillotined it without thinking - Winter Wonder!

Here is my finished card, which I would like to enter for the 'Bah Humbug' Challenge at Country View Crafts  and also The Artistic Stamper Anything Goes Challenge. Thank you so much for stopping by to take a peek at my Ghost of Christmas Present at this very busy time of year!