H is for Holly

Good morning to you all wherever you are. For those of us who are based in the south west of Scotland, it's a horrible day - all nasty rain and gale force winds with no sign of a let up yet, the barometer is right down. A perfect day for staying indoors, keeping warm and crafting.

Before I get on and show you the H Card in the Alphabet series I would like to say thank you to everyone who has responded to the tribute I wrote for my wonderful daughter, Juli - for those who are wondering what this is about see my earlier post entitled The Graduate.

Unfortunately, I did make a couple of serious omissions. Firstly, I forgot to mention that Juli was also voted Student of the Year by her fellow students - it is one thing to pass exams but to get the approbation of your peers is quite another.  Secondly, and probably more importantly, through all this she had the support of her husband, Graeme, who is not only profoundly deaf too but also suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. So here, to make up, is a wee photo of the two together on her big day:

Now to the card.

A really easy card, some free paper with a really striking pattern in red and green (can't remember where it came from), green organza ribbon, a Magnolia die cut banner - distressed with Tim Holtz Shabby Shutters ink pad, stamped with sentiment with Versamark and then embossed in gold - a bit of green organza ribbon and one of the holly leaves I embossed on my Cuttlebug (see last week's WOYWW). (BTW, for those who asked, my Cuttlebug is blue - it is from a special edition. I believe the newest special is raspberry pink and decorated with a butterfly!)

I distressed the leaf with the Shabby Shutters ink pad, cut around the leaf shape and sprayed it three times with Spray and Shine and then once with Spray and Sparkle in Gold (all from Crafter's Companion). I attached both the leaf and the banner with foam dimensionals and added a couple of corner peel-offs to finish the front. As usual I decorated inside and back:

Simples!

Bye for now
Elizabeth