Out With the Old...

It's that time of year when I say a fond farewell to my favourite catalogue - the Autumn/Winter one.  Well, actually, I kind of like the new one too... that's the great thing about Stampin' Up! - there's always a new favourite to replace the old one!

I thought I'd start the year with a transitional post.  As someone who likes to send traditional Christmas cards I love the Bethlehem Edgelits, and they are definitely keepers!  I try to be quite disciplined over keeping retired items, though, and aim to keep only those I can use in new and interesting ways, and for a number of different occasions (this "rule" is a loose one, and of course I also have far too many sets kept for sentimental reasons, but hey, it's a start!).  I'd been playing around with this idea in my head, and thought I'd give it a go so I could share it while the catalogue is still - technically! - current.

I need to get a narrower mount, because this one cuts off a lot of the picture, so forgive the rough edges but I wanted to show you the whole thing as well...

I thought this would be a quick make, but it actually took me around six hours.  Rather than using full strips straight out of the die I sectioned them to make the outlines a bit more higgledy-piggledy and interesting, and of course, the outlining and adding of details - all hand-drawn - took time as well.

I'm quite pleased with the result, although I'd like to try it in a few different permutations.  In the meantime, though, I hope it shows that Christmas items can be used in different ways, especially looking forward to more blue skies in the summer months.

Happy New Year!