Big Tree, Super Simple

The Papertrey set called In the Meadow certainly seems like it's right up my alley...solid, block images of various holiday motifs such as a tree, deer, snowflakes, and a horse-drawn sleigh. The tree is extremely large, though, which doesn't leave much opportunity for white space.

This layout, however, works for me.

Instead of decorating the tree with rhinestones (which is usually my go-to move with this set), I stamped it in Impress Fresh Ink Tuscan olive, which is a very yellow-ish green and certainly non-traditional! With the Merry Christmas in traditional red placed on it banner-style, no other decoration is needed. There's sufficient interest in the colors and layout alone to carry the message.

Which makes my heart go pitter-patter with glee.

Also note placement of the sentiment. The banners sit atop the one-third horizon, which makes their low placement work to ground the design even though that tree is floating in space. The top word is smaller than the bottom word, which also lends stability and works with the tree shape.

I stamped the grazing deer on the envelope. Such a graceful image. *happy sigh*

The words come from Winnie and Walter's The Big, the Bold, and the Merry. This is a great set with LOTS of words in it for holiday-themed cards.

While it might feel strange to see Christmas cards in May, I encourage you to see if you can adapt this design to some more current theme (graduation card, wedding, birthday, Memorial Day...). Look through your stash for images or blocky stencils to create a solid backdrop for banner words...if you don't have something large, scale everything down to smaller panels. Choose unusual colors to build interest, get busy, and see what happens!

Supplies
stamps: Winnie & Walter The Big, the Bold, and the Merry; Papertrey In the Meadow
ink: Impress Fresh Ink Tuscan olive, Memento Luxe rhubarb stalk
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: dimensionals