Sheltering Tree

 Hi Everyone.  Happy Tuesday

When I was crafting at the end of last week, I went to my usual challenge sites to get a little inspiration and this old sketch across at casethissketch was just what I needed for one of the new sets that I received in my SU pre-order.   I loved this set because of the sentiments – and the tree!

Here's the sketch

 As part of my resolutions, I promised you that I would be using colors that I don't generally use – and here is one of them…. PINK…. I almost never make pink cards, but, with the temps here down at -30 – yes thats MINUS 30 – I am craving spring and nothing says spring like pink flowers on a tree!

I stamped the tree and then used the flower stamp inked with two different shades of pink to give a little dimension.  However, that wasn't quite enough for me, so I dug around in my embellishments and pulled out some pink heart sequins – and some clear sequins from my stash and adhered those to the tree with Crystal Effects.  I really think they added a feminine touch and some extra bling made it feel more special.

Here's my card:

I used a piece of Pear Pizzazz for the green hill and inked up the SU Sanded background stamp with Pear Pizzazz ink to add a little interest to the hill.  All that was left to do was to ink up the sentiment in white ink and heat set it with white embossing powder and add a couple more heart sequins.  I wish you could see this in real life, the sequins are really pretty.

On a personal note:

It continues to be cold and the temps are perfect for sitting and crafting!  I've been very good about my New Year Resolution to use colors, stamps and goodies that I tend to ignore.  Tonight's pink card is just ONE of the pink cards that I made along with a gold card and a Blackberry Bliss card.  It feels really good to give my unloved goodies and makes me feel less guilty about having them in my stash.

 I wanted to share a few photos from our recent trip with you tonight.  One of the great stately homes of Britain is Chatsworth House.

Chatsworth is within 20 minutes drive across the Moors from my home town and is absolutely gorgeous.   It's enormous and sits on a piece of land that stretches 1000 acres.  Chatsworth is also a house that has connections with the Kennedy's as it is the where Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy is buried.  Kick was John F Kennedy's sister and married William Cavendish who was heir to the Chatsworth Estate at the time of his death in WWI. 

Every year Chatsworth creates a theme for Christmas and goes all out to showcase the beauty of the house, but thrill the children – of all ages – who choose to visit.  I'd never taken Lou to Chatsworth before, so we thought it was an ideal time to do it.   The theme this past Christmas was The Mad Hatter's Tea Party.  It was FABULOUS.   I only had my iphone with me, so couldn't get great photos – but this child really enjoyed our visit, as did the hundreds of kids who were walking around in absolute awe 🙂

 Before we get to the Tea Party – check out this amazing ceiling in the entrance hall

 After we had gone down the rabbit hole – we were confronted by this 🙂

 This guy made his appearance 🙂

Of course, he then had to disappear!

 

I loved this!!!!  Poor Dormouse!

 Even though I was fascinated by the Dodo, it was hard not to notice the artwork and sculpture!

 Oh… I SO wanted to go sit in the library.  It's enormous and cozy at the same time!  Thousands of books line the walls with wonderful sitting areas.  Sadly, we couldn't get inside, but I certainly poked my head around the corner to take a pic

I fell in love with this sculpture

Back to the Tea Party!

 

Back to the art work….. this must be the most famous English king ever!

We finished our tour by visiting the World War I exhibit that showcased not only the Cavendishes role in WWI, but also the role of everyone working on the estate at the time.  I was fascinated to see more of these cards that I had first seen on our trip to Canada this year.  Except these ones were sent by men very close to my home town!

If you are every in the northern part of England, Derbyshire is a gorgeous county with wonderful walks, pretty little villages and, of course, Chatsworth.  I would highly recommend it.

I'll be back tomorrow with another card.  In the meantime, warm hugs and prayers for those of you who need a little lift tonight.

Hugs

Jaydee

Card recipe – all ingredients Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:

• Stamps:  Sheltering Tree
• Card stock:  Rose Red, Pear Pizzazz