AnnaBelle Stamps Christmas Card

I discovered AnnaBelle Stamps a while ago now and really enjoy using them but don't enter their challenges enough! So I was determined to enter this one - ac173 It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Although I initially found it rather difficult as I don't have any stamps from their Christmas range... but then I found "Swirl Tree" while flicking through my "stamp folder". I thought that even though it isn't a traditional Christmas tree...it still makes a nice one :-)

Here is the card:




I stamped the swirl tree on plain white cardstock using Distress Markers to "ink" the stamp. I then got my water brush and made it have a little more "watercoloured" look. After I did this, though, I decided that it was a little too washed out and went back over some of the lines using the fine nib of the Distress markers.
I stamped the star and oval hanging ornaments (also from the Swirl Tree set) over the tree. I used cheap post-it notes to mask off my tree so I could stamp the two presents behind it. And then stamped some presents in front of the tree - again, these are all coloured with Distress markers. I diecut the tree and inked the edges.
After I cut my patterned paper to size I used a christmas embossing folder along the bottom and inked the top of the words with distress ink. Inked the edges of the patterned paper and assembled the card, popping the Swirl Tree up on foam tape.
Lastly I added some Liquid pearls to the ornaments on the tree.

Another photo of my card:


Materials used:
Copics: None
Distress Markers: Gathered Twigs, Tea Dye, Mowed Lawn, Shabby Shutters, Mustard Seed, Festive Berries, Worn Lipstick, Chipped Sapphire, Iced Spruce, Picked Raspberry and Spiced Marmalade.
Stamps: AnnaBelle Stamps "Swirl Tree"
Ink: Distress Ink "Mowed Lawn" and "Festive Berries"
Cardstock: KaiserCraft white card base, Quill XL Multiboard - white, KaiserCraft "Mint Twist" patterned paper
Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities "Lacy Squares"
Other: Liquid Pearls "Daffodil" and "Ruby Red", Spellbinders Embossing Folder "Christmas sentiments" - free with Issue 61 of Australian Simply Cards, cut-n-dry foam and Pentel aquabrush.