Poinsettia Wreath

This is Week One of our Shining the Light Christmas with ODBD.

For this week's challenge, I chose the Poinsettia Wreath with matching Poinsettia Wreath dies. This is a lovely image to color, and then I gave it some dimension with my Empressor tool. I used a piece of stripped designer paper matted with red for my background and then added another embossed layer and popped my wreath on it. Of course, each layer was paper pierced! With my ribbon I added a "sprig" from Fancy Foliage dies and used the new Mini Tag Sentiments and the Mini Tags dies for my "Merry Christmas" sentiment. My final touch was to add the sweet little "buttons" from the Doily dies threaded with some DMC floss.

This past Sunday was the start of the Advent season. Traditionally, the Advent wreath is constructed of evergreens to represent everlasting life through Jesus, and the circulate shape represents God, Who has no beginning nor end. As we light the candles of Advent wreaths at our churches, we anticipate the celebration of the birth of Jesus.

The first candle is white and is the candle of hope, as we prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of God's Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness
 -- on them light has shined.
Isaiah 9:2

It's a beautiful time of year, but it's a time for us to stop and consider the real meaning and significance of Christmas. May the Lord draw you and your family closer to Himself during this Advent season.

To see all the designs in one place or join the challenge, please visit Our Daily Bread Designs Blog. You have until December 14 to join us. You may use any stamps to enter, but if you have any Our Daily Bread Designs stamps, we would love to see you use them. By participating in the challenge, you have an opportunity to win a $15 ODBD gift certificate good towards the purchase of stamps in the "stamps column" on the ODBD website or to be "spotlighted" for the Shining the Light Award. We would love to see your designs!

For more beautiful inspiration ideas for this challenge, please visit my precious design team sisters:

Chris Olsen * Diana Nguyen * DJ Rants
Elizabeth Whisson * Linda Carson * Robin Clendenning

Thanks so much for "stopping by" and sharing a comment, thought, or prayer request, and I hope you have a wonderful week!

For His glory,

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Poinsettia Wreath, Mini Tag Sentiments (ODBD)

Paper: Solar White (Neenah), Vintage Cream (PTI), Riding Hood Red and Pear Pizzazz (SU), Jolly Holiday Designer Series paper (SU)

Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Black (Versafine), Pear Pizzazz (SU)
Tools/Accessories: Copic markers, Poinsettia Wreath dies (ODBD), Mini Tags dies (ODBD), Fancy Foliage dies (ODBD), Doily dies (ODBD), DMC floss 470, Perfect Layers tool, Diamond Glaze adhesive, piercing tool, Empressor tool, 3M dimensional tape, red tape
Techniques: Paper-piercing
Card Size:  5 1/4"