The Jolly Bishop

Christmas is under 10 days away! Really? That soon? It's scary how fast the days are slipping by and before we know it there'll have a brand new year to deal with. I hope it's a good one.

I'm still making cards for friends, baking festive goodies to give as gifts, making boxes to house these goodies, buying presents and wrapping them. And in the middle of this there's choir practice for our big performance next week. So yes, I'm bouncing from pillar to post.

However, over at Eclectic Ellapu, all is calm, all is bright. Our lovely Lady Boss Elaine, has decided to host a challenge that is a firm favourite with everyone: "Anything Goes". And, the best part is this challenge is open until January 5, 2013! So you have plenty of time to make a card, tag, layout, 3D project or whatever your heart desires.
   
My contribution to the challenge is this card I made for my German friend. She's had a rough year and I thought I'd send St Nick over to cheer her up. Santa Claus we know and love today evolved from St Nicholas, a 14th century Greek saint and bishop of Myra, now Turkey. He is known for his many miracles and generous gift-giving. Over the centuries St Nicholas morphed into Santa Claus, a rotund cheerful man in a red suit. I suspect in the beginning the Jolly Bishop would have looked something like this:

The card base measures 4"x 3,5". The patterned paper is from Dovecraft's  Back to Basics  Christmas Vintage Collection 8x8 pad.  The stamped image of St Nick is from WMS's Nutcracker Sweet set.

Here's  a close-up of St Nick. I stamped him with Memento Tuxedo Black  and coloured him with SN markers. Then I cut him out with Spellbinders Wonky Rectangles die and inked the edges TH's Antique Linen. 

On the inside, a nice little Christmas greeting in German with Memento Rhubarb Stalk ink.

Although this is a small card and the sketch is a simple one, the colouring took awhile... well worth the effort for a special friend.

I'm also sharing is card with: Card Makin' Mamas "It's a Holiday"; The Squirrel and The Fox #33 "Christmas";  My Time to Craft #201 "Santa" and Reasonable Ribbon #62 "Anything Goes with Ribbon".

You have plenty of time to play along. So why not start with a tour of the DT members' blog and be inspired. I'm looking forward to seeing your creations for Eclectic Ellapu Challenge #10. 

Off to bed now...it's been a  long day. I'll see you later today with Card #9 of my Holiday Mini Bailout series. 

Beijinhos!

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