Merry Monday #24 {The Stocking is Hung by the Chimney...}

Hello friends!  I had recently dug out some of my Tim Holtz stamps and dies for a couple other challenges that I have entered (purchased ages ago and not yet used) and came across the brick wall and wood embossing folders.  I was thinking that I needed to find a reason to use these soon and lo' and behold the sketch for the Merry Monday Challenge #24 came out yesterday and I just knew as I saw it exactly what I wanted to do. 

I immediately saw a wooden mantle across an old brick fireplace with a stocking hung and waiting for Santa to come fill up.  We had an old brick fireplace when I was growing up and each year my sisters and I got to hang our stockings from one of the shelves on the mantel.  The stocking was always my favorite part of the Christmas gifts. My Dad and Uncle would take me, my sisters and our cousins for a ride when it got dark on Christmas Eve to see if we could catch Santa flying around the neighborhood.  Many times one of them spotted Santa and we ensued on a wild chase to try and find him again - but to no avail (imagine that!).  When we would come home to report that we had lost Santa we would discover that he had already been there and filled our stockings quite full.  We could hardly wait to see what tiny treasures awaited us.  I loved all the little trinkets, and makeup,  jewelry and candy. Such fun memories!

Fast forward to today... my son is more interested in the food and the big gifts :o)  but my daughter really loves the stocking part like me.  So I designed this stocking with her sweet self in mind.  Santa doesn't make it to our house though until Christmas morning and there have been no fun rides in the car to try to find him - hmmm I might have to change that this year...

I used the retired stocking builder punch and coordinating stamp set from last Christmas season's mini catalog.  The colors of the stocking are two of the NEW In-colors called Gumball Green and Raspberry Ripple.  I sponged some Soft Suede ink over the two embossed pieces give them some more definition.  The sentiment stamped in Raspberry Ripple from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set which coordinates quite nicely with the NEW Bitty Banners framelits dies.

I debated with myself about adding a bough of branches across the top of the mantel - but utlimately decided to keep it very clean and simple.   Hope you like this card - thanks so much for stopping by, I'm sure glad that you did!  Hugs!