Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming

This week at Joan's Gardens we are challenged to use red, white and a hint of green (great for Christmas, right?), snowflakes and a negative die cut.

Christmas music brings with it such hope and an overall admiration for our Savior. In thinking about the next card I wanted to make, I wanted to incorporate a rose; the wonderful 15th Century, "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" came to mind. The title of the text is taken from the eleventh chapter of the book of Isaiah:

Isaiah 11:1-2
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:  And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; 

The lyrics of the carol, so beautifully crafted, express the theme of the Christmas story in its grand story of God's Love come down to earth to save us.  Maybe you have heard the song at one time or another. Here are the words:

Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming

Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming from tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse’s lineage coming, as men of old have sung.
It came, a floweret bright, amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.

Isaiah ’twas foretold it, the Rose I have in mind;
With Mary we behold it, the virgin mother kind.
To show God’s love aright, she bore to men a Savior,
When half spent was the night.

The shepherds heard the story proclaimed by angels bright,
How Christ, the Lord of glory was born on earth this night.
To Bethlehem they sped and in the manger found Him,
As angel heralds said.

This Flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere;
True Man, yet very God, from sin and death He saves us,
And lightens every load.

O Savior, Child of Mary, who felt our human woe,
O Savior, King of glory, who dost our weakness know;
Bring us at length we pray, to the bright courts of Heaven,
And to the endless day!

Awesome words!

In making the card, I started out with white cardstock; to use kind of a twist, the negative of a die cut (Spellbinders Lacy Ovals) was used, and a red oval was positioned underneath it with dimensional stickies. Under that layer is the sentiment, which is the first lines of the Christmas carol. The top layer was run through a Paper Studio A2 Floral EF after the cut out was made.

Starting out with three layers of red tissue paper, a rose was cut (Spellbinders Spiral Blossom One) and rolled. Under the rose is a green leafy vine (Cheery Lynn Fanciful Flourish), and a few golden baby's breath sprigs are tucked in under the rose. Cheery Lynn Art Deco Corners A are positioned in the upper left and right corners; three tiny snowflakes (Recollections Petite Snowflake Punch) smatthered with glitter glue are placed on the red frame, and an iridescent bow finishes the card.

Looking at the layout of the project, something still needed to happen. It needed sparkle or bling. I covered the sentiment up and took the card outside and sprayed it with some Krylon diamond glitter mist. The pictures below show how this added feature brought out more personality in the card and brought it up a notch in interest and sparkle.

And here is a picture of the front:

 Here is a closeup of the glittery rose, ribbon and leaves:

And here is a closeup of the glittery embossed background:

This is a closeup of one of the glittery snowflakes:

Like a few of my other Christmas cards, I used MS Publisher to create the inside and back of the card. The inside left has the entire lyrics for the carol and on the other side on the right is another sentiment: "May God's highest and best blessings be yours as you celebrate the birth of His holy Son, Jesus Christ."

And this is the back of the card:

I am also entering this card in the following challenges, ending:

Nov 12 Word Art Wednesday - ATG 5E #3
Nov 12 Reasonable Ribbon Challenge - Christmas with a Ribbon UE  
Nov 13 Charisma Cardz - ATG 3E #3
Nov 14 Totally Papercraft Challenge - Glitter 3E #3
Nov 14 Sister Act Card Challenges - ATG UE

Nov 16 613 Avenue Create - ATG UE

Nov 23 Challenges 4 Everybody - ATG UE

Nov 30 Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - ATG as Long as It's Christmas UE

Thank you for stopping by my blog. I always appreciate your visits, and your encouraging comments mean more to me than you know. As always, God's highest and best to you today and every day.

Many rich blessings,

Ginny B.

Romans 10:9-11
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. NLT