christmas creeps up

as usual at this time of year i've been busy making my christmas cards, although i think i'm running later than before - this year's design dilemma was given a kick by a woven willow decoration i bought during Open Studios, made by hazel godfrey:

i always seem to do at least one tree-themed card and the woven structure really inspired me to get going, although it took a while to reach the right combination of materials - i ended up with split bamboo strips from a broken roller-blind as the base and stash materials for the weaving, i've used up lots of yarn and wire leftovers

the other tree was a good way to use up some of my stash of collaged papers

the snowflake developed from my wish to do a screen printed design - i made the screen from scratch and tackled the 'commited to cloth' laminated paper thing, using my own design of paper and snowflakes with a sprinkling of gold foiling - it's a bit more dainty and feminine than i would like but it was a good opportunity to experiment with the lamination technique, i will be using that again i think