Warm Wishes at the Fireplace

My card for this week’s Stampin’ Queens Sketch Challenge (SQSC17) is the eighteenth card in my 25 Holiday Cards Challenge. Here’s the original sketch:

At first I wasn’t sure what to do with this layout. It seemed almost too simple to me. As I thought about it longer though, I imagined a fireplace in the squares in the center. I tried some other ideas, but once I had thought of the fireplace, nothing else seemed right. Here’s my version of the card:

I ended up taking some liberties with the layout. The basic shapes are there, but I broke up the top center square to make my idea work properly. I had to add some decorations to the top of my make-shift mantle, which is outside the original design, but otherwise, I think the elements are all there and all the same. Here’s the breakdown on the elements:

• Background: Rectangle punches of Frostwood Lodge—3 on top and Crumb Cake across the bottom
• Wide Horizontal Rectangle: Frostwood Lodge—4
• Top Rectangle:
  • Pieced rectangles of Frostwood Lodge—3 on top for the mantle
  • Pieced rectangles of Cherry Cobbler for the bricks on a Very Vanilla rectangle (for the mortar)
• Fire:
  • Logs: Word Window Punch in Soft Suede, Early Espresso, and Chocolate Chip
  • Fire:
    • Boho Blossoms Large Flower Punch in Pumpkin Pie (very back)
    • Custom punch created from the Sunny Days embellishment in Pumpkin Pie and Summer Sun
• Stockings: Stocking Punch in either Garden Green or Whisper White with a Basic Gray Mat, and then topped with Stitched Stockings—Socks 1,2,3, and 4 in the opposite color
• Decorations on the Mantle:
  • Holly & Jolly Embellishments—Trees
  • Jolly Bingo Bits—Candle in Whisper White with a circle punch of Summer Sun behind
  • Christmas Jingle—Berries 2 on the candle holder
• 3 Presents:
  • Jolly Bingo Bits—Gift in Garden Green with a Square Punch of Whisper White behind
  • Merry Winter—Gift in Certainly Celery with a Square Punch of Whisper White behind, and a Grosgrain Knot in Certainly Celery on top
  • Holiday Blitz—Gift in Night of Navy with a Square Punch of Whisper White behind
• Brads: Cherry Cobbler
• Sentiment:
  • Hugs & Wishes—Large Warm Wishes in Cherry Cobbler
  • “for a happy holiday” typed in Arial, 14 pt, in Cherry Cobbler