I found an image online and printed it out. I then lightly traced it with the colored pencils until I had the shape and then I started coloring it in. I decided that I wanted the look of the needles, so I meticulously cut around the needles as you can see where I started that near the bottom of the lower branch.
They honestly turned out SO much better than I was expecting! My art professor would be so proud. He so wanted me to get into scientific illustration, but I just wasn't cut out for it. THIS is MUCH more fun!!!
I finally found some fabric that I loved anyway, so I used it in lieu of patterned paper. The circles were things found on the Internet: a Bible quote, a bit of song, a bit of subway art, a bit of story, a snippet from Wikipedia on wreaths, and a list to Santa that I typed up. A cut with a circle punch, a bit of staining with tea and they were all ready to Modge-Podge onto my fabric.
I also surfed the web for cross stitch patterns and found several that I made into a border along the edge. A note to self: Only do one layer of cardstock when doing cross-stitch, it is too hard to line up the holes on multiple layers.
This was a challenge layout. I really like the neutral cream and sage combination and may use it again and again. I also had fun making my text match the theme... if anyone doesn't read it, it takes nothing away... but if they do, it's another layer to the page.
So have you played with Shrinky Dinks (or other shrink film)? What do you think of it?