Christmas Countdown #25envelopes/9 : Holly

9 December Christmas Countdown #25envelopes : Holly .

The Druids of ancient Britain believed holly leaves had great powers of fertility and longevity . Nowadays, Holly has become a symbol of a Christian Christmas. It is also said that the sharp holly represents the crown of thorns that Jesus wore, and the red berries the blood he shed, so it has quite a religious significance.

Today’s envelope is a simple collage with paper and fabric. I couched (stitched) Holly ribbon and embroidered French knots for the berries. The Holly theme is inspired by one of my favourite Australian Christmas stamps, depicting an angel with holly leaf wings .

Today, I was stitching the holly ribbon onto the envelope at the Wednesday group and had planned to glue on some paper berries but a friend convinced me that embroidered ones would look much better and I think she is right!

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