The first stamp I ever bought.....

.... a very long time ago (about 20 years, I think) was this horse chestnut leaf. It's been used so many times the writing has almost worn off the wooden block, but I can just about make out that it was from Personal impressions. I must have used it literally thousands of times, in hundreds of different ways,  and I come back to it again and again. Nature never goes out of fashion!

I've used it this week to combine several challenges. Over at Less is More,  the challenge is "tearing" while at CASology  the cue card is "Green"  and this month's challenge at The Cupboard Trilogy is embossing.

I found it very difficult to get my head around the idea of a CAS design that involved tearing - somehow that always goes with less "tidy" cards in my mind. But I've been inspired by the cards I've seen on some of the other blogs taking part in Less is More, and since this leaf really LOVES being embossed in green, combining the challenges gave me the inspiration I needed.

I heat embossed the leaf with Verdigris embossing powder. It's quite old and doesn't adhere very well any more, giving a more delicate effect that doesn't obscure the fine detailing on the stamp (typical crafter, I won't waste a thing - just find a new use for it). I tore around the images then mounted them on Core-dinations paper which had been dry embossed in the Cuttlebug with a wood effect folder then sanded to reveal the core, which is actually green although it doesn't really look it in the photo.

I am submitting this to

Less is More week 81 - theme - Tearing
CASology week 7 - Green
The Cupboard Trilogy Challenge #2 - Embossing
52 Card Pickup - week 34