Have you heard the fairy tale “The Little Match Girl” from Danish author Hans Christian Andersen? Last year, Mo made Match Girl, which is an image so representative of that story. I’ve wanted to color it for so long, and finally had time last week.

I couldn’t have kept this card any simpler. I used the largest of the A2 stitched rectangle dies from My Favorite Things to die cut the image and glued it to a white card base. That’s it, I didn’t add a sentiment or any embellishments.

The story is about a little girl, barefoot and cold, out in the streets on New Year’s Eve trying to sell matches. Afraid to go home thinking her father will beat her for not selling any matches, she huddles in between two houses and lights the matches to warm herself.

In the flames of the matches, she sees wonderful imagery; food, warmth, happy families. But the images all disappear as soon as the flame dies. When she sees her late grandmother, she begs her to take her to Heaven. In an attempt to keep the visions of her grandmother, she keeps lighting the matches, until there’s only one left. When the flame of that one goes out, too, her grandmother takes her hand and they fly to Heaven.

The next morning, the little girl is found frozen to death on the street, her cheeks red and with a smile on her lips. Everyone thinks it’s a tragedy, but no one understands the joy she felt right before she died.

A few Copic colors to finish off today’s story time. I also used BV27, which is a color I’ve made myself.