Irish Eyes

This has been a busy week and I have only been able to stamp in the evenings so this has not been a very productive week for me. Plus this card is very detailed and took a lot of fiddling around (ha-ha, that's Irish, right - fiddling around). This is based on this week's SCS sketch #SC216. I haven't done a sketch in several weeks so was happy to be able to participate. I saw this ribbon treatment on Becka Feeken's Amazing Paper Grace blog. I don't know where so you will have to search her blog for it and if you haven't seen her blog before, you will be amazed. She is incredibly talented and such an inspiration.

Back to my card, I used the CB Textile embossing folder to emboss the bottom layer of all panels plus some of the accent pieces. The shamrocks were all hand stamped and the stamp had four shamrocks on it. I applied Versamark to only one of the four with the Versamark marker and then clear embossed it. The stitching was done with gold thread. The shamrocks that were micro-beaded were made with the smallest heart punch from Creative Memories. I also hand made the small rosettes out of the satin ribbon. The vintage image was purchased from Digital Daydreams on Ety.

The Irish blessing on the inside panel and the quote on the back panel were from an internet site with free Irish quotes. The gold shamrocks were also hand made by stamping the largest shamrock and gold embossing it. Then each one was trimmed out. For the back panel, I used the Mega Frames Nestabilities and individually stamped each small shamrock to make the pattern. I think the card turned out so pretty. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Just one little shamrock stamp on the whole card - made by Hippo Heart
Card Stock: Mellow Moss, Handsome Hunter, Very Vanilla
Ink: Handsome Hunter, Versamark
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Textile Embossing Folder, Circle Nestabilities, Mega Nestabilities Curves Rectangles, green satin ribbon, Fiskars corner punch, SU corner punch, gold pearls from Michael's, Martha Stewart micro beads, gold thread, digital collage sheet from Digital Daydreams.

Irish Molly O

I wanted to get a couple of St. Patrick's Day cards done under the wire. Here is the first one of three that I hope to make in the next week. The main image on this card taken from a collage sheet, not stamped. The shamrock background and the flourish on the frame were stamped with Versamark and clear embossed. The trim piece is actually two pieces glued together. I really loved the thick, heavy lace and was lucky to find another piece of trim in kelly green that would help it look a little more St. Paddy's Day-ish. The background panels, front and both inner, were also stitched in a criss-cross pattern with one of the fancy stitches on my sewing machine. The corner pieces were cut with my new Framabilities die from Spellbinders. The sentiment is printed out from my computer.

The inside was stamped with a beautiful Irish blessing and shamrocks from the May God Hold You set from Our Daily Bread designs. Isn't it beautiful?

Card Recipe:

Stamps: a little old shamrock stamp that says Hippo Heart on the side - never heard of them! May God Hold You by Our Daily Bread Designs

Card Stock: Very Vanilla, Mellow Moss, Handsom Hunter

Ink: Versamark, computer printing

Accessories: Lace & trim - Jo-Ann's, Spellbinders Dies: Tags, Labels Two, Frameabilities, green rhinestones, SU's Build-a-Brad

Signs of Spring

Hello and sorry I've been gone so long. I can't believe it's almost the middle of February and I have only posted one card. This has been a pretty busy month for me and I have been itching to get some stamping done. So the last two evenings I have been stamping to my heart's content and here is the result. This is such a pretty card. IRL the blue is SU's Bashful Blue and is not quite as bright as this picture shows. I guess I over adjusted it when I brightened it up on my photo editing software.

I saw a crackle painted frame on Julia Stainton's blog (see her Jan. 30th post) and loved the effect. I had recently purchased a little jar of Tim Holtz crackle paint and thought it was time to break it out. Wow, what fun - I now have a new favorite embellishment!!

I purchased a few sets from Artistic Outpost with some money I was given for Christmas and this is the first chance I have had to use them. I love their retro type images.

The ivy filigree design is a Laundry Line clear stamp I picked up from Emma's Paperie for $2.49 - what a find! The designer paper is also from Emma's by My Mind's Eye. I just love it and wish I had ordered a few more sheets of it. This was the only sheet I purchased of this design and I used the whole sheet for this project.

This was such a fun card to make. The colors, bird images and vintage feel really soothed my soul as I worked at it.

Here's the recipe:

Stamps: Bluebird by Artistic Outpost, sentiment from So Many Sayings by Stampin' Up!

Ink: Chocolate Chip Craft Ink and Dye Ink, Bashful Blue, Creamy Caramel, More Mustard, Versamark

Paper: More Mustard, Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip, 29th Street Market DSP from My Mind's Eye, Whisper White

Accessories: Clear EP, Stick Pin and crystal beads from SU Pretties Kit, LaMode Vintage button, the dark crystal bead is from Lost and Found and the silver flower thing is from Jewelry Essentials, Cuttlebug, Curved Rectangle Mega Nestabilities, Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distress Crackle Paint

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

A Kind Word

Greetings, I hope you are all keeping warm today. It was in the 40's here in Miami this morning and is supposed to go into the 30's this evening. This is our once-every-five-years cold snap!

Last night I finished up this bright card. The main image is a large Rubbernecker stamp. I've had this Cosmo Cricket Honey Pie paper for some time and had planned to use it on a Valentine's card, but never got around to it. I wanted to make the tulips red and they matched up great with this DSP. The mint colored trim and ribbon are from a Melissa Stewart scrapooking kit and nicely complimented the tiny mint-colored x's in the paper. The image was stamped twice on 140# watercolor paper using Stewart Superior India Ink and Versamark and then heat embossed with clear EP. They were watercolored using SU reinkers. I trimmed out the extra set, applied Crystal Effects for a glossy shine and mounted them on craft foam for a 3-D effect. I outlined the rim of the frame with silver dimensional paint.

As usual, I finished off the inside panels also. I dug out my Watercolor Garden II set to stamp the tulips on the inside and back. It's an old fav that I haven't used in a couple of years. It was nice to use it again.

I have started prettying up the back panel of my cards also. I sell my greeting cards, so I have to make sure I only use Angel company stamps and that I meet their copyright requirements by stating the copyright information on the back of the cards. I thought this time the back of the card is almost as pretty as the front!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Tulips by Rubbernecker, Serene Spring and Watercolor Garden II by Stampin' Up!
Paper: Whisper White and Chocolage Chip (SU), Mint scrapbooking paper from Creative Memories and Honey Pie from Cosmo Cricket.
Ink: Rose Romance, Rose Red, Garden Green, Wild Wasabi, Mint Melody, Stewart Superior Black, Versamark
Accessories: Martha Stewart Punch, SU Brads, Melissa Frances ribbon/trim, Cuttlebug and Floral Borders die.