St. Patrick’s Day Easel Card for Petaloo International

Oh, the Top of the Mornin’ to you, my friends! There are so many things to be happy about today. It’s March, which means Spring is on its way. Soon the earth will be bursting with beautiful spring flowers and tender green leaves. And, we get to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this month! Since I have Irish roots in my family tree, I love this holiday. We eat fish and chips, enjoy an ice cold Guinness, I bake Irish Soda Bread and we all wear green. Today’s St. Patrick’s Day Easel Card is definitely green!

Believe it or not, with the exception of the gorgeous Petaloo blossoms, this card was made entirely with bits and bobs from my scrap bin. I went foraging for every scrap of leftover green paper I could find…which turned out to be quite a bit. Some of this is Christmas paper, some bits are mixed media backgrounds I created long ago. The sweet vintage style image came to me as an “extra helping” from an order I made at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. It felt so good to create something new and pretty with all these bits and pieces. Do you ever do this?

Green, Green and More Green

After stitching all the patterned papers together, I mounted them onto this 5.5″ square easel card base. Then the real fun began! I dug through my Gypsy Soul Lasercuts chippies and found this stunning Victoria Small Layered Border. After treating the bottom layer with Antique Gold Embossing Powder, I painted the top layer with Antique Linen Distress Paint. The two layers were glued together and secured with binder clips until the glue set. After that, I glued it on the left hand side of the card base.

While that was going on, I die cut 3 Tim Holtz Ornate frames and layered them together with strips of foam tape. Then I trimmed the image and glued it to the back of the frame. To add even more depth, I backed the frame with two layers of waste chipboard. Next, I glued it to the center of my card base.

Now for the ribbon cluster! The base layer is a triple loop bow tied with Moss Green Gingham ribbon. I looped a gold tassel over the center of the bow, then topped it with these gorgeous Pistachio Green Anemones. These bodacious flowers are so flirty! The ruffled layers of petals add the perfect shabby chic touch to the design. Finally, I tied this itty bitty teacup charm to the frame with gold metallic string.

St. Patrick’s Day Easel Card: Building the Stopper

One of the reasons I love to make easel cards is that they display so nicely. To achieve this, you have to build a “stopper” to hold the front cover of the card open. I began the process by laying down a strip of antique crochet trim about midway up the interior of the card. Next, I die cut the green striped paper and matted it with green cardstock. I softened the edges by dry brushing on a little Antique Linen Distress Paint. Gold brads hold the number plaques in place. Finally, I backed it with waste chipboard and glued it in place.

But it looked a little lonely there all by itself. To remedy this, I anchored the corners with Darjeeling Green Mini Garden Rosettes and Green Hydrangea. I was careful to glue just the bottom petals to the striped paper so that the card could open and close. The finishing touch is that cute little shamrock charm. It was originally silver, but I painted it gold. I added the labels and was finally happy.

The Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow

Every St. Patrick’s Day Easel Card needs a pot of gold tucked in somewhere, right? So I added a gift card pocket to the card and filled it with an individually wrapped chocolate. Since I had a couple pieces of mixed media paper on the desk I cut them into little banner flags and glued them in place. Finally, I created the sentiments on the computer, printed them out and added them to finish off the card.

Here’s what the card looks like folded shut.

Do you do anything fun or special for St. Patrick’s Day? I remember dressing for school when I was little, and you had to be sure to wear green so you wouldn’t get pinched! Fun memories…and that’s what paper crafting is all about.

Thanks for joining me here today! May the road rise up to meet you!

Cheerio,

kathy

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Monochromatic Challenge at RRR: I Feel Pretty, Oh So Pretty!

Hello, Ribbon Lovers!

I Feel Pretty, Oh So Pretty…remember that song from West Side Story? Well, there’s something about a monochromatic card that just makes my heart sing! Really Reasonable Ribbon is hosting a super fun monochromatic card challenge right now, and I spent a little play time with Graphic 45’s A Ladies’ Diary so I could play along. Let’s take a look!

This 5″ x 7″ top fold card is made with layers and layers of cream ribbons, papers and embellies! To start things off on the right foot with this I Feel Pretty card, I secured a layer of 1.5″ Ivory Crocheted lace to the bottom edge…and it looks just like a lace petticoat to me!

The edges of all my papers were sponged with Tea Dye Distress Ink. The elegant cream papers needed something to ground them, and this did the trick nicely. I matted all layers on a pearlized cream cardstock, and used lots of foam dimensionals to create depth and dimension.

The frame for the focal image was made by die cutting one layer from the paper collection and two more from the pearlized ivory cardstock. I used Tim’s Ornate Frame #2 and then stacked them up with foam dimensionals in between. Then the frame was spritzed with Crushed Shells Glimmer Mist. I love the way this turned out!

Here’s a closer view of those lovely layers! Because the color palette was so simple, I was sure to incorporate lots of texture and pattern with my embellishments. I die cut a doily from cream cardstock and layered it behind the focal image. The clock sticker was cut in half and layered above and below the framed focal. A chipboard tag was topped with Debra Natural Crocheted Lace and an Ivory Burlap String Bow. A gorgeous Petaloo Burlap Blossom tops a shabbylicious seam binding bow, adding even more texture to the mix. Oh, yes…I Feel Pretty, Oh, So Pretty! How about you?The top half of the card interior features more layered papers, a belly band made from a border strip and a fun gift card pocket. There’s even a cute mini postcard tucked inside where you can write a little note.

The bottom half is decorated with fussy cut images from the paper collection, a matted sticker and a stamped sentiment.

I had such fun making this card, and I confess, I found myself humming the “I Feel Pretty, Oh So Pretty” tune while working. Dorky, I know..but you gotta take your happy moments wherever you can find them!

I hope you’ll play along in this fun challenge! You can find all the details on the RRR BLOG. I can’t wait to see what you make!

Thanks for stopping by!