Last week, I was looking through my clear-mounted stamps and notice I tend to forget about those since they are kept separately from my wood-mounted stamps (and I am still very much a wood-mount girl). So, I pulled out a couple of stamp sets that I hadn't used in a while and left them on my desk for future inspiration. One of those sets is Gift Givers, which was part of the last mini. I did use it a few times while the mini was still available, but I mainly focused on the winter images. I hadn't used the St. Patrick stamp yet and it is SOO cute that I wanted to make sure it had seen ink at least once.
Then, when I saw the February Verve sketch #4 on SCS, I thought it would work perfect with the circle image I was hoping to use. The sketch is very simple, so I knew I had to find a way to make the large background interesting somehow. Then came the idea to do a woven background using strips of various green papers, so I looked into my paper scraps and put this together, adding a couple of ribbons here and there.
The main image was stamped on watercolor paper in Black StazOn and watercolored with inks and a blending pen. Once everything was dry, I added a bit of Dazzling Details around the leprechaun to give him a "magical" look. I wanted to mat the image to give it more presence on the card, so I used the 2-3/8 Scallop Circle punch, but I thought it still looked a little bare, so I pulled the Lucky Limeade organza ribbon from the Everyday Enchantment SAB embellishments pack and used the Spirelli technique Suzanne showed us at our team Christmas party. (My team and I meet every month to share techniques and ideas. You should make sure to sign up during SAB to enjoy the wonderful promotion and join in the fun!) Then I added small pearls where the ribbon didn't cross.
Finally, I added a strip of cardstock to mimick the sketch. It felt a little bare so I was thinking of adding dry embossing with a folder but I thought it might be a little too much against the busy background. Then, I thought I could try to find a heart stamp to create a four-leaf clover. (In retrospect, as I am writing this, I realize I had a few shamrocks image in my collection, in last year's SAB set and in the Every Little Bit set. Duh!) Anyway, I couldn't find a small enough heart to recreate the look, but thought I could do it with the Heart to Heart punch and create a tone-on-tone, faux embossed look. So I stamped the background with the hearts from the Confetti set and then I assembled my shamrocks using the punched hearts, adding a stem with a marker. I tore the end of the strip and added a border punched with the Pinking Hearts punch, in Soft Suede. Then I went looking for a Happy St. Patrick's Day stamp and found one in the retired En toutes occasions (old hostess set). I thought we had one in the Teeny Tiny Wishes set, but apparently, the French version doesn't include it.
Once everything was put together, i added a last-minute detail by covering the shamrocks with Dazzling Details and I'm glad I did because it really gave life to the card.
I hope you'll all wear green on March 17th!
Inspiration: February Verve Sketch #4
Color Combo: Pear Pizzazz + Soft Suede + Always Artichoke + Soft Sky
Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Gift Givers, En toutes occasions, Confetti
Cardstock: Pear Pizzazz, Soft Suede, Soft Sky, watercolor paper
Design papers: Holiday Harmony, Wintergreen
Inks: Black StazOn, Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery, Pear Pizzazz, S
oft Sky, So Saffron, Peach Passion, Blush Blossom
Accessories: Soft Suede polka dot grosgrain ribbon, Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon,
Heart to Heart punch, Pinking Hearts border punch, 2-3/8 Scallop Circle punch, Pearls,
Lucky Limeade organza ribbon, marker, blending pen, Dazzling Details, Stampin' Dimensionals,
1-3/4 Circle punch
Cindy,
Thank you for joining the Friday Mashup with your card this week.
I've been using that woven background technique for a few years now and it can give you interesting effects, I like the way you've added a few strips of ribbon with the paper. Your card is really cute with your little leprechaun.
Cheers,
Kasey ~ in Oz
Friday Mashup DT
http://www.fridaymashup.com/
Posted by: Kasey ~ in Oz | March 02, 2012 at 15:14
I love the cute image and the background works really well. Great job, thank you for joining the Friday Mashup,
Rebecca x
Posted by: Rebecca | March 03, 2012 at 04:35
Love your woven background...it looks amazing!
Posted by: Paula Bee | March 03, 2012 at 14:04
Great background technique.. I love how you used all the greens. Thanks for linking up with us at the Friday Mashup.
Posted by: Holly | March 10, 2012 at 22:24