Thursday, February 20, 2014

Giant Shamrock - A Tutorial

Hello, everyone!  I made a few St. Patrick's Day cards to deliver to Arts Plus Gallery recently, and this is my favorite:  a big, bold 3D shamrock set upon an inky black base.


See the fabulous dimension?   Even after it sits in the envelope for a while, the petals perk right up when allowed to 'breathe.'


Here's a little tutorial I made for you:

Punch out 6 hearts from green cardstock.  Ink the edges with a slightly darker green ink.

Score down the center of each heart.  I lined mine up on an old Fiskars cutting board with a scoring blade.   Saves time to do many at once; just make sure you hold securely down or they'll scatter! 

I have two Fiskars boards:  one is dedicated to cutting, the other to scoring.
That way, I never need to change out blades.  

Flatten along the score line with a bone folder.

Apply glue (I use Aleene's Tacky Glue A LOT.) to one half of one side of each heart. 

I skipped the photo about embossing the black card base, but I figure that doesn't need explaining.  ;-)  Arrange each 'petal' on your embossed card base, and add a hand-cut stem.  Use clear stamping blocks to help weight down the shamrock as it dries.
Super easy, super cute!

Challenges entered:


  • The Card Concept - 'A Floral Theme' - well, now, would shamrocks/clovers be considered a flower, or a weed?  ;-)  I hope I'm allowed to stay and play!  The style for this card is Clean & Graphic.  


By the way, some of you have asked how my bridal cards (I still need to share more of them) are selling at A Beautiful Touch bridal boutique.  I sold two!  And hey, that's pretty good for a start.  This is not yet their busy time of year, and we've had so much snow that the shop's been closed many days.  Both the sweetheart-of-an-owner and I feel confident that the cards will be a popular add-on purchase once the busy season gets going.



Paper: Basic Black, Green Galore - SU Ink: Garden Green - SU Fibers: Peapod twine - The Twinery Accessories & Tools: Full Heart punch; Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder - SU

31 comments:

LeAnne said...

Cute, Colleen! I love the black background....I would not think to use that but it really makes those clovers stand out. The baker's twine adds such a fun bit of whimsey!

Ardyth said...

Love the fresh feeling of the bright green - I can't wait to get rid of all this white stuff on the ground! Thanks for joining us at the Card Concept!

Marisa said...

Loving the 3D shamrock :) Yeah for the card sales too!

Rebecca Deeprose said...

This is adorable AND brilliant!!!! ((hugs)) Rebecca

Julie Tucker-Wolek said...

Soooooooo cute cute cute!! I loveeeeeeeeeee this!!!!

Betty said...

I'm always looking for great St. Pat's cards and I love yours - very classy!

Paper Creations by Shirley said...

Beautiful shamrocks created from the hearts! Awesome tutorial as well. The green pops out beautifully against the black background. Have a wonderful weekend, Shirleyx

Vicki Dutcher said...

Gorgeous green against the black! Congrats on the 2 card sale - that is very fun!

lisa808 said...

Super! Love the shamrock against the black background.

Congrats on your card sales.

Lisa Elton said...

Ooooh this is FUN and it really pops on the black background!! Cute idea Colleen. Congrats on your card sale, I had no doubt ;)

Benzi said...

Very cool shamrock, Colleen. Thanks for the tutorial. Hope I can find time to make my Irish hubby one.
Just wait until June and those wedding cards will be flying out her door. Hope you have a lot made.

Maria said...

Love this 3-D shamrock card! Such a fun card with great dimension! Just starting my St. Pat's cards. My husband's Irish, so I always like to make him one!:-)

Leslie Miller said...

Really cute! I can see how the leaves would pop back up, too. Love this idea, Colleen! Thanks for the how to!

Marybeth said...

Oh my gosh Colleen this is so pretty! I love your blog header to absolutely gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful shamrock card!!!

wienerhoneymooners said...

I adore this!!! And I AM jumping for joy as my mom LOVES shamrocks and clovers! She has shamrock growing in her sill and tho the cat likes to try to nibble at them, we keep her away!! Love your tutorial and thanks so much for sharing this week at CASology!!!

Stella said...

Thanks for sharing this tutorial; the shamrock is a gorgeous eye catcher:)
XX

Chris Dring said...

As 3D shamrocks go, this one is fantabulous! What a great CAS card! Thanks for the tutorial and for joining us at Shopping Our Stash!

http:/drdeweypibbs.blogspot.com said...

Thanks for the tutorial. The shamrock is AMAZING.

Anonymous said...

Your shamrock is amazing! I enjoyed your tutorial! Thanks so much for sharing with us at CASology. May-DT

Maureen Merritt said...

Wonderful take on the Cue Card and an amazing design! The green really pops off of the black. Thanks so much for joining us at CASology this week!

Emily Keaton said...

I just love that eye-catching shamrock, Colleen! It really pops against the black background :)

Donna B. said...

So fun and cute! Love that 3D shamrock!

Graciellie Design said...

Great tutorial! I am a fan of origami sort of techniques. Your card certainly pops and your use of color encouraged me to post my blue project!

gracielliedesign dot blogspot dot com

Sian Ridley said...

Awesome! I love this idea! I am also pleased to see that I'm not the only person who uses acrylic blocks to flatten stuff ;) They're so handy aren't they!

Gorgeous card!

Darnell said...

Holy moly, Colleen, that looks like REAL clover!! Thank you so much for the tute!! Congratulations on the HM honor from CASology; I predict a win at CCC, too!! Hugs, Darnell

Karen Davis said...

WOW! This is amazing Colleen. The bold clover has amazing impact. Wonderful tutorial too. Thank you so much for joining us at The Card Concept.

Lisa H. said...

fabulous card. I love the dimension sooo much!

Carol L said...

This shamrock card jumped out of the gallery and demanded my attention! I love the black embossed background which showcases this perfectly! TFS the tutorial - fabulous card!

Laura Davis said...

This is awesome, so creative!!
Laura

Viv said...

Such a fabulous card Colleen :) Viv xx

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