Chelly with Clover

I just got my order from Paper Makeup Stamps today, and I had to ink one of them up! PMS is a fairly new company with really cute stamps! I love the fairy stamps. There are four out and I think four more which I've ordered on a preorder sale. I love coloring with my copic markers, and these are perfect for them! This is Chelly with her clover, so I made a St. Patty's Day card with her. The sketch is from PMS and it is their first one. I was going to use another sketch, then saw this one and it was so much better for this stamp. I started by pulling out all the green dp I had in my stash and came up with these two (both retired SU). The top one is from Bali Breeze and the bottom is from Brocade Background. I thought they should have some separation, so I used Vintage Cream and punched it with a Martha Stewart scallop border punch. Chelly was stamped on Vintage Cream with Adirondack black. I used about 15 different copic markers on this! I was even surprised by how many I put back into the container! I added glitter to her wings, the clover, her clothing and even her hair. She sparkles like a fairy should! The ribbon is actually a Christmas ribbon from AC Moore and is gold but looks green with these papers. The sentiment (inside and out and the shamrocks inside) are all those $1 Studio G stamps I got at AC Moore last year. (I really like the inside..."lucky to have you!" I'll save this for Kevin. He's mostly Italian, but a small part of him is Irish, and of course he's all Irish on St. Patty's Day!) I used a circle punch on the outside sentiment and layered it on the label punch (which is Old Olive). The shamrock bling is from JoAnn's and the butterfly bling is from Michael's (all purchased last year). It looks to me like the clover she is holding is a butterfly net and she's running after the butterfly! I'm really pleased with this card, considering I almost scrapped her because I didn't like the way she was looking as I was coloring her! But if you keep on coloring, you usually get a good result! What do you think? I have no business making a card when I have some papers to correct! Yikes! Thanks for stopping by!
Recipe
Stamps: Chelly with Clover (Paper Makeup Stamps); Studio G $1 stamps
Paper: Old olive, vintage cream, Brocade Background, Bali Breeze dp (both SU retired)
Ink: Adirondack black, old olive, copic markers
Accessories: Martha Stewart scallop border punch, label punch, 1" circle punch, ribbon (AC Moore), glitter, butterfly bling (Michael's), shamrock bling (JoAnn's), dimensionals

Happy 4th of July!

Don't you just love the 4th of July? I do...all the fireworks, parties, friends, food! But we tend to forget why we are celebrating! It's a day to remember how we gained our independence. I try to instill this knowledge into my students every year when we discuss the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and all the other wars fought for our country's independence. My parents have always loved the flag. One of the first things my dad did when they built their home was to put in a huge flagpole and fly the flag daily. I think we were the only ones on the street to do this! So when I saw this Thomas Kinkade stamp, Hometown Pride, I had to purchase it so I could make a card for my mom. I think she's really going to appreciate this one!

I found instructions for coloring this stamp on Sherrie Siemens blog. They were a life saver for doing this the first time! I think I'll be able to get through another T. Kinkade stamp on my own next time (I hope so, cause I have another one to ink up with no instructions from Sherrie to help me!). She said to lay the greens down first (dark then light), then do the flowers, the cement, the tree bark, the house, the flag, the windows, then the sky (I think that's the order). Anyway, there were a BUNCH of copic markers used on this one! When I colored the red stripes on the flag, I got a little heavy-handed, so I took my white gel pen to get back some of the white stripes. Worked wonderfully! Then in Sherrie's instructions, it said to use the white gel pen to put in some white flowers...it made the flower bed pop like crazy! What a great tip and great little tool that pen is! I wasn't sure how to mount this, because of its size. I decided to off-center it and put the God Bless America sentiment (from SU's retired Land that I Love) on rectangular nestabilities in the bottom corner. I did not know what to do with the rest of the space. I tried primas of various shades, but it was too much. So, I went with the good ol' brads! They always come to bat for me! I decorated the inside as well with the flag from Land that I Love stamped in Sahara Sand, another sentiment over that in brown, then ruby red stars down the sides. It looks festive inside! Well, thanks for stopping by and.....

Recipe
Stamps: CHF Hometown Pride, SU Land that I Love
Paper: Ruby red, chocolate chip, PTI white
Ink: Adirondack espresso, copic markers
Accessories: brads, dimensionals, cuttlebug, nestabilities