The Day the Whole World Turns Irish – Lucky Clover!

Maybe it is just my family.  But somehow, St. Patrick’s Day is actually a big deal around here.  We send cards and make calls to family members who aren’t in touch regularly – almost a mini-Christmassy situation.  But without the crimson red décor…

This year is no different – except that the new Stampin’ Up! Lucky Clover stamp set is one of those sets that should be a part of the permanent stash.  Most of us really do not need a raft of St. Patrick’s Day images.  We actually just need the best ones that offer a lot of good verses and design opportunities along the way.

Although this card is definitely one CAS’d from Tami White, I think that there are some great tips here on how to get a lot out of a single stamp set.  It is an Easel Fancy Fold card that is enhanced with stamping, dry embossing, heat embossing, and bling!  So many options…

The card cuts are very easy – and the cardstock used is probably already in your paper stash:

These are the pieces that to create one card:

I followed these steps to complete the card once the pieces were cut:

1. With one of the 3-3/4” x 5” Basic White mats, stamp the clover images from the Lucky Clover Stamp set all over in a fairly random pattern.  Let some of the images “hang” off the edge.  Start with the largest images first and work down to the smallest.
2. Using a Blending Brush, tap the edges of the stamped panel very lightly with Soft Suede ink.  This will add a little bit of dimension to the card face – a little bit of aged character, you might say!
3. Repeat this step with the Soft Suede inking of the edge on the second 3-3/4” x 5” Basic White panel for the inside of the card.
4. Run each of the Basic White panels through the Stampin’ Cut & Emboss machine (the absolute best of the hand-cranked machines on the market as far as I am concerned!).  Use the Crosshatch embossing folder from the Stampin’ Up! Basics 3D Embossing set.
5. Mount each of the Basic White panels to the Garden Green 4” x 5-1/4” panels.
6. Using the Gold Metallic ribbon, apply a length of the ribbon about an inch to 1-1/2” above the bottom edge.  Adhere the ribbon using Tear and Tape or Multipurpose Glue. 
7. Using Versamark Ink, stamp the Good Luck image from the Lucky Clover stamp set on a scrap of Garden Green Cardstock.  Heat emboss the sentiment using the white embossing powder from the Basics Embossing Powders set. Use the Lucky Clover Punch to create a perfect clover shape with the sentiment centered on it.
8. Apply Stampin’ Dimensionals to the back of the clover and adhere to the front of the card, over the Gold ribbon.
9. To prepare the front card panel, apply Tear and Tape to the bottom of the card base and only on the lower panel below the score line (at the 2-1/8” score line).  Line up the stamped card design to that lower panel of the card base.
10. Apply the message panel from Step 5 to the inside of the card base. 
11. Create the inside sentiment on a scrap of Basic White Card Stock.  There are a couple of sentiments in the Lucky Clover set that work well.  Stamp the sentiment in Garden Green Ink and then cut or punch it out. Use Stampin’ Dimensionals to apply the inside sentiment panel to serve as a stopper for the Easel mechanism.
12. Optional:  Prepare the sentiment die cut as the inside panel was in Step 3 and 4.  The brushed outline will help the sentiment stopper pop and the embossing will add texture and a finished look to the interior of the card.

I made two different iterations of this card.  One was for friends who received the “good friend” sentiment from the Lucky Clover set.  But my children received the “Sending luck and Love” sentiment.  There are a number of options that you have to create the “stopper” – and you probably have something in your collection already.  For the shorter message, I used the Lasting Label Punch, while I used the Stitched Rectangles die set and the (retired) Hippo and Friends Dies for the larger “friends” message.  That is the fun part of creating!

It also occurred to me that these might easily lend themselves to a batch creation.  I am thinking that the patterned front panel could be stamped like one of my One Sheet Wonders on a full sheet of 8-1/2” x 11” Basic White cardstock.  Once the design is stamped, it would be easy to cut them down to the required 3-3/4” x 5” size so that you would have 4 panels ready to go.

It probably just depends on how many ”Irishmen” you know…

This is a quick checklist of the supplies that I used for today’s card.  Please be sure to ask if any of my directions are unclear…or if you have a different idea about how to get this card done well!  I always love making my designs as foolproof as possible…since so many scraps in my drawer show some off-base thinking!