Hello, March!

Hello and welcome! We've ushered in a new month and that means spring is on its way! It's my turn for this week's Papertrey Ink Flash Sale and I chose something festive and fitting for the upcoming spring season with some St. Patrick's Day touches! I chose to use the Tuck It Sentiments stamp set and the coordinating Tuck It Die paired with the ever-so-sweet Into the Blooms: Clover die.

The inspiration for today's card actually came from the Shamrock food truck that was parked at the gas station as I was getting gas today! ha ha! I saw the white truck and the green shamrock's floating across the side and I just KNEW I wanted to tuck some clover greens and blooms into the sentiment! I was wishing there was a sentiment about being lucky, but I thought this HELLO was cute, so I used it!

To begin, I die cut all of the clover pieces and colored them with small blender brushes and PTI ink pads. The greenery and clover pieces are colored with Green Parakeet, New Leaf, and Pinefeather ink. The blossoms are colored with Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet, Bright Buttercup, and Honey Nut ink.

Once that was done, I got my hot foil machine heating up with the Ornamental Swirl Hot Foil Plate and in the meantime got the focal panel ready. I die cut the largest oval included in the Love to Layer: Ovals die collection. I stamped the cute dotted detail and the hello sentiment before I die cut the slits. The Tuck It Die has the large bar pieces to keep both sides connected (they are not meant to be snipped) and if you die cut first, it will leave those impressions and can possibly impede the stamping process and you may not get even coverage with the ink. I'm sure that was clear as mud! ha ha!

My hot foil machine alerted me it was at the right temperature, so I cut a 4 by 5 1/4 inch piece of New Leaf cardstock and added some Pinefeather ink around the edges. I used Champagne foil to do the hot foiling; something gold, but not bright gold! I layered that panel onto a top-folding A2 white cardbase using foam squares for dimension.

I was also originally drawn to the clover die set because it includes stems; just perfect for the Tuck It series! I decided where I wanted each clover to go and then slid the stems in place. I secured them all in the back using clear tape. I used mini foam squares to attach the clover and blooms. I also added some PTI Gems: Clear in varying sizes to the center of each clover. I also added some glitter for added sparkle and shine. I layered it onto the green panel and called it done! Thanks for fluttering by!