Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Shamrock Fairy: Copics on PT Iridescent Paper (& faux machine sewing)

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
And may the luck of the Irish be yours!

I'm wearin' green are you? :O) This is a wee bit uh sumthin' that I done did draw for me Dah (my Dad loves St. Patty's--we're part Irish.) :O)



May seem kind of strange to have fairies & shamrock flowers on a guy's card, but my dad is a Tree Doctor (aka arborist, landscape architect, & organic gardening spirit of the earth.) He's been practicing organic landscaping in his business, since before I was born (and trust me that was a fair while ago, before it was trendy. Let's just say more than 35 years.) ;o) And he ADORES Saint Patrick's Day, aye to be sure!


The Cardstock:

These images for my dear ol' Dad were scanned & printed on Iridescent Cardstock from Paper Temptress (Poison Ivory.) I am obsessed with all their shimmery papers for embossing digital images. The whole Iridescent family is 40% off right now too! I used them all up & can't stop printing digis, so must get more.

The Colouring:



Step 1) Print & emboss image



Step 2) Colour flowers white (souffle pen)



Step 3) Shade centers of flowers with light green



Step 4) Colour with light green (certain celery)



Step 5) Shade with medium green (little Abyss Green on Colourless Blender)



Step 6) Deepen shadows with pure Abyss Green (blend edges)

The Stitchin':
(faux sewing-machine sewing)

I love the look all you great machine sewing crafters acheive, but I am afraid of my machine (and don't have the budget for enough thread in enough colours for bobbins etc. so I just use embroidery thread or dollar store threads mostly & hand sew.) I find it so meditative (it's actually my favourite part of cardmaking oddly enough)...

so I tried to figure out how to mimick that carefree machine sewing, by hand:



Step 1) Draw a light pencil line & pierce along line (double in some spots)



Step 2) Erase pencil line



Step 3) Flip over to backside & smoosh down stitch holes ( I thought it made the stitching look more sewing machine-ish. It's more subtle anyhow...)



Step 4) Thread a fairly slim needle



Step 5) Adhere thread end on back of card



Step 6) Stitch (every other stitch)



Step 7) Finish stitchin'




...and that's that. :O)
Hope you have the most glorious day
!

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

happy saint patricks day , love lady

Anja said...

This is amazing. I love your work very, very much ;)

Deb Neerman said...

Beauteousness!

Happy St. Paddy's Day, my friend! Hope you're doin' well ... I miss you tonnage!

Debbie Fisher (debbiedee) said...

yes, I'm wearing green and Happy St. Patrick's Day to you too!

Love your card. What fun ideas. Thank you so much for sharing with us.

NoraAnne said...

Wow! What a great card and you do an awesome job with your hand stitching....looks JUST like machine stitching and since I am also afraid of my machine, I will have to try it! LOL!
Happy St. Patrick's Day :)

Anonymous said...

Your coloring is so, so pretty and that little fairy is adorable!! Wonderful card, Mel! And happy St. Pat's!

AnnMarie said...

Super sweet card! I am sure your dad will love it! The fairy is really cute!

Jessica Diedrich said...

Happy St. Patty's day! Wow STUNNING card! I love your coloring! hey if you have time (lol, I know) can you shoot me an email of your fave green Copics? I have such a hard time finding softer less "yellow" shades. Thanks Mel!

Anonymous said...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I love your gorgeous card!! Love your drawing and coloring - fabulous! TFS

Carol Weimer said...

I love the sewing technique. it looks like it is done freehand on your machine...genius!! Your tuts are alwasy so inspiring.

liannallama said...

it's stunning! I was noticing how nice your stitching looks so I'm glad you told us your secret!

Kim Etherington said...

Those shamrocks look stunning! The colours are great! Your chubby fairy is cute!

martha velasco prieto. said...

love your creations,you are amazing
!!happy st patricks day!!

Jennette Warren said...

Very pretty Mel! Happy St. Patty Day!

Tonniece said...

Happy Saint Pat's Mel

Been missing visiting, but oh my, all the eye candy to peruse now....yummy.

Have a great Day

OOPS. Love the card.

Maria said...

Wow, Mel. . .another hand sttiched design. I seriously have to say, you are the most patient crafter ever. Your hand stitching is always so beautiful!! Your love of crafting always show through with all that you do!!

Your card and coloring is always so beautiful!

Happy St. Patricks Day, girlfriend!

Maria

retiredheather said...

Lovely card Mel and thanks for the sewing tips. Happy St. Pats day back to you.
Hugs
Heather

Debby said...

Uh yeah. Looks fabulous however I have zero patience. I'm an instant gratification gal so once again I will live vicariously thru you :-) no pressure.

Debby said...

I forgot to say...this is really pretty and I love your coloring tips. I never would have thought to do any of that. Cool.

Sue from Oregon said...

This is a beauty...and that little sweet fairy is precious. I don't suppose you could show us how you tied that bow could you? Very pretty!

Cindy Haffner said...

Perfect coloring and perfect sewing.

Elena said...

Your coloring is amazing, Mel! Faux stitching is stunning!
Hope you are feeling better!

Alberta said...

Absolutely gorgeous. I would have never had known the stitching was done without a machine. Absolutely amazing. TFS!

Anonymous said...

Really fabulous Mel! Beautiful coloring.
cheers! Hope all is well with you!
smiles,Deena

Etha said...

beautiful shading and stitching, it looks so amazing!

Anonymous said...

I love your double stitch lines idea. I had just assumed you'd zinged around the card at high speed with your machine! You created the faux machine look perfectly and without the possibility of tearing like what can happen when you use your machine. Great job, cool card!

Business Cards said...

Wow this is beautiful! great work and so detailed - of course very creative! Perfect for St. Patrick's Day! You post just makes St. Patrick's Day all fun all over again!