Welcome to our special St. Patrick’s Day blog Circle!
You may be arriving from Kristie’s site where she is combining paint, photos, and digital vintage St. Patrick’s Day postcards for a fun take on memory keeping. At the end of this post there is another link that will keep you going on our circle until you go all the way around. So if you missed Kristie’s post, don’t worry, you can still get to it. 🙂
We hope you enjoy all our green, shamrock and everything Irish inspiration!
I am sharing my Top Five favourite projects that celebrate this holiday so let’s get started.
#1 – Guinness Is Good For You
I made this way back in 2012 for LOAD212 – one of my first LOAD’s I think. The postcard was purchased on a trip to Ireland when I was in my 20’s (and drank copious amounts of Guinness … but that’s a story for another day!) If you are curious about the recipes behind the photos please see yesterday’s blog post.
I think it’s very interesting to see how much my style has evolved since making this layout. And how much has stayed the same! I still use 4×6 photos on most of my layouts – here I’ve cut one of them down to 4×4 but that’s also something I’d do now. I still like to layer patterns on top of one another but here I was gaining confidence so didn’t do it in as large a manner as I do now. Here I had a cleaner, more graphic style. Now my style is more organic and layered but I can definitely appreciate the pleasure a nicely laid out grid gives me (ignoring the slightly crooked postcard for the time being!)
Looking back at older projects gives one an appreciation for how far they’ve come, how much they’ve grown as a designer, and how much joy can be found in those first projects! I highly recommend doing this exercise from time to time.
#2 – Lucky
I haven’t done much art journalling lately but I still love looking at this one from March 2014. Lots of green, lots of spring images, photos of my loved ones and some gold splatters too.
#3 – Giant Green Doilies
I sold this stamp to a friend back when I was a Stampin’ Up Demonstrator with the intention of replacing it with my next order. Somehow that never happened. I miss this stamp. It’s a gorgeous size, and design. Oh well. Live and learn!
My point in sharing this card today is not to gain sympathy for my foolishness but to show you that you don’t need to send an overtly Shamrock and Leprachaun card on this day! All shades of green will do.
#4 – Layered Shamrocks
If you DO want to sent a card covered in Shamrocks then check out my post from Monday where I make this one on video.
#5 – Dingle (or Memories of Ireland)
I don’t think I’ve ever shared this layout with you as it was for the now defunct Scrapbook News and Review online magazine. This is a great example of three things: creating a layout with that all too awkward 4×6 landscape plus 4×6 portrait photo, using a map print paper, and using green without it becoming too sickly!
I’d also like to note my style development here. It’s still basically a grid like the top layout on this post, but a much looser one. No gutters between elements this time. The photos are touching one another and I’ve clearly gained confidence in layering my patterned papers! Speaking of which, I’ve graduated to using patterned papers as background now, not solid coloured card stock. And I’ve added mist splatters and embellishment clusters. The journey down the road to my current very layered, loose, slightly messy at times style is well on its way!
That’s all I have for you at the moment. I am slightly inspired to try and make a monochromatic green layout though. If I do I’ll share it with you here so check back often.
For now though, head on over to Beth’s site where she is sharing a mixed media art journal layout that was inspired by Ireland.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone! Erin Go Bragh!
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I enjoyed seeing your “green” projects! Plus, you reminded me of that big doily stamp!