A Tim Holtz St. Patrick's Day Card

Like many, I am a huge Tim Holtz fan. I wanted to make a TH themed St. Patrick's Day card using just his products, with the four-leaf clover from the Sizzix Lucky Love Impresslit. I am not a natural at mixed media. I have to experiment, think, study Pinterest, and more, to come up with a mixed media piece I really like. I found a wonderful card by a Finnish artist named Riikka Kovasin here that I loved. Her layout and her use of some of the embellishments inspired me most. 

I started with Canson XL watercolor paper (like an entire sheet as I didn't know what I would want to use from it). I used a piece of acetate with a spritz of Antique Linen Distress Spray Stain on it and "rolled" the spray onto the card, creating a long splotch - ideal as I knew I wanted a slimline card. Next, I used a paintbrush to put down some Shabby Shutters and Forest Moss spray stain on top of that. I splattered some ink off the brush tip also. I used my Stampers Anonymous TH Ledger Script stamps (held in my hand, not on a block) with Vintage Photo Archival Ink to stamp some script images around the watercolor. 

I used a foam blender to lightly dab some Shabby Shutters Distress Ink through the TH Bubble stencil. I used Translucent Distress Texture Paste through the Halftone stencil to add a little shine (which really didn't show up well). I even dotted on some Gilded Foundry Wax on the bottom right to give it some golden shine (also hard to photograph).

For my focal point, I knew I wanted to use the Lucky Love clover. I made several clovers using TH shiny gold Kraft stock, brushed gold cardstock, heavystock covered with Mowed Lawn Distress Oxide, and Peeled Paint Distress Oxide, and finally I recycled an old scrap of watercolor paper that used Peeled Paint Distress Ink smooshed on. I edged this one with Gathered Twigs ink. This last one was what landed on top of a stack of three clovers that I glued together.

I used the Tim Holtz Floral Outline CMS430 stamp heat embossed in white detail powder on a piece of heavy vellum. Then, I turned to the TH Sizzix Stacked Tiles Hexagons thinlits to create these little frames made from Tim Holtz Wallflower Paper Stash by Ideaology. I just love hexagons.

My inspiration piece has this wonderful piece of torn heat embossed vellum just below the focal image and I loved it. I broke out my Tim Holtz Floral Outlines stamps from Stampers Anonymous and stamped with embossing ink then used white detail powder to heat emboss. Like in the inspiration photo I cut and tore the vellum and also added twine behind my focal point.

I added the stickers from Tim Holtz Ideaology Metallic Sticker Book. I used Gilded Foundry Wax to recolor the heart from the Adornments pack by Ideaology and placed it in the center of my clovers. Finally, I added the 17 cut from brown cardstock, like the matted piece below, from the new Sizzix Everyday 2023 release Alphanumeric Bulletin Thinlits. I just love how big and delicate these letters and numbers can be.

Whew, I think that covers it.

I am entering this in a few challenges: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, 

Double Trouble Challenge, (Thing 1 and Thing 2)

 and the 4 Seasons Challenge,