Welcome to my blog!

Thanks for visiting my blog. As the title suggests, I love to scrapbook, stamp, and sing! I will share cards and scrapbook pages I create, as well as information about my music - Barbershop harmony.

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Some birthday cards and a bit of Adare, Co Limerick, Ireland

Well, I'm back again after some busy weeks, including one without my Internet service.  Can you believe I fixed it myself by switching out a bad cord?!  I cheered and did a little happy dance in my family room!

Anyway - once back online, I headed off to the Silhouette online store to search for fish images.  Yes, fish - my uncle likes to fish so I wanted one for his birthday card.  A real fish, not a cutesy fish, and I found one in the Hero Arts portfolio.  Here's my card:

fishcard

I cut the fish (Design ID 17454) on Hero Arts Grass Layering paper, then cut an offset of the image on Pine Layering paper, then flipped the offset and cut it for the back. The back piece is scored by the tail.  I stamped the happy birthday using Versamark and white embossing powder, then overstamped the Envelope Liner Background (a Hero Arts cling stamp) to simulate the scaly texture.  Then I inked the edges and some of the cuts with distress markers for a bit more definition.  Popped it with foam dots onto the card base - done!  Since it was for a guy, I resisted adding pearls, sequins or stickles - it was hard not to do it!!

Here's another birthday card using a Lori Whitlock Silhouette file (Design ID #60412).    Made it for my sweet 16 niece, Abby:

Birthday flower Abby

Just loved mixing all the fun Hero Arts flowers and gems!  Sentiment is from Hero Arts too - a clear set called Circles (CL674).

And now for the next installment of my trip to Ireland back in May.  Heather & I headed from Killarney to Adare County Limerick on Day 3 of our junket into the countryside.  What a sweet little town featuring some quaint thatched roofs (fire hazard, anyone?).  Here's a photo I took in the evening after our long day of travels:

Thatched buildings Adare

We walked into town after checking in at the Coatesland House B&B, where Mr. & Mrs. Hogan made us comfortable.  Here's my room:

100_6110

Heather had a similar one in different colors on the other side of the staircase.  Heather's tea pot didn't work so I fired up mine and popped down the hall with it; we had tea and biscuits before calling it a day.  Here we are eating breakfast the next morning:

Breakfast in Adare

Mrs. Hogan was disappointed that her garden wasn't nice yet - they'd had a hard winter.  But the food was divine and so elegant!  Well, there was a lot more of Adare but I'll save that for a later post!

Thanks for stopping!

4 comments:

Barb said...

Love that photo of the two of you, Linda! Sounds like such a lovely place!

Both cards are fabulous! That fish is so cool and love the scalloped circle shape and cluster of flowers on the card for your niece! ♥

stampingandstitching said...

Wonderful cards, Linda! I'm sure your uncle will be delighted with his fish card. What a fun shape and I love the way you added the texture and dimension with your stamping and inking. Abby's card is so pretty! Love your design and the gorgeous cluster of flowers goes perfectly with the beautiful pp.

Aw I loved our time in Adare too. It was lovely to see all the quaint places around the town and do a u turn in Adare Manor - we'll stay there next time maybe;) I still have a giggle about finding a place to eat at that night - lol we went from one extreme to the other with the first two places we went into! Thanks again for the great company, cuppa and bickies:)

Cindy C. said...

A very lovely photo of you and Heather!! Both birthday cards so unique and special, thanks for sharing Linda!

CinnamonSally said...

Really LOVE the fish card Linda, there are a few men I know who like fishing. I may have to CASE that one.

Great to see the photos of your holiday with Heather, looks like you had a fabulous time!!