Whimsy New Release Week ~ Day 1~ St Paddy's Penguin

A warm hello to you all out there in blogland. An especially warm hello if you're surrounded by snow in England! How about that late snowfall huh? My Georgie turned 13 this week and I recall 13 years ago, bringing her home from Whittington Hospital in London as the snow fell. Such a lovely memory and as it doesn't happen much at this time of year, made it all the more memorable! We've had such a warm and sticky hot Summer, (hottest January in New Zealand on record since they first started recording the temps back in the 1800's!) so I'm rather looking forward to some cooler Autumn Days. There are of course some fun celebrations as we head into March. Easter, which I just love, but first, St Patrick's Day and to help us celebrate that fun occasion, is a cute wee fella created by our lovely Crissy Armstrong for Whimsy Stamps. He's the sweetest St Paddy's Day penguin I've ever seen! You know 'Everyone is Irish on St Patrick's Day' right?! This image is called Penguin Lucky Shamrock.

I coloured this cutie up with my Copic markers, I think he looks like he's holding a butterbeer, what do you think? Foam too yellow?! He's already had a wee bit o' brew, hence the flush to his cheeks.

I really wanted to use some gorgeous paper that Crissy created for our latest release from a set called Flourishing Blooms. It was such a great fit for this creation I think, with it's swirly pattern. It's beautiful paper, I love green, my fav' colour, so I'm rather besotted with it. I wanted to create a four leaf clover card, but couldn't find a template, so just drew on the back of the patterned paper a basic template ~ essentially four hearts, tip to tip ~ and then cut a slightly larger one to be the card base. I created the folds on the corners of the top left most and left top most heart shapes, so it opens slightly upward and out. Sounds silly, but actually works fine. 

My little boy Zac thought this St Paddy's Day penguin was fabulous and he's getting very excited about dressing all in green to celebrate the day. So it seems wee Paddy Penguin has inspired a new follower to the St Patrick's Day tradition! Do you celebrate? Do you die your mash green for dinner? What are your St Paddy's Day traditions?! This is the first of my creations for the New Releases this week and I'll be back again tomorrow with my Day 2 creation, so be sure to pop back in again then. Click the above shop link to head straight over there. Hugs to you all and happy crafting xoxo

Challenge Entries:

Lemon Shortbread: #62 ~ Anything Goes

Cute Card Thursday: #519 ~ Anything Goes

4 Crafty Chicks: #392 ~ Just Add A Sentiment

Deep Ocean Challenge: #175 ~ Cute & Cuddly

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes
Aud Sentiments: #198 ~ Anything Goes + A Sentiment
As You Like It: Single or Multiple Layers? I like both styles of crafting, no doubt about that, but I must say, that even when I'm seeking to make a more simple card, I still tend to 'layer' paper to achieve the look I want, so I would say, I'm a multiple layers kind of girl :)