A Tip O' the Hat

Hi!  It's Kim from Katydid Cards.  For my project this month, I decided to make a St. Patrick's Day card using a technique I've never tried previously.  Here's the flying easel card I made using the Leprechaun Hat. 

But before I share my card, though, I want to remind you about the Freebie of the Day at Miss Kate's.

I must have been feeling a little too confident because I decided not to consult any sort of tutorial before making this card.  My thought being, "I've made easel cards before...how hard can this be?"  Well...turns out I learned a thing or two from my mistakes.

I cut the opening and sized my Leprechaun hat to fit.  I ran a piece of clear thread side to side through the center.  Mistake #1.  I should have run the thread top to bottom for two reasons.  First, the weight of the hat pulls down on the thread so the hat is lower than I wanted.  Second, the hat isn't balanced so it wants to tip backward.  I had to add some additional cardstock to the bottom back of the hat as a counterbalance.

But let's talk about the hat for a moment.  There are lots of luscious layers to this, giving it great depth and dimension.  I used four shades of green cardstocks, complemented nicely by the digital patterned paper.

Here's a picture of the card, folded for mailing...and a confession of yet another mistake.  Mistake #2.

When I cut the opening, I didn't give any thought to what you would see through it...it this case the greeting and sentiment.  As I didn't take that into account, I had to add a separate piece of cardstock.

Here's the card opened, so you can see both the greeting and sentiment matted and attached to cardstock, embossed with the Simply Charmed embossing folder.  I accented the bottom of the card and the hat with Pearl Bling and a bit of Glossy Accents on the hat band buckle.

If I were smarter, I would have watched this video before embarking on this card making endeavor.  Live and learn.