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Saturday 16 August 2008

...a return

There really is something very special about Ireland - It's in the air and it's in the ground - you can breathe it and feel it. I just got back from two weeks in County Mayo - possibly my favourite part of Ireland, It has everything - beaches, mountains, history, it's all there - I'm working on a long term plan to move there (I've been working on this same plan for 12 years now.. you see where I'm going with this.)

Anyhow, I just got back a couple of hours ago - the flooding is incredible at the moment, we've had a few 'soft' days here lately.

I have a few pics to show you and one card - it's the card I made for the Guest star Stamper submissions for August over at PapertreyInk.

I used the recently released Quilters sampler stamp set. I made a little quilt by stamping the blocks onto fabric. I stamped a border using a Faux ribbons stamp. I coloured the quilt blocks using a soft pastel pencil to match the Aqua mist.

The quilt was backed in a floral fabric that matched Aqua Mist and the wadding is two layers of kitchen paper. I then quilted the quilt on my sewing machine. Attached to the front of the card over a piece of Dark Chocolate card that had been stamped in versamark with quilt blocks. The sentiment was manipulated to match the layout of the card. Everything was put on a base card of Aqua Mist.



I must've taken over 1000 photos while I was away - 985 of them feature my kids and husband - the rest I kept for you!! Lol. I won't bore you with them all now but expect a few to pop up now and again inbetween cards.

The first is Sunset over Clew Bay - they say there's an Island in Clew bay for every day of the year - I'm inclined to believe it.



The second picture is the River at Cong - the place where they filmed 'The Quiet Man' starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara - an absolute gem of a place - more pics of this will follow.




The third pic is Murrisk Abbey. Murrisk is a charming village at the foot of Croagh Patrick in Mayo (more on this later). The Abbey is a ruin now but has the remains of a fine window. The day was very overcast and on days like this I sometimes take Black and White photos as they seem a little more atmospheric. Hope you like them.

24 comments:

  1. Congrats on winning the GSS Claire. Your card is stunning. Ireland is a beautiful place- I do hope you'll share more photos with us of your trip!

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  2. Congratulations on your GSS piece - it's wonderful! Thank you also for your pictures of your country! Ireland has always been a place I would like to explore and I can do it all thru your blog! Thanks for sharing!

    ~ Pam
    (prhansen on the PTI forum)

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  3. Beautiful photos. That card is stunning. -Molly B

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  4. The pictures are stunning Claire...Ireland has always been on my list of places I would love to go too...thank you for sharing. Congrats on your win, you really do deserve it the card is fantastic!
    Xx

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  5. Claire!!! Welcome back and HUGE congrats on your winning the GSS!! Your card is just beautiful - the colors, the way it drapes on the card, the idea of it - great job!! :) Your pics of Ireland are beautiful - keep them coming!! :)

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  6. Your photos are lovely, Claire! I hope you'll share more! And congrats on GSS--what a clever and original card!

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  7. Oh Claire, these pictures are stunning. It's just like I have always imagine Ireland to look...so very charming. I MUST visit!!

    When I saw your card in the GGS album (you know I have special powers and could see it early) I knew it was going to win. It's a stunning beautiful example of your awesome talent.

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  8. Love the photos from your trip, please keep sharing them. Your quilt card is stunning, gorgeous...Thanks you so much for sharing.

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  9. Claire, your quilt card is stunning. Congratulations on winning GSS. Thank you for the gorgeous pictures of Co. Mayo. I hope to see many more.

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  10. Congrats on winning in the GSS contest, Claire! Your card is so neat! Beautiful photos from your trip, too!

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  11. How georgous!! I have always wanted to visit. Very beautiful!!! Love the card as well!!

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  12. Congratulations Claire. You totally deserve it. How creative.

    Welcome back!
    Love the pictures you shared. Thanks for sharing.

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  13. OMG Claire. I have always wanted to visit Ireland. Now, I want to come even more. I love history and of course, John Wayne's movie.... love it.
    Anyway... congrats on the card and I can't wait to see more pictures.
    em

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  14. Your card is amazing. You are so clever!

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  15. Oh Claire... this is beautiful! Makes me want to crawl up into it (right on the card) and take a nap! Congrats on the GSS win, greatly deserved!

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  16. Great job on your quilt card. Congratulations on winning GSS with it. I have always wanted to go to Ireland but I don't travel. I love seeing pictures of it on your blog though.

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  17. HUGE congrats on GSS!!! Beautiful card, no stunning card!!!
    Beautiful photos of your trip too! Hope you had a relaxing time!

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  18. Welcome back Claire! Congrats on your GSS win!! Beautiful card! And gorgeous pictures of Ireland... maybe someday I will get to visit there, it looks like a wonderful place.

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  19. Congrats...your talent is amazing...thank you for sharing your life with us -

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  20. Love your pictures of Ireland. That is the one and only country I would love to see before I die.(and I'm not even Irish) The Quiet Man is my all-time favorite movie. I must have seen it 50 times already. Your pictures are gorgeous.

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  21. You are absoluely right - here IS something very special abou Ireland. It has been on my list of places to visit for quite some time now. My family originates from there, county Kilkenny actually - I don't know where that is with regards to you. One day... *dream* ahhhhhhhh... P.S. your card is beautiful by the way and congrats on GSS!

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  22. Oh wow! I was just introduced to your blog after seeing your gorgeous quilt card at PTI. Beautiful work. Your Ireland pics are beautiful too. That's on my list of places that I really want to see.

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  23. i just saw your card on papertrey and it's lovely!! I love your Ireland plan!!

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  24. FABULOUS creative card! Love your pics too. ;)

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Thanks for taking the time to comment, :) I read them all and I appreciate you taking time to visit!