Happy Fourth of July!

Wishing all of you in the US a very happy 4th of July!  I made this wall-hanging several months ago but didn't post it, so thought I'd share it today.  The stamps are ODBD.  I cut apart a kraft bag & backed it with cardboard for stability.  The background is done with gesso, Heidi Swapp Color Shine Bronzer & a stencil with little stars.  I used white gesso & white embossing so will enter the challenge at SSS Monday.  Edited to add: Entering the birthday challenge at ODBD since this is celebrating our country's birthday.  

I'm glad not everyone wants to live in Oregon, but if they did I wouldn't be surprised! We just got back from a camping trip in the Columbia River Gorge.  We hadn't been there in years & it was wonderful to see that beautiful area again. I never tire of seeing the Cascade Mountains--this time it was Mt Hood & Mt. Adams.  The Gorge is known for the wind & people come from all over for sports like windsurfing & kitesurfing.  We saw license plates from as far away as Vermont & Wyoming at our campground.  2 days were actually very calm & we enjoyed taking day trips.  Here are a few pictures I thought you might enjoy.

Red, White & Blue

As you may have noticed, I've not been very productive lately.  Puppy Fritz has turned my world on end taking almost all my time when I'm not at work. Apparently, Mr Mojo isn't getting enough attention--hard to make a card worth posting. However, I was determined to get one 4th of July card made.  My sister would be very disappointed not to get one.  I love vellum & use it quite a bit, so thought I'd make one for the PTI MIM challenge.  I wanted to use a technique I learned when I began stamping years ago. You stamp a solid image on the card front & the outline image on a vellum overlay--not necessarily exactly lined up. I've always loved that look, but hadn't done it for a long time.  I used the star from PTI Framed Out 1 stamped in Brilliance Rocket Red. Since there isn't an outline star in the set, I used my Quickie Glue pen to draw the outline on the vellum & dumped on prisma glitter--very simple.  The sentiment is from the Oregon company--Peddler's Pack--& is stamped in Brilliance Mediterranean Blue.  The card front stitching is done with the Lil' Inkers die.  Turns out my card meets the requirements at City Crafter (first time entering there) & SSS Monday & SSS Wed. I do appreciate hearing from you & will keep in touch the best I can.  Enjoy your weekend.

Inspired by Muse

Muse Inspiration by Jackie

The Muse challenge is celebrating one year.  I loved the idea of peers voting for the winners & participated in a lot of their challenges.  Usually I did more or less a CASE of the Muse, but for this week I took inspiration from negative die cuts backed with a dotted background. For some reason, I thought of stars, even though I'm in the middle of making Valentines.  Maybe I needed a break--LOL!  My only heart dies are Tim Holtz Stacked Stars which cut all 4 stars at once.  I'm not complaining, though, since I got it in a big close-out after Christmas. My background is Hero Arts Dots stamped in Memento Love Letter & Nautical Blue & sprayed with Glimmer Mist for a wonderful shimmer. The sentiment is from Peddler's Pack--an Oregon company.  I've been saving my last 2 Doodlebug Cute Clips & this one is just what I needed to finish off my card.  I did some faux stitching around each heart with my white gel pen--not as scary since it's pretty subtle.  
At least I have one 4th of July card done for sure! Thanks for visiting my blog--I love connecting through this great hobby.

Happy Birthday America!

Wishing all my fellow Americans a Happy 4th of July!  Hope you have a great time with family & friends as we celebrate our country & pray for better days ahead.  The Ten Minute Craft Dash challenge is to make a card with stars.  Yesterday's card would have been great except it took me 11 minutes.  I'll tell you, 10 minutes is not very long--LOL!  Decided to really simplify things & sure enough, hubby timed this card to take 6 minutes & 59 seconds--yah!  Now I have a card ready for next year!  All these stamps are old unmounted rubber that I attach to my acrylic block with Poster Tape.  I don't know the company for the fireworks but the others are by Art Impressions, an Oregon company where I taught some classes until they closed their retail store about 10 years ago.  I added Stickles to the fireworks & the stars--very pretty in person but I couldn't get it to show very well in a picture.  This is my second card for the Simon Says Stamp patriotic challenge.  Have to work this morning, but I'll be visiting your blogs soon.  Thanks for stopping by again.

Celebrate America

  

Obviously too late to mail any more July 4th cards this year, but I'm taking one to a co-worker tomorrow.  When I saw the CASology cue word: fireworks, I knew I wanted to make her card using one of my fireworks stamps.  All the stamps on this card are old unmounted rubber ones I've hardly used, but really like.  If you have any here's a tip: mount them to your acrylic block with Poster Tape--works great!  I know the stars background is by Art Impressions (another Oregon company!) but I don't know about the others--too long ago & no markings on them.  I intended to have this card also be my entry for the 10 Minute Craft Dash, but it took me 11 minutes.  I had everything planned out & written down, so I must just be slow--LOL!  I made it under 10 minutes with another card I'll post later this week.  My inks are Brilliance Rocket Red & Mediterranean Blue--2 old favorites.  I see Simon Says Stamp has a Patriotic challenge now, so I'll enter this card over there, too.  So glad you took time to visit my blog.  

July 4th Card

I really like the current sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch!  & used it for my last July 4th card.  The embossed stars (Cuttlebug) have a bit of Stickles in the centers--hard to see in the photo.  The heart with the star is mounted with foam tape.  It's from a local stamp company where I taught some classes & made sample cards for their store until they went out of business. The sentiment is an old one still available from another Oregon company--Peddler's Pack.  I spent the longest time trying a variety of ribbons & finally hit upon this combination which gave me the look I wanted.  Hopefully it will make it to my cousin & his family in time for the holiday.















Check out the happenings on the Penny Black Blog.  There's lots of inspiration & prizes up for grabs!

  

Thank you for coming by & leaving me a comment.  Hope you're having a great week.

God Bless America

Anita's Card

Fortunately, I have family not too far away, so hopefully my card will make it in time for the July 4th holiday.  I really wanted to play along with the Muse challenge as I love Anita's card & it immediately made me think of my Penny Black circles & lines, 40-084.  Finally today my card came together.  

I easily masked so I could stamp just 2 sets of lines with space in the middle for my sentiment.  The images are white embossed with Stickles added to the dots.  The sentiment is an old favorite from DeNami & is stamped in Brilliance Mediterranean Blue.  I colored the stars with a marker & added Stickles.  The other day I was rummaging through a drawer & came across 1/2 a sheet of foam stars I've had forever.  They have adhesive on both sides, so I just removed the cover from 1 side & poured on Elizabeth Craft glitter (it's the kind that is flat, smooth & doesn't come off) & then removed the other cover & stuck them down.  
I think my brother & his wife will really like this card.  Hope you do, too. Tons of entries, but may as well join in the Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp.  I always appreciate reading your comments.  Wishing you a great week.

Happy Memorial Day

Hope you're having a great Monday celebrating Memorial Day if you're in the U.S.  I have a few days off & decided it was a good chance to get a start on my Fourth of July cards--never seem to get them made.  CASual Fridays challenge is Red, White & Blue & I combined that with CAS(E) this Sketch.  I'm also entering A Blog Named Hero since this is CAS.  The hearts are an unmounted stamp I got in the going out of business sale at Embossing Arts, a local company at the time I began stamping.  The sentiment is also an Oregon company--Peddler's Pack.  The stars embossing folder is Cuttlebug & I added Elizabeth Crafts glitter which becomes extremely shiny & flat when you burnish it & doesn't rub off.  I had so much fun making this card may get a few more done ahead.  Before I end this post, wanted to share the excitement on the Penny Black blog today--another big giveaway!  You won't want to miss it!  Enjoy your day & thank you so much for visiting my blog.