QKR Monday - Happy Independence Day!

Independence Day -- a federal holiday celebrating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. But did you know that the legal separation of the American colonies from the Kingdom of Great Britain actually occurred on July 2, 1776? The Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence, later titled the Declaration of Independence, and debated and revised the document, with final approval on July 4, 1776. In fact, John Adams had written in a letter to his wife, Abigail: "The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. . . . It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, . . . bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more."

In honor of Independence Day, I am posting a card that uses the Waving Flag (#16112) stamp by QKR Stampede. I have previously used this stamp for Memorial Day projects, Flag Day, and here it is, again, for Independence Day. I absolutely LOVE this flag image . . . I love its simplicity and the movement depicted in the image!

For this card, I first had the ribbon in mind, so I wanted to create a card with a vintage/Americana/folk art look to it. I decided to make my paper look like old, aged parchment paper. Here's how I did it: card stock is Stampin' Up!'s Very Vanilla. I then rubbed over the card stock lightly using my Memento Desert Sand ink pad. Then I sponged Vivid! Straw, Brown, and Taupe inks (in that order). Then I rubbed the Memento Desert Sand ink all over the piece of card stock again. Lastly, I inked the edges of the card stock using Memento Rich Cocoa. The date was printed on my computer, cut out with a Nestabilities Oval cutting die, "aged" in the same manner, layered onto a scallop oval that was cut out with a Nestabilities Scallop Oval cutting die, and adhered using foam squares.

And now for the announcement I promised. As you know, QKR has been having a blog hop each month, and this month is no different. Our July blog hop will be all about Christmas! Yes, Christmas!!! I know Christmas is five months away, but now is the perfect time to start thinking about and planning your holiday paper crafting projects . . . like the design of this year's Christmas cards! The Hop will take place this Thursday, July 8, and as always, will be started at the QKR Stampede blog. More details will follow as the week progresses. Be sure to mark your calendar for the July 8 Blog Hop. Here is a sneak peek of one of my projects:

Happy Independence Day to you and yours. As you celebrate this holiday, enjoy the local parades and fireworks displays and do be careful. Thanks for stopping by and paying a visit. Have a GREAT day!!

Happy Independence Day!!

Today's card is all patriotic, in honor of Independence Day . . . and features the Herringbone technique from the December 2009/January 2010 issue of the Technique Junkies newsletter. This technique is easier than it may look and is a lot of fun!!

The stamp was picked up at my local craft store in one of the dollar racks (and it was only fifty cents!) and has no identifying mark with regard to the manufacturer. Be sure to stop by tomorrow for another Independence Day card and a little bit of Independence Day trivia. As you celebrate Independence Day today (this weekend) please be safe! Thanks for stopping by to visit today. Have a GREAT day!!!

Lazy Days of Summer

This cute little frog is just kickin' back . . . enjoying the Summer days, wondering how things are by you!

The image was watercolored, and a touch of glitter added to the flower and the dragonfly. The lily pad is simply a circle from which a pie shape was cut, layered onto the card stock base, and the excess removed. Dragonflies were stamped on the card stock base to create an interesting background. Another quick and easy card!! Thanks for stopping by and paying a visit! Have a great day!!

Summer Birthday Wishes

Today I have a birthday card that is simple to make and has lots of bright and cheery Summer colors. As with my post yesterday, you can change the colors to whatever you desire.

The stamps used for this card were from the Watercolor Garden and Sincere Salutations sets by Stampin' Up! The white of the background was minimized using a scrungey-plungey . . . yep, that's what it's called. I bought this years ago at my local stamp store and still get a lot of mileage out of it. You can get the same look by using one of the plastic mesh dish scrubbers -- tap in into your ink pad, then tap onto your card stock. The difference between that and the scrungey-plungey is simply the amount of plastic mesh is less and it is adhered to a wooden handle (sort of looks like a bathroom plunger). After minimizing the white space, the card stock was wrapped with pink and green gingham ribbon. Thanks for stopping by and paying a visit! Have a GREAT day!!

Celebration Spots and Dots

Today's card is just a quick and simple celebration card; it's generic, so it can be used for just about any type of celebration! And spots and dots seem to be associated with celebrations and happy times. Change the colors to match a theme and you're all set!

This card was created merely by randomly stamping circles and dots in shades of blue and green. Celebrate, by Hero Arts was stamped in blue, layered onto a green panel and onto a second panel in blue. For some visual interest and contrast, a polka-dotted ribbon was added. Thanks for stopping by today and visiting! Have a great day!!