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!!