Celebrating Independence Day

Let me be the first to wish these United States of America a happy 234th birthday...you've come a long way baby! To celebrate, I am posting a card that I made for my Yahoo group's summer challenge. Everyone who enters gets a small prize from the hostess. It is definitely a win, win situation. I was able to put this one together last night and post it to the Challenge.

I gathered several of my July 4th stamps and created the background using an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of white paper. I used red, blue and black ink only. I found the outcome to be quite striking and definitely one of a kind. I then cut the paper to make a few 5x7 cards and inked the edges in black. So what you are seeing is only a portion of the paper.

 

The USA is a Sizzix diecut that I coated with Glossy Accents and covered with the Martha Stewart Garnet micro beads. After the initial coating I felt I needed more beads and poured them. Afraid they might not adhere, I pressed on them just a bit. I should not have done that. Since the glossy accents was still tacky the beads spread a bit. I used my MM poker tool to 'clean-up' the spread.

Love the texture this added to the card without being overwhelming. I think it is simply perfect and made by me.

I used a red strip to create a border on the left. My Sakura white pen was used to create the faux stitching and I adhered a number of rhinestone stars and circles (from a summer swap).

This was a lot of fun and I was amazed at how quickly it came together. It was loosely based on a card I saw in a Cards Beautiful magazine. Since I like creating my own backgrounds, this was perfect for me.

Love using my inks and stamps to create something unique. Give it try and you will be amazed with your results. Let go of the need to be perfect and just create. Always be free to ink in the name of love.

Until then.