I love the Fourth of July! The parades and the food! The fireworks and the food! Well, you get the picture! In my small community, the Fourth of July celebration is the highlight of the summer. Literally and figuratively, everyone heads uptown for an entire day of entertainment, content to bask in the companionship of their neighbors and friends. Beginning with the Fire Department’s Pancake Breakfast, and ending with a fabulous fireworks display, the Fourth of July in this small Midwestern town is a scene right out of a Norman Rockwell illustration and served as my inspiration for this Americana-style card. Enjoy this slice of American Pie!

• Prepare a 5-1/2″ by 5-1/2″ card base from textured Whisper White card stock. Use a Corner Rounder on the bottom corners.
• Layer with Night of Navy card stock followed by Whisper White and Real Red. (Tip: A Corner Rounder used on opposite corners breaks up the angularity of the card, adding visual interest.)
• “Flick paint” this base with slightly diluted white acrylic paint and a tooth brush. (Tip: When flick painting, I always test it on scrap paper to make certain that the paint is the right consistency and that it is producing suitable flecks.)
• Paint a large chipboard star from On Board Essentials with white acrylic paint. (Tip: After allowing the first coat to dry completely, I lightly sanded with a Sanding Block before applying the second coat.)
• Flick paint with navy blue acrylic paint.
• Position and adhere the star in the middle of the card base.
• For a finishing touch, I added a red button which I had “threaded” with a snippet of Night of Navy card stock.

This was a “Do-I-add-more” card. I debated on whether to add more buttons, or whether to tea-stain it to age it. Should I add more stars? In the end, I decided to keep it clean and simple!

Don’t forget that from July 15th through August 31st, you can become a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator for as little as $85. Please join my group! For details, Click Here!

As always, I appreciate your comments. They are very important to me! So feel free to stop in and say “Hi!” Until next time…

Order Your Stampin’ Up! Supplies Now!

Card Stock: Whisper White textured (108693—Neutral Assorted Pack), Night of Navy (100867), Real Red (102482)
Tools: Corner Rounder Punch (109047)
Other: On Board Essential Chipboard (112085), vintage Stampin’ Up! button, White and Navy acrylic paints, toothbrush

• This layout incorporates 1- 5″ x 7″ print, and 2- 4″ x 6″ prints (cropped). The prints are matted on Barely Banana, and the 5″ x 7″ is matted again with Certainly Celery. Photo corners are punched from Regal Rose and applied as shown.
• For my page base, I used textured Certainly Celery. Because I wanted to use up some of my retired Designer Series Paper, I pulled out two selections from Bella Birds. I ran a very wide block horizontally the width of the paper, and a narrower block vertically.
• Three circles (4-1/4″, 3″, 2-1/2″) are cut from Certainly Celery using the Circle Scissors Plus. Three slightly smaller circles are cut from Barely Banana.
• Selected stamps from Circle Circus are inked with Close to Cocoa and randomly stamped onto the medium and large sized Barely Banana circles, which are then offset layered onto the Certainly Celery circles.
• Regal Rose 5/8″ Grosgrain Ribbon is ran across the bottom of the page base, and also down the vertical strip.
• The photographs and circles are now positioned and adhered to the page base.
• For finishing touches, the Flower, Daisies #2 Bigz Die and the Big Shot are used to cut the larger petals from Regal Rose and Pretty in Pink. A Filigree Brad, with a pink Circle Fire Brad through it’s center, serves as the center of the flower. The daisy is adhered off-center on the smallest of the layered Barely Banana-Certainly Celery circles. Three brads from the Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware are attached to the lower right hand corner.
• As a final step, I used my computer to print “Missy and Mom” onto Whisper White card stock, punched it out with the Designer Label Punch and mounted in a Raised Dot Designer Holder, also from the Hodgepodge Hardware collection.

As always, your comments are important to me and help me grow as a paper artist. Please feel free to leave me a comment. Until next time…

Order Your Stampin’ Up! Supplies Now!

Do you love card making and scrapbooking? Would you like to receive a 20% discount on all your favorite Stampin’ Up! products? If you answered yes to either of these questions, then you may want to consider taking advantage of Stampin’ Up!s Mini Starter Kit Special. From July 15th through August 31st, you can start your own Stampin’ Up! business for only $85. Here is what you will receive for your investment:

• For All You Do stamp set
• All six In-Color Classic Stampin’ Pads (Bahama Bay, Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede)
• Whisper White Card Stock (8-1/2” x 11”)
• In-Color Assorted Card Stock (8-1/2” x 11”)
• Business Tools including (8) 2009-2010 Idea Book and Catalogs, 8 Holiday Mini catalogs, 50 Customer forms, Getting Started DVD and more!

And if this is not enough, the Standard Starter Kit is available for $199…with incentives including all 6 In-Color Stamp Pads plus a package of 8-1/2” x 11” Assorted In-Color Card Stock…a $43.65 value! The Standard Starter Kit contains:

• Four Stamp Sets: Fun & Fast Notes, On a Pedestal, Eastern Blooms, Fundamental Phrases, Teeny Tiny Wishes, plus Elegant Thank You (Note: You can substitute for sets of your choice up to the value of the substituted set)
• Stampin’ Around Wheel: Fast Flowers (or standard wheel of your choice)
• Stampin’ Around Wheel Handle
• Stampin’ Around Ink Cartridge in Pixie Pink (or color of your choice)
• Stampin’ Pastels
• Blender Pens
• VersaMark Ink
• 5 Classic Stampin’ Pads (Basic Black, Real Red, Brilliant Blue, Green Galore, Pixie Pink or five colors of your choice)
• Stampin’ Scrub and Stampin’ Mist
• 2 packages of Bold Brights 8-1/2” x 11” Card Stock, or color family of your choice
• Whisper White Card Stock or color of your choice (up to $7.50)
• SNAIL Adhesive
• Décor Elements Medium Chocolate Eastern Blooms and Décor Elements Applicator
• 8 Catalogs, plus forms and business tools

All of this, plus the incentives, is only $199, plus tax…SHIPPING IS INCLUDED!

You might be thinking, “I would love the products, but I really do not want to do workshops.” There is no obligation to hold workshops and no penalty for dropping your demonstrator status. However, to keep your demonstrator benefits and discounts, you will need to reach a $300 quarterly minimum. This can be achieved either through workshops or personal purchases. If you join my group, I will be there every step of the way to coach you and answer your questions. The first TEN people to contact me for the necessary password to order your Starter Kit will receive a free, retired unmounted SAB stamp set from my “collection” AND if you are among the first FIVE to join my group, I will provide you with a free set of In-Color Markers, too! Remember, this promotion begins on July 15th! Email me if you have questions about becoming a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator.

Tomorrow it’s back to the cards! Until then…