Rain-delayed Fourth

We had some nasty storms come through yesterday afternoon, which resulted in losing power for about an hour and half, which meant I-gasp-actually stamped an entire card.  But you don't get to see that today.  Instead you get to see a couple of cards I made for Splitcoaststamper's CAS July 4th Holiday Challenges. They have 22 different challenges posted (along with some fabulous inspiration cards!).  You have until July 8th to play along, so you should!

This one is for Lisa Lara's "what a melon" color challenge of red, pink, green, and white, as well as fionna51's tea challenge:

Since my husband is addicted to Earl Grey, I thought this poster would make the perfect card for him.  Yes, it's foam taped again, which, yes, means I had to foam tape those stupid "A" triangles again.  I did use a little trick for the "steam" dots: I cut them out of adhesive-backed paper, then very carefully cut around them and lifted the backing off.  If you're very careful, the dots will stay in the main sheet until you press them down onto the card, then you can peel away the unused portion, and voila, your dots are perfectly adhered in your precise pattern.

This next card is for another of Fionna51's challenges; this time it was to use something sparkly.

(yes, I call my husband "babes" with an s. I can't explain it.)  I'm thinking of using "you light me up!" for the inside sentiment, but am open to better suggestions.  To make this, I used a rhinestone template from the silhouette store, designed the card in the silhouette software, then cut it out to use as a stencil on my cardbase, like so:

I didn't tape it to my face; it's an ad from the magazine I was using to tape everything down to because I am milking my SU grid paper pad for all that it's worth.  Am I the only one that gets excited when it's finally time to turn to a new sheet?  And then gets sad when something gets on that new sheet, even though that is its purpose in life? No?  That's just me?  Ok, uh, then let's just go back to the card: I drew some lines to help me remember what dots were which color, then went to town filling in the circles with stickles.  Cutting out the words also provides perfect placement of the separate letters, too. If you're smart, you'll adhere those before you get started on the stickles (of course I did the stickles first).  The silver letters are metallic paper and the red ones are foil paper from DCWV.

One more picture before I head back to stamping.  Addison is not a fan of the thunderstorms.  Or firecrackers.  Or cats.  To help with the first two, we bought her a thundershirt, and it certainly got a workout yesterday:

Teehee!  I tried to get a back view because it's pretty funny--all her hair sprouts up at the top like a historical ruffled collar. Good times. Good times.

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth of July to everyone, especially those with brave family members in the military. I love this stamp from Eat Cake Graphics and went right to it when I read Late Blossom's One Layer Wednesday patriotic card challenge.  I stamped it with PTI True Black onto PTI kraft, then used my Staedtler Watercolor Crayons and an aquapainter to color it in.  I wanted the flags to be the standout, so I kept their clothes fairly muted.  I used one of those horrible-finger-pain-inducing discount tiny punches to punch out the stars. A few landed on the paper and  I thought it'd be a fun way to add some subtle interest to the top of the card, so I glued 'em on-I hope it doesn't put me over my one-layer limit! 

Yesterday was a "no-computer" day for us (we spent the day watching movies, swimming, reading, and playing Wii instead!), so I have a couple more cards to share from the last few days.

I was still in a "pretty" mood on Friday, so I made another embossed & waterpainted flower, this time using PTI Delightful Dahlia.  After embossing it on SU Whisper White, I used SU Pretty in Pink and Regal Rose markers scribbled onto a CD case to watercolor with my aquapainter.  My "tip" is to have the aquapainter tip mostly dry, that way you have more control over where the paint goes.  I squeeze out one drop of water, then use a rag to dry it off.  I pick up some color from the CD case, then do one or two quick strokes onto a scratch sheet of paper and then start painting.  I covered the whole thing with Pretty in Pink, then added some shadow with Regal Rose, then went and added some more Pretty in Pink.   Get out your favorite flower stamp and try it-you'll feel like such the artist!

I decided to use it on a corner bookmark, which was this week's tutorial on SCS.  I used some SU dp for the base, covered with PTI Ocean Tides card stock, stamped with PTI's Text Styles in Versamark.  I layered some white ribbon with PTI Sweet Blush and Ocean Tides, and punched the border using Martha Stewart's Cornice Edge border punch.

Due to the no-computer rule yesterday, I had to-gasp!-try to make a card without using a challenge!  I was updating my stamping index and realized I hadn't given Wplus9's Funky Foliage the true inking it deserves.  I started by brayer the sky with Memento Summer Sky (good name!), using torn post-its to mask the bottom.  Then I covered the sky and brayered the grass using Memento New Sprout.  I guess I didn't do a great job of lining up the post-its since I was left with that white line, but I decided it looked kind of funky (in a good way).  I stamped the trees using Memento Rich Cocoa and Bamboo Leaves, cut the image into 3 strips, and matted onto PTI Dark Chocolate.  For the bottom layer, I tore the edges of PTI Spring Rain and SU Certain Celery, and added a white strip between them.

Wishing everyone a safe and delightful Fourth of July!