Evermore Patriotic Card

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY !

Here is the final patriotic card I made.

SUPPLIES:

Rubber stamp, oldie from SU!

Stripes embossing folder, SU!

Stars embossing folder, Cuttlebug

Lawn Fawn Stitched Squares die

Star die, SU!

card stocks and ink, SU!

Ribbons and star brad , unknown

Thanks for looking, have a good day=) 

Celebrate Stars Card

The second of three patriotic cards I made recently.

SUPPLIES:

Folk Art Star punch, SU!

Lawn Fawn Stitched Square die

Scalloped Square punch, SU!

Stripes embossing folder, SU!

Celebrate (portion of a stamp inked

and heat embossed), SU!

Card stocks, SU!

Thanks for looking, have a good day=) 

Patriotic Bear Card

This is one of three patriotic cards I made recently.

SUPPLIES:

Stamp image, card stocks and inks all from SU!

Stars embossing folder, Cuttlebug

Thanks for looking, have a good day=) 

Anni and Andi Spool Doll Decor

July 1st.

The year is half over already, wow. 

It's also time for our new

 monthly anything goes craft challenge at

Love To Craft.

Won't you share what family friendly craft 

you've made this month with us ? 

This month I am sharing a set of "dolls" I made with

a long ago purchased wooden kit.

I bought several kits and the coordinating patterns,

but never got around to making them. Shame on me. 

The kits are just the wooden pieces to create the dolls body

then the maker adds their own fabrics, etc.

I actually made the dolls in late winter (notice the bare trees),

trying to get all of my design team projects 

done well ahead of time, not knowing what the year would bring.

Good thing I did since we have been dealing with major flooding,

on top of too many other bad things, since March ! 

Also, I have been quite sick since about mid June. 

Living with a basement full of river water (treated with pool chemicals)

and stinky, moldy air/items all around outside is not good for the lungs :(

 I am not crafting anything at all.

No room to work, no time, no energy, just no desire 

right now to make anything.

I just want to get the house (and yard, road, etc) back to normal. 

It's going to take time..............

Currently the water is stagnant, not falling at all.

A very stinky pond out front still, blech,

and waiting for the main road to open again.

I shouldn't complain, we are lucky compared 

to many other people who lost everything. 

Moving on to a few details about my project:

The little wooden parts from the kit,

all wired together to form the bodies. 

The kits call for Rag Mop Ringlets Cotton Hair,

of course none of which is to be found now since the

kits are sooooo old. At first I tore and knotted lots of tiny

bows from red cotton fabric. While I was making those,

I was thinking about maybe sewing strips of red felt

into loops somehow then I remembered I had red fleece 

leftover from snowman crafts. I thought I'd cut thins strips of that,

then loop it and low temp hot glue it in place on the heads. 

A happy accident as I was

cutting the fleece into strips, I noticed it was kind of twisting

in parts of the strips (I'd guess about 1/4" wide, definitely no wider)

Hmmmmm....... a little tug and it indeed twisted on itself, curling ! 

No, I don't know if there is a particular type of fleece this will 

only work with or what direction exactly to cut it.

My fleece was actually a cheap $5 red fleece blanket.

The little strips of fleece I curled then glued on top

of the heads didn't turn out too badly !

Yes, those are teeny pieces of fabric cut and 

fused to the wooden shapes that I painted!

I was following the kit instructions ;)

It was tricky working with such wee pieces

and probably more time consuming than had 

I simply painted the shapes. 

It looks better with the matching fabric pieces.

The faces were preprinted black.

I painted the heart shapes red

and added blush to their cheeks,

but it doesn't show in the photos.

The clothes are made with torn pieces of cotton fabrics.

Thanks for looking =) 

Happy Fourth of July ! 

NOTE:
This will be the final post for a while
since I'm still dealing with the historic flood
and aftermath our area saw. 
My craft rooms are a wreck,
filled with stored items.
I have a long way to go to get 
the house clean and back in order.
Then there is the garage and yard and.....
I honestly don't have any desire 
or energy to make anything now :(

Patriotic Tin Punched Luminaria

Today's project was created as part of my 

design team duties at 

Through The Craft Room Door.

It's a simple enough "tin punched luminaria"

for outdoor use !

The randomly chosen top winner this week  at

Through The Craft Room Door

will receive a $12 voucher

from our generous sposor, Di's Digi Stamps.

Show us what crafty item you've made !

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PROJECT DETAILS:

This project can be as simple or as detailed as you like depending on the design you choose to punch out. They can be left as is or painted. Any size can will work. Use different size nails to make smaller or larger holes. This project is one that older kids might enjoy (with adut supervision of course) doing outdoors this summer !

Choose the size can you want, taking into consideration the punched design you wish to make.  

Remove the label and adhesive, clean well.

You may want to draw the design with a permanent marker before freezing because once you take it out, condensation starts to form so it isn't easy to draw on it . You could also draw a pattern on freezer paper then tape it to the can and punch through it. Just make sure it is taped in place well !  For my sample I simply stuck a damp sponge shape to the frozen can and punched around it.

Fill nearly to the top with water and let freeze solid. If memory serves when I made this type of project many years ago, I read to put sand (?)  in the bottom before filling with water to help keep the bottom from warping due to the expanding freezing water. I didn't and yes, the bottom bulged. I just hammered it back down

Remove from freezer, keep a glove or old rag handy to help hold the can since it is cold and frosty condensation forms. I honestly worked sitting on the porch, holding the can between my feet (while wearing shoes).

Punch all around your design. Beware of ice chips possibly flying ! You may want to wear eye protection just in case of a crazy accident (I did). Chuncks of ice definitely came out of the can as I was working.

Set aside for the ice to melt.

You can leave it as is or paint it 

I wanted to paint mine with patriotic colors, so I used indoor/outdoor acrylic craft paint, a sea sponge and scrap paper for masks.

Once the ice is able to be removed, dry the can well. BE SURE TO KEEP A THICK RAG INSIDE THE CAN SO AS NOT TO BE POKED BY SHARP EDGES WHILE WORKING ! I place a hand inside the can, wrapped with a rag, while I paint to help rotate it.

Tape paper masks as needed to sponge paint over. I chose to use a sea sponge to apply the paint to my can so I needed the masks. You can paint with paint brushes, too. 

 The same star sponge that I punched around was coated with blue paint then stamped in the star punch shape on the can. 

Set aside to dry.

If you wish to use tea light candles, place sand in the bottom to help weigh it down. Never leave burning unattended! A better alternative is to use battery operated tea lights or the mini battery operated string lights. BE CAREFUL PLACING CANDLES/LIGHTS IN THE CAN  - THERE ARE SHARP EDGES AROUND EVERY PUNCHED HOLE!

There are so many possibilities for punched tin cans,

 have fun dreaming up new designs and ways to display them !

Land That I Love digi kit

Scrapbook page and printable CD case easel calendar page

created with the 

Land That I Love collection by Kimeric Kreations at the digichick

http://www.thedigichick.com/shop/Land-That-I-Love-collection.html


Such a terrific kit, perfect for scrapping military themed pages
as well as good ol' Americana projects. Love ! 

Image of the whole collection, above,

but you can purchase just portions of you wish.

Reminder: Kim's entire store is on sale this month !

Patriotic Flower Boxes

I like how my redecorated window boxes turned out !

They used to be plain wood boxes mounted to the side of the house.

When we had siding done several years ago, they were removed.

They've been sitting under the porch, 

waiting to be reused somehow someday.

That day came this spring when I decided to 

totally rip out my flower gardens

(sad to see them go, but the bermuda grass had taken over....)

and put in beds of decorative rock with containers for flowers.

I had the idea to turn the window boxes into a sort of

"stadium seating" flower box, painted patriotically and

filled with red, white and blue flowers. 

The idea was it would resemble a flag as seen from the road!

The flowers aren't nearly as full as I intended though.

I do not have a green thumb, I never seem to

be able to grow lush flowers....

A quick how to:

Brush on watered down acrylic craft indoor/outdoor paint
to create a weathered look.

Sponge stamp stars with the same paint.

Stack one box on top of cinder blocks behind
the other to achieve the look.

Fill with dirt and flowers, enjoy ! 

I almost forgot to mention that this project is being shared

as my design team project this month at

Love To Craft Challenge Blog.

It's a monthly anything crafty goes

(so long as it is family friendly) challenge.

Show us what crafty thing you've been working on !

Thanks for looking =)

I'm entering my project in the Red, White and Blue challenge at Shopping Our Stash
http://shoppingourstash.blogspot.com/2018/06/shopping-our-stash-360-red-white-blue.html

Patriotic Porch Decor 2018

Some old items I have added paint to in 

patriotic colors to for our front porch.

There are also red, white and blue buntings along the roof . 

Next up, once we have a break in this extreme heat,

adding red and tan to the columns. 

I bought the paint a month ago, 

but the weather (rain and hottest May on record)

wasn't cooperating. I may need to wait until late fall

to paint them - or winter if we keep having abnormally

warm temperatures for the time of year we are in! 

The pink wave petunia was a surprise -

they were all supposed to be white

in the potted plant I bought earlier this spring. 

Stop back by tomorrow to see the fun project I made

for the flower beds turned rock gardens this year. 

Happy Fourth !

Happy  Fourth  of July ! 

What an old card, probably 15+ years old !!!!  Seriously ! 

I started stamping in 2000. This is one of the earliest things I remember making

and still had around the house. It was actually just an over sized card front that I would

put out on display. This year I glued it to a large card base and mailed it off to a 

longtime pen pal along with several stamped images. 

Have a fun and safe holiday ! 

Patriotic Digi Scrap Page

Today I'm sharing my Design Team project for

Digitally Made Challenge blog.

This months theme is Patriotic/Summer Fun.

This is a 100% digital scrap book page.

I used the following items to create it:

Let Freedom Ring digital scrapbook kit by JMC Designs

Template from Made by Keuntje

Photoshop Elements 14

BONUS design:

Since one of the team members was unable to participate this month,

I made a second 100% digital project to share on the blog.

This one is an invitation.

I had fun layering various elements from the 

To The Mountains kit by JMC Designs.

Many were reduced in size, some were flipped.

This particular project was created with

My Memories Suite V8 software. 

Thanks for looking =)

Be sure to visit the  challenge blog

to see more inspiring digital ideas

by the design team.

You have all month to 

create and share a 100% digital (nothing handmade)

project with us.

Never Forget

Remembering the Fallen this

Memorial Day.

Thanks For Your Service Card

A quick card I made for another cousin of mine that recently finished serving with the Navy.
Cuttlebug embossing folder background.
Images from amuse studio.

Thanks for looking =) 

Thanks for Serving Card

"and those who serve !"

A quick Thank You For Serving Our Country card

I made for my cousin and her soon to be husband.

They both recently finished their stint with the US Navy.

The stamp image is colored with water based markers.

It was made by Stampin' Up! years ago to help raise funds

for the victims of 9-11.

The star embossing folder was from Cuttlebug.

Thanks for looking =)

Patriotic Painted Chair

The project I'm sharing today is an old wooden chair

that I repainted and turned into a flower planter!

It's my project for the new

The Love To Craft Challenge Blog is 

a monthly challenge

that is always anything goes.

We invite all sorts of hand made,

family friendly craft projects. 

They do not need to be paper crafts.

No digital projects, please.

PROJECT DETAILS:

I used indoor/outdoor acrylic craft paints 

and a foam brush to paint it.

Be sure to clean, sand and prime

the old wood before painting to

help the paint adhere. 

Although it is not necessary to seal

indoor/outdoor paint, I gave my chair 

a light coat of clear spray sealant.

I made my own star shaped sponge stamp

from a compressed craft sponge. 

I simply punched a piece of scrap card stock

with a star shaped punch, traced it onto the sponge

then cut out with scissors. 

Be sure to get your sponge piece damp 

before stamping with paints !

Carefully start stamping one edge of your sponge stamp then gently 

roll it around the surface, being careful not to slide it. Lift straight up

to remove. Stamping with paints is a bit slippery, be prepared to wipe

up mistakes right away with a damp rag. 

Keep a damp rag nearby when stamping with paints.

If you make a mistake, it can easily be wiped off right away.

Don't allow it to set for any length of time because it will

start drying and leave bits left behind when you wipe it off. 

You don't want to use too much pressure

to remove the mistake because it could cause damage to your base coat. 

I really wanted to add hand lettering to the rungs

along the back, but just could not get it to look right.

I tried several times on the top red one, in fact I needed

to touch up the paint I wiped off my goof ups so many times :(

Maybe I'll try it again in a few days after I've walked away from it.

You may be able to relate, sometimes it helps to come back

to a project after the frustration has worn off. 

The seats of these salvaged old chairs were just strips of burlap.

I removed the two center strips to create an opening

to place flower pots in. I'm still trying to decide if I should

paint the exposed wood pieces between the burlap red........

Take a look at two others made with the same

type of chairs. They are not painted entirely as this one is.

Patriotic Welcome Planter Chair

Country Swag Welcome Planter Chair

Also check out two others I made years ago,

both were painted top to bottom - and still in use !

One is mine, the other I gave to my parents.

Both are kept on covered porches out of the elements. 

Oh, and that old patriotic painted milk can in the photos?

I painted that years ago, too. It's due for a touch up!

Be sure to visit the rest of the Love To Craft design team members' blogs

for lots of great inspiring and varied craft projects !

I'm entering my project in the following challenge:
Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes week of July 26th
Through The Craft Room Door Members Only - Home Decor



EDITED TO ADD 10/5/2016:
My chair was a featured project at the Through The Craft Room Door site for October.