My Fourth Favorite Holiday!

I know that doesn’t sound like a compliment, but considering it has to go up against the likes of Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving, I think it’s saying a lot to count the Fourth of July my fourth favorite holiday! And since four is my favorite number that gives it a special spot in my heart, even if it’s not the top of the list!

So this is the the last challenge until next fall for the Creative Cutting Challenge and it is the 4th of July. I know you could have probably guessed that, but I just wanted to make it clear for you.

I chose the Patriotic Set from The Creative Pointe which includes all these files:

You may notice the awesome fireworks with the sentiment! It really struck a chord with my fourth-loving soul!

I really loved this sketch from Scrap Our Stash:

 

I liked that the design was set up for more than one photo and that there was a scattered sense about the layout – much like fireworks!

The next challenge I felt fit right in with my need to scrap fireworks from the fourth was the Bokeh challenge at A Blog Named Hero:

 

Intentional, or not, my fireworks photos were definitely Bokeh in feel, but I also felt that a background with a Bokeh look would be a great way to set off my pictures, so to speak ;-)!

I started out with a sheet of watercolor paper. I inked up my star stamp from the Epic Love set from Hero Arts/Operation Write Home with Faded Jeans Distress Stain and started stamping. The Distress Stain isn’t really meant for stamping, so it gave a very random look to the coloring of the stars. I would also spritz the paper with Tattered Angels Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Mist every once in a while to really fade out the Distress Stain and give the page some sparkle all at the same time. I also used 2nd and 3rd generation stamping to give some of the fainter effects. I’m pretty excited with how it turned out and I would definitely give this technique a try again!

So, that’s my background story – literally! Well, how about I let you have a peak now!

Can you see the Bokeh, the sketch, the cuts? Here’s a closeup of the three cuts I used from the Patriotic Set:

I used the sentiment, the detailed star (in the center of the wood veneer gears) and the shield. I created the long banners that go down the page by drawing a long rectangle the same width as the top of the shield and then welding it together in my Silhouette software! I’m very happy with how that worked for those long strips from the sketch.

I used dimensional adhesive on the stars and firework element of the title and put some metallic red sequins in the middle to give them some glamour. I used shimmery papers and the Glimmer Mist for all the papers but the red, which was highly textured, take a peak:

Honestly, I didn’t want to stop when I finished this layout. All the wonderful texture and the fabulous patriotic images and colors – they really made my heart happy!

I hope you get a chance to get craft happy and share your digitally cut creation using something other Cricut files and join us in the challenge!

Have a great day and thanks so much for visiting! Please feel free to leave a comment to put a smile on my face!

Ruth

Supplies not already mentioned:

Paper – Canson, Paper Accents, The Paper Studio, my stash; Wood veneer – Studio Calico; Sequins – Doodlebug; Alpha Stickers – Close to My Heart; Pen – Sakura; Adhesive – American Crafts, Glue Dots, ScrapPerfect.

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ETA: I love patriotic themes and am glad to be able to add my project to the Paper Issues New Issue: Hooray for the Red, White and Blue with Therm O Web linky party!