Saturday, July 2, 2011

Fourth of July Blog Hop!

Welcome to our Fourth of July Blog Hop. You should have reached me from Kerry's blog, but if you've gotten lost along the way, no problem,  the complete list is below.
Here's what I came up with for you:
I thought for sure that I knew exactly where my Dreamweaver Stencils fireworks stencil (LJ886) was, but alas I could not find it! So I started flipping through my stencils to come up with something that would work and I found my Spider Mum (LJ892) stencil instead! I used painters tape to block off the areas of the stencil that I did not want to use, then positioned the two flowers at an angle on white paper. I carefully pasted one with the Glossy Red Embossing Paste, then the other with Glossy Blue Embossing Paste, removed the stencil and sprinkled red glitter on the red paste and blue glitter on the blue paste.  While those were drying, I cleaned and dried the stencil so it would be ready to use on the third "fireworks".  The background papers are from Rusty Pickle a couple of years ago.
After the paste was dry, I flipped the stencil to the opposite side I used the first time, taped off the areas I didn't need, and positioned just one mum as my other firework, again using Glossy Blue Paste and blue glitter. When that one was dry, I used Distress Inks (Antique Linen, Old Paper, and Fired Brick) to age the white background so it would blend better with my other papers. Put it all together and they really do look like fireworks! (OK, maybe you have to use a little imagination, or squint your eyes a bit, but I think they worked!). Don't forget to leave me a comment for a chance to win a prize. Then hop on over to Liz's blog for another great idea.

Stop by the following blogs for lots of inspiration, ideas, and fun!  Leave a comment on each by 6 pm EST Tuesday, July 5th for a chance to win some great prizes.  Winners will be drawn at random from the various blogs.  Here's the list:
 
Taylor -- http://taylorusry.blogspot.com
Cyndi -- http://scrappychickcyndi.blogspot.com
Alison -- http://alisonsrandomthoughts.blogspot.com
Berenice -- http://karbersweetescape.blogspot.com
Mary -- http://softangelkisses.blogspot.com
Janelle -- http://rainpuddlesdesign.blogspot.com
Erin -- http://stamptillucramp.blogspot.com
Maria -- http://riacreations.blogspot.com
Jennifer -- http://just4funcrafts.blogspot.com
Pam -- http://1pamperedstamper.blogspot.com
Angelique -- http://scrapping-angel.blogspot.com
Sandie -- http://sandieshores.blogspot.com
Wendy P -- http://paperinkandsmiles.blogspot.com
Suzi -- http://mrsweyremaster.blogspot.com
Kathy -- http://pixieduststudio.blogspot.com
Beth -- http://inkyfingersrule.blogspot.com
Wendy J -- http://papertherapy-wendy.blogspot.com
Kimme -- http://kimme-thelifeofaprincess.blogspot.com
Kerry -- http://kerryischilling.blogspot.com
Louise - http://www.artfullyarticulate.blogspot.com/
Liz -- http://www.blackcatsstudios.blogspot.com/
Laura - http://www.rememberinglifesmoments.blogspot.com
Hope you have a great weekend and enjoy the hop!
Happy Creating,
Louise

48 comments:

Taylor said...

Oh, I love it! The stencil you went with worked perfectly!!! Thanks so much for hopping with me!

Sherry said...

Oh love the shine..this is a great card

Beth aka BR-T said...

Oh this is so lovely that image is very romantic....sigh!

Creatively Lisa said...

Super cute. Thanks for sharing

jamlrise@comcast.net

Michelle said...

Very sweet card. I can hear Yankee Doodle Dandy in the background! :)

rosewendy said...

I like that distressed look and the old fashioned look of the characters.

Pam Hornschu said...

So creative, Louise! The spider mum is wonderful for this! Great vintagey colors on this, too. Happy 4th!

sharon g said...

I LOVE the old fashioned look!

Liz Martin said...

I recognized the spider mum immediately and then read the text . . . seems losing stencils is going around these days . . . I'm missing three and have just re-ordered them. Good save!

Jenée said...

Great way to adapt. Very creative. You card is lovely and truly captures the spirit of the holiday.

slbt17 said...

very cool - love the papers and fireworks.
Sandra ltb

Jingle said...

Very nice card!

Anonymous said...

Great card.Thanks for sharing
Hugs Julie P

Patricia Hays said...

Awesome improvisational job to create the fireworks! They look great!

Indy's Designs said...

Very creative! Love the card.

Lea said...

You know, when I can't find exactly what I'm looking for, I just consider it an opportunity to get creative like you did. Great job!

Lea Kimmel

Laura Drahozal said...

Very creative use of the mum stencil! It really works, especially with that vintage background. Great look.

Scrappychick said...

Very clever! Your card turned out great!

Kerry said...

Sweet sweet card with the romantic couple until the wonderful fireworks!!! Love it!!! Have a great holiday weekend!

mousekemom said...

Great card! Love the vintage look. Thanks for sharing!
April D
Marion, IA

Jan Marie said...

Cool card! Love the sparkle and the vintage image! Thanks!

terriavidreader (IN-USA) said...

That stencil worked just great!

Marijane said...

DARLING! The mum stencil worked perfectly - looks just like some of the fireworks that curl downward upon exploding. I wish you and yours a perfectly "sparkling" ***4th of JULY***!

CCC said...

Great alternative use of the Mum stencil. I am the same way-can find what I want to use-so find the next best idea.

Anonymous said...

fun idea!

Alison said...

I love that you used a spider mum for you fireworks! So clever! Love how vintage this card is. It's really awesome!

Melinda Gleissner said...

your card is really cool!

Billie Dee said...

I love the dreamweaver stencils. Your card is awesome! Happy 4th!

Clare G said...

Wonderful technique- love your card!

Angie said...

I Like the spider mum. It works great for a 4th of July decoration!

Thank you for sharing!~

Janelle Stollfus said...

Oh this card is cute! The spider mum stencil is great for fireworks, what a great idea.

Lillian Child said...

Simply delightful!

Rachel said...

Ooo, I really like how you improvised with the stencil! Very clever!

luvmy2girls said...

Great card and I love how the fireworks turned out! Good idea! =)

Sunghee said...

Clever! Love the spider mum fireworks! Great card!

Stephanie said...

What a great card! Thanks so much for sharing how you made your fireworks. They turned out perfectly!!

joy said...

Your improvization worked amazingly well! Great card, Louise!

Reba said...

Love the vintage couple! Great card! Happy 4th!

Nicole Brenna said...

I love the fireworks on the card... really fabby job!

wendyp said...

LOVE all that glitz and glitter! Awesome card!

Cat said...

What a gorgeous card! Love all the sparkles! Happy 4th!

Lynell Harlow / Dreamweaver Stencils said...

Louise....Wayne and I love love loved the card! That is exactly something that I would have done too. We are definitely kindred spirits. Happy 4th...I am off to see some fireworks (from a distance).

FrancineB said...

Beautiful vintage card. I love how you had to adapt another stencil to get the look you were going for. Great job.

Jan Garber said...

Great idea with the mums!

Carol said...

Super fun patriotic project!

Carol B
ciaoitalia2007(at)gmail(dot)com

Sue D said...

I like your mum fireworks!

Angela Toucan said...

nice and glitzy

Maria said...

OH fun! Love the sparkly fireworks!