Stars & Stripes Forever

Happy 4th of July y’all!  This is always a fun time of year; makes me nostalgic about my marriage—12 years ago John and I planned on getting married on the 4th of July but when we went to the courthouse for our marriage license in East TX on July 3rd, we realized we had a 72 hour waiting period to get married!  So guess what?!  We got married nearly to the minute 72 hours later on July 6th!  I love celebrating America’s Independence and our love at the same time!! 

For today’s card, I decided to use Sharon’s Stamp Simply Challenge {ssnotime94} to use Stars & Stripes since I needed to make a personalized anniversary card for my mother-in-law (John’s stepmom), who is V.P. of Operations and one of her co-workers is celebrating her 25th anniversary this week.  I used my JustRite Times New Roman upper and lowercase stamps and big round stamper to personalize the message.  I then grabbed my larger *Texas shape by Deadbeat Designs to put in the center.  The stamp is solid, so in order to make it like the Texas flag, I outlined it with Brilliant Blue marker, stamped it on white cardstock and filled in the sections with markers and atyou spica pens for sparkle up close (see photo below).  I then had to make my own star because I couldn’t find my bitty star. 

The stars on the front are from Lazy Days of Summer, and the one on the lower right is for the recipient, because she works in the loan department.  I thought adding the Distressed Stripes cuttlebug folder/inking it up with ranger distress ink & natural hemp cord would make the card a bit more rustic. 

Here is some history on Independence Day if you’d like to read it.

*Texas – the biggest country in one state* – that’s what is on a shirt I recently purchased at Walgreen’s.  HA!  I think I will wear it today.  We are going to have dinner, watch fireworks & spend the night in the Hill Country (Wimberley) with some friends.  I’ll take a few pictures & share with y’all - can’t wait to see the progress they’re making on the home they’re building.  They have a spectacular view and I look forward to experiencing that with the fireworks tonight!    Be safe!