Land of the Free

Hi friends!  Hope you're all gearing up for a fun Fourth of July weekend!  I don't have any travel plans, but this morning, Chris, my mother and I went out to the "Great American Weekend" which is basically just an outdoor festival a couple of towns away.  I've scored some really great ribbon (those giant 50 yard rolls for $2!!) before in their antiques section and I made out like a bandit again this year.  The same vendor had giant spools of crochet trim- I got an inch wide trim in black and a 1/4 inch trim in white- both were probably 100 yards (maybe a little less) for $3 each!  I also picked up 5 yards of a tan trim similar to the black one for $1 and I looked at a couple of other 5 yard trims but decided against it.  Then the lady was like, no, I'll just throw them in there, along with an inch wide white trim, so I spend a total of $7 and got a TON of different crocheted trims!  I'll probably be sharing them on etsy very soon.  LOVE bargains like that!!  :D 


This afternoon I have another card class at the nursing home (I'm using leftover kits from last month since I had a very small turnout in June) so it should be a busy day today!  I have plans to go to dinner with my family tomorrow and I'll see about fireworks Monday.  I love these long weekends!  :)


The card above is the one I gave to Chris since it's so bulky that I didn't want to mail it.  It started out with those three star buttons that I picked up at my thrift store for 75 cents.  Kind of pricey for me, especially coming from a thrift store, but I knew they would be perfect on a vintage card.  I had actually asked Chris to pry the shanks off for me (they were metal pieces glued on, not just a shank I could trim off with my shank cutter) so he helped me make his own card!  hehe  Anyway, I diecut a piece of kraft cardstock with my Nestabilities and embossed it with polka dots.  I added that to a piece of DCWV patterned paper and punched out the corners with my Stampin' Up! ticket punch.  I matted the patterned paper on navy blue and kraft cardstocks and added some brads from Michaels Recollections line.  The banner was diecut with off-white cardstock and stamped with a sentiment from Clear & Simple stamps.  I inked around the edges for a distressed look.  My last step was to adhere down the buttons.  This card is a different look for me, but I love the rustic Americana feel to it- perfect for a masculine card!  


I hope you're all enjoying the start of your weekend and I'm so thankful that you stopped by!  


-Suzanne :O )