Friday, July 2, 2010

Stars & Stripes Forever



I can't believe it's already July! Time is just whizzing by. It's this time of year that Seth and I inevitably feel a smidgen of homesickness, thinking about all the barbecues and fireworks displays and lake parties with friends we'll be missing out on. My mother-in-law makes this to-die-for potato salad that goes perfectly with a nice piece of bbq chicken breast... My mouth is watering just thinking about it! 

In honor of this weekend's holiday, I broke out a new mini stamp set from We R Memory Keepers. I stamped the flag once in red, then again in blue, and paper pieced it all together. A toothpick made the perfect flag pole, and some Nesties embossing finished it up nicely (technique described here). It's a very simple design (I didn't even add a sentiment), but I like how it makes the flag pop.

To all my American friends out there, I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend!

Card Supplies:
Stamps: We R Memory Keepers "Old Glory;" Ink: Ink It Up!; Accessories: Cuttlebug, rectangle Nestabilities, toothpick, foam dimensionals

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Stretching Myself



Summer has really hit Shanghai - hot and humid. They're not kidding when they call it one of the "seven furnaces" of China! Surprisingly, we haven't been running our air conditioner all that much, but I'm sure that will change as the summer progresses. Funny story: when Seth went to pay the electric bill the other day, the girl in the office told him (with more than a touch of surprise) that our bill was "like a Chinese person's" - meaning that usually we foreigners have crazy high electric bills in comparison to the general population, due to our constant running of the air conditioner, tv, computer, etc., etc. I told him to just wait till next month, when it's really hot!

I finally got a little crafting time in yesterday. I decided to go for a more eclectic look this time. I'm always drooling over cards that are more "scrappy" in nature - bits and bobs put together to form a look that is multi-dimensional, textural, and colorful, but still with an overall feel of minimalism. So I thought I'd give it a try. Since I don't have any pre-made labels, dimensional stickers, or the like in my stash (crazy, I know), I had to come up with my own embellishments. Thank goodness for my trusty Cuttlebug! The result is still pretty conservative, but for a first try I'm pretty pleased. Definitely a style I want to try again.

Card Supplies:
Stamps: Studio G; Ink: SEI Carcoal, Ranger Antique Linen distress ink; Paper: My Mind's Eye (lime polka dots), Amy Butler (gray/lime floral); Accessories: Cuttlebug, Provocraft circle frame die, Provocraft butterfly die, small corner rounder punch, tag, rhinestones, brad, foam dimensionals