stars and cards

July 4th, Independence Day, will be here Monday. I've never taken the freedom I enjoy for granted. Ever. My father is a 20-year Air Force veteran. My son is a new Navy recruit. My father-in-law is a proud former Marine. All of them dedicated to the notion that our country is so great that they want to serve, protect and honor her.

As old as I am, I get choked up when I say the Pledge of Allegiance. I become misty-eyed when I sing the National Anthem. {Am I the only one?} I freely admit that I am an emotional girl.

My card making spree began with this card. I've been trying to make our cards and letters to Zach a little fun and hopefully he's not too embarrassed when he opens the envelopes. 

I used my new punch from Stampin' Up and punched 3 kraft stars, threaded Maraschino baker's twine from The Twinery through the holes I punched with my Crop-o-Dile and tied it to the card I made from some scrap cardstock.

It turned out so cute, that I decided that I wanted to make several cards like this to have on hand. The one for Zach, above, has "we're so proud of you" handwritten inside the journaling stamp. On the card below, I used a stamped sentiment. Now, I can use this card for a number of occasions. The die cut is the Top Note die from Stampin' Up. You can find the patterned papers used for the stars in the One Fine Day 5x7 cardstock mats pack at Momenta and the blue cardstock is also from Momenta. The Maraschino twine is from The Twinery.

Here I folded the Top Note die cut in half, embellished the border with more Maraschino baker's twine and stamped Zach's name showing how it could be used as a place card. Or, stamp the name of a food item if you're having a holiday buffet. I layered three punched stars with a pop dot between each layer for a little added texture and dimension.

Using more Momenta cardstock and patterned papers, I made these backpack notes. Actually, I made quite a few of these. Perfect for a little pick me up note of encouragement. {School begins here on August 2nd so I'll be needing these sooner rather than later!} And you know me, I'll be slipping them down inside these cute glassine envelopes.