July Fourth BLOG HOP

Welcome to the fantastic July Fourth Blog Hop. We have thirteen (like the original colonies) opportunties to win great prizes, but more about that later. First, here is my card for the day:

Here are the steps I used:

1) I soaped up the back of the Fireworks stencil LJ 886 and attached it, soap side down, to the Double Sided Adhesive Paper.

2) Using Art Glitter, including Holographic Glitter, in red and gold I filled the inside of the fireworks.

3) I removed the paper from the stencil and covered it with black glitter.

4) Using the flag stencil, LL 359, and colored metal in red, blue and gold, I embossed and debossed the flag. Embossing is what we think of as traditional, pressing into the stencil from the back, and creating a raised area in the metal. I did this with the stars. Debossing is pushing the metal in the opposite direction, making a different look. This was used on the stripes and the pole. I tried to make sure that the metal was pushed all the way down to prevent it from being sanded. I did this with Mercart's teflon ended tool.

5) I lightly sanded the metal. Then, I used the Mercart fiberglass tool to remove all the color over the areas that needed to be more silvery--the white stripes and the stars.

6) Until this point, the metal pieces were all seperate by color. Now, I trimmed each piece as close as I could and pieced them together on a some Double Sided Adhesive Paper. I popped this up and mounted it onto the glittered background.

7) I used a stamp by Northwoods for the sentiment with Archival Ink. I trimmed it and distressed it.

8) I assembled the card. White on blue, glitter on white, felt ribbon on glitter and sentiment on felt ribbon. A couple of blue gems, and I am DONE.

Now, you should leave a comment for a chance to win some great prizes. Then, hop off to Lee Kellog's blog at www.leekellog.typepad.com for the next step. If you get confused, or are hopping out of order (NEVER!) here is a list of all the participants:

Taylor -- http://taylorusry.blogspot.com/
Cyndi -- http://scrappychickcyndi.blogspot.com/
Lynn -- http://www.stamperosity.com/
Patricia -- http://thinkingofinking.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Alison -- http://alisonsrandomthoughts.blogspot.com/
Berenice -- http://karbersweetescape.blogspot.com/
Erica -- http://www.inkedupandreadytoplay.com/
Mary -- http://softangelkisses.blogspot.com/
Janelle -- http://rainpuddlesdesign.blogspot.com/
Erin -- http://stamptillucramp.blogspot.com/
Maria -- http://riacreations.blogspot.com/
Jennifer D -- 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/
Kerry -- http://kerryischilling.blogspot.com/
Louise - http://www.artfullyarticulate.blogspot.com/
Liz -- http://www.blackcatsstudios.blogspot.com/
Laura - http://www.rememberinglifesmoments.blogspot.com/
Lee -- http://www.leekellogg.typepad.com/
Jennifer I -- http://www.justjingle.blogspot.com/
Krissy - http://www.paperinkspirations.blogspot.com/
Sunghee -- http://www.creativityinprogress.com/blog/
Cindy - http://cindycoutts.com/

If you get lost, start again at Taylor's blog. She really DOES have all the answers. She also got some generous sponsors to donate prizes. They are:

Stampendous - - http://www.stampendous.com/ (3 Cling Jumbo Flowers plus a handle - 3 prizes total) they are giving away: one Cling Jumbo Tulip set ( http://www.stampendous.com/product/0/CRS5012-R/_/Cling_Jumbo_Tulip_Set ), one Cling Jumbo Tiger Lily set ( http://www.stampendous.com/product/0/CRS5010-R/_/Cling_Jumbo_Tiger_Lily_Set), and one Cling Jumbo Dogwood set ( http://www.stampendous.com/product/0/CRS5011-R/_/Cling_Jumbo_Dogwood_Set ) . Each set will come with a Jumbo Handle. ( http://www.stampendous.com/product/32763/SSH57-R/_/Jumbo_Perfectly_Clear_Handle )

Chi Chi Memories - http://www.chichimemories.com/ - (digi stamp set of winner's choice)

Pixie Dust Studio - http://www.pixieduststudio.net/ - 2 digi images of winner's choice (1 winner)

Dreamweaver's Stencils - http://www.dreamweaverstencils.com/ - prize pack to 1 winner

Karber Digital Studio - http://www.karberdigital.com/ - 2 digi images of winner's choice (1 winner)

Maria Levine -http://www.etsy.com/shop/tykatsupplies - Ippity Kit (1 winner)

Skipping Stones Design - http://skippingstonesdesign.com/ - 1 clear stamp set of SSD's choosing (1 winner) --**as sooon as I know what the set is, I'll let you know)

Cindy Coutts/Christian Paper Crafts - http://cindycoutts.com/ - one SU stamp set - Fast & Fabulous -- US resident only (1 winner)

Sunghee Chon - http://www.amusestudio.com/sunghee/ - 1 a muse studio catalog + 1 stamp set of choice (Value equal or less than $12.99) for US resident only.

Sunghee Chon -- http://www.littlepotatohouse.com/ -- $20 gift certificates to Little Potato House template shop for US or non-US resident.

Karen from Your Next Stamp - http://www.yournextstamp.com/ would love to give away a stamp called Ellie loves The Beach http://yournextstamp.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=66_226_165&products_id=2586

"You have until Tuesday, July 5th at 6:00 PM EST to comment on as many blogs as you can. Winners will be drawn from random comments on blogs, and announced on Wednesday July 7th (on Taylor's (http://taylorusry.blogspot.com/) blog). "

Well, bye for now. Have a Happy Fourth of July