Red, White and Blue Week

4th of July is this coming weekend, so I thought it would be a great time for a week brought to you "Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue."  I love that song.  Toby Keith rocks!   Those who follow my blog or come to my classes know my husband is a proud Army soldier.  I am a proud Army wife who does what I can to support our unit and the families.  There are lots of military spouses who do the same.  While we never do it for the recognition it is nice when the thank you's come.  Be it a verbal thank you in front of the group, a certificate for outstanding dedication or a handmade card.  I like to keep a few cards on hand to give to someone who might help at the car wash fundraiser or clean-up from the summer picnic after everyone else has gone home.

Stampin' Up! has several stamp sets that can be used to simulate stripes on a flag.  This stamp is new to the 2015-16 catalog.  It is called Brushstokes (#138952) and is actually a full size background stamp.  I used my Real Red and Pacific Point Markers to color in 7 stripes on the stamp in the 3x4" size I wanted.  I then cleaned my stamp and inked only the blue stripe area again.  I carefully laid my cardstock back on the stamp to fill in the white spaces in the blue field.  I cut the flag out with my paper snips following the curvy lines the brushstroke stamp made.  The 3 stars are punched out with the star from the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack (#133787).  The saying was inked with my marker and is from the One Big Meaning Stamp Set (#138788).  The background was done with the Gorgeous Grunge Stamp Set (#130517).  You can ink it with you marker a few times or use your Pacific Point ink pad.

Cards do not have to be lots of layers and use lot of accessories to make someone know you appreciate what they have done for you.  Just give them a simple card and a "Thank You" from the heart.

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