Happy Birthday America!

In our house, the 4th of July isn't just about having or going to a BBQ and celebrating summer. Don't get me wrong, its a day where we eat well, enjoy the weather, and hang out with friends. We usually participate in our town's holiday festivities but we also take a moment with our kids to discuss why America's birthday is so important. As the daughter of immigrants, I can appreciate why this country is so special and the sacrifices it took for my parents to get and raise their family here. There are freedoms and opportunities here that made my parents leave their native county. And now as the spouse of a US Coast Guardsman, I understand the hard work and sacrifice of our military each and every day to preserve those freedoms and opportunities.

So in honor of USA's birthday tomorrow, I created this birthday card.  Makes for a great masculine birthday card too!

I was inspired by this week's CASology cue word FLOAT. As soon as I heard this, I knew I wanted to graphically depict something floating from a word in a sentiment. I decided on stars floating since the toppings option at Seize the Birthday is 'Stars or Stripes). I stamped the sentiment on the bottom (HAPPY from PTI Headline Alphabet, Birthday from Year Round Happiness) and then masked off a triangle coming from the Happy. I stamped stars in the ColourQ challenge colors within the masked area starting at the tip using the generation stamping technique as the stars floated higher toward the top of the card. I added a strip of soft stone (my closest match to sahara sand) bitty dot to the bottom to anchor it and put the whole panel on soft stone card stock.  

Happy 4th to those celebrating this holiday as well and wonderful weekend wishes to you all! Thanks for stopping by!