July - Stamp of the Month... 13

Did you notice the number 13? Do you have any guesses as to what that means? July is going to be a month that brings MANY awesome new surprises! Some have been mentioned already and there are LOTS more to come. I am actually having the absolute hardest time not shouting from the rooftops what I have been up to and this is the month that the announcement gets made!!! Let the countdown begin!

Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians!!! Celebrate your freedom and enjoy your family and friends! July has so many things to look forwards to - celebrating our freedom is probably the most incredible of them all. There is nothing better then a sunny, fun-filled day spent with family.

Stamps: Lockhart Packages, Cornish Heritage Farm Ticking Backgrounder Paper: Memory Box Holly Berry, Stampin' Up! Night of Navy, May Arts Ribbon, COPIC markers, Spica Glitter Pens

Each year there is a realtor in our area that goes around the entire neighborhood and puts out these little plastic flags. There is something special about this little gift and seeing all these little flags poked into the front lawn of each home. Then soon to follow out come the big flags, the barbeques are lit, and the evening sky filled with sparkley lights. We live in an area that still allows some fireworks - dangerous I know, but still quite beautiful to watch. I'm glad we have a steel-coated roof on our house and not cedar shake like some of our neighbors :D

The stamp I have selected for this month's packet is brand, spankin' new!!! I am so thrilled to be releasing "Packages" a few days early and giving you the opportunity to purchase it together with supplies to start on those Christmas cards. I know, I know - Christmas in July - what's up with that?!? As an interior designer it was always fascinating to watch the gift shows start their Christmas promotions in JULY! So as I thought about it I began to ponder the idea of starting a series of Christmas card projects now, so that hopefully come December you are completely ready to roll! Is it a good idea or a bad? I don't know, but I do know that these little packages are SO much fun to color. As you can see in the card above you can choose your occasion to celebrate just by selecting a color scheme that coordinates. At some point this month I hope to change these little packages into a Christmas Tree, just by adding a "trunk" - how cute will that be? The possibilities are endless.

So to start the process of creating some of those Christmas cards, here is a little inspiration to get you started. This card was made utilizing July's Stamp of the Month Packet. You can see the variety of papers in the Christmas Brights collection by browsing my store here.

To speed the coloring process I used the brush tip of my sketch markers to color in these little packages. I have had the opportunity of trying the different tips available and I must admit that the brush is by far my favorite tip. I can get in the tightest of places with this tip and am able to color quickly and easily. After layering the colors, once again starting with the lightest color working to the darkest, and then coming back in with the lightest color to blend them all and make a smooth transition, I highlighted the ribbons with a little shimmer of glitter. Now the packages sparkle and are ready to be presented to some lucky person.

Another suggestion that I am going to bring back around is the idea of putting your twill tape through the printer. This post explains how to do that - I didn't do it on this card because I only wanted to use the items in the kit, but will probably do another at some point this month to once again show this novel concept.

So enjoy the sneak peak and stay tuned for more to come tomorrow :D