Brick Wall Technique with Home of the Brave

The Friday Mashup Challenge this week was really cool and I couldn't wait to try my stamps with it! It's called the Brickwall Technique.  I knew I wouldn't get to it until later on Saturday but I mentioned it to one of my really crafty friends at lunch on Friday and told her she needed to check it out and give it a try!   She did and she texted me Friday night saying she did the brick thing and wasn't sure she was liking it!  She had all the pieces cut up and the putting it back together was a pain.  I suggested she call her daughter in to put it back together for her - sometimes kids are great at puzzles.  She sent me a pic and I really liked her finished product.  Not sure she is going to post it though.   I told her she should!

I made sure that I gave this technique a try too since I encouraged her to do it! (She might not take me up on my suggestions next time!)   Here is my finished Brickwall Technique card:

After my friend's struggles, I knew I would want to make sure that when I put my bricks together that it would be easy.  So here I what I did:

First, I stamped my image.
I used the Home of the Brave stamp set and stamped on a piece of Whisper cardstock.

I stamped the star clusters and the stripes with Ruby ink and the stars on the flag in Outdoor Denim.

Next drew lines every 1/2" horizontally on the card.  I marked off the bricks to measure 1/2" x 3/4".  The small bricks on the end are 1/2" x 1/2".

Once all the bricks were marked off, I numbered them so that I could easily and quickly put them back together.

Here are the bricks cut apart and ready to be put together!

I used Whisper Ink to sponge the edges of each brick to give each one a defined look.

I pulled some Dakota paper (X7157B) from my stash for my card and added Pewter Durables Square Studs (Z1705) for a simple accent.

I really like this technique and see that it could be a fun thing to try with many different types of images!   Be sure to check out the other cards on Friday Mashup!

The Home of the Brave Stamp is one of three EXCLUSIVE stamps that are available only during June and July.  $5 from the purchase of this stamp will be donated to the USO.  You can find out more information on these Patriotic stamps HERE.

Happy Father's Day

On Friday I gave a little bit of the History of Flag Day (see my card and post HERE) so I thought it would be fun to look up the history of Father's Day.   I bet you'd be surprised at how long (or SHORT) it's been an OFFICIAL holiday!  

On July 19 of 1910, the governor of Washington, proclaimed the nation's first "Father's Day".  However, it was not until 1972 that the day became an official holiday in the United States.  This was after we had be already celebrating Mother's Day for 58 years!  

So, what brought about the July 1910 proclamation in Washington?  A Spokane, Washington woman named Sonora Smart Dodd, one of six children raised by a widower, tried to establish an official equivalent to Mother’s Day for male parents. She went to local churches, the YMCA, shopkeepers and government officials to drum up support for her idea, and she was successful: Washington State celebrated the nation’s first statewide Father’s Day on July 19, 1910.  Slowly the idea spread but was met with disdain by many men.  One historian writes, they “scoffed at the holiday’s sentimental attempts to domesticate manliness with flowers and gift-giving, or they derided the proliferation of such holidays as a commercial gimmick to sell more products--often paid for by the father himself.”

In the 1920s and 1930's many tried to scrap the idea of a Mother's Day and a Father's Day suggesting that there should just be one holiday - a "Parent's Day".  Then the great despression came, and many struggling retailers and advertisers doubled their efforts to support Father's Day by promoting neckties, hats, socks and tobacco and sporting goods. When WWII began, advertisers argued that celebrating Father's Day was a way to honor the troops and support the war efforts.  By the end of the WWII Father's Day had become a national institution.

Finally, in 1972 Richard Nixon signed a proclamation that at last made Father's Day a national holiday.   

Happy Father's Day to ALL of the Father's out there!   Here is the card I created for my Father!

I used the sketch from Retro Sketches for my card and paper from Later Sk8r.  The "Happy Father's Day" was cut using the Artiste Cricut Cartridge.   

To add a little texture to the plain Outdoor Denim cardstock base, I used a texture stamp from the Universal Background stamp set.  I scissored distressed the edges of the paper and cardstock to give it a rough look.

Recipe 5x7 Card

Later Sk8r Paper

Universal Background (D1477)

Color Ready Wooden Trinket Shapes (Z1844)

Bakers Twine - Mini Medley Accents Wooden Collection (Z1837)

Artiste Cricut Cartridge - (Z1790)

Retro Sketch

June 14 - Flag Day in the USA!

On June 14, 1777, the first official flag, also known as the Stars and Stripes or Old Glory, was approved by the Continental Congress.  But it was over 100 years later before the first official Flag Day was declared.  The idea began in 1889 with a school teacher named BJ Cigrand in Wisconsin who arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia Public School to observe June 14 as 'Flag Birthday'. In numerous magazines and newspaper articles and public addresses over the following years, Cigrand continued to enthusiastically advocate the observance of June 14 as 'Flag Birthday', or 'Flag Day'

With BJ Cigrand and Leroy Van Horn as the moving spirits, the American Flag Day Association, was organized for the purpose of promoting the holding of Flag Day exercises. On June 14th, 1894, the first general public school children's celebration of Flag Day in Chicago was held in Douglas, Garfield, Humboldt, Lincoln, and Washington Parks, with more than 300,000 children participating.

Inspired by these three decades of state and local celebrations, Flag Day - the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 - was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson's proclamation, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.

So Here's to National Flag Day today!

For my card I used one of Close To My Heart's exclusive stamp set - Home of the Brave (D1576)

This stamp is available ONLY during the months of June and July.  When you purchase this stamp for $17.95, $5 will will be donated to the USO, the leading, most recognized military-support and services organization in the United States

                                       

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