Hooray for the Red, White and Blue!

Don't you just love the photo inspiration for this week? I majored in History in college and taught American History to high school juniors for 5 years. My favorite genre of books is historical fiction and my entire scrapbook room is decorated in Americana stuff-- so, needless to say, I am a bit of a patriotic fan and was so excited about this week's project!!


My patriotic-inspired project is an altered frame that was a total blast and easy to make! I used the new Starlight line from Pink Paislee and it is just super cute! First I covered some Chipboard Letters with 3 of the patterns from the Starlight line. I got these letters at my local scrapbook store which made it super easy because I didn't have to cut out mine own. However, you could easily make your own by printing out USA on your computer in the size and font you want, then cutting them out and tracing them onto chipboard. I distressed all the edges of the letters with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Faded Jeans.

Then I laid out my covered chipboard letters on top of a red 8 x 10 frame that I got at a local craft store. I wanted mine to overlap a little bit to give it more of a 3-D look so the "S" sits on top of the "U" and the "A." Once I decided where I wanted the letters to lay, I stuck them together with glue dots (not onto the frame yet, just together.) Then I added some embellishments-- scraps of ribbon, tags from the Starlight Element Stickers (these are so stinkin' cute, they have a light glittered finish and what a great deal, there are so many pieces to choose from!) I also tied some twine through Doodle Bug Buttons, Uncle Sam Assortment, and added those.


Once I had all my embellishments attached to the chipboard letters, I sprayed the whole thing with Pearl Gimmer Mist, this is a very light glitter that is so pretty. I know it's hard to see the shine in the picture but it looks great in true life.

While my letters were drying, I cut a piece of Bo Bunny Double Dot cardstock to fit inside the frame and added some bracket stickers from the Starlight Element Stickers and "land that i love" from the Alphabet Stickers to the cardstock. This piece went inside the frame.


I also added a few of the Element stickers-- some tiny stars and tickets-- to the front of the glass before placing my letters. This gives it a lot of different layers-- there is paper and stickers inside the frame, sickers on the glass, the letters on top of the glass and then the embellishments popping off the letters. Finally I attached my letters to the glass and the whole thing was finished.

I love my finished frame and I already have a whole American room to put it in! You could make a frame like this for any holiday, or do a name for a child's room.


Make sure to join us in our Beary Sweet Challenge and see type of embossed projects you can come up with-- I can't wait to see what you make and you just might win a surprise pack of goodies from The Beary Scrap. Have a wonderful Indepence Day!