3 fiskateers: U.S.A.
- posted by: Legends
- posted in: Projects, Inspiration
- on: July 1, 2007
Welcome to July! For all of us in the U.S.A. the beginning of July is a very special time. Our flag is waving proudly, red, white, and blue are everywhere, and events are going on every day to celebrate our nation’s independence day. Fireworks, picnics, celebrating freedom, time with family, hot weather… these are all things that I associate with July 4th.
To help spread some crafting inspiration I contacted three all-american Fiskateers (and crafting all-stars!) and asked them to create projects celebrating America. Since Fiskars doesn’t have a patriotic line of papers I got creative and sent things from Heidi Grace’s red and blue line of embellishments. Here’s what they came up with:
Gretchen Schmidt (#51) wows us with her handmade mini-book about a family fireworks experience. I love how the simple white background keeps the focus on her photos, while the embellishments accent just enough to help her tell her story. In her words: I created this mini book from scratch using two pieces of chipboard and eight pieces of cardstock measuring 3-1/4” x 8-1/2”. Creating the holes was a snap; I held my stack of papers and chipboard together using two bull clips and then used my Fiskars Drill to create the holes. It was nice doing everything all at once and not having to punch individual holes. For the journaling stamps, I used my Fiskars Stamp Press. The gridlines on the press made it easy to line everything up perfectly, it is an awesome tool!
Lisa Pace (#209) decorated a star shaped box, and also made a great patriotic card for us. I like how the edges of the card are pinked and stitched, and that she used foam dots to pop up the letter S to add depth and interest. As for the box… well check out that ribbon flower, the banner, and the fun use of silver trim. What a lovely box to keep anything from candy to a gift.
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Wendy Reed (#1463 ) created a layout about something that has touched the lives of not only most Americans, but many people around the world. I would never have thought to add the green with the red and blue- but I really like how it worked out in this tribute page. Her journaling reads: 9/11 was such a tragic day. I think about it often. How many lives were touched by this in so many ways. All the people we lost, all the bravery, all the strength and courage it has brought to our country. Bless all of the hearts that fight for our country!
Thank you ladies for sharing such wonderful projects. As I spend this week spending time with family, watching fireworks, having a BBQ, and taking part in other traditions I’ll be inspired to take a few more photos and then preserve my memories with some of the products you’ve used. Fiskateers- if you would like to win some red and blue then post a comment here about your 4th of July traditions, or a good memory from a past 4th of July. I’ll draw a winner for the same goodies I sent these ladies on the 4th. I realize a few of you are international- so if you want to enter you can tell us what country you are from and about special patriotic tradition or holiday you celebrate.
Happy Crafting!
Laura says:
July 1st, 2007 at 12:27 pmThese are all very nice ! Great job ladies….As I get ready for our first Red, White and Blue BBQ, I remember back to Fourth of July’s spent with my Mom. She put so much love into the picnics…and desserts…and surprising us with sparklers !! I am the oldest of 12 and for the longest time, we only had Mom to raise us. She didn’t have her drivers license and we lived in a VERY country setting. Her friends took her shopping and we never knew how she stretched the budget but we KNEW we had the best 4th of July around ! Now that she’s gone, every time I see sparklers, I remember how thrilled she was just to watch us with ours ! Mom gave us everything she could and it was wonderful.
Bonnie H says:
July 1st, 2007 at 1:40 pmLOVE all the “patriotic” projects -thanks fellow Fisakteers for sharing your ideas with us!!! We always cook out on the 4th, usually BBQ ribs, & when my 6 children were younger, we always surprised them with sparklers!!! I always make a special dessert called ” The Next Best Thing to Robert Redford” - it is a 5 layer pudding dessert that my kids LOVE!!! So we would eat dessert & sit out on our driveway with family & friends to watch our village’s fireworks!!! Happy 4th of July to all & a big thank you to all who serve to keep our country FREE!!!
Geraldine says:
July 1st, 2007 at 1:55 pmI love all the projects.Our Holiday
is today July the first.When we were small we used to enjoy A BBQ and then we would watch the fireworks after.
Joan says:
July 1st, 2007 at 2:00 pmI love all the projects.The red white and blue looks really nice.Our holiday is today which is Canada Day.When we we were small we always looked forward to going to see the fire works.
Jessica Sim says:
July 1st, 2007 at 2:09 pmLove all the patriotic projects! Very cute with great ideas! Thanks for sharing ladies~!
Jenifer Cowles says:
July 1st, 2007 at 2:25 pmMy 7 year old son has disabilities and can get a little obsessive about things (fireworks is one of those things). He starts talking about the 4th of July pretty much after Christmas (his other obsession). When the day comes we go to the parade and watch the fireworks and all the talk is well worth it when you see the excitement in his face.
Vanessa Baker says:
July 1st, 2007 at 2:35 pmWhat GREAT projects!!! Awesome job girls!
mandiannie says:
July 1st, 2007 at 2:59 pmI’m not an American, but July the 4th will always be a special day for me…it’s the day I GOT MARRIED! Having an American holiday that day is a great reminder.
Jen B #258 says:
July 1st, 2007 at 3:06 pmI love all of the 3 Fiskateer projects - you’ve all done such a great job ladies!
We usually go to Middleton, Idaho for the 4th of July and go to the parade and fireworks. All of the neighboring cities bring their firetrucks to the parade and have a big waterfight between trucks in front of the firestation. It is really wet and really fun. We can’t go this year because I have to work the day before and after so we can’t make the 5 hour drive. I’m really bummed..but we’ll do something fun.
Sarah says:
July 1st, 2007 at 3:08 pmlOVE THE PROJECTS!! Our special tradition like most is a family picnic where we see everyone and hang out, eat, and swim. At night we go to the local fireworks and cuddle on our blanket. My dad does special “kid” fireworks on July 3rd. The kids always sit on a red, white, and blue blanket and eat r,w,&b popsicles. This year we are grilling hot dogs too!!
Brenda says:
July 1st, 2007 at 3:23 pmJuly the 4th this year will be three years since my sister got married. Since I’m a Canadian that is how I remember July the 4th!
Kelly Jo says:
July 1st, 2007 at 3:24 pmFirst let me say that these projects are wonderful! I love each of them and I am inspired!
As for my 4th of July tradition…I currently live in CT and all of my family lives in the Buffalo, NY area. Every year we travel home for the 4th and a big family bash! My sister has a big party for both family and friends (there are over 100 people every year and it just keeps getting bigger!) Last year my brother and his family were moving away and as a gift I took photos of each sibling and their respective family (I have 4 brothers and 3 sisters) and grandparents, step parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc…and displayed each photo in a large collage frame. I don’t know why I never thougth of it, but a mini book is the Perfect way to share all of these great photos with each of my siblings!
This year I will update the photos and make a mini-book like Gretchen’s…Hopefully I will win some Red & Blue to help me make them all! =)
Sara says:
July 1st, 2007 at 3:26 pmGreat job, ladies! This year we’re starting a new tradition: breakfast in the park with friends!
Michele L says:
July 1st, 2007 at 3:51 pmthe projects are great…thanks for sharing.
4th of July tradition: We (my side of the family) always have a picnic and always play horseshoes. There is so much food and always lots of fun. We then head to our local firewoks. We always end the evening with a campfire (made on the driveway) and each of us making our own smores. I love to spend this time with my family.
Janet says:
July 1st, 2007 at 3:51 pmThese are WONDERFUL projects!
Food, family, fireworks, fun… last year my husband took us flying OVER all the fireworks on July 4 - what a sight!
Debbie Buckland says:
July 1st, 2007 at 5:49 pmGreat projects….
Hmmm a New Zealand tradition or holiday we celebrate here is….
Waitangi day… its celebrating our treaty between the settlers to the Maori people. Although there are still a few kinks to iron out with that one (ie: protests every year) we celebrate by having a holiday.
Lynda #1749 says:
July 1st, 2007 at 5:56 pmWow….these projects are great. Love the mini album…great size for using a lot of photos…the shaped box is awesome…. I so very love the tribute layout…I agree about the green.
My girls are too little to stay up still to watch the fireworks…so we tape them on the tv. We then have a fireworks party the next night before their bedtime. We turn off all the lights and watch the video(surround sound and all)…they love it and it give us a chance to share that tradition…and keep our bedtime!!
Sandy2 says:
July 1st, 2007 at 6:18 pmWe have a family BBQ and then we go see the fireworks somewhere.
Sandy Wilkins says:
July 1st, 2007 at 6:46 pmGreat work Ladies! I can see scraplifting all three!
For years DH & I lived in a floating home on the Columbia River in Portland OR. One of the nations largest fireworks was shot off from Vancouver WA, just across the river from us. So our tradition included having the whole family over for a BBQ, fireworks, and a birthday celebration for my nephew (Born on the 4th). We’d sit on my parents deck (they lived next door) and have the best view in the world. The fireworks ended at 11:00, but no one could leave our parking lot until the traffic cleared around 3:00am, so we played games, had strawberry shortcake, and lots of fun! Although we saw some small fireworks in Mexico, it’s been years since I’ve seen such a show and I’m really looking forward to our local celebration here in Marana AZ. Theres food, watermelon, crafts, music and fireworks. It should be awesome.
Angela Smith #786 says:
July 1st, 2007 at 7:02 pmThose are awesome projects!
For the last few years while we lived in Utah we would always go to one of the local parks where they had music, horse rides, water games, food, etc. We always went early for the pancake breakfast then we would walk around and look at all the vendor booths. Later that night we would sit on the grass and watch the fireworks. It was awesome because right behind the park was a rodeo arena where the set the fireworks off from.
Dawn Stan says:
July 1st, 2007 at 8:30 pmI am from Australia.
Although I am not America, the 4th of July has a very special meaning to me. On the 4th July 1974, my parents, my brother and I landed in Australia after a 37 hour flight from England. My parents packed up all our belongings (they were only 25 and 27) and we moved to Australia to live (without any of our extended family). My Dad wanted to give us a wonderful life of growing up in the lucky country down under.
Kristi O says:
July 1st, 2007 at 8:43 pmThanks for such inspiration! What great ideas
Robyn W #323 says:
July 2nd, 2007 at 12:14 amtis a special day for me, although i am an aussie !!
its my DH’s birthday, looking forward to celebrating the day with him, next year we wanna be over there to celebrate the 4TH OF JULY
Great job on the red white and blue projects
Linda says:
July 2nd, 2007 at 12:43 amAwesome projects! Wow! Those are all so creative and use the different red and blue elements so well! Our fourth of July celebrations are usually a bit predictable - it is my birthday, so we always have a cookout with the family. My husband always treats me to lobster - but he knows how much I hate to pick it apart, so he will cook it and patiently disassemble it so that all I have to do is warm it up a bit and enjoy! This year I’ll be 45, and am still a bit in shock about that!
erin yamabe says:
July 2nd, 2007 at 2:45 amwow. these are all absolutely beautiful projects fiskateers, thank you!
as for traditions around the 4th of july, we always find family to spend it with…sometimes my side, sometimes my hubby’s side. bbq, play silly games usually involving bubbles now with the girls, and watch the fireworks anywhere we can:)
Nic #1033 says:
July 2nd, 2007 at 4:36 amI will tell you about Canterbury Anniversary Day. It is in November. It’s our provinces day to celebrate our formation. Canterbury Anniversary Day (or Show Day) is known country wide as the day the country comes to town as we have an A&P show, complete with ferris wheels, sideshows, livestock and horseracing (Cup Day is huge!!)
doverdi says:
July 2nd, 2007 at 7:12 amBeing from Canada, July 1st is our day. In my town it’s a huge celebration that begins early in the morning and ends after the last Firework is lit. My mother who is almost 83, loves having all her children, grandchildren & now great grandchildren together for this day. This year there were 24 of us for supper including my mother’s 91 yr old sister. Even my one niece’s in laws were there for supper. Four generations getting together to enjoy the day. At 6 weeks my new great nephew Andrew is the youngest member of the family. What a great day it was, so much fun, baby love (5 little one’s ages 5 and under), laughter and yes even some squabbling amongst the two oldest little ones. The parade was awesome this year. It was so nice to spend the day with family. For us, Canada Day is all about family. I can’t wait to scrap some of these pictures that I took.
doverdi says:
July 2nd, 2007 at 7:14 amOops, I was so excited about Canada Day, I forgot to say how great the 3 Fiskateers projects are. Thanks for all the inspiration.
crazy debbi says:
July 2nd, 2007 at 11:21 amLove the projects!! I’m from the USA but I LOVE Canada Day because it’s also my birthday. As for 4th of July celebrations, when I was a child we would all sit on the front lawn of our house and watch the fireworks which were set off from the park about 4 blocks away. A REAL treat was when we actually got to go TO the park and sit on our blankets to watch.
Leauriy says:
July 2nd, 2007 at 2:16 pmi’m inspired by these projects, and can’t ait to take a boat load of pictures this year! thanks. My best memory of Fourth of July was a number of years back when my husband and i took our sleeping bags and hiked up one of the buttes in town and watched all the fireworks from the city below and all of the surrounding towns. Very magical. Then we camped out for the night atop Spencers Butte and a spider crawled into my ear…but, that’s another story.
Carrie R says:
July 2nd, 2007 at 4:15 pmGreat projects ladies! Thanks for the inspiration!
Mary mc says:
July 2nd, 2007 at 8:36 pmThese were just awesome! Loved seeing all 3 projects!! Gretchen loved your story was told so well….Lisa loved the star box….And Wendy what a touching way to remember! I still choke up everytime I see them in a movie or think about that day.
Michelle M says:
July 3rd, 2007 at 9:41 amGreat projects!
We usually spend 4th of July on the lake with friends. We get the boat spot early in the day and as others arrive they tie on to form a floating party. We enjoy swimming, tubing, cooking, eating, laughing and then in the evening watch the fire works from the top of the house boats.
mm #88
melita says:
July 5th, 2007 at 5:00 pmBeautiful projects Ladies! We spent the past week in Texas on vacation and got to share with our kids one of my favorite July 4th traditions! Shooting our own fireworks! It was the best!