Sailing a Whale in the Land of the Free....

A few weeks back I had a dream that woke me up laughing hysterically.  My grandmother was wearing the full gear and driving a fire truck.  She'd managed to solve a crime and come to my rescue. Apparently she was an undercover 'Jane Bond.'   But that's a dream for another post...

Yesterday morning I had another silly one that caused me to wake up DH at 2:30 a.m. with my laughing.  I've been thinking lately that shutters would look nice on our house and apparently went to bed with that thought in my head.  Suddenly I'm in a room filled with carpenters that are vying for the job. It wasn't enough that they just quote me a price and I select, no no...a talent show must ensue.  Next thing I know, DH and myself are sitting in lawn chairs ,ocean side, watching a carpenter sail past on a whale, like a cowboy on a horse; hat and all!   

Needless to say, he won! 

And that has WHAT to do with this post?  Well...keep reading.

If you're a regular follower of my blog, you'll know that I have been on a quest to create ornaments for our seasonal tree and I'm happy to say that I've just completed our 4th of July tree!

Appearing first are these precious little wagons sporting the red, white, and blue.

The file I used is Little Red Wagon Box Template.

To show scale, here are the boxes next to my mouse

Where did this wonderful file come from?  None other than...

The Cutting Cafe Shop

(If you visit the blog and leave a comment, you could win 3 FREE files from her store!)

Here are the four that I made as 

Set 1 - Little Wagons

Set 2 - Hanging Stars

I covered white cardstock with foil tape and then ran the paper through my cutting machine and had it cut out 3 various sizes of stars.

Light coatings of Gesso were then applied to the foil tape. After drying a solid covering of Black Soot Distress Paint was then given to each star. Once this dried, I then painted over each corresponding sized star with either a red, white, or blue Distress paint and then lightly sanded.

The stars were then scored to fold.

All four completed here.  I love that they really look metal!

If you're still with me. 

 Here's where you'll understand the carpenter and the whale.  I really do have an obsession with shutters currently and thought that making these precious windows would be a cute ornament. Sort of like welcoming our troops home. 

You open the window and see our heroes just outside. 

Set 3 - Welcome Home Troops

 
Is this window CUTE or what?
I fell in love with this file Window Shaped Card Set

Here are 2 of the four I made

I thought it would be fun to make tiny firecrackers as an embellishment so I used yet another file from The Cutting Cafe to make these.  

Paper Bead Set.

Just before rolling, I glued a tiny bit of wire inside.

Now how about the absolutely fabulous vintage military cuteness images? Like them too??

Well, fret no more...they're here! They're here!

True Love for Our Hero located at the ever incredible Nicecrane Designs.

Here are the set of 4 that I made.

LOVE THEM!! 

I just wonder if the amazing whale whisperer could make shutters this pretty? 

Set 4 - Hanging Flags

I designed this on my silhouette cutter and then glued it all together. The rosettes with bottle cap centers make a pretty touch. 

And lastly,

Set 5 - USA

This is USA Word Shaped Card from The Cutting Cafe also!

Here are the 5 that I made and they each also sport a sentiment from the following files:

Independence Day Sentiment Set and

We Love Our Troops

Still here??  

If you are, thank you SO MUCH for visiting and I certainly do hope you found these items fun and inspiring.

 Please feel free to visit the fabulous designs from my friends at 

The Cutting Cafe and Nicecrane Designs 

for all your creative and crafty needs.  

Hugs and Have a wonderful day,

Lisa xx