ODBD May Release Day!! Blessed is the nation...

Today is the day if you've been wanting to purchase some great patriotic stamps with a Christian bent for your 4th of July cards! Our Daily Bread Designs has some nice new sets!

Not only is ODBD releasing new stamps, but there's also a sketch challenge for May! Yes, ODBD is having a sketch challenge! If you choose to play, please watch the ODBD blog for details. The info you need will be posted on Saturday, May 2nd.

This card is my first for the sketch challenge. I'm using one of the sentiments from the In God We Trust May release.

Unlike most patriotic cards, this one has very muted reds, whites and blues. I actually did not intend that. It just happened. I actually started with very vibrant versions of those colors. And I just wasn't happy with anything I was doing. So I dug into some new designer papers Kelley is now carrying in her store. and found some great choices. Who says you must use only bright colors on a patriotic card?

The ones I used are not specifically patriotic, but still work. They're from Memory Box. The biggest and smallest pieces are from the same paper taken from the Poppyfinch collection. The bigger one was just sponged a lot with ink and looks more muted. The reddish piece is from the Rhubarb Tart collection. The oval piece is from the Basic Grey Granola collection. Kelley doesn't carry that one, but she does carry several Basic Grey papers and is expecting more in!

I used the Cuttlebug Tiny Bubbles embossing folder on the biggest piece and then sponged Tim Holtz's Vintage Photo and Black Soot Distressed Inks very lightly over the raised part. Then I sponged some SU Bashful Blue ink over that. I just recently bought some Tsukineko Sponge Daubers after avoiding them for years because of the cost. I LOVE them! They are so much nicer to use than the big pieces of cut-up sponges I've been using all these years! I should've given in sooner!

I sponged a bit of the brown and black inks around the reddish piece (although, it's not terribly visible) and then used SU's spiral punch on one side.

The smallest piece and the piece with the Scripture have paper piercing done with the Ornare Decorative Corners piercing template.

I did the scrolled corners using my Cuttlebug and a Sizzix Sizzlit die from the Architectural Accents set. Boy was it hard getting the pressure right to cut them out! Too much and it feels like you're gonna break the die. Too little and you can't punch it out completely. Oye!

The cross is a sticker from EK Success Jolee's Boutique. I found it at Target. I sponged it with the brown, black and blue inks and added 2 small pearls to the one in the center which came with the sticker. Kelley doesn't sell this particular cross, but she has some similar ones in her store.

Well, thanks for looking and I hope you play in the sketch challenge! At SCS please put in the keywords: ODBDSC03 and ODBD.

Stamp: In God We Trust by Our Daily Bread Designs

CS: Black, Memory Box Rhubarb Tart and Poppyfinch, Basic Grey Granola

Inks: Versafine Onyx Black, Tim Holtz Distressed Inks Vintage Photo and Black Soot, SU Bashful Blue

Other: Cuttlebug Tiny Bubbles embossing folder, Nestabilities Classic Oval Large and Small, Ornare Decorative Corners piercing template, Sizzix Sizzlits Architectural Accents, Pearls, EK Success Jolee's Boutique cross sticker, SU spiral punch, 3D-Dots, Tsukineko sponge daubers