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"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."  Galatians 5:1  This week's focus verse at Word Art Wednesday, reminds us that true freedom is found in Christ.  Sin carries a yoke of bondage but salvation thru Christ sets us free.  Just as our spiritual freedom was provided to us by Christ's sacrifice, as Americans our political freedom is also provided for us by the sacrifice of our military men and women and their families.  For that reason, I chose a patriotic theme for this week's card.

I made this card with a specific military family in mind.  The soldier husband just returned home to his family after a very long absence while he was serving in Japan.  We are thrilled that he has now been reunited with his precious wife and their daughter.  The verse was set off by inking and a quartet of gold stars.  The red, white and blue striped paper and red paper with stars are from the same digi set as the large star and the sentiment used on the front and inside.  This fantastic patriotic set is from Deedee's Digis and is called Stitchy Stars.

It comes with a great assortment of sentiments, images (pre-colored and outline), and digi papers.  I used 2 of the sentiments, one of the pre-colored stars and two of the digi papers on this card.  One of the sample cards was used as the inspiration for this card design.  I changed up a few things but it's definitely a case of Deedee's card.

One of the things in my stash I haven't used often enough is my Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE).  I used it on the large star this week and really like the results.  I covered the star with versamark and then a layer of UTEE.  After heating with my heat gun, I repeated the process.  It really makes a nice clear coat on top of the star.  I'll be using this more often.

I really liked the subtle stars in the red patterned paper that came in the digi stamp set.  However, I wanted the stars to stand out a little more so I used a versamarker and some clear embossing powder.  It gave the extra pop I was wanting.  A striped embossing folder was used on the navy background cardstock.  It adds some great texture.  Some inking, brads, faux stitching, pop dots and black rhinestones finish off the front.

There's just a small amount of interior decorating.  The soldier's wife asked several of their friends to send them encouragement verses on cards to pin up around their apartment to help them as they make the transitions that they are facing in the days ahead.  I plan to include a couple cards before mailing this to them.

Supplies:
Cardstock: Bazzill (navy), Recollections (kraft), Georgia Pacific (white)
Patterned Digi Papers: Deedee's Digis (Stitchy Stars)
Stamps:  Papercraft Memories (Galatians 5:1), Deedee's Digis (Stitchy Stars)
Ink:  Versamark, Distress (Tea Dye)
Tools/Embellishments: VersaMarker, Uni-Ball Signo white gel pen, brads (unknown), black rhinestones (Want2Scrap Baby Bling), Darice embossing folder (Stripe Background), Recollections fine detail embossing powder (Clear), Ranger Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (Clear)

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Fan-tastic Tuesday Challenge #41 - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - I Ought to Use This More (for me it's UTEE)
Scrapbook Blessings Club Challenge #22 - Anything Goes
Going Gray with Scrap Creations - 4th of July (or that traditional color scheme)
PDE Linky Party #13 - Many Layers
Twisted Tuesday Challenges #79 (2TC79) - Red, White and Blue with stars
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge #183 - Embossing - Heat or Dry (I have used both)
Paper Pretties Weekly Challenge #316 (PWC316) - Red, White and Blue



As usual, I'd like to remind you to stop by the Word Art Wednesday blog to see the projects from the rest of the design team and to pick up your free digi WORDart.  Have a great day and thanks for stopping by for a visit.