this+that: freedom

Did you ever just have one of those days? Why is it my ‘days’ are always when I’m trying to get one of these kits done? I swear, I can never have a ‘smooth sailing’ this&that kit process. Why is that???

Today’s adventure began when I needed a couple of inks so I could print out my printables. Needed light magenta and wanted yellow. Only had light magenta. After coming home with half a purchase, only then did I realize that I only had one full sheet of photo paper left.

What???

So I had to break up the one printable sheet to print on 4×6 photo paper.

And that’s just how the day started. . . . Let’s just say I thought I’d be done at noon. ;)

Oh well. All is well now. The kit is done and here for your viewing pleasure. And I want to retake these in a better light too . . .

So, I have to start off by saying something about the banana seat bike. For the past week or two (and it may have something to do with the trend of bikes I’ve been doing in these warm-weather kits), I’ve been thinking about that red and white bike I used to own.

I’m actually admitting to doing something very dorky as a child. That’s just how I roll.

I remember being 7 years old riding that bike (ohhhh, how I loved that bike!) and singing in my carefree way the commercial “Yum, yum, Bumblebee, Bumblebee Tuna….”

(Does that date me or what???)

I mean, seriously, how can you not like this commercial? How can you notfeel so carefree and want to eat tuna? (Sorry, wish I could find a better quality version)

Ohhhhh, the good ol’ days. When life was just a matter of what simple toy to play with, ‘should I wear the mustard paisley pants today’, and making sure you stayed ‘in the lines’.

Simple times.

Enough reminiscing. I guess we should get back to the task at hand, eh?

Here’s a few tips about the kit:

Uncle Sam Hat.

Tie a ribbon on paperclip and attach to tan flourish and sunburst piece. Adhere to bottom of the red cardstock triangle, leaving a little spot to add a paper clip.

Layer in this order: blue hat background, white hat background, red stripes, white band background, blue star band. Assemble and adhere the band before putting it on the hat. It really fits one way–including the stars should be facing upright.

Adhere hat under paper clip and add a couple of rhinestones as shown.

FOR CREATING DIGITALLY. If you you are putting this together as a digital version, add a red rectangle (1.6875 x .51) to the top of the tan section piece. The complete rectangle will be 1.6875 x 2.5.

Firecracker.

Adhere red stripe firecracker piece to white backing. Adhere white “burst” to the red firecracker piece. Adhere to background.

Rooster / Banner.

Adhere blue banner piece to white banner piece, making sure all the sections line up evenly. Adhere to red banner piece. Adhere blue half circle to top of banner. Adhere ensemble to tan background.

Adhere “usa”, “land of the free” and rooster in that order. Add star or circle gem to end of “land of the free”.

Star / Sunburst.

Adhere sunburst to white/red distressed background. Adhere dark blue star to light blue star background. Tie string or something shiny around the star and adhere to background.

Vertical Flag.

Adhere components to red/white distressed background in this order: red flag stripes, blue square, ”old glory” label over seam of flag, and white primitive star in the center of remaining blue space. Staple star as shown.

The Matchbox.

Okay, this is the tricky one. :) If you fold it just right, you really only need adhesive at the very last step because it all folds into each other. The hard part is explaining how to do this, but let’s give it a whirl.

Fold every scored piece towards the center. You won’t need to do anything with it, we’re just making sure that everything has been folded. The texture will be on the outside and the smooth will be on the inside.

Fold the two long sides so that the outermost section has been folded over the next section and then it stands upright to make the edge of the box. Repeat for the other side.

Now, if you’ll look at one of the ends, you’ll see four little square sections as well as the top end rectangle sections. With those two long sides already folded, more or less match up the four little squares and fold the top rectangle section over the four little squares. While this can hold, it might be best to eventually add a little adhesive to make sure it’s stays secure.

Repeat for other end.

Once you are sure you have it all down right, secure the two rectangle ends inside the box.

For the Outer Box, fold along all score lines. I liked to ensure it’s proper shape by wrapping it around the inside box before adhering the two flaps together. Make sure it slides in and out too.

Okay, so depending on whether or not you have little wanna-be pyros in the house you can choose–or not choose–to put matches in it. Since I believe my kids to be “adults” (although it’s still up for debate way too often), I went ahead and put some in there. If anyone pilfers them during this month to light the barbecue or fireworks, they are dead.

I also cut off about 1/4″ of the matches to fit in the box.

America.

Fold banner so that end pieces tuck under the main section and adhere to tan background. Adhere light blue primitive star to center. Adhere “america” title on top.

Barbecue.Parade.Sparklers.

Punch 5 extra circles with your 1″ circle punch and adhere under each icon piece for added dimension, if you’d like. i like. :)

Bang.

I found the best way to do this was to put the adhesive on the back and then wrap the string around a few times. Then I put it down on the background before tying it in a knot–kind of picking up any slack.

You could also punch holes into the background on each side of the word and string it through there.

Bike With Banners.

Adhere all but the top part of the handle bars of the bike down so that you can tuck the banner under it when the time comes. Wrap and adhere the two banners around toothpicks. Adhere the banners to the background over the bike, but under the handlebars–as shown. There will be a little excess toothpick hanging over on the light blue banner–trim with scissors.

Ticket and Highway Sign.

Adhere in this order: highway sign, “04″, ticket, and blue arrow. Add staples over arrow. Add star or round gems above the ticket.

Stars & Stripes.

Make sure the “p” in “stripes” aligns with the edge of the background. Same with the ampersand (&) edge.

GIFT IDEAS

The matchbox would make a cute add-on gift for someone . . . like to put along with bbq tools, or as a thank you for an invite to a bbq, a little gift package of fireworks . . . anything really.

And the Philadelphia would make a cute bag topper. Maybe fill the bag with licorice and top it off with a fold-over piece of cardstock with that label on it. Maybe a bag of sparklers. Possibilities are endless.

I think those two items are my faves of the kit.

Preorders will go out later on tonight.

5 comments

Rhadonda - June 29, 2011 - 2:02 am

Amazing. This is so eye popping bright and fun. And the matchbox….genius i say. Wow! For the life i me i don't remember that tuna commercial. Maybe they were just aired in certain areas. Catchy tune though.

Creative Dee - June 29, 2011 - 9:53 am

Finally! I am leaving a comment….sorry I have been amazed by your wonderful blog for so so long now, but after reading pages and pages – just leave because it gets late. Thanks so much for all you do and I am extremely happy to say I too am the proud owner of a Silhouette – as of today :)Thanks to your wonderful design and info about it, I am looking forward to taking it out the box and making heaps of your designs :) Kind regards Denise in Australia

Kerri - June 29, 2011 - 1:29 pm

Thanks so much Denise! Glad to 'see' ya here!
Have fun with your new toy!
It's definitely addicting!

And thank you too Rhadonda. You are always so sweet. :)
Kerri

dawnelaine - June 29, 2011 - 2:07 pm

I have just finished printing and trimming this kit, and I have to take a moment to BRAG on your tray prints (if you don't mind!). Your printables are so intense and ornate – literally miniature works of art! The last few kits I have been printing and trimming an extra copy of each print file just to use as journaling tags on scrapbook pages. They are that gorgeous!

I remember the Bumble Tuna commercial! And those bikes, we called them "spider bikes" – I am not sure why!! My favorite commercial of the day was, "Meet the Swinger, Polaroid Swinger…"- a very catchy tune! I googled it just to reminisce – I guess "swinger" has a different connotation nowadays…Definitely not something you would want your little girl singing while riding her spider bike!

Love the kit!! Thanks so much for having it ready for the 4th!!

Becky - June 29, 2011 - 2:53 pm

I think each kit just gets better and better. Thank you so much.