Saturday, July 12, 2014

Glow Little Lightning Bug

Wow, summer is cruising by at a breakneck speed. This upcoming weekend we are celebrating my husband and sister's (and co-blogger) birthdays. It was funny because Lindsay and I just had a conversation about her age and she couldn't remember if she was turning 31 or 32 this year. After a certain point, do some people just stop counting? My uncle "sold" his birthday to his grandson for a buck. Now Cole has 2 birthdays and my uncle said he never has to worry about getting older again. Maybe it's not a bad idea. For now, I think I'll keep my birthday. I quite like it. 

I sat down today to make a card for my sister and fellow crafter. I saw Cas-ology's challenge this week was GLOW and right away inspiration struck. I combined it with The Friday Mash-up's Challenge #168 and an idea was born. The only thing I could think about was lightning bugs. 



You see, our great grandmother used to live in Webster Groves, a suburb of St. Louis. I don't know if it was the humid weather or the location, but her backyard was always full of them. There were so many that we used to catch them in jars. This is a fond memory both my sister and I share about the time we spent there. 

There aren't too many opportunities to see lightning bugs around here. I have the bonus of living further out of our small city and near a retention pond that has some long grass. I see lightning bugs throughout the summer right from the comfort of my backyard, but my sister doesn't have that. 

I started by stamping PTI's Friendship Jar on paper, but then changed to vellum as it gave a better appearance of glass. I used my Copic markers to give the jar a blue hue. Gotta love those beautiful blue mason jars. I used a sponge dauber to make the glow from the lightning bug and used a black brad for the bug itself. I used PTI's Ombre Builder for the dotted background and their Sketched Shapes for the birthday sentiment. 

This card will be a nice way to remind here of summertime and the memories of our childhood. I love her to pieces and I hope she has a nice birthday, however old she is turning. ;)

7 comments:

  1. Great card, and I love the story behind it. Growing up in MA I also used to spend our summers catching lightening bugs in jars! However, I haven't seen them in many, many years as they aren't around where I live now.

    Thanks for joining us at The Friday Mashup!

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  2. Absolutely gorgeous and so many lovely details. Thanks for playing along with CASology this week!

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  3. Amanda, I love this post...you are a good story-teller! :) I love the idea your grandfather had (selling his birthday to his grandson for a buck!)...brilliant! Your card is also wonderful, a great way to share a nice memory with your sister on her birthday and a lovely CAS card, too! Thanks for joining us at CASology!

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  4. What a cute idea for a summer-themed card! My daughter has really been into catching lightening bugs these past weeks, so your card really made me smile. Thanks for joining the Friday Mashup this week.

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  5. Ok, this is just too cute for words! What a great idea for a summer theme, and a fabulous use of the colours. Lightning bugs are definitely one of the perks of the warmer weather :) Thanks for sharing with us at The Friday Mashup this week.

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  6. This card is so clever, Amanda! I used to catch Lighting Bugs when I was a child in Indiana. I live outside Atlanta now, and they are called Fireflies in the South. I never see them anymore, but have fond childhood memories! XX

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  7. This is SO adorable, Amanda! It's a wonderful CAS card using this week's mashup perfectly. This brings back a lot of wonderful memories for me. Thanks for joining us this week at the Friday Mashup.
    Sara

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