Wreath of Stars - Red, White and Blue

This card was fun to create, but oh my, lots of tiny bits and pieces!  This is when I'm thankful for the right glues in my collection!  (See technique below.)  My theme is "repetition" for Paula's June Operation Write Home card design bootcamp lesson.  Thank you, Paula!

My design shows repetition in the circles (wreath and two circle layers), stars, white stitching, straight lines (plaid and red layer), and repeating colors of red, white, and three shades of blue.  The only non-repeating element is the brown color of the wreath.

I also considered "focal point" from February's lesson when I added those tiny light blue stars onto the white (negative cut) stars in the red layer.  Without the light blue, the white stars were too eye-catching, which took away from the wreath focal point.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) stamper's select white, pure poppy (red), spring rain (light blue), blueberry sky (medium blue card base), enchanted evening (dark blue), dark chocolate (brown), and the gingham print from PTI spring rain pattern pack.
• Dies are Spellbinders standard circles small, My Favorite Things winter wreath, and PTI star gazer.  The wreath stars are the button die, the red cutout stars (with white underneath) are the leftover scrap from the button die, and the light blue stars are the tiny die.  I appreciate cutting multiple stars with one pass of the die, and being able to use the scrap as a "negative cut" is a nice bonus!
• Embroidery floss is DMC white. 
• Technique:  The wreath and tiny light blue stars are adhered with Glossy Accents, applied with a round wooden toothpick.  It's very strong as a glue, but on the star buttons, I didn't want it to squeeze out through the buttonholes.  So I first adhered the buttons with a fine point Sakura glue pen, then pierced the circle layer through the buttonholes, and stitched them all down with a continuous strand of white floss.  I wouldn't trust the glue pen alone (for an uneven surface like the wreath), and I also prefer the finished look of stitched buttons. 

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (289)