Month: May 2019

Good morning Everyone! Another inch of rain yesterday and more on the way today. We are certainly in a wet period. Floods are not good (no danger of that here), but drought bothers me more. So, I am not complaining about getting too much rain. That said, my yard is much smaller this year, as I can’t get some of it mowed.

Let’s get on with a birthday card. One of my great nephews recently had a birthday and here is the card I made for him. I hope he enjoyed it.

Anyone who knows me well, knows that Chartreuse is NOT my favorite color. Stampin’ Up has a ‘not-soon-enough-to-be-retired’ version of that color called Lemon Lime Twist. To celebrate its demise, I decided to use up some of the card stock and Designer Series Paper of that color for this birthday card. Children like bright colors, right?

Call me Clover is my card base, with a mat of Lemon Lime Twist Liquid Glued to the front. Over this I adhered, again with Liquid Glue, a strip of Lemon Lime Twist Designer Series Paper in a stripe.

I stamped the Bella image in crumb cake on Whisper White card stock, then colored it with my Light and Dark Crumb Cake, Light and Dark Balmy Blue and Light Granny Apple Green Stampin’ Blends. Bella’s collar is done with my Stampin’ Write Real Red Marker, and the bird’s bill with my Daffodil Delight Stampin’ Write Marker.

The sentiment is stamped in Lemon Lime Twist. I used the largest circle in the Stitched Shapes Framelits to cut the sentiment panel and Liquid Glued it to a Lemon Lime Twist DSP (dots this time) cut with the Layering Circles scalloped framelit. This was attached to the card front with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

For the inside, I stamped another of the Bella images, this one with a turtle, and colored Bella the same as for the front. The turtle is done with Old Olive Stampin’ Blends.

The sentiment, stamped in Lemon Lime Twist, is an old one I have had for some time and is from another company. Which company, I have no idea, but I like the font. This Whisper White panel is adhered with Liquid Glue to the same DSP as on the front, which in turn is Liquid Glued to a Lemon Lime Twist card stock panel. I deliberately made the sentiment panel smaller than usual to leave a larger frame of the DSP. Even though I don’t like the color, I think it is pleasing to the eye with the larger frame. The whole thing is then adhered into the card base with Liquid Glue.

The envelope flap got more of the DSP (I am really trying to get rid of it!) and another Bella on the front, which is colored the same as on the card front.

I am so happy this color is going to soon be gone, but I really did want to use up some of the papers. I hope my nephew likes the color more than I do.

Next week the new catalog goes live, so if you don’t have one, ask your demonstrator for one. If you don’t have a demonstrator, I would be happy to fill that role for you and send you a catalog. There are definitely some wonderful new stamps, dies and colors coming with this catalog.

CARD CUTS: Call Me Clover: card base 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″, scored at 4-1/4″; Lemon Lime Twist: front mat 4″ x 5-1/4″, inside mat 4″ x 5-1/4″; Whisper White: circle for front 4″ x 4″, inside liner 3″ x 4-1/4″; 2017-2019 In Color Designer Series Paper 6″ x 6″ Pack: front 2″ x 5-1/4″, inside mat 3-3/4″ x 5″, scalloped circle 4″ x 4″, envelope flap, 2-1/4″ x 6″

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Good Monday Morning to you all! I hope you are having a good holiday weekend, and that you haven’t forgotten those who make our freedom possible. Memorial Day is much more than just a three-day weekend and a chance to get the year’s first sunburn, play ball or have a picnic. It’s a time to remember the men and women who sacrificed their lives for their county. All the images in this post are mine, taken over the last few years.

This eagle was taken last spring near the Mississippi River. The finished image is a composite of the eagle and a flag image from a few years ago.

Did you know that Memorial Day began as a result of the thousands who died in the Civil War? The loss of life and its effect on communities throughout the country led to several spontaneous commemorations of the dead with the first being in Pennsylvania in 1864 following the Battle of Gettysburg.

It first became official on May 5, 1868, when Major General John A Logan, commander of the Grand Army of the Republic issued General Orders No. 11, which set aside May 30, 1868 “for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion.” The day was known as “Decoration Day”.  The name “Memorial Day” goes back to 1882, however it was not until 1967 that federal law made Memorial Day the official name.

My county seat Veterans (VFW and American Legion) place flags in Central Park, with each flag in honor of a veteran. It is a wonderful sight. This is done for Memorial Day and for Veteran’s Day.

Volunteers arrive before sunrise on each of the three days of the holiday weekend to put the flags out, then return before sunset to remove them. Flags are placed completely around the square and on both sides of the four sidewalks leading to the bandstand in the center of the park.

The Iowa National Guard 34th Army Band was stationed for many years in Fairfield, and as a result, they often played for the program and ceremony at the cemetery. This ceremony was later moved to the Courthouse grounds where the Veteran’s Memorial was established. Unfortunately, I did not find the photo of said memorial, but it is very nice. There is a monument for each of the armed services and one for POWs, with the flag of each flying above the monument.

There is always a program in the park, with folks attending from around the county. They bring their lawn chairs, children in strollers, and those less mobile come with walkers or wheelchairs. There is music by the band and speakers for the brief program before everyone moves to the courthouse, with those who are able marching the two blocks to the memorial on the courthouse lawn.

The next image is one I like, though the band member’s face is nearly covered by his instrument. It shows the flags behind him and in front of him, as well as being reflected in the brass.

In addition to this Memorial Day ceremony, nearly all the small towns around the area also have ceremonies, usually done by the American Legions in those communities. They are quite moving, and I wish more people would think of attending at least one of the  ceremonies on this special day.

Most veterans organizations around here also place small flags on the graves of veterans, making the cemetery an amazing sight. It is enough to cause one to get teary-eyed just thinking of all those who gave their lives in battle, as well as those who were fortunate enough to return home. Then, one’s thoughts go to those who may have come home, but suffered, or still suffer, in various ways from their experience.

We would do well to not just remember these men and women, but to do what we can to preserve the memories of what they have done to ensure our freedoms. Most of us do not even think about it, much less appreciate what has gone before.

I have shared just a small portion of why I like Iowa, and my county in particular, although I am certain these same events take place all over the state. This is small town living at its best.

If you have read this far, thank you. Now, go and thank a veteran for his or her service. THEN you can get that sunburn, or have that picnic. But if you live in the Central United States you probably won’t get that sunburn. More rain is on the way here.

God Bless veterans all, and God Bless America. Our Freedoms are not FREE!

“All gave some, Some gave all.” Howard William Osterkamp (served in the US Army during the Korean War.)

One of my birding friends had a birthday a couple days ago, and this is the card I made for her. This is not her favorite bird, but it is the only one that looks like a specific bird for which I had a stamp. Anyway, who doesn’t like such a pretty, or handsome, Cardinal?

I am playing along with the Freshly Made Sketches challenge #386 today. Here is the sketch challenge:And Here is my card.

I struggled a bit with the shape for the angled piece, but after several tries I finally had one that satisfied me. I cut one of this shape in Real Red and another, slightly smaller one in Soft Sea Foam. This one I ran through the Big Shot with the Layered Leaves Embossing Folder. Liquid Glue adhered these together.

Using Thick Whisper White Card Stock as my card base, I stamped the sentiment from Beautiful Bouquet in Memento Tuxedo Black in the lower right corner. This is a top fold card. The Matted embossed leaves panel was adhered to the card front with Liquid Glue.

Also using the Memento Ink I stamped the cardinal image (from Divinity Designs, formerly Our Daily Bread Designs) on Whisper White, and used Dark and Light Cherry Cobbler, Mossy Meadow and Crumb Cake Stampin’ Blends to color it. For the bill and legs I used the Dark Pumpkin Pie Stampin’ Blends. I then used the coordinating die to cut it out.

This was Liquid Glued to a Whisper White circle that I embossed with the Subtle Embossing Folder and cut with the largest Stitched Shapes Framelits circle. Stampin’ Dimensionals were used to adhere this to the front of the card.

On the inside, a Memento Tuxedo Black sentiment was stamped on the Soft Sea Foam panel, as well as a little butterfly. Both sentiment and butterfly are Divinity Designs. My friend participates in a butterfly monitoring program, so I thought it appropriate.  This panel was adhered to a Real Red mat and into the card base with Liquid Glue.

On the opposite side of the fold, I stamped a sentiment from Artistically Asian in Tuxedo Black.

For the envelope, I used a bit of retired Designer Series Paper in a red and white pattern for the flap and stamped another cardinal on the front, coloring it the same as the card.

I hope you enjoy my pretty bird. I am sure my friend will. Thank you for stopping by. Please leave comments below.

If you wish to purchase any of the Stampin’ Up products used for this card, just click on the ‘Shop online button’ at right. It is the one with the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.

CARD CUTS: Thick Whisper White: card base 4-1/4″ x 11″ scored at 5-1/2″; Soft Sea Foam: angled panel 3-3/4″ x 4-1/2″ then cut angles, inside liner 3-3/4″ x 5″; Real Red: 3-7/8″ x 4-3/4″ then cut angles, inside mat 4″ x 5-1/4″; Whisper White: cardinal 4″ x 4″, circle 3-1/2″ x 3-1/2″

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