Monday Musings: A Memorial Day Edition

Hi, everyone,

Thanks to all the servicemen and women and their families for the sacrifices you make for our country. Godpseed!

Heartfelt condolences to those families of heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.

OWH Sketch #123: Red, White, Jute, and Star

My Any Hero card for this week's sketch should be a real crowd-pleaser based on all your kind comments about Two American Treasures.  (Hubby actually gave this one a 9 out of 10 -- and that was before the final element was added!)

                                      

Paper: Bo Bunny Liberty, BasicGrey Kraft; Sentiment: Stamper's Best; Fiskar's star punch; garage-sale button and jute

Those of you who visit regularly know how much I love this Bo Bunny collection. And, I LOVE the jute paired with the deep navy. 

So, this card came pretty quickly. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

• I immediately knew what papers and material to use for the background, the larger centered rectangle, and the vertical strip. I knew the sentiment. I remembered something about a star-shaped button -- and quickly located it. But, I didn't remember it being white. 
• So, the first design issue was how to pop the star. If you look closely at the top of the vertical strip, you'll see there's a tilted blue star. It seemed like tilting a kraft star would mimic the star in the paper nicely and serve as a good background for the button. Finally, I  used a string from the jute to dress the naked button. :)
• After putting the card aside for a little while, I remembered a painting teacher talking about colors appearing three times in a piece. It was clear that the card needed another punch of white. But, neither pearls nor gems felt right because the button is made of plastic. And, then it came to me that a simple line of punched out circles -- punched from the same paper as the card base and sentiment -- might be just the trick. And, I was really pleased with the result when I placed these 5 circles on the circle.

 Parting Thoughts: OWH's Memorial Day Blog Hop

While hopping from blog to blog this weekend, I was struck by a couple of things. 

• Isn't it amazing how the OWH sketches result in such a variety of cards? Very cool!
• Isn't it wonderful that the blog hop brings recognition and focus to the meaning of Memorial Day? It's so much more than buying mattresses. Don't get me wrong -- we've been the mattress buying couple. When you need a new mattress, you need a new mattress. But, for me, the hop has really helped focus on the true meaning of this 3-day weekend.

 I've also noticed a few bloggers talking about their motivation and inspiration for making cards. For me, there are three reasons:

• My father-in-law is a World War II. He's actually had a remarkable year -- a year full of honors and recognitions for his service. If you'd like to learn more about these tributes, please check out this March 2nd post. We are so blessed that he is still with us. [We will be having dinner with both of our dads this evening! :) ]
• My uncles served during the Vietnam era. Uncle Ken was in the Army, while Uncle Charlie was in the Navy. Needless to say, they take the Army-Navy game pretty seriously!  We are further blessed that both uncles are still with us.
• Finally, I taught high school for 20+ years. Hubby is also a teacher. Over the years, we've known so many young people who have chosen to serve our country.  

 Think that's it. Thanks for stopping by. Hope everyone has a fun, but safe, Memorial Day.