Background





Monday, May 30, 2011

~Stay Safe~


I hope everyone has had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend:)  We usually have a large gathering and cookout, but we chose not to this year.  Instead, we decided to spend a relaxing weekend at home watching old movies...Midway, Tora! Tora! Tora!, The Longest Day... and newer ones...Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan, The Great Raid, etc...  Being from a military family, these movies always touch my heart because the older ones remind me of my childhood days... sprawled out on the living room floor with my brothers watching these very same movies with my father.  It also gives us a glimpse of what all the men and women of the Armed Forces have sacrificed to ensure our freedoms stay intact and allow us to sleep peacefully each night...things we take for granted, but that have come at a great cost. Yes, today means a great deal to me.


This card was created for our son Jonathon, who is currently serving in Iraq. I am super happy to say...he will be USA bound next month:) I made the card while he was home on R&R, earlier this year. Unfortunately, I was not able to send it to him because I was not permitted to have his address...he is in Military Intelligence, so his whereabouts have been a secret for a while now.  At first, the whole secrecy thing was unsettling; but knowing it is for his protection, it has become much easier to handle. The layout for the card was from a sketch posted at the beginning of the year at Paper Crafts Magazine. I had the sketch saved on my older laptop...but my laptop recently decided to retire with no advance notice, so I lost it:(  Also, with my sketchy memory...I cannot recall the number (PCM had a download for 100 fabulous CAS sketches)...all I can tell you with any degree of certainty is...it is between 1 and 100;)


Before I head on out of here, I wanted to share a poem with you. I first read it in my European Lit class during my junior year of high school. It really struck a chord with me; and all these years later, it is still etched into my mind. I also think it is one of the reasons poppies are one of my favorite flowers. Truly, it took this poem to make the symbolism of the poppy more real to me.

In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

I hope this poem touches your heart as it touched mine.  Have a wonderful Monday evening...and remember to take time to thank and remember our soldiers everyday!!

Happy HUGS!!!
Carolyn

I am playing along with the following inspirational challenges:

Cards For Men - No Patterned Paper
Craft Your Passion - What a Guy!
Stamp Insanity - Red, White, and Blue
The Stamping Boutique - Red, White and Blue
Rubber Redneck - Color Round Up...featuring Service and Sacrifice...Red, White and Blue
The Sisterhood of Crafters - Use Buttons
Kaboodle Doodles - Show Us Your Colors



17 comments:

Heather D. ~ Fresh Brewed Designs said...

I am lost for words. This is beyond beautiful, more stunning than stunning could ever be, so full of love that love does not even fit in the description. This card just speaks to me and reached deep down inside and makes me feel happy, sad, thankful, blessed, honor, pride, love, joy, peace, and so much more. Thank you for sharing this and for sharing the poem

Hope you have had a lovely day my friend

Heather

mudmaven said...

Beautiful card - love the wonderful details! Thanks so much for playing along in our Show Us Your Colors challenge at Kaboodle Doodles. ~chris

Sue from Oregon said...

This is the best card I have seen in ages...maybe your son should frame it????

Darlene said...

WOW ... what a fabulous use of buttons! LOOKS AWESOME!!
Thanks so much for joining our BUTTONS challenge at THE SISTERHOOD! We look forward to seeing you again next challenge!

Gerda said...

Hi Hon

I love your card. It is so plain but adorable. Love the stitches, they add this special something to the card - fantastic.

Thanks for playing with us at Scrapalicious.

Hugs, Gerda

Scrappin Crafter said...

I really love this! You did a fantastic job! Thank you so much for joining the challenge at Scrapalicious USA!

Jenni

Carmen O. said...

Even with seeing this wonderful creation previously, I must say everyone is totally correct, this card is absolutely stunning. I hope Jonathon does frame it. Beautifully done! Thanks for sharing the wonderful poem and your memories. Love ya!

Lorraine said...

Carolyn, your card is stunning! Love the design - so cool and creative! And I enjoyed reading your post as much as seeing your card!

Scrapaliciously Wonderful! said...

Love your card! Thank you for joining us at Scrapalicious USA
Hugs, Cindy

Shelley said...

Thank you so much for sharing the Flanders Fields poem, I have loved that since I was young. Your card is beautiful. Thank you for joining us at the Scrapalicious Challenge! ~Shelley

Anonymous said...

Fantastic card.Great design and use of buttons.Lovely words too.Thanks for joining us at Craft Your Passion :D
Lisa x

Susan Says (Stupid Stuff) said...

Beautiful card! Thanks very much for playing along with our Red White and Blue challenge at StampInsanity :D

Collette said...

Amazing poem, Carolyn, thank you for sharing it ... Going to copy it if you don't mind. Now, that CARD is AMAZING! So little stamping, but such a fabulous end result. I love it ... going to copy the photo too, for a later case - hope that's okay too. Thank you - Two-fold - for sharing with us at The Stamping Boutique.

Miranda said...

awesome card Carolyn, such cute little buttons
thanks for joining the TSB challenge this week
hugs
Miranda

Alison said...

What a fabulous card and my thought are with you and your family- here's hoping he is home soon. Thanks for playing along with Cards for Men and good luck!
Hugs, Alison x

Anonymous said...

Congrats you won the Color Round Up Badge!! Thank you for playing in the Color Round Up Challenge!! Sorry it took so long to post the winner. We had a tornado go through our community and I had damage to our property. I love this card it is just beautiful!!! Thanks again for playing along!!

Unknown said...

Such a neat card, I'm sure your son will love it and how exciting he's coming home soon! Thanks for joining the challenge at TSB!

Hugs,
Tracey & Christy