Thank You, Veterans!

Hi all!

Well, still working on my promised fall card & snapshot of my Autumn cross-stitch project... :/ But one thing I have tried to be diligent about in the last few years is expressing my gratitude for the service of the veterans in my life. My Dad served 8 years in the Navy, and my coworker and his wife both served in the Air Force. I'll be back later with what I did for my dad..ya know, once I finish it :( But here's the other card I made. ETA: Please scroll on down to see what I whipped up for my dear dad. (And yes, he got it on the day...just in the PM hours. I know, I know...)

I fell back on my stash for the pattern papers by Creative Imaginations, and excitedly cracked into this striped grosgrain that I snagged on clearance from SU! 10 yards for $1.99. Say what?!? LOVE IT! (I picked up a few other non-clearance colors, too, and I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot of it soon.) Anywho, I was going for a CAS look and this fit the bill. (I'm doing mostly CAS lately due to time/energy constraints, and really enjoying it.) The chipboard star is a years-old clearance find. It started out glossy white with irridescent glitter, and I just went over the whole thing with a gold paint marker. I like how the glitter underneath gives it a little antique-ish texture.

I'm not usually one to jazz up the inside of my cards, but I ran into a little bit of a "Doh!" moment and had to improvise. In my haste, I stamped the sentiment directly onto the base, only to realize that I had the card upside down! So, what's a girl to do but layer over. And then I just added a plain sheet of white CS to the other side for writing a note and to balance the weight, both visually and physically. The sentiment is from an old Hero Mail set by Amuse, and I punched it out with my old school SU! punch that I always think looks like a dog tag (the people kind, not the canine kind).

I hope you'll remember to say "Thanks!" to the veterans in your life, and let them know their service & sacrifice is not forgotten. Happy Veterans Day!

ETA: Here's what I made Dad. My dad has always been supportive of my creativity, but I thought maybe instead of a card, which -let's face it- isn't the most practical/useful thing, I'd make him something he'll use & see every day (or at least for a while). He's always been an avid reader, and is known to stay up into the wee hours to finish a book. And so, I made him a Veterans Day bookmark, with my sentiments on the back.

I just love this little charm (and bought multiples of it). To me it says it all: I love my Dad and I love our country. And I thank God for both.