Liberty!

Happy Veteran's Day!!!  Welcome to the Land of the Free Because of the Brave Blog Hop!

You should have arrived from Rebecca at Creations With Becca http://www.creationswithbecka.blogspot.com/ Haven't the projects been amazing so far?!  wow!  She is also a SweetSassyDiva Designer!  You can see the 14 SweetSassyDiva Designers' projects here and there are new projects posted every day of the week!  This week we are featuring the Gypsy Smiley Card so, be sure to check the archives and stop by daily to see what these crafty ladies are sharing each day. 

I have the honor to tell you about Chris who served in the United States Marine Corps as an E-3 Corporal. I hope I can share the appreciation that I have for all the wonderful men and women that serve for our freedoms. For my layout, I wanted to give honor to those and I wanted to include a picture of when I lived abroad for some years and on my honeymoon we went to Paris. It was overwhelming, when I came across the Statue of Liberty in Paris, how much pride and love I had for our country. The emotions were overwhelming and I felt like I was home although I knew that this was a mini version of our beauty. I lived abroad for some years in Europe and I really missed home. I think you grow a greater appreciation when you are away from home. Chris says that being away from family during deployments is the hardest thing. I cannot begin to understand what all he and others go through to protect our freedoms and as Chris says ”freedom isn't free and every time they think about the freedom, they have to think about a service member who has lost their lives in order for us to have the freedom we have and love!” I will be doing this layout again and including the picture of myself and my darling husband with the Statue of Liberty behind us. Hopefully, we can go to NYC one day and see her in the full version.


Chris decided to join the service because he had a few friends join right out of high school and at that point in life, he did not see himself going anywhere. He knew that was what he wanted to do when he went to one of his friend’s graduation from boot camp in Paris Island. The best things about being in the military for Chris are the friends and the experiences which are something you can never replace.

For the most part, Chris feels that the military gets the respect that they earned and deserve. Although, some people still do not understand what they go through and what they have to deal with. He feels that the visual arts are one of the best ways to help people understand things.

For Chris, the time spent in the Marine Corps was a very special time in his life. Through the ups and downs, he wants people to know that he didn't just do it for himself. Chris says “I wanted to serve my country and make a difference. I just want people to understand that freedom isn't free and every time they think about the freedom, they have to think about a service member who has lost their lives in order for us to have the freedom we have and love!”

Yesterday was the birthday of the Marine Corps! It was founded in 1775! Happy Birthday to the Marine Corps! Also, a special Thank you Chris and all the wonderful Men and Women who are serving now and those that have served in the past for this wonderful country! Regardless of which branch of service please know that you are so very important and appreciated! Happy Veteran’s Day!

I made a layout in Red, White and Blue!  The heading is "Liberty" and it features the Statue of Liberty, Fireworks and Stars & Stripes! 

I made some embellishments using red stitched ribbon, brads and rhinestones.  I also added a hat pin with crystal beads for additonal bling!

I used the Stand and Salute cartridge for this layout.  On the dark blue firework cut, I used silver metallic ink and sparkling embossing powder.  It has a lot of shine and bling.  It really shimmers as the light hits it.   

Using red and white striped ribbon, I created folds and used rhinestone brads and adhered it to the bottom of the layout.  It is reminescent of the flag's stripes especially with the lace star background against the white cardstock.  

The word "Liberty" was cut out in dark blue using the shadow feature.  I also cut out the word 'Liberty' in red and white layering them over the shadow.  By layering it with pop dots, it gives it great dimension. 

I cut out a star frame to showcase the picture from 4th of July in white.  Using pigment dark red ink and clear embossing powder, I embossed "Those who reach, touch the stars."

Lady Liberty was cut out in red.  By using pigment dark red ink and sparkling embossing powder it highlighted her cuts and added shimmer.  She was also cut out in shadow using dark blue cardstock. 

Our amazing Blog Candy (2—count ‘em! TWO Chances to win!!) are brought to you through the generosity of Marlo, who created the marvelous Scrap’NTote and Anne, from Paper Patch Crafts.

The rules for entering are the same for both prizes: Hop along our path and leave a comment AND a way to contact you on each and every stop.  Be sure to follow as this is a safe way to leave contact information instead of writing out your email address.  On Friday, November 12, KarelJ will use random.org to first select a blog number (1-20) and then a comment number from that blog for each prize.  We will post the winner’s name on her blog and here.  If there is no contact information available, she will choose another winner from the same blog. It is up to the winner to contact KarelJ at ksjennings(at)gmail(dot)com. If she has not been contacted by Monday, November 15, another winner will be chosen.

Our first prize is a wonderful Pink Scrap’n Tote to store your Cricut Cartridges in! It comes to us from Marlo, at ContainYaCrafts. You can see the wonderful way this binder system keeps all your carts together, and ready to go in a flash by clicking on the picture below:

Need more than one? Put it on the Christmas Wish List and have your loved one order NOW, as they are simply flying out of stock! That is probably because there is a limited time offer of a 10% discount code to use on your order of a Scrap'n Tote! And save more by buying more than one!  I love the pink one and that is the one that you have a chance to win today! We received one of the final donations for the year, and are so grateful to Marlo!

Marlo also has a giveaway on her site for a Cricut Imagine! wow!!!

Click Here to enter for a chance to win a Cricut Imagine!!!!

Our second terrific prize is a set of Spellbinders Nesties in the Crown Circle Shape. It comes to us via the generosity of Anne, whose family has an incredibly strong military heritage. You can read more about Anne and her husband on Linda and Gina’s Blogs. You can also check out paper Patch Crafts here, to see what other incredible things Anne has to sell! WOW!!! Click here to visit her ebay store!

Your next stop is with Angie at Gypsy Paperie http://gypsypaperie.blogspot.com/

I hope you remember our Veteran's and active duty soldiers!  Thank you for all you do!

Be sure to check out the rest of the Veteran's Day Blog hop today!

1. KarelJ at One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity http://karelj.blogspot.com/  

2. Celeste at Touched By a Butterfly http://www.touchedbyabutterfly.blogspot.com/

3. Deb at Tidbit’s Place http://tidbitsplace.blogspot.com/

4. Michelle at Peanut Butter and Jelly Designs http://peanutbutterandjellydesigns.blogspot.com/

5. Jennifer at Young’s Scrapping http://youngsscrapping.blogspot.com/

6. Diane at Crafting This Moment http://craftingthismoment.blogspot.com/

7. Judy at Be Present Be Real http://bepresentbereal.blogspot.com/

8. Marianne at Life From Marianne’s Table http://number1aunt.blogspot.com/

9. Deb at If It’s Groovy http://ifitsgroovy.blogspot.com/

10. Christel at One Scrappin’ Sista http://onescrappinsista.blogspot.com/

11. Belinda at Queen Bee’s Musings http://queenbeesmusings.blogspot.com/

12. Colleen at Col’s Creative Corner http://scrappycol.blogspot.com/

13. Summer and Jennifer at Cricut Diaries http://cricutdiaries.blogspot.com/

14. Rachel at Suburban Crafter http://www.rachelstampshappy.blogspot.com/

15. Gina at Gina Thornton Stamping http://ginathorntonstamping.blogspot.com/ 

16. Becky at Sew in Stitches http://sewinstitches.blogspot.com/

17. Rebecca at Creations With Becca http://www.creationswithbecka.blogspot.com/

18. Bobbi Jo at Sweet Sassy Diva http://sweetsassydiva-gspot.blogspot.com/  YOU ARE HERE!!!!

19. Angie at Gypsy Paperie http://gypsypaperie.blogspot.com/

20. Linda at The Tulip Collector http://thetulipcollector.blogspot.com/