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Happy Veteran's Day!

 
 

Happy Veteran's day! I'd like to publicly say "Thank you!" to the many men and women out there who are currently serving or have served our country. Your sacrifice and service is an amazing offering of yourself and does not go unnoticed around here. (Photo of the Vietnam War Veteran's Memorial on the Mall in Washington, D.C. Courtesy of Elizabeth Dillow.)

I personally have a brother who has served in the Air Force and is now in the National Guard (way to go big brother, Brian!).

And my father-in-law served in the Army 40ish years ago (yeah, Boyd!).

 This is a photo of Emily Pitts's great grandfather and his buddies in WWI.

I've always wondered what I could do with my limited resources and skills to let these amazing people know how loved and thought of they are. Recently, a fellow scrapbooking friend sent me the link to an amazing organization who sends cards that scrapbookers/crafters/cardmakers have created, to people who are serving in all branches of the United States military. (Photo of Sec. 1 of Arlington National Cemetery. Courtesy Elizabeth Dillow.)

Operation Write Home is an organization with a mission "To support our nation's armed forces by sending blank greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." What a cool, and might I say, simple goal, that each of us can get involved in! I encourage you to take some time to look around their website, to learn the guidelines and then write an "AnyHero" greeting to let these unsung heroes know they are thought of warmly. If you're a little more ambitious get out a few more supplies, a cup of cocoa and create a bundle of blank wintry-themed cards, blank thank you notes or blank birthday cards for the soldiers to use. This is just what I did! On Monday afternoon I held a card making party at my home where my friends and I made 50 thank you cards for our Troops who are currently serving in the military! Thanks, ladies!

 

 

 

I challenged my fellow WCS team members to create at least one AnyHero card to send out and they came up with some amazing cards! Thank you, Ladies!

 

Card by Angie Lucas

Cards by Celeste Smith

Cards by Elizabeth Dillow

Cards by Sara Winnick

Since today is Veteran's Day, remember to thank someone who is serving our great country. Heck! Throw a card-making party yourself and then go to our Flikr Gallery and show us what you've made. This is a great way to use up your extra scraps AND brighten someone's day.

While you're making these cards, remember to involve your children so they will learn to love and respect our military men and women.

(These girls live in my neighborhood and joined in on the fun.)

Women in Military Service to America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery (that's Maddie and Gracie looking into the water!) Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Dilow.

If you don't live in the United States, remember that you also have amazing men and women serving in your country's military. WCS team member, Melanie Louette, lives in Canada and her community throws a Rememberance Parade every year in honor of their Veteran's. Melanie and her family attended the parade this past Sunday and she was kind enough to share her photos.

What's in a Story?

Have you ever stopped to consider the impact your family's stories have on yourself or your children? What about your brothers and sisters? Which family stories do you tell over and over at the dinner table? Now, consider what would happen to your sense of the world if those stories were lost or if you didn't know them. Really! Take a minute, I'll wait. Got it? Okay, read on.

Historically, stories define who we are, what we stand for and ultimately how we see the world. Cultures without a formal written language hand stories down through the generations orally, telling them over and over through a designated orator or someone whose job it is to see that he/she remembers the stories for the village and then retells them. These orators are highly respected Elders for good reason: They are responsible for the entire history of their village. As a scrapbooker, I'm sure you're keenly aware that if you don't tell your story, no one will.

It was this kind of thought pattern that led me on a small journey last week down the path of family history. Being the youngest of six (my oldest brother is 20 years older than I am) and having come from a divorced family, there are many stories that I'm not familiar with. There are also people whom I've never met whose stories I haven't heard.

So I paid a visit to my mom, scanned a few photos and then picked her brain about the people in the photos. I can remember Mom talking about Great Grandma Jenson, her mother's mother, very fondly. But I simply couldn't remember the stories. I remembered that she was deaf, but that was about it. After our interview, I completed this page:

She was an amazing person! It must have been very difficult for her to raise her children without hearing in the late 1800's to early 1900's. (Then again, when my little one spouts off one of her high-pitched screams I wonder...)

materials 8.5x11 | patterned paper (Kaiser Craft) + charm (K&Company) + fonts (Segoe Print, Monotype Corsiva fonts)

It was a treat to hear about my great grandmother. But there was one story that I'd only heard in snippets - the story of my mom and dad's marriage. It just always seemed like a taboo subject so I never asked, fearing that I might hurt someone's feelings. That's the "blue" in me coming out ;) I finally broached the subject and I'm so glad I did.

This is the only photo I have of my parents together and now I have the story saved for my children.

These two pages will always be treasures to me, not just for the photos, but for the stories.

If you're not sure where to start, try using a quiz created just for the occasion and interview your prospect or fill in the quiz according to what you read about a person. Ella Publishing has a brand new eBook called Quick & Creative Quizzes that may be helpful to you. Also, be sure to check out our WCS gallery for more inspiration and ideas about telling your family's stories.

materials 8.5x11 | patterned paper (Kaiser Craft) + ribbon + fonts (Bradley Hand, Monotype Corsiva)

So, what's in a story? It's the essence of who you are and what you will become. It's your history and your future all at the same time. Pretty important stuff, huh?

Here's your challenge: Research one ancestor or family member that you don't know much about and then create a page or two about that person. Be sure to upload it to our Flickr group by clicking on the link above. I can't wait to see what you create. Happy hunting!

What are you Grateful for?

Hello! Welcome! I'll be your guide for the week. My name is Carolyn Jolley and I'm grateful to be the proud momma of three sons, one daughter and one angel son.

To kick off the week I'm going to focus on gratitude. After all, this is the month traditionally known for celebrating gratitude. According to Dictionary.com, gratitude is "the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful," and being grateful is to be "warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received."

To begin, let me give you a few ideas of ways you can scrapbook your gratitude.

I have a friend who is determined to find something to be grateful for every single day during November and she is following through by updating her Facebook status with a statement of gratitude every single time she updates. When she's finished, she'll have a whole month's worth of gratitude statements that she can put in a scrapbook. Our own Elizabeth Dillow did something similar for Simple Scrapbooks magazine last year where she listed her FB status updates for a whole week on one 12 x 12 page.

A year ago, a friend (thanks, Wendy!) gave me this sweet journal with room to write one thing I was grateful for every single day of the year. She used cute little tags, beautiful scraps of paper and chipboard or cardstock and bound these altogether. It was fun and easy to write one sentence each day.

See how cute this is? She layered each peice and used a Zutter Bind It All to keep it together. Wouldn't this make a nice Christmas gift this year? I bet most of you have spare tags, paper and other odds n' ends laying around that would work very nicely for this project. A lot of scrapbook stores allow you to use their tools if you go to a crop. Or you might find a store near you that allows you to use their crop room and tools free during certain hours. I did this a lot at the beginning of the year. It's a great way to figure out which tools you like and if you might be willing to spend money on pricier items.

Another scrapbooker (I'm pretty sure it was one of our WCS Collective members - sorry, I don't remember which one) asked each family member at Thanksgiving dinner to write down what they were thankful for and then she took their picture. She paired these next to each other in a small album. Now every year, they can look back and see what they were thankful for at that time in their life. (This is still one of my favorites. Maybe she'll read this and leave a comment telling us where this idea was published and who she is. ;)

This year, I'm grateful that I'm able to stay home with our brand new daughter. What a HUGE blessing in my life.

What are you grateful for? I asked my fellow WCS members to share a few things that they are grateful for. Here is what they said:

Last year at this time my daughter Ryan was battling cancer, so this year I am very thankful she is healthy and cancer-free! (Jody Wenke)

I am thankful for community...the people in my life! (Sara Winnick)

I'm so grateful our baby arrived safe and sound! (Aly Dosdall)

I am thankful for the easy transition to our new home in Boston. All the kids are in schools they love, sports they love, and church youth groups they love. Life is good! (Lain Ehmann)

I am grateful that I have the chance to spend one on one time with my kids this year. It’s been a sweet thing, getting to know them as they enter their teen years. I'm also grateful for my siblings.(Emily Pitts)

 

 

I am grateful for dedicated people with a vision to build something as cool as the Paul Smith Children's Village (like a big outdoor children's museum) to Cheyenne. This is just one little corner of it, the brick puppet theater. (Elizabeth Dillow)

 

I’m so thankful for my husband’s steady job in this unsteady economy, that he is able to adequately supply for myself and my little family. (Elisha Snow)

 

I am grateful for happy little girls who think jumping in leaf piles is fun, and even more grateful that I am here to watch them do it. (Elizabeth Dillow)

 

I'm thankful for my health. I had a biopsy a couple weeks ago and it came back normal. (Celeste Smith)

 

I'm thankful to be a mother. (Rebecca Cooper)

This is a photo of my grandmother, who recently celebrated her 84th birthday.  She is mother of 6, grandmother to 13, and great-grandma to 5.  There are not enough words to describe all the ways in which she has blessed our entire family or that could possibly convey just how amazing she is.  I am so thankful for her strong family values and unwavering faith, and I am so grateful for her selflessness and generosity.  She is and always has been the glue that has held this family together. (Tina Cockburn)

What are you thankful for? If you've created something that shows your gratitude for something or someone, share it with us on our Flickr gallery. Just click the link at the top of the page. Or, if you haven't created anything yet, why not take this opportunity before the holidays get into full swing and capture something that will remind you what you are grateful for right now? In time, you'll be "grateful" you did!

Doors

 
photo and quote selection by Emily Pitts

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner

Thank you to all who joined me this week! We had just over a dozen entries in the ad challenge and random.org chose #6, which was naomimaciver! So please email me at emilygpitts at gmail dot com within 24 hours to claim your prize. Congratulations.

And I promised a quick run down on Tumblr. If you click on the Tumblr button at the top of the WCS screen, you'll come to this page:

And then my friends, I'm just going to admit it right now. Even though I only set up my own Tumblr account less than two months ago, I can't for the life of me remember how to do it. Can you see why I scrapbook? I forget things really quickly. But if I figured it out, I trust that you can. Please forgive me.

You should go check it out and see the inspiration that has been shared already, and once you figure out how to get an account (make sure you "follow" the WCS group as well as making your own personal one), please start adding things that you find interesting. I'd suggest you stay with our group and not go exploring. Some of the other content is offensive.

And finally, if I may suggest you look into Elizabeth's upcoming class on BPS called Inspiration Defined. She will be going into much more detail on a few of the topics I mentioned this week, plus many more. And I bet she could tell you how to set up a Tumblr account. ;)