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Monday, May 30, 2011

Stars


I was 9 years old before I realized all little boys didn't grow up to be soldiers and go off to war.

My Dad had told me stories of being stationed in Tokyo and then arriving cold and scared near the front lines in Korea just as the war came to a close.  He had been drafted just out of high school.  His brother was also in Korea.  

Both of my grandmothers had photos of their daughters as WWII war brides with their handsome husbands in uniform.  I knew my grandfather had served in World War I.  One of my earliest memories was my cousin Owen coming home in his dress whites from his early Navy days and pitching me into the air while the family stood around chatting on a Sunday afternoon.  Later on we went to visit him and his new wife at one of their many posts.

While we are not a traditional military family for the most part, many have served.  I still have a cousin in the Navy now. Fortunately, I don't know of any in my immediate line who have not made it home.

Yet, so many haven't made it back.  To all those who give up the comforts of life in our country to defend us and to improve the lives of others, I thank you.

The card above will be a "Any Hero" card in my next Operation Write Home box.  For more info on OWH, check out their website at:  http://www.operationwritehome.org/


I'll also use this post as my TIP for the week:

To make the open stars on the card, I used a closed star image on my Cricut and the Center Point feature:

1.  Position the cutter in the middle of the design area you want to cut.
2.  Press the Center Point button.  Select the image you want such as the star from the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge.
3.  Select the size for the outside dimensions of your star.  I think my largest one was 3".
4.  Cut.  The cutter will return to its original position in the center of your image when cutting is completed.


5.  Dial down the size by 1/2" so my next cut was 2 1/2".
6.  choose Repeat Last and Cut again.
Then you have an open star.  You can repeat steps 5 and 6 to get smaller and smaller images.


These steps work great for any simple design such as hearts, stars, circles, pointed squares, etc.



Thank you for visiting today and thanks to all who serve us.  I can't imagine what it must be like to leave your home, family and friends to go abroad to the unknown and unsafe.  I hope our cards bring a tiny bright spot into our hero's and their families' lives.

4 comments:

  1. Such a thoughtful and beautiful card.

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  2. Great tip Lynn and a wonderful card! Love your family story about the soldiers in your family. Off to check off the OWH website.

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  3. Your card is wonderful, Lynn! Loved the tip, too. Hope you had a great Memorial Day.

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  4. What a great tip Lisa! The card is fantastic!

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