Calendar Blog Hop

Welcome to the Calendar Blog Tour!!! You should have arrived here by way of Summer and Jennifer's blog. If you just happened along my blog, why not start at the beginning with Celeste
Before I post my pictures, I have to say that I am more the card maker then the scrapbooker. With that being said, I picked August so that I could scrap some of the great pictures we shot when we went crabbing last August.





I have quite a few pictures to showcase, so I wanted the decorations to be small, not overpowering. So I chose to use a retired Stampin' Up set called "Crab and Company". I stamped the images first on the tan, and then stamped them on white, cut them out, and adhered them on top of the ones that were stamped on the tan. The sandcastle was cut from Life's a Beach. I only had the tan cardstock in 8 1/2 x 11, and since these were 12x12 pages, I had to figure out something to make it work, and that's when I decided on the cream strips along the sides. They made the perfect mat for the title, and gave me a place for the journaling (I had a lot to say!). I'm sure there are layouts along the hop that are much better then mine, but I am happy with how it came out! The pictures (Which I still need to print out), will most likely be matted in Red, or maybe black. So anyway, there you have it! Your next stop in the hop is Deb at If It's Groovy. Don't forget to comment below if you are trying to win Karel's blog candy - your very own new copy of the Designer Calendar Cartridge.

1. January and April: Celeste at Touched by a Butterfly at http://touchedbyabutterfly.blogspot.com/
2. January and September: Jessica at Overjoyed Scrapper www.overjoyedscrapper.blogspot.com
3. February: Christel at Scrappin' Sista http://onescrappinsista.blogspot.com
4. February and March: Karelj at One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity http://karelj.blogspot.com
5. March and July: Diane at Crafting This Moment http://www.craftingthismoment.blogspot.com/
6. April: Bonnie at A Scrap Above http://ascrapabove.blogspot.com
7. May: Michelle at Peanut Butter and Jelly Designs http://peanutbutterandjellydesigns.blogspot.com/
8. May: Natalie at Timeless Legacy Designs http://timelesslegacydesigns.blogspot.com
9. June: Lisa at Lisa's Paper Butterflies http://lisaspaperbutterflies.blogspot.com
10. June: Jamie at Glitter, Paper, Stamps, Oh My! http://jamieisacraftymomma.blogspot.com/
11. July: Summer and Jennifer at Cricut Diaries http://cricutdiaries.blogspot.com
12. August: Denise at Starlight Scrapper http://starlightscrapper.blogspot.com
13. August: Gina at Gina Thornton Stamping http://ginathorntonstamping.blogspot.com/ YOU ARE HERE!!!
14. September: Deb at If It's Groovy http://ifitsgroovy.blogspot.com
15. October: Rebecca at Creations with Becka www.creationswithbecka.blogspot.com
16 . October: Lora at Notes From The Scrapbook Lady http://scrpbooklady.blogspot.com/
17. November: Belinda at Queen Bee's Musings www.queenbeesmusings.blogspot.com
18. November and December : Col at Col's Creative Corner at www.scrappycol.blogspot.com
19. December: Deb at Tidbit's Place http://tidbitsplace.blogspot.com

Another Blog Hop coming soon!!!

Calendar Blog Hop..Coming Soon
Join me and many other wonderful crafters on Dec. 28, 2010 for the Calender Blog Hop....Great Blog candy and wonderful calender creations....What a great way to end the year!!!


The Grand Prize Blog Candy is a brand-new Designer’s Calendar Cartridge, donated by Karelj at One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity. In order to be eligible to win, you need to leave a comment on each and every stop on the hop, along with a way for her to contact you. She will choose a winner by random.org on the 31st and announce it on her blog, as well as contacting the winner personally.”
Don't forget to stop by!!!!

I have the month of August! Which is perfect since the snow is falling outside like crazy, so maybe it will transport me to a nice warm sandy beach.....well it was worth a try!!! The idea is in my head, just have to get it on paper!

Easel Card - Birthday Card

My friend's daughter Nicole celebrated her 10th birthday this month, and I wanted to send her a card as special as she is! I really am into these Easel cards, I just need to get them to stand up a little higher! I'm not giving up though!! This won't be the last attempt that you will see!
This card features the "Circle Circus" stamp set. The circles are stamped in Rich Razzleberry, Daffodil Delight, and Melon Mambo, also black StazOn. The trim and ribbon are both in Rich Razzleberry. And the outside sentiment is from Sincere Salutations, and inside is a sentiment from "On your Birthday" (not shown).

Cards from Card Club - December

The second set of cards we made featured, the Thoughts and Prayers stamp set by Stampin' Up. We used an Old Olive stamp pad, and then used our handy Blender pen to remove some of the ink from the tree trunk. Then we used a Soft Suede Stampin' Write Marker to color the trunk and branches. That gave us the two tone tree. The Old Olive cardstock we (gulp) crumpled up before tearing the edge. I always feel so "wrong" when I crumple up perfectly good SU Cardstock!!! The Very Vanilla is matted on Soft Suede, and the card base is Pretty In Pink. The sentiment is from the "On your Birthday" set. We finished off the look of the card by adding three little knots in Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla, and Old Olive ribbon. I took some of the inspiration from a card created by Peggy Brooks on Stampin' Connection. (Stampin' Connection is a website exclusive to Stampin' Up Demonstrators)

Cards from Card Club - December

If you missed Card Club this month, not only did you miss out on some cute Birthday cards, but you also missed out on some yummy Holiday goodies! New to cardmaking Judi brought some yummy Peanut Butter pinwheel cookies, and Lisa brought some pretzels topped with chocolate and M&M's! Mmmm Mmm!!!
So here was one of the cards we made, along with a twist. When I originally came up with the card (11:30 PM on Thursday night) I couldn't decide if I liked the Elegant Eggplant alone with the Basic Gray, or if I wanted to highlight it with a lighter green. So at the time I settled for just the Eggplant and Gray, and went to bed. The more I looked at the card on Friday, I decided to offer the green, Old Olive, and see what everyone thought. I think we all agreed that while the eggplant and Gray was nice, the Old Olive just finished the card! So the first picture is without the Old Olive, and the sentiment is from Sincere Salutations. The second card is with the Old Olive, and I changed the sentiment, however it too is from Sincere Salutations.

A first Attempt - Easel Card

Each month at the PhillyInker's meetings we have been having a mail swap, where we each draw a name and we mail that one person a card. Last month I had Juliana. I wanted to try something a little different, so I created this easel card for her. It features Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, and Whisper White cardstock, Cherry Cobbler Classic Ink, and Basic Black 1/4" grosgrain ribbon. The image is from the Pocket Silhouettes stamp set, and it is stamped over and over again in a circle. The sentiment is popped up with Dimensionals, and is trimmed with the scallop border punch. The sentiment is from Heard from the Heart. I really like how it turned out and I will definitely be making more easel cards in the future!!!

December's Monthly Card Club

Join us on Friday December 17th for the next monthly Card Club! We meet here in my home starting at about 6 PM. We stamp Open House style, and as long as you arrive by about 7:45 PM you will have more then enough time to complete your projects. (We won't kick you out if you need to stay longer to finish:) )
The cost is $10 for 6 cards, three each of two styles, or $12 for the 6 cards plus 6envelopes. Also new this year, if you invite a friend who has never attended Card Club, you will both receive free envelopes when they attend!
Contact me today to reserve a space at GRKIDDO at Verizon dot Net. Please RSVP by Wednesday December 15th!
No special tools required to bring, however if you have an adhesive or scissors you prefer, you are welcome to bring them along.

Hope to stamp with you soon!!!

Cards from Card Club - Christmas

The first card was inspired by a fellow PhillyInker, Lynn. She had made a card similar to this one at a shoe box swap a while back (2008 I think??). Her card featured Lavender Lace and metallic silver cardstock (both previously available through Stampin' Up.) I updated it, by changing up the colors, adding some dazzling Diamonds, and adding satin ribbon. It features the Snow Swirled stamp set.
The second card was inspired by a card I saw on Stampin' Connection. I like the simplicity of this card! Now if you wanted to add color you could always switch it up and do the card in all blue, or red and green or whatever color combination you'd like! You could also add some sparkle to some of the snowflakes with Dazzling Diamonds. We kept it simple. But you could also change up the border punch for a little different look. This one features the Serene Snowflakes stamp set, and the sentiment is from Occasional Quotes.

Cards from Card Club Night - Inspired by Andy Warhol

I made the first card for a PhillyInkers Swap, and although it was a lot of stamping and punching, decided to recreate it using the Sock Monkey card. I was trying to prevent coloring the images.
The Christmas one used Merry Crittermas, and the monkey one used Sock Monkey.

Cards from Card Club night - Nature

These were on two different card club months, but were both inspired by nature.
The first one used the Upsy Daisy stamp set using the Faux Embossed technique. The background was embossed with the small dots Texturz Plates, and used silver brads, as well as the curly label punch.
The second, was a simple card, featuring the Just Believe Stamp set. The sun was done using sponges.

Cards from Card Club Night - Fall

This night we made fall inspired cards. The first one is an adorable version of Frankenstein! Isn't he so cute? He was a big hit!!! We also made the card with pink hair, and changed the eyelids to pink to make it into a Frankie Stein. LOL. No stamping on this one, all done with punches and the BigShot die, Top Note.
The second card you have seen before, I had so much fun making it that I had to include it into my card club! This one used French Foliage, and Day of Gratitude.

Cards from Recent Card Club night

I have been meaning to update with some of my recent cards that we've made at card club, but I just haven't gotten around to taking pictures. I finally sat down to do it today.
There will be a few posts of these cards, and so I tried to split them up into Occasions. So bear with me!!
The first set of cards were all using Elements of Style. I really like this set!! It is so versatile, and works for just about any occasion! I also love that you don't have to color the image, to still get a great result!
The colors used in the blue and white one (Night of Navy and Whisper White) remind me of that old metal blue and white tablewear. :)

WOW this deal is AMAZING!!!!!

Have you ever wanted to go into business for yourself? Do you love to stamp and scrapbook? Or maybe you have lots of items on your wish list? What about those of you looking for a Demonstrator, and can't find one? Then joining Stampin' Up is the PERFECT choice for you!!! Become your own Demonstrator!! You will receive a discount on your own purchases, as well as make money on any sales that you make! "Share what you love, and love what you do" that's Stampin' Up's motto, and it is so true!!
For a limited time only, until November 30th YOU can join the Stampin' Up family for the low price of only $87.50!!!!!! That is half the normal price, and there is over $310 of stamping and business supplies included! AMAZING!!
You CAN do this, and you can have fun, while making money! You don't need any special training, you don't need to know 100's of people, you just have to love to craft, and want to make money! That's all! Stampin' UP also offers resources for ideas and inspiration via it's own magazine, Stampin' Success, and a website, exclusive to Demonstrators!
If you'd like more information, please check the link http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/gina_thornton/startyourownbusiness. You can also contact me through that link.
Don't wait! Join us TODAY!

On sale now-LIMITED TIME ONLY

Stampin' Up has done it again! For a limited time only select items are on sale up to 50% off!!!!!
Also if you order online today, a minimum of $150 (total prior to tax) you will get FREE SHIPPING!!!!! How great is that!!! So pull out your wish lists, and shop from the comfort of your own home!!! Make sure Santa brings exactly what you want for Christmas.....STAMPS!!!!
This special is only available online! And will expire on November 30th!!!!
Click the picture above, or click this link:
http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/CategoryPage.aspx?categoryID=776

Card Fairy Army Thankful Blog Hop

Welcome to the Cricut Card Fairy Blog Hop. This month we are practicing being thankful for all the blessings in our lives. What are you thankful for? Do you stop daily and thank those around you for blessing you? Do you appreciate the small things in life? I sure hope so! With that in mind the wonderful fairies have put together some awesome THANKSGIVING/THANKFUL themed crafty items. Along the way there will be opportunities for inspiration, and blog candy. So make sure you hop all the way through, leave comments on every blog, and then a comment here on my blog when finished. I will be giving away a BNIP (Brand New In Package)Hello Kitty Greetings cart to a person that comments on ALL the blogs and here too! Happy hopping!

You should have arrived from Shellie's Creations, if you didn't you may want to start in the beginning and work your way through!!!

Here is the order in case you get lost along the way.

Caitlynsmommy: http://crystalscraftycreations.blogspot.com/
ScrappingDeb; http://tidbitsplace.blogspot.com
AJoy713 http://adreatravis2008.blogspot.com
RachelMutchler http://trickut-rachelscrafts.blogspot.com/
Kisatrtle www.kisatrtleskreativekorner.blogspot.com
ScrappyJess http://scrappyjess.blogspot.com
PennyLight http://lightwhimsy.blogspot.com
KarelJcreations http://karelj.blogspot.com
Shellie shelliescreations.blogspot.com
GRKIDDO http://ginathorntonstamping.blogspot.com YOU ARE HERE!
JamieFitzgerald http://www.jamieisacraftymomma.blogspot.com
Iluvsnowmen wandaswhimsicalwonders.blogspot.com
blondemommy26 http://blondemommy26.blogspot.com/
SherylGreene http://sherylscraftingcorner.blogspot.com

Ok so here is what I am Thankful for:

My wonderful Children Cheyenne is 7, Cameron is 4:





These are my 4 favorite kids!
First is my daughter, Cheyenne, My niece Savanna, My nephew William, and my son, Cameron



My Family (Minus my hubby who couldn't be there):

My sister Ginnese (in Purple), Her daughter Savanna (teal), My Sister-in-Law Bonnie (Bride), My Brother Duane (groom), My daughter Cheyenne (white shirt in front), my sister's son William (blue striped shirt), My Mom Ginnie (Blue with flowers) and me (purple shirt)and the littlest guy, my son, Cameron.

I am also VERY Thankful for my good friend Terri!! We text back and forth every day, almost all day long. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't make it through the day! LOL. My children always say "it's Miss Terri" whenever I get a text (and usually it is!). Here is Terri (in the black) at our recent Crop Weekend in Hamburg, with her sister Sherri.



Ok I would be lying if I didn't say that I am thankful for this:

CHOCOLATE!!!!!

Oh and there is so many other things I am thankful for! All of my card making supplies, RUBBER STAMPS, my friends, and so much more!!!!

Ok so here we go, my thankful project. Now I realize that most of the wonderful Fairies that have showcased their creations before me, most likely made layouts, but I have to be different! (It wouldn't be me if I wasn't!) And I am hands down more of a card maker then a scrapper, so here is what I have to show.

It features the French Foliage stamp set, in Clear Mount, by Stampin' Up. The colors are Kraft, Very Vanilla, Pumpkin Pie and Soft Suede. The embossing is done with the Square Lattice embossing folder by Stampin' Up,I just flipped the already embossed cardstock over as I really like the Debossed image! Once it was embossed (debossed) I used my brayer and brayered some Pumpkin Pie Classic ink over it. The image was done using the "Bamming" technique. I saw this on a website, and sadly I can't remember who's idea it was. You ink up the whole image, with one color and then you take another color and bam an ink pad on it, one time only, which gives it some dimension. I love how the leaves look with this technique!! The great thing about using the Clear Mount is you can use a larger block, organize your smaller stamps on it in whatever pattern you'd like, and then you can make a larger image, or use it to make your own backgrounds! The sentiment is from Day of Gratitude, and it is matted using the Decorative Label punch by Stampin' Up. There is a way to layer the punches to make it look as though it is matted, and I do have a tutorial for that, but that is another project for another day!

When you are finished here, hop on over to Jamie's blog! And thanks for stopping by!!!!

Another Blog Hop!!!!

You heard it right, join us this weekend November 20-21 for the Cricut Card Fairy Army's Thankful Blog hop!

All the fun will begin at Crystal's blog here

Craft Sale - Post it note holders

Here are close ups of the Post It Note Holders and Spiral Note Books.

Craft Fair - Masculine Post It Note Holders

Here are the Masculine Post It Note Holders I created for the sale. Some are on Key chains. I thought they could be hooked on the side of a tool box, so they'd always be handy!
They all used Stampin' Up's Stamp set, "Totally Tool".

50% off...What could be better????

What would you think if I told you that for a limited time only you could get the Stampin' Up kit for only $87.50 PLUS FREE SHIPPING!!!!!!!!
If you have been on the fence about joining the Stampin' Up family, wait no more! Join up today and take advantage of the amazing savings!!!! Contact me today for more details!!

GRKIDDO at Verizon dot com

ABCs of the Perfect Handmade Holiday

Stampin' Up! is offering an opportunity to purchase select products--perfect for Amazing cards, Beautiful packaging, and Cherished gifts--at a 20 percent discount!


Things to Remember:

* Additional products from current catalogs may be purchased on the same order.
* There is no minimum purchase required to participate in this promotion.
* You must use the bundle item codes provided. The 20 percent discount will not be applied if individual bundle item numbers are entered separately.
* Order on-line by Thursday, December 16, 2010; 11:50 PM (MT)

And The Winners Are-------

Drum roll, please! The winner of the Scrap'nTote, generously donated by Marlo of ContainYaCrafts is-----from Deb's Blog, If It's Groovy--Josie, comment number 5. Josie said, "Wonderful! Cheryl is such a nice person too....she welcomed me when I joined the Fiskateers! I love the photo of the baby too!"
Krel will be emailing Josie, or she if sees this,she can contact at Karel at ksjennings (at) gmail (dot) com with her mailing information.
Our second big winner, of the Spellbinders Nesties, donated by Anne of Paper Patch Crafts is---from Christel, at One Scrappin' Sista----number 41---Gina Thornton! Gina said, "Cristel, thanks so much for sharing your father's stories and family member's as well. Thanks for hopping along with us!" Hey that's me!!!

Thanks to all that hopped along with us, left comments and for Karel for pulling it all together!

Craft Sale-Candy Bar holders

Here are some of the Candy Bar holders that I made fr the sale. These were fun, but I must admit that when I started out, I had a lot more Chocolate to work with!! LOL. They are filled with Kit Kats, Hershey Bars, and Crunch Bars. The idea for these came from ChicN'Scratch.
You can also see the basket of Pixie Sticks in the background.

I am still working on ways to display items...

Land of the Free Because of the Brave Blog Hop

Hello all! You should have arrived here from Rachel's Blog here, if you just stumbled across my blog, you may want to go to Karel's Blog and start in the beginning!!!
We are doing this Blog today to honor all of the Veterans out there!

Because I have so much information, I decided to do this in a few posts. See the posts below to read about my veterans, and also a great charity, Operation Write Home! PLEASE LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS ON THIS POST FOR THE CONTEST!! Thanks to the MILLIONS of men and women who put their lives and families on hold to ensure our freedom! We all owe them, for if it weren't for people like them, we wouldn't be free. How would your life be different with out them??? Think of that the next time you do something, the little things, that we all take for granted.
There are many different organizations out there that are looking for cards that they can send to the troops so they may send them home to their loved ones.Keep in mind there is no Card store right around the corner for most of the troops! What a great way to show some support - Send them some hand made cards!!!! We all have our favorite organization, and here is one that I deal with most often:
Operation Write Home
Now on to my projects! I added a few oldies that you may (or may not) remember. First is the USA card that I made for Memorial Day. It features the Faux Torn Mosaic technique.

Next up is bookmarks. I want to show how a little embellishments can make a difference. First Un-embellished:

Here is one of the bookmarks Embossed in Silver (kind of defeated the Red/White/Blue theme):


And in Red glitter (this one is not suitable for our troops because of the glitter):

My embossing powders weren't cooperating tonight, so these are not perfect, but you get the idea!

Here's the card I made for the hop. It is a no frills card, simple but it says a lot. It features the "Courage" set by Stampin' Up.

It didn't turn out at all what I had planned on, but I still like the result. I had planned on embossing the image, but after my issues with the glitter, I just left it go! For some reason I couldn't get the camera to get a good picture of the card. I really need to get a light box! Hopefully it is okay.

Now onto the nitty gritty information:
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. Please leave contact information in a safe manner ( ie, written out, rather than a direct link). 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. She will post the winner’s name on her blog and notify the bloggers, so they can also post the winner. KarelJ will contact the winner, using the information left in the comment. If there is no 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.
Now, on to the good stuff! Our first prize is a wonderful Pink Scrap’Ntote 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 on this link: http://www.cricutcartridgestorage.com/index.htm Need more than one? Put it on the Christmas Wish List and have the hubs order NOW, as they are simply flying out of stock! We got one of the final donations for the year, and are so grateful to Marlo!
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 also check out paper Patch Crafts here, to see what other incredible things Anne has to sell! http://stores.ebay.com/Paper-Patch-Crafts?_rdc=1

Thank a Veteran today!!!
Blog Hop List
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 YOU ARE HERE!
16. Becky at Sew in Stitches http://sewinstitches.blogspot.com
17. Rebecca at Creations With Becca www.creationswithbecka.blogspot.com
18. Bobbi Jo at http://sweetsassydiva-gspot.blogspot.com/ CORRECTED19. Angie at Gypsy Paperie http://gypsypaperie.blogspot.com20. Linda at The Tulip Collector http://thetulipcollector.blogspot.com

Interview with a few of my Veterans

The first Interview is with my Mom. Woman Marine Virginia Ruth Irvin (Rueber)

1. What branch of the service were/are you in? Marine Corps 1962-1964 2. What’s your rank? PFC3. What made you decide to join the service? Why this branch? I wanted to get an education to become a nurse, I figured if I was going to enlist, I’d go with the best! (by the way, as she found out in Boot Camp, you don't go into the Marine Corps to become a nurse!!!)
4 What’s the best thing about being in the military? You get to travel. The chance to serve my country
5. What’s the hardest thing about being in the military? Being away from Loved ones.
6. Do you think Veterans and Active service Personnel get the respect they deserve? They do now, but they didn't used to
7. What could crafters and artists do to help support you? Send cards to send home to loved ones, there is no place to buy them. Even on base the pickings are few.
8. What else would you like to share with our readers? I had the honor of being the escort to John F Kennedy, 2 months prior to his assassination. I was in Communications at the time. I took a lot of pictures. He came to my defense when the Commanding general Thought that I said “I guess so” Actually I said “Yes sir” and President Kennedy said “Sir, she said yes sir”. “Sir, yes sir, I said Yes sir” “He said she must be from the Boston area” (she is from the Philadelphia area.) He smiled and told her “it’s okay, no one understands me either!”

Next up is my brother Duane W. Rueber:


1. What branch of the service were/are you in? Marine Corps
2. What’s your rank? Lance Cpl
3. What made you decide to join the service? Why this branch? They were probably going to be the only place where I could learn to be a "man." -- Why pick an "easy" branch? If I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it right, all the way.
4 What’s the best thing about being in the military? Best thing is the bond that no one else ever has unless they have served.
5. What’s the hardest thing about being in the military? Hardest thing is being "government." Too much red-tape BS!
6. Do you think Veterans and Active service Personnel get the respect they deserve? I think they get it NOW, but it was a long time coming for our older Vets.
7. What could crafters and artists do to help support you? Crafters and everyone else need to really grasp, and understand the SACRIFICE our Vets give. Some, never come back home to their families. Don't we owe quite a bit to the one's that do?
What can we do? Push for unconditional support when they are done serving. Stop throwing our Vets away.

And finally, my husband David R Thornton:


1. What branch of the service were/are you in? Navy
2. What’s your rank? FN ( E-3) Which means a non-rate.
3. What made you decide to join the service? Wasn’t too sure what I wanted to do. Why this branch? I talked to other recruiters and was thing of Which I would like more to be in. The Navy, is a way to see other parts of the word and able to do it for free!
4. What’s the best thing about being in the military? The free travel we got to do.
5. What’s the hardest thing about being in the military? All the training we did on board an air craft Carrier. Also the different watches I had to do at all times of the night. But enjoyed every minute of it.
6. Do you think Veterans and Active service Personnel get the respect they deserve? Not really.
7. What could crafters and artists do to help support you? Send cards to send home to loved ones, there is no place to buy them. Even on base the pickings are few. Support the active members by sending card to help them write home to their family.
8. What else would you like to share with our readers? Keep supporting the active members. They all need to come home.(his brother is currently serving in the US Army)


There are other members of my family who proudly served, but are no longer with us. My Great Aunt Dorothy (Irvin) Fisher served as a nurse in the US Army during the Korean War. She also had the honor to be a private nurse to Eleanor Roosevelt!!! What an honor that must have been!!!!

Another interesting story, a great, great grandfather on the Irvin side, served in the Irish army. He was shot in the stomach with a cannon ball, and it went straight through his stomach!!!! He survived this attack, and lived many many years. He later died crossing the street. He was hit by a drunk driver.

Why not do a little research into your family, and see what great stories you can find??