Red, White and Blue!

Even though summer is officially three weeks away, Memorial Day traditionally seems like the start of the summer season.  When we lived in New Jersey Memorial Day meant that it was acceptable to start wearing "white", shorts and flip flops, barbecues and icy, fruity drinks were considered the norm.  Living in Florida for the past few years has changed that perception quite a bit - where everything is acceptable all year long.

Florida's National Cemetery, Bushnell, FL (photo credit Gail Zaycek)

But the true meaning of Memorial Day is not cookouts and flip flops, it is a day set aside to honor those who served our country and remember the young men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice.  Several local clubs and many more volunteers from around the state traveled to the Florida's National Cemetery in Bushnell to place 108,000 flags on the graves of fallen veterans. 




I have wanted to teach a sampler class, so this week I invited my stamping buddies to come and learn how to create a sampler.  Since it was Memorial Day, with Flag Day and Independence Day fast approaching, I thought a red, white and blue theme would work for this session.  This is a 9 x 9 shadow box frame. The design elements for the squares are 2" x 2" and rectangles are 2" x 4-1/2". 

Instructions for each of the different elements(Patriotic Sampler) can be found on my FaceBook page, Created by Rona under the Files section, or send me an email or comment on my blog for more information.  

Thank you and credit to Audra Monk (The Crafty Yogi) for much of the inspiration for this design.