Veterans Day Thank You and Freebies

Remembering all those who served!

Today is Veterans Day for all my American friends. I salute everyone who has or is currently serving in the military, with a special shout out to my dad and my sister!  It is generally recognized that there should be a brief cessation of work at 11:00 am on Veteran's Day to remember, I hope you find some time today to thank a veteran for all they have given.

You know how I love my quilling, so here is a quilled heart in the red, white, and blue....

Lots of items today I have a fun printable for you.  The picture is one that I took of our flag that hangs outside our home.  As you can see, I took the picture at night.  I did some playing with the picture, I am no expert by any means, but I wanted the night sky to be darker.  Then I took the photograph and added the words to the "Pledge of Allegiance" the original version :-) 

Free Pledge of Allegiance printable right click to download the jpeg

As always, I am happy to share my tutorials, freebies / printables and cut files with you, I only ask that you do the following:

• Please leave a comment if you download a  freebie / printable / digi, etc, because I would love to hear from you

• If you enjoy the things I share with you, please become a follower so that you will see all the new stuff when it is posted (no pressure, join only if you want)

• I hope you love PINTEREST as much as I do, would love it if you would PIN this project!
• Please do not share any of my digital images, printables, or tutorials directly with others, but please do send them on over to me so that they can peruse and collect the images themselves.

• I would be thrilled and honored if you would send me links to any images or posts that you've done using something that I have shared with you.  If you say it is ok, I will even feature your work here!

• If you want to recolor the images, feel free! 

• If you have a special request, please let me know and I will see what I can do.

Most importantly be Fantastically Creative You!

 Check out my Link Parties to see the badges of all the lovely places where I am linking to.


I hope you have a wonderful day!

Veterans Day US

Veteran's Day

Today is Veterans Day for all my American friends. I salute everyone who has or is currently serving in the military, with a special shout out to my dad and my sister!  It is generally recognized that there should be a brief cessation of work at 11:00 am on Veteran's Day to remember.

I find it interesting that before there was a World War II, World War I was considered the "war to end all wars", if only that were true. World War I officially ended with the Treaty of Versailles, although it wasn't signed until June 28, 1919 there was a temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany, that went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. (November 11, 1918)

It was in 1919 that President Wilson proclaimed November 11th the commemoration of Armistice Day.  This is a quote I pulled from his speech that day:

"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory..."

I pulled this information from the US Department of Veteran's Affairs 

The photo was one of those odd occurrences, I was driving down the road and happened upon them hoisting this flag and thought it was a great photo and quickly snapped a shot.

I hope you have a wonderful day!

The Victims of 911 Where Were You?

I was wondering if you had seen this, it is a collection of all the photos of the victims of 911? Wow.  If this worked, this is scheduled to post at 10:03 am when United Flight 93 crashed in a field in Pennsylvania, shortly thereafter at 10:28 am the final WTC tower collapsed.

I will leave you today with a quote that sums up how difficult it is to understand what happened, even today:

"The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend" 

- Henri Bergson

I guess my mind is still having trouble comprehending, and there are images and memories from that day that I still find difficult to revisit. Where were you on 9/11/2001?

I have shared a free printable subway art commemorating  911, click here if you would like to download it.

I hope you have a safe day!

Remembering 9-11

Remember 911

Do you remember where you were when you heard that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center? It is that moment of my generation, similar to the day John F Kennedy was assassinated. For me, I cannot forget the horror and images that replay in my mind.

I was at work, and my husband called me and asked if I'd heard? I didn't know what he was talking about, but noticed people gathering around the television.  From that moment on, we were all sickeningly glued to the television. Our brains were screaming, this cannot be true, and our hearts were crying for those trapped, and for their families and friends. Everyone wondering if someone they knew was in the building. My husband could see the smoke from the burning buildings, and was relieved that they didn't have a meeting there that day.

I still get emotional when I remember seeing the second plane crash into the South Tower, it was 9:03 am, then the Pentagon, news of another flight that was likely hijacked, then the most horrifying thing happened, at 9:59 am the South Tower collapsed. At 10:03 the brave passengers of flight 93 die as the hijackers crash the plane in a field in Pennsylvania. Finally, at 10:28 am the North Tower collapses. All those innocent people, all those families whose lives were changed forever.  Nearly 3,000 people died that day.

Remember 911 free subway art printable

In the face of all that horror were stories of bravery, the passengers of flight 93 who tried to stop the terrorists and lost their lives while preventing the plane from reaching its target. The brave firemen, policemen,  and all first responders who rushed into those buildings that would soon collapse. Do you remember what you were doing or where you were when you heard that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center? 

As we get up and go about our days today, try to remember to take a moment to remember those who lost their lives that day. Give your spouse a kiss, your kids an extra hug, call your parents, do something kind today.

Remember 911 card

Wishing you and your families are safe today.

Walkabout Wednesday Chalkboard Projects

Today is a fabulous Wednesday! School has officially started so I had the privilege of dropping off my son at school. With two college students, I know how precious little time I have left to do these things and I want to cherish each moment.

In honor of the start of school, I thought I'd share a few chalkboard projects with you today from around the internet.  They are all over the internet these days, and like you I really enjoy them.





and some non-school themed inspiration....







How about these Wedding themed ideas?







Have you done any projects like these? In this case, I am an observer. I love the way they look and wouldn't mind creating one for myself, but just haven't gotten around to it.  I'd love to see your projects if you've made any or love to hear what your favorite chalkboard project is, whether it be one I've shared here or in your "someday" pile.

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Happy 4th of July 50 States Rhyme

Happy 4th of July everyone!!!

I know, are you checking your computer and asking yourself is this really happening? A post from me??? :-)  I'm so sorry that it has been so long since I've posted...

One of our summer projects will be to learn the states and capitals, so I was searching with one of my favorite "friends"... google, and found this "50 States that Rhyme" song... figured we'd give it a try.  It won't help with where they are located on the map, but it is supposed to help with retention of what the states are... I suppose it is worth a try :-)  If you have any tips or hints, I'd love to hear them...

So, on this July 4th Independence Day I am sharing a printable with the rhyming song with you...

As always, I am happy to share my tutorials and freebies / printables with you, I only ask that you do the following:

• Please leave a comment if you download a  freebie / printable / digi, because I would love to hear from you
• If you enjoy the things I share with you, please become a follower so that you will see all the new stuff when it is posted (no pressure, join only if you want)
• Please do not share any of my digital images, printables, or tutorials directly with others, but please do send them on over to me so that they can peruse and collect the images themselves.
• I would be thrilled and honored if you would send me links to any images or posts that you've done using something that I have shared with you.  If you say it is ok, I will even feature your work here!
• If you want to recolor the images, feel free! 
• If you have a special request, please let me know and I will see what I can do.

Most importantly be Fantastically Creative You!

Looks like rain this morning, but I think it is supposed to be another really hot day :-)  Hope you have a beautiful day wherever you are today!!!

Enjoy!
Antonella DeFalco

Happy 4th of July and a Giveaway!

I wanted to take this opportunity to say a special Thank You to all those serving in the armed forces.  I hope that you are well and may you come home safely.

In honor of those who serve, I am offering this little beauty to one you lucky folks who comment on this heart.

Some background on this piece... I am very intrigued by the work of Yulia Brodskaya and decided to play around a little.  I actually started with a birthday cake that I will share with you on another day, but I am going to share with you today my Red, White, and Blue Heart in honor of Independence Day!

Note that all these pictures are of the same heart... I simply placed it on different backgrounds :-)

I went old school with this project, I pulled out my heart stencils and cut 3 hearts in increasing sizes. You guessed it the hearts are red, white and blue (I know, sometimes that creativity is scary - lol)... I glued them together and then started to add my paper pieces.  I hesitate to call this quilling exactly, but it is definitely paper filigree work...

I hope that you enjoy this heart and this inspires you to try something new today too :-)

I would like to offer this quilled heart - on your choice of background - to someone who posts a comment on this post.  I will leave this giveaway open until the end of July.  I will announce the winner on July 31st.

For your chance to win, you can do one or all of the following for 3 chances to win:

1. Post a comment on this post and let me know what background you like the best
2. Become a Follower of this blog and post a comment - if you are already a follower, then post a comment and let me know you are already a follower.
3. Write a post on your blog about this giveaway and post a comment with the link to your post.

Remember, to win you must post a comment on this post, don't forget about your other chances to win too!
 
Enjoy!
Antonella DeFalco