Froggy Finds: Memorial Day

Hi, this is Polly Beth. Here in the United States today is Memorial Day. This Federal holiday honors the men and women of the U.S. military who died while serving their country. Many Americans mark the day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, attending parades, displaying the American flag, and spending time with family. It also marks the unofficial beginning of the summer season in the United States. So, I thought I would highlight products here at the Lilypad that you can use to create layouts for Memorial Day events and gatherings.

There are a couple of ways you can find digital scrapbooking products that work for Memorial day pages:  in the Patriotic section under Themes, and in the 4^th of July section under Holidays. I also used the keywords: military, army, navy, air force, parade and picnic in advanced search. There’s a lot to choose from so here is a sampling of products that caught my eye.

Alphas

Both of these alphas by Sahlin Studio caught my eye for their playfulness as well as their red, white & blue color scheme.

Embellishments

The great thing about all of these products is that the patriotic red, white and blue color scheme is consistent across all of these products so it’s easy to mix and match them. I absolutely love Sprinkles v. 25 by Valorie Wibbens with the map of the US, fireworks, and stars. The God Bless America Journal Cards & Word Art set by Grace in Color is playful and patriotic and works well for Memorial Day as well as the 4th of July. I own Lynn Grieveson’s That July Feeling Paint and have used it over and over again in holiday and Summer layouts — it’s one of my favorites. Lastly, the collection of felt stars, popsicles and other elements would add some texture and whimsey to any layout they are on — and I love the name Mommyish gave them — I Felt Patriotic.

Paper Packs

The Old Glory Paper Pack by Amy Wolff Designs is gorgeous with it’s subtle, muted/faded tones. These papers could be used in lots of layouts as they are not overtly American in theme — just red, white and blue with a star motive on some of them. Valorie Wibbens’ Free to Be papers have a country picnic vibe as well as a patriotic one, and would work well for outdoor family gatherings.

Kits

It was hard to choose just a few kits to use for Memorial Day events and activities. Here are five that are specifically United States patriotic holiday themed, and one that is all about Summer picnics and barbecues.

Military

I could only find one product that was specifically military themed in the store. If you know of others — let me know. Paula Kesselring’s Army Forever kit would be perfect for those Memorial Day layouts about Army Veterans, or active duty members.

However you chose to spend Memorial Day, I hope it’s a good one, and you capture lots of photos to scrap.

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I was born in North Carolina and grew up all over the place because my Dad worked for Citibank and was transferred every few years. I lived in: New York State, Ireland, England, Belgium and finally Baltimore, Maryland which I call home. My husband was in the Navy, so we moved around a lot for those 8 years but now we have settled down in Barrington, Rhode Island with our Pug dog. Our only child, a daughter, lives with her husband and daughter in Pennsylvania — I wish they were closer! I had a 30+ year career as a Law Librarian and an Academic Librarian which I loved, but took early retirement last September which has freed me up to be a Grandma and to really get in to all of my hobbies — digital scrapbooking, as well as knitting, reading, taking walks, and hanging out with my dog. I’m also learning to play Mah Jongg.

My creative style is primarily clean and simple, but I do enjoy trying out new styles but am uncomfortable using lots and lots of elements on my pages. My primary motivation for scrapbooking is to document my life and to tell stories, so my layouts always have at least what the photo is and a date, and often there is a whole story. My default style is either using one or two photos only and making them the star of the layout or using a lot of photos to document an event with minimal elements and journaling. Templates are great for this and for many years I always used templates as a starting point, but lately I have either not been using them, or I will take one as a starting point and then change it to suit my needs.

My words of advice for new scrapbookers are: You can’t do it wrong, just get started and enjoy the process. Be patient with yourself as you learn new techniques and skills.

I am inspired by my fellow scrapbookers at the Lilypad, and by our designers’ products. I love color and am drawn to art, layout, products and images with lots of color. I start with the story I want to tell and the photos that document it and draw from the colors in the photo and from the theme of the story. I use Lightroom to organize supplies, and Photoshop to create layouts.