A Summer of Sport

Our card challenge for July was sport, which was quite appropriate, given that we've had the footy world cup, the Commonwealth Games, Glorious Goodwood & Wimbledon this summer. 

I made 4 cards from Terri's parcel & three from Liz's. I probably could have made more, but things at home have been somewhat busy, what with Shaun's operation & recuperation, so finding time wasn't particularly easy :o)

Anyhoooo - here are the cards from Terri's parcel.

This is probably my favourite of the four. It strikes me as a typical English summer's afternoon - cricket on the village green. Rather like that Bank Holiday weekend 100 years ago, when life carried on as normal while the clouds of war were gathering pace.

Terri had included some nice images in her parcel, so I just cut them to size & embossed background card/paper to plonk them on. (Plonk - a technical term meaning to place !!)

I can never think of really fab layouts, so plain & simple is the way I tend to go. I decided to use card candi of the three main colours in this fisherman image, just to bring it all together.

This is my least favourite. I don't particularly like the colours together, but I do like a game of golf :o) Shaun & I used to play, way back in the mists of time. We still have our clubs & bags etc., even though we'll never play again. I'm hoping Grandsons 1a & 1b might decide to take it up & if they do, we'll have all they need :o)

Now onto Liz's parcel. She included three sporty images all by the same artist/cartoonist, so they're all very much of a muchness, just different sports & different colours :o)

I rather like this little fella :o) All I did here was cut two pieces of card into small squares & place them diagonally opposite to each other. I matt & layered the image, plonked it on top & that was that.

This image was a bit bigger than the other two, so all I could really do was matt & layer it & stick it on a card front. 

Lastly, another golfer & in pretty much the same colours :o)  I cuttlebugged the cardstock with a diamond type embossing folder that I thought was not only golfing attire shaped (think Argyll jumpers !!) but also matched his rather fetching socks !! :o)

As usual, I added greetings & card candi to them, but really, they were plain, simple & quick. Maybe I'll be a bit less boring in this months challenge, but don't hold your breath !! :o)

100 Years Ago

11pm tonight will mark the 100 year anniversary of Britain's declaration of war against Germany. It was supposed to be over by Christmas, it was supposed to be the war to end all wars. 

How wrong they were.

Looking around the world today, can we honestly say that we've learned anything in the last 100 years ? 

I'm not a political person, I don't pretend to understand what's going on & why one country wants to dominate another, but I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person who believes that if our war dead could come back & look at what is happening today, they would shake their heads in dismay & wonder why on earth they sacrificed themselves for future generations.

Like so many families, mine lost a few young men between 1914-1918.

 Unfortunately, with it not being the war to end all wars, we also lost quite a few more during WW2 & in recent years, a distant cousin was killed in Afghanistan, aged 21.

As much as I believe that the Great War shouldn't be forgotten, that the future generations should be taught about it in school & at home, I also believe we need to ask why we, the human race, are so hell bent on destroying each other.