Memorial Day in the US and Spring Bank Holiday in UK

So many of my readers and blogs I visit are located in the UK. I kept seeing the term "bank holiday," and wondered about it. So, after some internet searching, I discovered that these are really public holidays. They are called bank holidays because banks are closed and most people have the day off. Excluded are police, fire fighters, hospital employees, and those working in the tourist trade, of course.

There are only 8 bank holidays in the UK, as opposed to many more in other European countries. Two are in May. One is May 1, known as the May Day Bank Holiday and the other is the last Monday in May, known as the Spring Bank Holiday or Whitsun, which is the British name for Pentecost, a huge Christian festival that is celebrated 49 days after Easter.

The May Day Bank Holiday happens to coincide with Memorial Day in the US, which is one week after Victoria Day in Canada. Victoria Day is May 24, or the Monday on or before May 24. It celebrates the birthday of the reigning Canadian Monarch, even though the date does not change with the change of monarchs. Instead, it is named for the birthday of Queen Victoria.

When I think of Memorial Day, I think of cemeteries. Of course, I have a love of cemeteries, and the older, the better.

What better cemeteries than those found in New Orleans. This is a photo of one I found in Wiki Commons because my New Orleans photos are all buried in boxes in my basement.

However, most people think of Memorial Day as one to honor veterans. I was surprised to learn the Veteran's Administration, a part of our US government, maintains 131 national cemeteries in 39 states and Puerto Rico, as well as 33 soldier's lots and monument sites.

Much to my surprise, I found three National Cemeteries in Kansas, as well as two soldier's lots. The next two images are from the Veteran's Administration web site.


This photo is of Fort Scott National Cemetery in eastern Kansas.


This one is from Fort Leavenworth in north central Kansas. You might have to click on these to actually see the entire photo.

This photo from Wiki commons, is the cemetery where the President is scheduled to speak today.


This Wiki commons photo is from Fort Logan in Denver, Colorado.

Of course, most Americans think of Arlington National Cemetery as the most famous National Cemetery, and probably the one they are most familiar with. It is located in Arlington, Virginia.

These photos (directly above and two following) are from the Arlington National Cemetery web site. The photo above shows the Amphitheater, where services and public addresses, such as the one to be held today, are held.

This is a photo from Spring, 2009. I doubt it will look much different today. There are hundreds of photos and tons of information on the Arlington Cemetery web site, including information on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is possibly the most popular and most visited site at Arlington. There are several "unknowns" now, representing wars beginning with WWI through Vietnam. The Tomb of the Unknowns has been constantly guarded by the Army since July 2, 1937.

I was surprised to know that only two presidents are buried at Arlington. One is William Howard Taft, our 27th President (served from 1909-1913 and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1921-1930). The other is probably the most famous. He is John F Kennedy, our 35th president (January 20, 1961 - November 22, 1963). His grave is quite famous because it is marked with an eternal flame.

No matter where you are today, if you live in the U.S., flags will fly high and people will decorate graves. This strictly American holiday was originally called Decoration Day due to the practice of women decorating the graves of loved ones who died in the Civil War. It officially became "Memorial Day" by law in 1967. The name was not without sacrifice, though. The change moved Memorial Day from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May. The law took effect at the federal level in 1971.

It doesn't take much time to visit a local cemetery today. There will be parades, speeches, and flags flying. Show how you honor those

who died for you in the service of their country that you are grateful for their sacrifice. (The final photos are my own.)

However, if you are unable to visit a cemetery, please observe a moment of silence, known as a "National Moment of Remembrance" which is observed at 3 PM local time. Taps are usually played at that time at local cemeteries.

Want to learn more about Memorial Day? Then head on over to US Memorial Day, a web site that has all kinds of information about this day, its history, information on War Memorials, MIA/POW, and various links. It's my blog/web site pick of the day.

And finally, whether today is a bank holiday, a memorial holiday, or another work day, enjoy it and stay safe.

Silent Sunday: Decoration Day

Silent Sunday's blog

I have no idea how I found Janie's Candy Mountain Art, but I fell in love with her blog the minute I saw it. Janie Husband is a true mixed media artist, in that she works in many media. She hand binds books, makes journals and journal pages, works with polymer clay, and paints lush and lovely backgrounds, faces, and even fabric. Her blog is filled with lovely art. I got inspired just being there. So head for the mountains and check out Janie's Candy Mountain Art today.

Look who turned up in my studio

I'm always in awe of other bloggers who can get their animals to pose for photos. It's no secret, Bleubeard simply refuses to have his photo taken. So I was totally surprised yesterday when I started to pull out my sewing chair to work on a few pages and found this:

He knows he's not allowed on furniture, so that may be why he sat so still.

Or maybe it's because I awakened him.

Regardless, he doesn't look too ashamed to be in the wrong place at the right time. Luckily, I had my camera in hand, so I could take photos of an upcoming project, or I might never have caught these.

He wasn't even trying to run.


And when I turned the chair around, he didn't even jump down. Instead, he turned around in the chair

and began shamelessly cleaning himself.

While he was doing that, I sat on the floor to get a better eye to eye view and photos.

Too bad this one is horribly out of focus. He looks so innocent here.

I loved the look on Bleubeard's face in this one, but it was so dark, all I could do was lighten it the best I could.


Fearing he would decide to jump up and leave, I stood, backed away, and continued shooting. I took over 200 pictures in the course of about 30 minutes.

I never got the lighting right, though. For example, the above is the original

and this is the same photo "auto leveled" in Photoshop. It was actually better on the auto setting than any and every thing else I tried at the manual level.

By turning on the flash, you can see his true colors. Although I have many, many more of these photos, I decided to only bore you with share a few. It's so rare that he allows me to photograph him, I just had to dedicate an entire post to my brazenly defiant delightful Bleubeard today.

Please don't call him a cat, since he's only heard the word a few times in his life (and never by me). And please don't call me his "mom." I'm simply his caretaker, the person who shares a blog with him, and deliverer of the kibble.

What better way to celebrate Bleubeard allowing me to take his photo, than to find a blog that's dedicated to, and all about, cats. Today's blog is called Crazy Catlady Carm from Buffalo, NY (in the US), and is run by Carmelynn Cole. Or maybe I should say it's run by her eight cats. Yep, eight or, as she writes it: 8Gr8Cats. And they all seem to get on well together, too. She dedicates certain furry days of the week to titles such as "Caturday" and Wordless Wednesday. Hope Carm's blog puts a smile on the faces of cat lovers and cat owners. And I wish you could see how happy I was when I got Bleubeard on film. Maybe I should allow him on the furniture more often.

Handy: Hands for my AB

I leave you this Friday before the long holiday weekend with two more sewn sides in my Hands AB.

Pockets on both sides of this spread will hold tags yet to be made. All images are from magazines. I love those scraps of double sided scrapbook paper, although they don't show well on the scanner.


All images are from various magazines or junk mail, as well as a bit of security envelope. Click either pic to enlarge. Have a lovely three day weekend everyone.

Today's blog is by another Kansas gal, Tess (Teresa M.), a frequent commenter here. Tess lives in northern Kansas, while I'm in southern Kansas. She recently showed this cool technique called paint-overs. Although it's not her own, she has taken it to extreme heights. Her blog, The HeART of Words, also contains photos of flora indigenous to Kansas, as well as a healthy dose of ATCs. If that weren't enough, she is a poet and a Producer for the Associated Content community. She documents living and dealing with her daughter's brain tumor (now successfully removed), as well as her bouts with asthma. She also own three cats! So, I hope you'll welcome Tess today.

Inspiration: color, material, blog giveaways

I've been stuck at my sewing machine for several days, so yesterday I drug out my Twinkling H20s and went to town making art that was inspired by some of the blogs I read each morning. I began by trying to add a bit of color to my world.

I always get inspired to create color by Terri Kahrs at Pringle Hill Studio. Just visit her blog and you will get that daily dose of vibrant, intense color that warms your soul and brightens your projects.

I got carried away, making color messes until all the Twinkling H20s were devoid of water.

In the process, I got out some deli paper which didn't absorb the highly pigmented watercolors. I should have known better (deli paper is designed to resist liquid), but I've been inspired to find ways to use deli paper in my art ever since Marilyn Rock (In My Room) inspired me to revisit this medium after she posted a great video on its use earlier this year.
And as I was cleaning up, I painted the newspapers the project had sat on. For some reason, these colors and maybe even the designs reminded me (in the photo, but not before) of Diane Salter's (My Art Journal) art.

I was further inspired by Halle (Halle's Hobbies) who sent me the code that added the space between my daily posts. I never knew I could specify the space, so I was tickled when we talked about it that it was something I (well, Halle) could change. She even talked me through the process so I didn't add the code in the wrong spot. Any way I can make my blog easier for others to read, makes me happy. (EDIT: I changed the picture, so people wouldn't think this was the end of the post)

I was further inspired to rant about blog giveaways today, based on a questions asked by Susan at Pieces of Fate, my blog pick of the day. Susan asked (copied directly from her blog, and her colors, not mine):

and a burning question or thought that I'd like your FRANK thoughts on...

When bloggers offer giveaways...what requirements do you think are just and fair, and what is too much, or "making you jump through hoops"?

So it got me thinking as I visited a couple of the people who I already mentioned today. One is Diane who just completed a giveaway, the other is Marilyn who has just started a giveaway. What requirements did these giveaways require? "Please leave a comment on this post." PERIOD. No request for followers, no requirement to add their link, no requirement to put their photo on your sidebar, no requirement to jump through hoops, a phrase I often use. Diane got 134 comments and Marilyn had over 20 in the first few hours of her giveaway. I would say she is off to a great start.

What makes these giveaways so successful, while others that offer big ticket items are less successful? Because people who want to follow a blog, will. In my opinion, most people don't want to be coerced into following someone's blog. I sure don't. I also don't want to take the time to copy their photo and html link for my sidebar. It's cluttered enough as it is. I don't want to tweet about it, put it on my (nonexistent) facebook page, or write a dissertation about their giveaway. People who are truly successful at giveaways get people to comment because they have blog friends who respect their art, and don't attach any strings. They give from the heart. They appreciate followers (as do I), but, also like me, they don't have to "buy" anyone through gimmicks.

Bribery never won any friends, just followers who want to win a big ticket or perhaps a nicely handmade prize. That's why I love joining One World One Heart each year. People aren't allowed to use gimmicks, but MUST offer their giveaways from the heart.

So Susan (Pieces of Fate) sparked a conversation on her blog and now I'm hoping to continue it on mine. Who inspired YOU today? Did they inspire you through color, a certain material, technique, or product, or maybe a question they posed on their blog? I'll be showing other artists who inspire me over the next few days and weeks, too. There are some pretty awesome ones, who I call my friends, even though we've never met in person. Hope you will join in and let me know what inspires you this wonderful Thursday.

WOYWW 51: A stamping tutorial

What's on Your Work desk today? Well, it's Wednesday, so most of my visitors will be stampers. It's no secret I'm not a rubber stamper. I'm not good at it (you have to practice, for one thing), and I don't like wasting money on images you can only use one way. Although several companies now allow digital reproductions of their rubber, some still won't permit any manipulation at all, even though you have paid your hard earned money for their rubber. So, in an attempt to extend the number of my stamps without trying to carve a reverse image, or buy a mirror image stamp, I decided to see if I could do it myself without violating any copyright infringements.

Now I realize, if I want an image reversed, I could stamp on transparencies, but sometimes you don't want a transparency. I'm also pretty sure I am not the first person to come up with this technique, but since I've not seen it before on my limited circle of blogs, I am going to take credit for coming up with it.

Here is what I call "Reverse Stamping."

Supplies from lower left, clockwise:
Card stock or your favorite substrate
Clear blocks used for unmounted rubber
Mouse pad (I got mine last Wednesday at the thrift store)
Rubber stamps, various
Ink, various dye based (Staz-on is probably not a good choice, since it dries so quickly)
Wacky Tac or other repositionable glue of your choice
Rubber gasket material (found at any big box home improvement store)

This package contains two sheets of 6" X 6" X 1/16" (15.24 cm X 15.24 cm X 0.16 cm) red rubber gasket material.

Cover one side of the gasket material using your repositionable glue. Allow to dry overnight.


Affix to the best size clear acrylic block you have for the rubber. Alternately, you may cut your rubber to fit your block size.

Ink your stamp as you normally would. I used lime green vintage ink. I used what I had available, because I wasn't sure this would work, anyway.

I practiced stamping the image using my practice sheet of card stock. This step is optional.

Ink your stamp again.

Stamp onto your rubber gasket that is stuck to your acrylic block.

Remove stamp. Check your image.

Turn your new "rubber stamp" over and stamp onto the card stock.

OOPS. I have a problem here. I didn't get good coverage, but I partly blame that on the fact that I stopped to take photos in between each step and I believe the ink had dried.

Not to be deterred, I tried again. Closer, but no cigar.

Would a stamp that was not as dense work better? Well, I had also forgotten the new mouse pad I wanted to use underneath the card stock. Would that help?

Didn't seem to improve it that much.

I was getting ready to give up when I accidentally stuck the rubber to the plastic container the mouse pad had come in.

So, I stamped the bird again, this time replacing the hard acrylic block with nothing but the plastic sheet to back the rubber.

Although it isn't perfect, I see it can be done. I feel I am getting closer to the result I'm looking for. I might also try using paint instead of dye ink, which will provide better coverage to the stamp and the gasket rubber. I believe if I add the other piece of rubber gasket material that came in the package to the first one, I will get a better impression. Of course, that means adding repositionable glue to the other rubber gasket and waiting for it to dry. If you try this and get this technique to work, please let me know. I'm not disappointed with the results because the reversal technique works as I hoped it would. I just wish I could get a brighter, clearer stamped reverse image.

That's all the experimenting I have time for today. I'm off to visit Julia, who has the links to the other WOYWW participants.

Today's blog is known to many WOYWW participants, but I met Nicks when I taught my beginning altered book class (in which I started my Hands AB). She is so talented, she could have taught the class herself. Her art is fantastic and she doesn't stick to any one medium. She makes me want to get out my paint, inks, gesso, and polymer clay and play. I know you will love her blog, aptly named Nicks Arty Stuff, too. For those of you who are in Tea Tuesday, check out her tea cup she made. Like she said, it may not be functional, but it is gorgeous.