The Red White And Blue

 Hello friends,   being Memorial Day I thought I would share a little history of it's beginning and what it stands for:

The Civil War, which ended in the spring of 1865, claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history and required the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries.

By the late 1860s, Americans in various towns and cities had begun holding springtime tributes to these countless fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers.

It is unclear where exactly this tradition originated; numerous different communities may have independently initiated the memorial gatherings. And some records show that one of the earliest Memorial Day commemorations was organized by a group of formerly enslaved people in Charleston, South Carolina less than a month after the Confederacy surrendered in 1865. Nevertheless, in 1966 the federal government declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day.

Waterloo—which first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866—was chosen because it hosted an annual, community-wide event, during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.  If you would like to read more about it you can visit the site HERE.

Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. 

My Dad WWII

My hubby

Thank you to all the men and women serving now too!

 Seeing the challenges at
The Card Concept (inspired by the Red~White~Blue)

and also inspired by the challenge theme at
Just Us Girls (stencils)

I decided to create a  Red~White~Blue themed card using a new 
stencil from Waffle Flower Postage Collage 4th of July and
Postage 4th of July stamp set.

I used mostly Altenew inks for my stenciling with the exception of

Lawn Fawn yeti for the white!
I just love it when a couple of challenges work so well together for one card!
Have a safe and Happy Memorial Day everyone!!