With Solemn Remembrance and Respect

In Flanders Fields

Lt. Col. John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

The many, many men and women who have served or are serving our country deserve so much more than the simple thanks I have to offer today. Your courage, bravery, and honor are deeply respected.

In my family, there are many veterans and I'd like to take the time to thank them each.

Paul Dennis Mead, cousin

 Ryan Wiberg, cousin

Dakota Krout, cousin

Bradley Koehn, cousin

Jacob Wolf, almost-little-brother

Not pictured: My grandpa, Paul Mead - gone but not forgotten

Today is Veteran's Day here in the U.S. and a day of solemn remembrance and appreciation. The card I made today uses poppies and is a thank you card, in honor of the men and women who have served our country.

I got in a new product to try. I love embossing paste so much (if you want to see some tutorials - check it out on the blog post Playing Around With Embossing Paste) that I decided to try my hand at using gesso. 

Gesso is similar to embossing paste, in that it's used to create mixed media projects and texture. Most commonly, gesso is used to prep canvases for acrylic or oil paintings so that the canvas doesn't soak up all the paint. 

To use gesso, I started by mixing some of it with some Vintage Photo Distress Ink, because I didn't want it to be so stark white. 

I stamped a background stamp in Vintage Photo, and then stamped over that with a poppy image from a very old Martha Stewart stamp set using Festive Berries and Fired Brick DIs. Then I applied gesso over a portion of the card.

I let the paper dry on a flat surface and then brushed over it with more Vintage Photo. The gesso that was applied over the stamped poppy absorbed some of the Distress Ink, because DIs are reactive to liquid. I think it created such a neat effect. 

Lastly, I added some Perfect Pearls (perfect gold) to the center of the poppies to give it a little shine, and tied the whole thing together with a thankful tag and some coordinating ribbon. 

I also stamped a sentiment on the inside:

If I were comparing embossing paste to gesso, here's how they'd rack up:

• I like the texture of embossing paste better. It's almost like shaving cream, while gesso has the texture of runny glue. 
• Gesso is more see-through than embossing paste. Which can be cool if you want an image to shine through.
• Gesso dries faster, and creates a harder surface
• Embossing paste has more dimension. Since it's not quite as runny, it can create more height
• Embossing paste is far easier to clean! Gesso gets everywhere and is not as easy to scrape off a mat and back into a jar. 

So that's my brief analysis. I'll have to play around more with gesso because I love, love, LOVE how this card turned out.

I'm sending it over to the following challenges:

(As a side note, I want to say thank you to Sweet Stampin' and Allsorts for calling attention to such important people)

Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Poppies or Red for Remembrance

Allsorts - Poppies/Remembrance

Mixed Media Mojo - November challenge - Thankful

Thank you for stopping by. Don't forget to thank a veteran today! Follow my blog and leave me a comment and I'll be sure to return the favor!

P.S. - I have a little giveaway going. If you'd like to enter, go to my Featured Friday blog post.