Thank You Cards from my Scrap Weekend

My plan for my scrap weekend was to make greeting cards for my guys in Afghanistan (where I would be now if I weren't in Okinawa), and to try to finish off some paper packs.  I sent them a greeting card organizer from The Container Store a few months back, and I wanted to keep them stocked with cards to send to their family and friends.

I would LOVE to tell you the name of this paper pack, but I threw out the label over the scrap weekend.  I can tell you that I got this CTMH paper pack at my very first scrap weekend in October 2006, and I used a good portion of it on a layout I did shortly thereafter of the annual Naha Tsunahiki.  I didn't quite finish off the pack yet, but I will soon.  All I can remember is the word "Country" is in the name of it...

Papers: CTMH, CTMH Cardstock in Autumn Terracotta and Dutch Blue

Inks: CTMH Autumn Terracotta and Dutch Blue

Tools and Techniques: Crosshatching, direct-to-paper edge distressing, CTMH  Brads, CTMH flowers, Prima flowers
Stamp Sets: CTMH Thank You, CTMH A Little Everything, CTMH Card Chatter-Thank You, CTMH  From Me to You, CTMH For Every Occasion

Semper Fi

For the last several months, I have been secretly (well, not really secretly, just secretly for the friend we were making it for) working on a scrapbook with a friend. This was truly a world-wide project, as we had to send pieces of layouts to Okinawa, Afghanistan, Iraq, Hawaii, and all around the continental U.S. for this project. This album was to be a retirement gift for someone who has had a tremendous impact on many lives. Today we presented the album to MSgt Pearson, who will retire December 31st after 20 years of faithful service in the Marine Corps. Her influence will be felt for years to come, and she will be terribly missed.

Papers: CTMH, and miscellaneous cardstocks and patterned papers
Inks: CTMH, and my inkjet printer
Stamps: CTMH, and some stamps I purchased at Shuri-jo Castle
Embellishments: tons. MM brads, Prima flowers, others.
Titles were cut with my Silhouette
Interactive pages: Foto Flaps. Also, matted pictures were laminated in Xyron, and a piece of a transparency was cut, scored to make a "tent", and adhered to the layout and the matted photo using Terrifically Tacky tape (normal adhesives would not keep the transparency and lamination stuck together). Page protectors were cut with Xacto knife to allow the flap to stick through and be interactive.

Not exactly "scrappy"

So another way I put my craftiness to use is by making plaques for people when they receive orders somewhere else (or retire, or just get out of the Marine Corps). I like to make sure that when someone leaves, the gift we give them is something that they will appreciate and be proud to display, and will hopefully remind them of fond memories. Well, my sorta-boss (who is a bit, shall we say, "abrasive") is leaving to go be the head honcho for our military occupational specialty in Quantico, VA. He has a reputation of being, well, somewhat of an ass, but he knows a lot. And if you know a lot (and read the orders), you can successfully go head-to-head with him. But if you are guessing or making stuff up, standby to be destroyed. Well, needless to say, he is not the "touchy-feely" type, and something that sounded sentimental or like a "suck-up" wasn't going to cut it. So someone had the idea to "nail a boot to a board and tell him 'we're giving you the boot'". So I ran with it. I mounted a Marine Corps combat boot (hot weather) to a cherry plaque board, along with an anondized brass white cover (hat for you non-military types) emblem and the inscription plaque which reads "In appreciation for all you have given us, we are giving you the boot. If you need anything in the future, just READ THE ORDER! Semper fidelis". To mount the boot, I drilled two holes through the sole, and attached it through the bottom of the board using carriage bolts and wingnuts (the wingnuts are inside the boot). I cut a foam block to fit in the heel of the boot, then hot-glued a black plastic cup on top of the foam. I then tied the boot, and he will be able to use this on his desk as a pen holder. I put self-adhesive rubber pads on the back side of the board (to help keep it from slipping, and to allow it to sit level because of the round heads of the carriage bolts). I think he will get a "kick" out of it.