Patriot's Day Parade in Concord

Monday was very hot with record breaking temperatures in our part of the world.  The Boston Marathon runners had very difficult conditions for the race and some (but not many) took the option to transfer their registration to next year.  Many of the groups marching in the Patriot's Day Parade here in Concord wear costumes with many layers, some made with wool, and they had to contend with the extreme heat to participate in this annual tradition.

It was a beautiful day with a bright blue sky.  This is the First Parish Church with a shiny gold dome at the top of the steeple.  This congregation was gathered in 1636, nearly four hundred years ago.

Concord selects an "Honored Citizen" every year - this year it was actually a married couple who have both contributed countless hours to the town.  The Honored Citizens lead the parade.

 I imagine these powdered wigs are pretty hot to wear.

The Naval Academy Drum and Bugle Corps comes all the way from Annapolis to participate in the parade.  The brass buttons on their uniforms were gleaming in the sun.

This group comes from Michigan every year to march.  Their outfits look so warm (though they are usually fine for April).  The parade goes through town and out to the Old North Bridge (where the "shot heard round the world" was fired).  After a brief ceremony at the bridge, the parade passes through town again about forty-five minutes later.

The band from a local private school always marches in the parade.  They look sharp in their white trousers and blue blazers.  I think this student missed the "wear white sneakers" memo!

There are always some young people marching as part of the reenactment groups.  I love to see how seriously they take their responsibilities!

The bagpipes come near the end of the parade.  You can see the crowds starting to follow the parade behind them.  The parade route is closed to cars so everyone enjoys wandering in the streets and greeting their friends.

The uniforms are very impressive - these "redcoats" look particularly sharp with their furry (and very hot) hats.

The cannons are fired early in the morning.  The first year we lived here it was quite startling to hear.

There are vendors selling balloons, souvenirs, flags...

 ...and cotton candy!

 These patriotic mice were dressed up in the Toy Shop window.

Our neighbor's dog looked very patriotic with her coat and hair bow.

While waiting for the parade to resume, this police officer allowed some small children to sound the siren and horn on his motorcycle.

When the parade is over, you still see people in costume around town.  This officer is passing through one of the old burying grounds with graves that are several centuries old - the center one is this photo is from 1745.

We walk into town for the parade - it only takes a few minutes and solves the parking problem for us.  I like to walk because you usually notice more than you do from the car.  I didn't realize just how huge this tree is until we walked by and got a good look at the trunk.

We watched both segments of the parade and then trudged back up the hill to our house.  The flowering trees are so pretty this year.

I'll post the winner of the spot in the Ella Publishing course Spring Training 2012 a little later this morning.  I wanted to allow any West Coast readers time to post before midnight on Monday and I have to go out first thing Tuesday morning so I'll draw the name as soon as I get back.

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I love a parade...some photos to share again

Monday was Patriot's Day in Massachusetts - the official date is April 19th but it is celebrated on the closest Monday.   I missed the parade since I am here with my Dad (but he's worth it!).   One of the perks of living in Concord, Massachusetts is the history that surrounds you every day.  Here is a LINK to my post last year on Patriot's Day.  I made a quick digital layout of some of the parade photos.  Here is another LINK to a post with some more information about Patriot's Day

The Boston marathon is also held on Patriot's Day and a new record was set this year - 2 hours, 3 minutes and 2 seconds - incredibly fast!  Two years ago, my husband's cousin ran in the marathon - if you want to read a bit about that you can click HERE to see the signs we made - with the Cricut, of course!  If you click HERE you can see her running in the race and a congratulations card we made.

Our town loves a parade - if you missed reading about the 375th birthday parade you can see that post HERE.

I was able to go to a Staples store on Monday and confirmed that the problem with my laptop is a failed AC power cord and that my computer is fine.  So that is a relief but I'll have to wait for the replacement to be sent and it is going to my home so the next few days I'll be working around the lack of my laptop.  I have to thank Ellen who volunteered her help since she is nearby in Pennsylvania and her husband is a computer whiz.  It is so nice to know that people will pitch in to help others and crafters have very big hearts - I am not sure if we will meet up but it is the thought that counts!

link to Discussion Day 1 - Why do you craft?

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Confirmation Card

We had a weekend filled with family activities.  Our niece's Confirmation was on Saturday and there was a big family get together.  This week is Spring Break for public schools - tomorrow is Patriot's Day and the Boston Marathon.

I designed this card using the Wedding and Beyond Birthdays cartridges.

The cross is from the Wedding Cartridge.  I also used the square place card (last key, second row from bottom) to create the A2 card shape, hiding the two score marks.

 Here is the preview of the full card.  I used "Hide Selected Contour" to eliminate the outer line of the cross and create an inset cut in the front of the card.

One of the "quirks" of the Design Studio software is that you can not hide a single line and have it stay hidden when you close and reopen the file.  In order for the outer line to stay hidden, you need to use two crosses and hide the outline and at least one more line on one and then hide the rest of the lines and the outline on the other. Then you position them directly on top of each other, using the "x" and "y" values.  There is a step by step explanation of the process at THIS POST.

For the inside of the card, I used a guideline rectangle in the correct A2 size to help plan the size and placement of the image and words.

 The dove is sized at 2 inches and is located as shown in the screen shot above.

The sentiment is also from Beyond Birthdays and can be found on the key shown on the keypad screenshot above.

Once I had everything planned, I cut the images for the inside of the card from another mat where I had placed them to conserve on the amount of paper I used.  I cut them from glitter cardstock, using multi cut 2 and the glitter cardstock cut very easily.

Here are the pieces of the card that I cut with the cricut.  The card itself is cut from a piece of cardstock from the DCWV "Luxury" stack.  I also cut a piece of plain pink cardstock at 5 1/4 x 8 1/4 to create a liner for the card.  I did this with a paper trimmer.

The liner is attached to the back side of the card with a line of adhesive tape from my ATG gun.

Here you can see the taped liner inserted into the card.

This view shows the card opened.  The extra layer is very effective in making the card interesting and hiding any writing you want to add inside.

The sentiment is very tiny and I did manage to misplace the dot for the "i" - so I improvised and added a tiny pearl.

Here is one more view of the card.  I like the way the light shines through the cross.

I think I have given you enough information to make the file on your own.  If you need help or would like to use my file, please leave a comment.  I can add a link if enough people are interested in this card.

Download Link Added 4/24

Confirmation Card


I hope to be attending a parade tomorrow morning.  The prediction is for the rain to stop and a cool and overcast day.  Please cross your fingers - it was in the 40s and hailing today!

If you'd like a little more information about Patriot's Day you can read THIS POST from last year.  Our cousin who ran in last year's marathon is not running this year  - she just had a baby so she will be sitting this one out!

Patriot's Day - Busy in Boston

Things are rather busy in our neck of the woods these days! Living in Concord, we are in the midst of the annual Patriot's Day festivities. The "shot heard 'round the world" was fired on April 19, 1775, at the Old North Bridge which is about a ten minute walk from our house.
In case you have forgotten some of your American history, the phrase is in the first verse of Ralph Waldo Emerson's Concord Hymn, written for the dedication of a battle monument.


Above is a photo of this verse on the monument with the famous sculpture by Daniel Chester French, who is best known for the sculpture of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D. C. (in case it is too hard to read from the photo, I have typed it below as well):

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled;
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard 'round the world.





On the other side of the bridge is a monument with this inscription (the photo was taken last summer,when Ted, a Cricut Message Board friend from California, visited Concord).

Once again - here are the words typed out for you:

HERE
on the 19th of April
1775
was made
the first forcible resistance
to British aggression
On the opposite Bank
stood the American Militia
Here stood the Invading Army
and on this spot
the first of the Enemy fell
in the War of that Revolution
which gave
Independence
to these United States

In gratitude to GOD
and
in the love of freedom
this Monument
was erected
AD 1836.

A little piece of trivia that you may not know about Daniel Chester French is that he was given art lessons and encouraged to pursue sculpting by Louisa May Alcott's sister, May Alcott ("Amy" in the book Little Women).

Tomorrow there will be re-enactments here and in Lexington and on Monday we have a parade in town.

The other big event of the weekend is the Boston Marathon on Monday. We are hosting my husband's cousin, his wife and her parents for the weekend because she will be running in the marathon. ( I am so impressed - I walk in the mornings but running is beyond me!) Today, we had the extended family that lives in the area over for a cookout (luckily the rain held off) and this group includes a lot of lively youngsters - including a set of twins and their younger brother and our five year old triplet nephews!

So, things are busy here - but it is fun to be in the middle of all these activities and historical events. Tomorrow morning we will wake up to the sounds of cannons(!)

I know that most of you come here for Cricut and craft info, so forgive this digression (I actually have had some blog readers send me messages saying they enjoy the occasional non-crafting posts and the glimpses into another crafter's "real world").



I will leave you with a photo of a design I did a couple of weeks ago that I hope to finish into a card very soon - can you guess the cartridges involved?

Luck of the Irish!

Just a quick post tonight. It was a busy day doing errands with my son while he is home from college and meeting family for lunch. I have finally gotten all of my current swaps in the mail so I can get back to posting some more complicated designs soon.

I think St. Patrick's Day is a "bigger" holiday here in the Boston area compared to some other parts of the country (!) I'll be sharing a few more St. Patrick's Day ideas this weekend and then will move on to some new things I have been working on.

As I promised yesterday, here is the file for the "Luck of the Irish" design. This is sized to fit a 5 1/2 inch card or larger. In the photo below, you can see it placed on a six inch card (this is not a finished card - just a size reference).



I replaced the "k" from the "Tall Ball' feature with a "k" from the regular font - you can see the difference in the screen shot below. I think this makes the design easier to read.




I also have some exciting news that I'll be able to share soon! (I couldn't resist the chance to pique your curiosity!)

Luck of the Irish card topper