Sports Freebie and Some Layouts

It's Memorial Day weekend here in the US of A, so I wanted to post this special layout and take this opportunity to share Hugh's story with you. Hugh was my mother's uncle and a member of the British Royal Navy during WWII. All I knew about him what that he died during the war aboard HMS Aurora. Well, I was browsing through some family pics and came across this one (the only pic I have of Hugh) and I decided to do a little internet research. I was amazed at how quickly I was able to fnd out the missing details of what happened to him.

His ship was taking part in the Battle of Leros (a Greek Island in the Aegean Sea). On October 30th, 1943 the Aurora was hit by a 1000 lb bomb, which set alight the ammunition it was carrying. 47 crew members lost their lives that day, one of them being my Great-uncle Hugh, and 30 more were injured. I am so pleased to have this information to add to the family tree, as we didn't even have Hugh's exact date of death.

I remember years ago my mother tellng me that she'd been to see a psychic...who said that her daughter Susan (me) had a Guardian Angel named Hugh. My mother didn't remember him at all, so didn't really pay too much attention to that...but when she mentioned it to family members they reminded of of her uncle who'd died when she was a little girl. So...I've always had this curiosity about Hugh and I'm so proud to feature him here on my blog today.

Please remember that although Memorial Day is specifically an American holiday...we can still remember all those service men and women from all around the world who lost their lives while fighting for freedom.

Ok... now let's get right to what you're here for! Today's freebie is a little something I put together for all sports fans. It's not a full kit...just some papers and a few sports elements, but I think it'll come n handy for those of you who have husbands, sons and daughters who take part in sports. Hope you like it! Download it here.

I wanted to post more layouts today. The first three are mine...

This one was done for a challenge on Scrapbookflair...it shows me with some of my layouts.

The second layout shows pictures of my daughter, Julie, as bridesmaid at her friends wedding....and the one below was a photo I took last Christmas (my friend's granddaughter) that turned out a lttle grainy. I thought the photo was still useable...so I made it even more grainy, turned up the contrast, desaturated it and hand-colored portions. I was quite pleased with the result, which is very different from my usual layouts

The next three layouts are from my lovely CT ladies...first is Lis who used my Mother's Day kit for this gorgeous layout....

Christi used my Oh Baby! kit to show off her beautiful new son, Luke, to the world....isn't he adorable!!!

Last, but certainly not least..is this amazing layout by Judy, using the Winter Bling kit.

That's it for today....I have loads more CT layouts to share with you....but in the meantime you can visit any of the CT member galeries over at Scrapbookflair. While you're there, why not sign up and join in all the fun!

Hope you all had a GREAT weekend.....and if you're off for the Memorial Day holiday, then have a safe and happy day with your loved ones - and remember what the holiday is all about!