09 August 2011

LIM Flag colours

I love this weeks challenge, I knew straight away what I would do for the Welsh flag, this is what I have found out about it, most of which even I didn't know!  I live at the bottom of the country near Swansea.

Y Ddraig Goch or Red Dragon


Map of UK, Wales is in the pink :)
According to Ancient and Heraldic traditions much symbolism is associated with colors. The colors on the Welsh flag represent the following:
    • White - peace and honesty
    • Red - hardiness, bravery, strength & valour
    • Green - hope, joy and love acred significance
  • The Meaning & History of the Welsh Flag
    • The Welsh flag is known as Y Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon 
      how to say the Welsh,
      Y is pronounced - U as uh! not why, 
      Ddraig - Thrige the th as in the and a hard g as in get, 
      Goch  - another hard g as in get, o as in oh! the ch has to be pronounced in the back of the throat! as if you are gargling.
      Now try it, LOL. 
      I'm not a Welsh speaker, but can read, say and understand a few words I can also sing the National anthem.
    • The Romans carried banners bearing Dragon emblems - it is believed that legends about dragons were passed to the Romans from the Persian Empire

    • The Welsh hero Cadwaladr carried the dragon standard in the 700's (not 1700's)

    • The Tudors claimed Welsh ancestry and their livery was green and white. The Tudors claim to the English throne was strengthened by this association

    • The Welsh flag has been officially used since the 1950s

      • Welsh Land Size : 8800 square miles
      • Climate / Weather of Wales : temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast
      • Welsh Population : 2,946,200
      • Former Name(s) : Cambria
      • Welsh Main Industries :  machine tools, electric power & automation equipment, communications equipment, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, food processing, textiles, clothing, and other consumer goods
      • Welsh Agricultural products : cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, poultry; fish
      • Welsh Currency : British pound (GBP) Stirling

Now on to my card if I haven't bored you too much.

I had an Elizabethe Dulembo digi HERE of a wonderful dragon, I used Shellys.images.co HERE "grass" and made up the sentiment, the font I used is Freebooter Script, because I thought it suited his tail :). coloured in PS
Oh! sorry, I added the Union Flag a little later than the rest, as I forgot to add it

The Union Flag was a little harder, of course it was red white and blue, but what image, I eventually found an image from TLC Vintage HERE and thought her perfect for my interpretation (big word there, are you impressed?) coloured in PS, the font is Fashion Victim and I used a gradient in PS to make it red, white and blue too, I then mounted her onto blue and red card from Papermania and  Stickled her hair piece.
I hope this VERY long post hasn't been too much for you, but you have found out a little about my country. Diolch (Thank you)

23 comments:

Denise said...

Two gorgeous cards Faith. I really love that dragon.
Hugs
Denise xx

kelly ledder said...

Two very gorgeous cards!!

TAM said...

Two fabulous cards - love the dragon

Jenny said...

Well I certainly enjoyed all the facts and figures about Wales...I don't think I'll try my language skills tho when I visit...it's rather tricky!
Gorgeous cards, love the dragon and his knowing look :)and the lady looks great too :)
Jenny x

Deborah Frings said...

Thank you for so much fab information about the Welsh National Flag - I don't speak the language, but I think I'd like to try!

And I just adore that dragon on your card - he's got a particular look in his eye and the sentiment made me smile. I really like the GB card too!

Judith said...

Gorgeous cards from Wales! Just joined your fantastic blog. I live in Bridgend.

Rachelxx said...

Love the background behind your cards - just love your dragon card!!

I lived in the Midlands from 8 to 18 & spent quite a lot of time in wonderful Wales :-)

Pauline said...

Two fabulous cards, the dragon is a fun image with a fun sentiment too, and your Union flag is fab too, great stuff.

Lisa Jane said...

oh wow 2 fab cards - i love that dragon and all the interesting facts
Lisa x

Chrissie said...

Two fabulous cards Faith,I just love the dragon... it's beautifully coloured.
Thanks so much
Chrissie
Lady LIM
"Less is More"

Beryl K said...

Fabulous cards Faith, I love your dragon
Beryl x

Suze Bain said...

Your colouring of the dragon is fab! Tried to follow the pronunciation bit but failed miserably! xx

massofhair said...

Two different cards and i love them both. Favourite is the wonderful Red Dragon card:-)

Marlene said...

LOVE your little dragon card! So adorable!

Aileen said...

Oh Faith you've got us all trying out our pronunciation! Hee Hee Managed the Goch ok being from Soctland.

Your dragon card is just perfect, a cute dragon too. Love your red white and blue too what a fab image you found. x

Susan said...

Two FABULOUS cards!!! LOVE that first card...that little dragon is just adorable...and the sentiment is perfect!!

Kathyk said...

Your dragon card is simply fabulous

Kathyk

Rosemary said...

love the card with the dragon, faith!! great take on the challenge...

G Peplow said...

Hi Faith, You've made two great cards here and loads of info on Wales, I'm impressed but I fear will not be speaking Welsh, I'm useless at it:0) Love the little dragon card, Deborah is right he has a twinkle in his eye, Gay xxx

Vicky Hayes said...

I love these cards Faith especially the Welsh one with that naughty looking dragon! I loved reading your info on Wales and the Welsh flag and shall be practising saying "Y Ddraig Goch" (although I'm not sure how useful it'll be in the green grocers!) Vx

Elizabeth O Dulemba said...

Hi Faith, I'm going to feature your card in tomorrow's Coloring Page Tuesday newsletter - I just love it! If you're not subscribed, you can do so at http://dulemba.com/index_ColoringPages.html . Cheers and keep creating! :) e

Linby said...

Two great cards for the challenge. I love the way you coloured in the lady stamp.
Linbyx

Sonia said...

Fabulous card! I see on Dulemba's Gallery. I really like the Dulemba's images.
-Sony