Hopping for Heroes

Welcome to this stop on the Operation Write Home blog hop. You should have arrived here from Celeste's blog here. If you didn't start at the beginning of the hop, or you need an explanation of the purpose and goals of Operation Write Home, please click on the Own Home Front link. They welcome handmade cards of all types for our nation's heroes serving in our country's military and your cards are welcome too. For today's hop I have two cards for Any Hero, to thank them for their service to our country and a Valentine's Day card for a service member to use to send home to their favorite sweetheart. From my blog, you will travel to see Karen's creations, her link is at the bottom of this post.

For the top two cards, I made a sheet of polished stone, using gold craft, Brilliant Blue and Riding Hood Red dye ink. You can use just pieces of a polished stone sheet to accent a card.

The card on top uses Papertrey Ink's Quilter's Sampler. I like a versatile set that suits almost any occasion, depending on the colors and layout you choose. I alternated a white shimmery paper with the polished stone, punched out some stars using a cuttlebug die. The sentiment is from PTI's button bits set.

For the second card I traced a star and used it as a template to cut them out of the polished stone paper, mounted them on gold moire and pierced around them. The white swirly paper was just a fancy sheet I bought once at Archiver's and finally used.

The third card is for Valentine's Day. If you would like to make Valentine's Day cards for the service members to use to write home to loved ones, the deadline for receipt of these cards is January 8th. For that card I used a Crafty Secrets set called 'Cherish,' embossed in gold. Then I used some of the newer SU shimmer paint in champagne but mixed in a droplet of Pretty in Pink reinker to get a slightly pink tone, painted on vanilla cardstock. I embossed the Manhattan Die on vanilla, mounted the pieces on Pink Pirouette and paired it up with prima roses dipped in champagne shimmer paint, some PTI buttons and blush ribbon.

I don't know anyone personally that is serving in the military, however I am a first generation immigrant and heard enough stories from my dad about living in a repressive society to really appreciate the freedoms we have in this country. Freedom doesn't come without sacrifice, and a handmade card is such a small way to show our appreciation. Many thanks to all who serve and to their families.

Thanks for looking, enjoy hopping and Operation Write Home looks forward to receiving your cards for heroes.

For the next stop on this blog hop you will want to visit Karen's blog here. She has such a pretty smile and a fine stamping talent, check out her skills with Tombow markers.

Operation Write Home

Happy Sunday stampers! This week's challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ is hostessed by Candace who chose the verse from John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

Jesus laid his life down to save us from our sins, to give us eternal life in heaven.

Our American armed forces lay down their lives every day to ensure we have freedom in our country. Their sacrifice was demonstrated in a heart breaking manner this week in Texas at Fort Hood. We can thank them in a tangible way using our skills as card makers, putting our hearts into our creations. This week's challenge then, is to support Operation Write Home.

The mission of Operation Write Home (formerly known as Cards for Heroes) is to support our nation's armed forces by sending blank (handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them.

The challenge for this week is to make a patriotic-themed card for a soldier and as a bonus, donate it to Operation Write Home, so that a soldier may be encouraged by your words of thanks. Write a special message of gratitude on the inside and sign your name. They will be distributed to soldiers who rarely get mail, or just need encouragement. Be sure to put your card in an envelope and write “Any Hero” on the front. For more information on how to make a card for “Any Hero” click here (http://www.owhhomefrontblog.org/2009/09/anyhero-cards-q.html).

Please note that it is not required to donate your card in order to participate in the challenge. However, I do encourage it!

THE EXTRA CHALLENGE

OWH also collects blank greeting cards (any theme) that soldiers may send home to loved ones. For example: birthday, thinking of you, hello, etc. Various holiday cards are also needed. According to the OWH website, “miss you” and “love you” cards are most requested by the soldiers. To read more about card themes needed, click here http://www.owhhomefrontblog.org/2009/03/card-themeswhat-needed-most.html.

There are some rules about what you can and cannot use, for their safety's sake . . . for instance, no glitter! We don't want a speck of something shiny making our armed forces a target and visible at night. Also, standard A2 size cards are preferred. You don't have to include an envelope with an A2 card if you don't have any. However if you do choose to send a square card, please include a corresponding square-sized envelope for that card. Donations are always accepted to help pay for the postage required to send these packages to our brave men and women. So if you can slip in a dollar or two or five with your card, it is gratefully accepted.

One thing you CAN do . . .which made me happy personally . . .is you don't have to worry about bumps and lumps! Use those buttons! Make a pretty bow! The armed forces, when they send cards home to their loved ones, don't have to pay that extra postage for a lumpy card. :) I love ribbons, bows and buttons!

Candace has volunteered to collect the cards sent to her and mail them in a bundle to OWH. The link for her blog is here.

If you notice on my sidebar there are a few upcoming blog hops. One of them I will be participating in next Saturday and that is for Operation Write Home. You can sign up to be part of that blog hop too, it isn't too late, or just go blurfing next Saturday to see some awesome artwork and have a chance to win some great prizes.

Speaking of prizes, our sponsor at Stampin' Sisters in Christ this week is Paper Pretties. Thank you for donating that lovely stamp set which one lucky winner will receive for posting their creation on the SSCC blog. Thanks for looking.

ETA: My recipe . . . one of my friends thought I used Roses in Winter . . . I never could get the hang of two-step stamping, so I had that set at one time and gave it to a more deserving home!

Stamps: Penny Black 'the heart of the rose'

Paper: Neenah solar white, SU real red, brilliant blue, glossy white

Other: black craft ink, clear EP, sponge, red and blue inks, cuttlebug swiss dots folder, blue ribbon, post it notes for masking