OWH/Unity Blog Skip

Welcome to my stop on the Operation Write Home Blog Skip featuring Unity Stamp Company.  If you've come seeing the awesome work on Dixie's blog, you're in the right place.  If not, you might want to start at the top of the hop so you won't miss any of the blogs!

I've been a fan and collector of Unity stamps for a couple of years now, so I am very excited that they're partnering with OWH for this skip.  Here are two AnyHero cards I've made using a few of Unity's patriotic stamps, which are very affordable at just $1.79 each.

Stamp available here.  While the tags appear shiny, please note that this is metallic paper and not glittered paper which would pose a safety risk to our heroes.  Nothing rubs off of this paper, so it is safe. 

Update: Several people have asked about the metallic paper.  It's by Making Memories and is several years old, but I was able to find it here.   It is possible to stamp on it with an ink such as Staz-on.  I just chose not to as I wanted the attention to focus on the sentiment.  Rub-ons or stickers should also work OK.  I didn't use a specific punch to make the tags.  I just cut a rectangle about 1"x2" and used a corner rounder and hole punch to finish the tag. 

Stamp available here.  This sketch by Nancy was part of the Labor Day Virtual Card Making Party. 

For many people, designing the AnyHero cards is easier than writing inside them.  Here's what I tend to write inside in case you would like some ideas.  First, I start out with "Dear Hero" and thank the hero for serving our country.  Next, I tell a little bit about myself.  Sometimes I mention my family's history of military service.  My grandfather and all five of his brothers served; between them they served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam and their service is something that my family is very proud of.  Other times, I'll talk about my job as a teacher and how I see our heroes' sacrifices safeguarding the freedom of the children I teach.  In other cards, I've talked about the freedoms I enjoy that are made possible by the military protecting us.  Then I finish by thanking the hero again and expressing my hope for their safe return home.  If you find it hard to get started writing AnyHero notes, photo cards like this one are great because they prompt you to tell a story about the picture you took.  Just be sure to use you own photos to avoid copyright issues. 

Next up on the skip is Paula.  I'm always impressed with Paula's designs, so hurry over to her blog and see what she has to share! 

Thanks for visiting! 
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Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 651 blank and 236 AnyHero (as of 4/28/13)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

Check out OWH at www.operationwritehome.org to learn more about its mission and how to get involved.

AI and OWH Bloghop

Hi everyone!  Welcome to my stop on the Art Impressions/Operation Write Home Bloghop.  If you're new to Operation Write Home, it's an organization that sends blank hand made cards to deployed military units.  For me, it's been a great way to give back and honor my family members who have served while making use of my talent and supplies.  If you're interested in more information, be sure to visit Operation Write Home's website and Facebook page. 

Art Impressions is a loyal supporter of OWH.  Art Impressions has released two new fundraiser sets today and 25% of every purchase of these stamps will benefit OWH.  Shopping and charity, what a great combination! 

If you missed the start of the hop, it can be found on the Art Impressions blog. There are 17 designers and I'm sure you'll want to catch them all.

Here's the card I made using the new OWH Every Hat set.  It comes with this adorable lady to color and two sentiments.  

Paper: DCWV A Type of Art Stack
Copic colors: B00, B02, B04, B06, B32, B34, BG0000, R22, R24, R29, R35, R39, C5, E31, Y13, Y17, YR04, YR20, YR23, and YR27 (I'm still learning to color, so please forgive any mistakes!)  
Punch: Fiskars Apron Lace
Dies: Spellbinders Circles
Other: Brads from stash, probably by Making Memories 

The second set of stamps is the OWH Sending Love set.  Isn't it so cute how the string connecting the cans spells out LOVE? 

Paper: K & Co Halloween Mat Pad
Punches: EK Success Binding Edge and Flourish Square, Stampin Up Curly Label
Dies: Cuttlebug heart
Other: Glossy Accents (on heart)

Now, I'm sure you want to go place an order for these great new stamps.  The logo below will take you to Art Impression's online store. 

Your next stop on the hop is Lee Mae at Boxes of Dogs.  She always shares awesome cards on the Operation Write Home blog, so I'm sure you'll want to see what she has for you!   Thanks for visiting. 


If you're lost, here are all of the stops:

1. Art Impressions
2. Crafter's Home
3. Crystal Lopez 
4. Dixie Cochran
5. Paula Spagnuolo 
6. Karen Day 
7. Kathryn Belmonte (You're here!)
8. Lee Mae Elkins
9. Kerry Kung
10. Nancy Keller
11. Piali Biswas
12. Kristie Marcotte
13. Reneé Matarese
14. Ronni Unger
15. Rhonda Harre
16. Sandy Allnock
17. Operation Write Home Stars and Stamps

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 651 blank and 236 AnyHero (as of 4/28/13)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

Check out OWH at www.operationwritehome.org to learn more about its mission and how to get involved.

It's time for another bloghop!

Welcome to my little stop on the hop!

Here's a thank you card made with some My Mind's Eye papers and a Cuttlebug die.  I kept finding myself too busy to make a card for this hop, so I was getting this one done just under the wire, but using a 6x6 paper pad really helped me pull it together quickly! 

(EDIT: Many people have asked about the sentiment.  It's from Cuttlebug's With Gratitude die/embossing folder set, available here.  I'll punch an envelope full of the sentiments in different colors and offer them as blog candy for a random commenter since you all love it so much!)

This card started out based on OWH Sketch #144, but I took a few liberties.  Sketches are a great jumping off point!

 

Enjoy the hop!  Be sure to make some awesome cards for OWH this weekend!  
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Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 651 blank and 236 AnyHero (as of 4/28/13)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

Check out OWH at www.operationwritehome.org to learn more about its mission and how to get involved.

OWH/Stamper's Best Animal Pun Blog Skip

Hello everyone!  Thanks for visiting during the Operation Write Home/Stamper's Best Animal Pun Blog Skip.  If you came over from Jan's blog, you're in the right place.   If you just happened upon my blog today, be sure to head over to Operation Write Home's Stars and Stamps blog to begin the skip from the top and make sure you don't miss a single bit of the fun.

Sandy Allnock of Operation Write Home designed three sets of punny animal stamps which Stamper's Best manufactured.  After you see all the great cards on the hop, I hope you'll take advantage of a great sale and purchase the sets at the special buy-two-get-one-free price that Stamper's Best is offering this month.  While you're there, pick up some of their great cling storage cards, too!

The next stop on the hop is the fabulous Marlene.

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 340 blank and 140 AnyHero (as of 1/7/13)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

Check out OWH at www.operationwritehome.org to learn more about its mission and how to get involved.

My first Stamper's Best order

I've had one Stamper's Best stamp for over two years, but I've never ordered any stamps from them until now.  What is that one stamp, you ask?  Well, it's my Operation Write Home logo stamp that goes on the back of every card I send to OWH.  Stamper's Best donates all of these stamps for OWH.  As you can see at the bottom of this post, my stamp has been going strong for well over 3,000 impressions!  These stamps are made to last. 

On Friday night, I ordered some stamps and a few of their cling storage cards.  Everything arrived yesterday, including a free gift and another OWH stamp (which they send with every order). The real reason for my purchase was the upcoming OWH Animal Pun Blog Skip featuring stamps designed by Sandy Allnock of Operation Write Home and manufactured by Stamper's Best.  Sales of these new stamp sets will benefit OWH thanks to the generosity of Stamper's Best.  I'm one of the stops on the skip, so be sure to come back on Saturday, March 9 after 9am EST to see what's in store. 

Here's a picture of some of my cling stamps loaded up on the cling storage cards. Look at how many fit on just one side of a sheet.  I've filled up 4 of the 10 I purchased and I think there are a few more cling stamps hiding out that I missed. 

This card is made with the stamp set I received as my free gift: Friends and Underwear!  The entire sentiment says, "Friends are like underwear, always near you" but I chose to highlight only the last part of the phrase. 

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 340 blank and 140 AnyHero (as of 1/7/13)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

Check out OWH at www.operationwritehome.org to learn more about its mission and how to get involved.

World Card Making Day Bloghop!

Welcome!  I'm so pleased to be able to share a card with you today in celebration of World Card Making Day as part of the Operation Write Home Bloghop.  Check out the whole list of stops on the hop right here:



My card today is based off of this week's Mojo Monday Sketch, #261. Operation Write Home has a fabulous collection of about 140 sketches that you can check out here. There are also PDF downloads of the sketches and a checklist there so you can keep track of which sketches you've used. 

Sketch: Mojo Monday #261

Patterned Paper: DCWV Winter
Ribbon: JoAnn
Brads: Colorbok
Embossing: Cuttlebug Snowflakes
Nestabilities: Crown Circles, Circles, Scallop Circles
Stamp: SU Best Yet
Punches: EK Success (small snowflake), Marvy (large snowflake)

Thanks for visiting and celebrating World Card Making Day with me!  



P.S. Go see my last post for some blog candy before you hop to the next blog!


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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 928 blank and 215 AnyHero (as of 6/26 with a box of more than 300 set to go out this week!)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

Check out OWH at www.operationwritehome.org to learn more about its mission and how to get involved.

VCMP Cards - Labor Day 2012

OWH organized a virtual card making party this weekend and I was lucky enough to be one of the hostesses.  There were 10 challenges in all, split evenly over Saturday and Sunday.

Here are the cards I made for each of the challenges.  I had a house guest on Saturday and Sunday, so I fit these in this afternoon after she left. 

#1: ODBD- Use a scripture sentiment.  Please note that I sealed in the glitter using Glossy Accents so it won't pose a hazard to our heroes. 

Stamps: Studio G

Papers: DCWV cardstock

Nesties: Labels 5

Embossing: Darice Stripes

Brads: stash

#2: Cherie- Use a recipe of 1 image, 2 patterned papers, and 3 words.

Stamps: Studio G and Unity

Papers: DCWV printed cardstock

Punches: EK Success

Coloring: Copics

#3: Cindy- Use snowflakes but not on a Christmas card.

Stamps: Studio G

Papers: stash

Embellishment: JoAnn

Coloring: Copics

Embossing: Cuttlebug Snowflakes

Sketch: OWH 83

#4: Donna- "Triple Time" stamping

Stamps: Unity

Tutorial: Triple Time Stamping

Papers: stash

Ribbon: stash

Ink: SU Pink Passion, Pixie Pink, Gable Green, Only Orange

 #5: Sandy- Cowboy card

Stamps: Studio G

Papers: DCWV cardstock

Die: Cuttlebug

Punch: Fiskars

 #6: OWH/Linda - Follow the OWH Sketch #136 using a paper punch for the embellishments.

Stamps: Studio G

Papers: stash

Punch: Marvy

Washi: Target paper tape (green, yellow, and blue packs)

Sketch: OWH #136

 #7: Sybrina- Make an AnyHero Christmas card and a Christmas card for kids.

Stamps: Studio G and SU

Papers: DCWV cardstock, K&Co, stash

Nesties: Circles

Coloring: Copics

Embossing: Snowflakes

Ribbons: Target, stash

#8: Cherie- Make a sports-themed card.

Sticker: Deja Views

Papers: stash

Embossing: Darice Stars (small) and Cuttlebug Stars (large)

#9: Shannon- Use a tool you haven't used in a long time. My unloved tool was a combo stamp/punch from EK Success.  It's a pain to use because you have to put the stamp into the punch, ink it, punch, and then take it apart if you want to make a second one.  I haven't used it very often (if at all) with the stamps that came with it. 

Stamps: Studio G and EK Success

Papers: Pebbles and stash

Punches: EK Success

#10: Me- Make a card that represents your state.  Scroll down to my last post to see my samples and post a card there to qualify for blog candy!

Thanks to Allison for organizing the party and to all of the hostesses for coming up with great challenges.  I wish we could do these every month- they always inspire me to make cards I might have otherwise not thought of!   

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 928 blank and 215 AnyHero (as of 6/26)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

Check out OWH at www.operationwritehome.org to learn more about its mission and how to get involved.

OWH Memorial Day Bloghop

Welcome to my little piece of the Operation Write Home Memorial Day Bloghop!  Thanks so much for visiting!  You can start the hop anywhere and use Inlinkz on the Stars and Stamps blog to get around to all the blogs.

I am sharing Sketch #99.  Sketches are near and dear to my heart.  At the beginning of 2012, I challenged myself to complete all of the OWH Sketches at least once and made a checklist so I could keep track of my progress.  Today, I wanted to share a milestone with you- I've officially done all of the current sketches this year.  Right now, that's 122 plus a few bonus sketches.  If you want to play along with this challenge, there's still plenty of time left in the year! 

Both versions of the card were made with papers from Basic Grey's Picadilly line, brads by Making Memories, and a sentiment stamp by KI Memories. 

For some blog candy, please see my last post.  :)  Thanks again for hopping by!  Head back to Stars and Stamps for the rest of the hop. 
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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 620 blank and 200 AnyHero (as of 4/24)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695
Check out OWH at www.operationwritehome.org to learn more about its mission and how to get involved.