Operation Write Home Bunny Hop

Nana nana nana-nana nana NA, Na na nana-na-na HOP HOP HOP!  Ok that’s my best attempt at singing the Bunny Hop.  I hope you are enjoying the Operation Write Home Bunny Hop so far.  You should have hopped here from the InStyle Stamps Blog, if not you will want to go back to the Operation Write Home Stars and Stamps Blog to get the full list of hop stops.

Remember if you would like to donate any Easter cards the deadline is March 18 and Mother's Day cards must be to the shippers by March 31.  This helps insure that the cards can make it to their destinations in plenty of time for our troops to send home to their loved ones.  If you have never sent cards to OWH before the list of their shippers and all the information you need to know can be found here.

I am a sucker for sketches.  Did you know that you can find a new sketch for inspiration every Sunday on the Operation Write Home Stars and Stamps Blog?  They have an index of all their sketches here.

I used last weeks sketch #54 for this card using Honey Bunny the freebie from the InStyle Stamps Blog:

And here is a Spring/Easter card using InStyle Stamps Tia and Cuddles He is Risen:

 

A few of my personal tips for sending in cards to Operation Write Home:
*Generic is a good thing.  ~I tend to leave off sentiments so that cards can be used for any occasion.  The second card here can really be used for Easter, Mother’s Day or any other time depending on the needs of the shippers.
*Use good quality adhesive around the outside edges of the panels.  ~I have collected cards in the past to send in and seen many people use a lot of adhesive in the center of the layer but none on the edges.  In the shipping and sorting process cards can get stacked and edges that are not stuck down well get caught and the layer will pop right off.
*Keep it simple.  ~Embellishments can come off causing cards to go to the card hospital, and too much bulk on a card means fewer cards can be mailed in a box. 

Now make sure you hop on over to Barb at http://papertherapyponderings.blogspot.com/

NEW RELEASE DAY

Today is new release day over at Queen Kat Designs.  You may want to go to the store, look around and fill up your baskets.  Have you seen the new fashion dresses?  Here is a taste of Fashion Dress #3.

 Details 
Stamps: Fashion Dress #3
Paper: Bordering Blue, Rose Red, DCWV Luxury Stack
Ink: Memento Black, Copic Markers
Accessories: Pearls, Gray Striped Ribbon.

I made this card using the Operation Write Home Stars and Stamps Sunday Sketch #19

Now go buy up the whole line of Fashion Dresses....you know you want to :)

Red White and Blue Thinking of You - Operation Write Home Memorial Day Weekend Blog Hop

Welcome to my little stop on this wonderful blog hop.  What a great way to celebrate our Veterans and Heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice, while also celebrating such a fantastic organization like Operation Write Home which helps our current Heroes stay in touch with loved ones.  If you just happened upon my post here, you will want to go back to Operation Write Home Stars and Stamps Blog and check out all the activities for today.  I'll wait.........

Welcome back. 

The following song seems to sum up Memorial Day to me.

Some Gave All by Billy Ray Cyrus 

I knew a man called him Sandy Kane
Few folks even knew his name
But a hero was he
Left a boy, came back a man
Still many just don't understand
About the reasons we are free

I can't forget the look in his eyes
Or the tears he cries
As he said these words to me

All gave some and some gave all
And some stood through for the red, white and blue
And some had to fall
And if you ever think of me
Think of all your liberties and recall
Some gave all

Now Sandy Kane is no longer here
But his words are oh so clear
As they echo through out our land
For all his friends who gave us all
Who stood the ground and took the fall
To help their fellow man

Love your country and live with pride
And don't forget those who died America can't you see

All gave some and some gave all
And some stood through for the red, white and blue
And some had to fall
And if you ever think of me
Think of all your liberties and recall
Some gave all

And if you ever think of me
Think of all your liberties and recall, yes recall
Some gave all

Some gave all

I have been aware of Operation Write Home since they started, but only recently started sending my cards directly to them.  In the past I have contributed when groups I belong to were gathering cards to mail to OWH, but for some reason I just never sent any cards on my own.  When I saw that Dixie stated her shelves were bare a while back I went through my stash and sent 50 cards out right away.  I then hosted a card making day and sent another 285 earlier this month.  I now have a box on my desk that I can add cards to and when I have it filled up I will mail it off again.

Here are a few cards that will be in the next box:

Does that card look familiar?  I was honored when they asked me to make a sample for the Stars and Stamps Blog today.  How cool is that?

Love this Love Bug set from Unity Stamp Company.  Isn't that car great?  I recycled a pair of my husband's work jeans and free handed the images on it and was lucky enough to find the perfect ribbon to go with the feel of this card.  I used a bit of crystal effects on the window, lights and chrome areas of the car to make them really shiny and stand out a bit.

Did you know that OWH has challenges?  If you ever need inspiration for your card making they have several challenges through the week on the Stars and Stamps Blog:  http://www.owhstarsandstamps.org/   Pretty cool huh?



Now hop on over to Ellen at http://tinktime-tink.blogspot.com  and see what kind of cute cute cute stuff she has created today.

Have a great weekend.

Getting Ready

Next weekend I am hosting a card making day to make cards to send to Operation Write Home.  If you want to come, let me know we can use more hands.  Here is a preview of some of the cards I have prepared for us to make.

This one was inspired by the butterfly card on the cover of Paper Crafts Magazine.

I am still working on more, and some of the cards you have seen me post lately are also ready to go. 

So what do my kids do while I am making up card kits?
Mackenzie made me this card with Sock Monkey.  I'm impressed she got the hat on the head, rattle in his hand and present in his lap....the rest was stamped before she added the monkey so it's a bit random...but not bad for 4 years old.

And Reganne made me this flower with a few scraps I had let them have and some pieces she cut out. 

I think she is an artist in training.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and I'll be back tomorrow morning with the Monday Blog Hop for Queen Kat Designs.

Operation Write Home Spring Blog Hop

Welcome to my stop on the Operation Write Home Spring Break Blog Hop.  To start at the beginning of the hop please go to http://www.owhstarsandstamps.org as you are not going to want to miss a single card or see what everyone else is up to.  If you have already been hopping along you should have come to me from Allison's blog.    

After a long cold winter here in Maryland, the snow from the early February storms is almost all melted  (yes, I still spotted some in the store parking lot yesterday, CRAZY) and some of the spring bulbs have started to bloom.  To go from snow to flowers and shorts in under a week is wild, but that's Maryland.  I was so inspired by the little daffodils blooming outside the back door, I used them as a jumping off spot for my card.

OK, when I am creating for OWH I try to make more than card at a time.  So here is the trio ready to go along with several other cards in my stash.

Details


Stamps: GinaK
Paper: So Saffron, Old Olive, Perhaps-BasicGrey, White
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Watercolor Pencils, Blender Pen, So Saffron Ribbon, Old Olive Buttons
Other: SCS Sketch #272


Now the Big Announcement.  In order to restock the shelves at Operation Write Home I am holding a Card Making Blitz at my home on May 1.  If you are in Maryland or Southern Pennsylvania or even DE, NY, NJ you are more than welcomed to join me for a day of card making.  My goal is to fill a box for the soldiers, but wouldn't 2 boxes be even better.  For more information please contact me at MelenaPrincess at hotmail.com (you know the deal, replace the at with @, I'm just trying to avoid some spam.)

Now hop on over to Seongsook's Sea Garden to see her wonderful creations.  She has such a nice clean style, everything she has is just eye catching.

Friday Fun #48

A card for Heroes~ On this day of remembrance lets remember the heroes among us. Make a card for a firefighter, police officer or military member.

I donate the vast majority of my cards to http://cardsforheroes.org/ or other organizations and individuals who make sure that service members overseas can send cards to loved ones.

I made these cards pretty quickly. I am working on my Clean And Simple skills and I wanted to be sure that these cards were easy to mail, no extra embellishments. I also kept in mind that men don't usually care about bling on their cards, so it was easy to keep these simple (not excluding the female service members, I have plenty of cards that are blinged up that I send too.)



Details

Stamps: Park Avenue Patterns, Warmest Regards
Paper: Soft Suede, Crushed Curry, Very Vanilla
Ink: Soft Suede, Crushed Curry
Accessories: 1 1/4" Square Punch, 1 3/8" Square Punch, Distressing Tool, Sponge