Operation Write Home Veterans Day Blog Hop!

Hope you are enjoying the Operation Write Home Blog Hop!!  Welcome to Inkie Fingers!  I am excited to be participating in my FIRST blog hop.  This is the perfect Hop for me since our veterans are near and dear to my heart.  Not only do I have a daughter currently serving our country in Iraq but my son graduated from West Point Military Academy and served his country both in Korea and in Iraq.  Also, my father, step-father, brother and grandfather were all proud veterans.

The deadline for Christmas cards has passed for Operation Write Home.   Valentines are the next holiday cards that are needed. Valentines are due Jan 7, but sooner is always better so they can get some boxes packed ahead of the deadline.

I hope you enjoy these Valentine cards that I have made to send to our Veterans.  I would love to hear your comments!

My first card is a darling Love Birds card featuring the birds from Stampin' Up's Love You Much.  I put a little envelope (from Sizzix Bigz Scallop Envelope) on the front with a little love note inside.

 

Front of love birds card. 

Supplies used:

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up Pink Pirouette; SU Dotted Window Sheet (retired); Whisper White

Stamps Used:  Love You Much, For A Friend (Stampin' Up - retired)

Accessories:  Bigz Scallop Envelope Die, Cuttlebug Embossing Dotted Swiss folder; Pinking Hearts Border Punch, Owl Punch (for the red heart)

Inside of card

My second card features a cute little OWL.  I love Stampin' Up's Owl Punch and it made making this card super easy!

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: SU Soft Suede, Regal Rose, DSP unknown
Accessories: 2 3/8" Scallop Punch, SU Scallop Punch, Spellbinders Circle & Scallop Punch, Owl Punch, Pinking Hearts Border Punch. Hand Held Circle Punch
Ink: Soft Suede

To make this card, cut your cardstock 5 1/2" x 11" and score at 2 1/2" and 5". Decorate accordingly.



Card open



You can help Operation Write Home get $50,000!!  Joann's is giving away $50,00 to one of 3 charities.   Now it's everybody's turn to choose the charity that will receive the $50,000. The 2nd and 3rd place vote-getters will receive $25,000 and $15,000 respectively.  Voting begins November 7 and ends 11:59:59 P.M. EST on December 4, 2010. Limit one vote per person/e-mail address per 24-hour period.  We ask that you please VOTE DAILY at Joanns.

Archway Cookies is also partnering with Operation Write Home and will match sending their sweets with our sweet Valentines.  Read all about it HERE.

Hope you enjoyed my  Valentines and will visit me again.

To go to the next stop on the Blog Hop, click HERE and visit Shelly!

Not My Usual Trashy Self!

I've been working on Christmas cards the past few days.  I found a few images in my stash so decided to color them and make them into Christmas cards.  I didn't have to cut up a bunch of paper or throw away rejects.  Tonight when Sonny went around to collect the trash from all the rooms to take to the curb, he was quite surprised to find my trash can(s) weren't overflowing as usual.  He asked me what I'd been doing all week - obviously not making my normal amount of trash.  He usually hates to come in my craft room!  I try to have it bundled up in advance or at least to be in the room to empty my trash containers in his black plastic bag.  I have one regular sized trash can under my desk and 3 small trash receptacles scattered about - on the floor and table.  After all the work I had done on various projects for the craft fair the last few weeks, I took a much needed break this week.  I'm sure in the next few weeks, I'll be back to my "trashy self!"  I've got calendars to get done in time for Thanksgiving!

So, here are some of the cards I did this week:

This card uses SU DSP and cardstock, the Big Shot and an embossing folder.  The Christmas light stanp is from DRS.

 Another non SU stamp and DSP.  I colored the pine cones with my Copics.  The one on the right has Liquid Applique on it for snow as well as Stickles and the one on the left just has Stickles on it.  Both are pretty glittery.

I was looking through my stamps the other day for a Santa Claus and realized I didn't have one (except for a very large one).  So, when I was in M's one day, I saw this guy and bought him.  He's pretty jolly!  I embossed him with black embossing powder and used the Liquid Applique on the hat.  The DSP and Riding Hood Red cardstock is from SU. 

I've since bought an SU Santa that I really like.  I hope to ink him up tomorrow!  The set is from the Holiday Mini catalog - Jolly Old Saint Nick.  There are 2 Santas and a darling snowman!   Hopefully I will have some "play" time tomorrow.  We are leaving for Pittsburgh on Friday a.m. and we have to pack and go to town to get my nasty car washed so we can see out the windows when we are driving!! 

I will be in a Blog Hop this weekend.  I will be getting it ready tomorrow and setting it to post while I am gone.  This is the first Blog Hop I have done and I am excited about it.  It is for Operation Write Home so be sure to stop back by on SATURDAY and check out my Valentines!

My New Job

I'll be placing a big order tomorrow .... so excited to get new stuff!  It's funny because I've been having some weird dreams of finding a job.  Last week I dreamed that I was back in Coppell, Texas where I lived previously and worked for 10 years at the high school.  I was talking to a girl I worked with who is in charge of Technology.  She told me she had just lost a key employee and the job would be perfect for me.  I told her I was pretty busy with my bridge, mahjong and card making so I didn't think it would work.  She offered me $750,000 for the job!  So then I called Sonny to tell him about it and you can guess what he told me!  So, I told Jo Lynn that I would take the job for a year but I would have to have one day a month off for my Stamp Club!  That's pure dedication, huh???  Then last night, I dreamed that we had moved back to Washington state.  We were in Gig Harbor trying to make up our minds where to buy a house but Sonny had me go by the ceramic shop where I had worked when we lived there to see if they would give me my job back.  So, what do these dreams mean???  Sonny said they mean I am feeling guilty for spending so much on SU!!  Just wish I could find that first job making $750,000!!  Think of all the SU I could buy with that! 

I recently discovered this web site, Stars and Stamps, which supports our troops with Operation Write Home.  The way it works is you make cards for the soldiers to write notes back home to their family.  You send it to a shipper (addresses for shippers are on this web site) and they ship them out to the troops.  To learn more about this great program, check out the details HERE.    So, while you're making cards, make an extra one and send it to the troops.  You can get those Flat Rate boxes at the Post Office for free and just fill them up with cards.  That's what I plan to do!!  They also have challeges on their blog to inspire you.  Here are a couple of cards I made recently to send to the troops:

This was a challenge to make something "tasty."  I don't know about you, but popscicles are pretty tasty on hot summer days!  This little penguin was a single stamp that I picked up who know where!  I made the beach ball out Cameo Coral cardstock and some non SU DSP.  The card background is Baja Breeze! 

This card uses the new SU set, Because I Care.  The DSP is some I got last year at CK Convention that was part of a scrapbook package.

This was pretty easy to make - no stamping!  I just used some of the DSP from the card above but this time cut it so I could include the flowers.  I used various sized brads for the center of the flowers.  Below is the inside of the card: