Operation Write Home Spring Break Blog Hop

I'm so excited!  Today's the day for the Operation Write Home Spring Break Blog Hop!  If you came here from Erika's blog,  Bekah Jo's World, then you are in the right place.  If not, you will want to start at the beginning of the hop at the Operation Write Home Stars and Stamps Blog.

Today's hop is very near and dear to my heart.  My daughter, Chelsey, is a Sargeant in the 220th MP Unit of the Colorado Army National Guard.  She served in Iraq and has been home for just over a year, and she was just recently notified that she will soon be deployed to Afghanistan.  I know how much the soldiers appreciate the cards that are made for them from people like you and I while they're serving overseas.  So many of her soldiers found it hard to believe that complete strangers would put so much love into these cards.  I want to make sure that the soldiers in her unit and any other serviceperson that is serving overseas has an opportunity to receive some of these works of heart! 

Sgt. Chelsey Burgess & her hubby David

A great place to follow the work of Operation Write Home is by becoming a fan on facebook.  I don't always check all of my emails, but I have to check out facebook numerous times a day.  You can keep up on special requests for cards as well as any other special events like this blog hop.  If you like challenges, then you want to sign up for the OWH Stars and Stamps blog, so you can see what the Sunday challenge is for the week.  There are some awesome tutorials there on Tuesday, and you may even want to join in on Wednesday for the mid-week throwdown!  Don't forget to stop back there on Fridays to meet the featured cardmaker of the week.  It's a great way to find out more about fellow cardmakers.

There are two more blogs that are connected to Operation Write Home.  The first one is the Homefront Blog.  This blog has info about the people that recently have sent cards as well as special requests for cards.  You can see where the cards are going and the deadline dates for upcoming card calls.  They have examples of letters that the kids can write and include with your boxes of cards.  You can even get tips on how to host carmaking parties with lots of resources you can use to promote your event.  Next is my personal favorite, the Hero Blog.  This is where you will find letters and pictures from the soldiers and their families.  If you don't realize how important these cards are to our soldiers, then you need to take a few minutes to read some of their stories.  Beware - Klennex alert!!!!!!!!

Although Operation Write Home gives deadlines for specific holiday cards, they can always use Thinking of You, Missing You, Love, Birthday, Anniversary, Congratulations and other such cards.  I like to make a lot of kid related cards, ao I may this card with an adorable image from Karen's Doodles.  Karen has such adorable, detailed digital stamp images.  Although most little girls would love to get a pony for their birthday, this card can also be used for many other reasons.  The image was printed on white card stock from my HP printer & embossed with clear detail embossing powder as soon as it came out of the printer.  After coloring the image with colored pencils, I blended them with a blending stump dipped in baby oil.  The highlights were made with a Sakura white Gelly Roll gel pen.  Next, I mounted it onto The Paper Studio paper and added a flocked border from Heidi Grace and some pearls from Michael's.  The flower stickers are from Cloud 9 Design.  I've been playing with some new techniques, and this sentiment from Impression Obsession was stamped on some paper I made using the Spray Starch technique by Deb Lovett.  You can see how to make it on g.g. designs website.  Last, but not least, is a white American Crafts rub-on.

The 2nd card was made from an image that I recently won from Shelley Schmidt.  I started to follow her blog after the last Operation Write Home Veteran's Day Blog Hop.  The image from this set called So Far Away is from Firecracker Designs by Pamela.  She has several other military related sets that you'll also want to check out while you're there.  The image and sentiment were stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink onto white card stock and them colored with colored pencils.  I used lots of stuff from my stash including the paper, Love You tag and brads.  The bottom of the card was stitched with black thread.  Finally, the sentiment is from Victorine Originals and the rubons are from Prima.

I thought I'd add another card that I just finished.  This one is made up of lots of different Stampscapes rubber stamps.  They were stamped with Memento Black Tuxedo ink onto Kromekote Glossy Paper.  After stamping all of the images, the color was added with stipple brushes and Adirondack & Memories ink pads.  The highlights were added with a White Sakura Gelly Roll Pen.  To preserve the colors, I sprayed it with a glossy finish.  The corners were cut with Fiskars corner punches and then it was matted onto The Paper Store card stock.  Since my daughter's unit's mascot is the wolf and they call themselves the Wolf Pack, I had to add these awesome wolves running from a retired set by Stampin' Up!.

Now for the BLOG CANDY!  I'm not requiring you to become a follower, but if you do, your name will be entered twice into the blog candy drawings.  The winner of the blog candy will receive a $10 gift certificate for the digital images of your choice to Michelle Perkett Studio!  I'll draw the winner on Sunday night, March 21st at 7:00 p.m. MST. 

Since I've had over 50 people comment on my cards today, I will add a surprise package of BLOG CANDY to one of the commentors on this posting. The drawing will be held on MONDAY, March 22nd at 7:00 p.m. MST.  If you don't have a blog, make sure to leave your email

Your next stop on the hop is at the lovely and talented Caryl's Stamps and Stitches Blog.  I was introduced to Caryl through the Veteran's Day Blog Hop we had for Operation Write Home and now we're both doing the hop again!

~~  Lee  ~~ 

Largest reinlistment ceremony ever held overseas.

Baghdad, Iraq, July 4, 2008

Held in one of Sadam's former palaces.

My daughter was one of the soldiers that reinlisted that day.