Happy 4th of July!

Please take a moment today to remember those that are still fighting to make this celebration of freedom continue today.  We tend to take so much for granted.  When you're like me and have a servicemember in your family, it helps to remind you what this group of people have to sacrifice to continue to protect our freedoms.

I finally decided to post a card!  I wanted to make some cards for Operation Write Home that could be used for everyday, but yet conveys a patriotic message.  I think this card fits the bill!

You don't have to use patriotic design papers to make a patriotic card.  The design papers I used on this card are from the Winter Wonderland Specialty Pack from K & Company.  Look through that stash of papers that you've been hoarding and start using them!  It's hard to show all of the shimmer of these papers, but here's another angle:

Have a safe and happy 4th!   

REMINDER: More animals end up lost and in shelters on July 4th than any other day of the year. You can help by: 1. Keeping animals inside. 2. Create a calm environment for them with music, fans, etc. 3. Have updated ID tags on all animals and microchip.

~~~Lee~~~

Supplies:

Design Paper:  K & Company Winter Wonderland Specialty Pack,The Paper Company Cool Metallic
Cardstock:  Unknown Red High Gloss

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black

Ribbon:  K & Company Smitten Adhesive Paper Ribbon
Stamps:  $1 Rock On set, portion of sayings from Clear Breast Cancer set
Punches:  Martha Stewart Star Hand punches
Adhesive:  Ad Tech

Challenges:

Alota Rubber Stamps, Alota 62- The Star Spangled Banner Lyrics (...whose broad stripes and bright stars...) 7/9

Amber's Crafts and Stuff - Red, White and Blue 7/6

Come and Get It Challenges - Patriotic 7/9

Crafting For All Seasons - Red, White & Blue  7/6

Creative Inspirations Challenge - Red, White & Blue 7/8
CS Designs Challenge - Red, White & Blue 7/31   I won honorable mention for July!!!!
Digi Stamps 4 Joy - Red White & Blue 7/6
Ellephantastic Challenges - Celebration 8/5
Fairy Tale Challenge Blog #18 - America  7/8
Heart Song Inspirations - Red, white and blue and/or paper piecing.  7/9

Little Red Wagon - Patriotic  7/6

Mark's Finest Paper - Patriotic  7/9

Off the Wall Craftiness - Red, white & any shade of blue  7/7

Photo inspiration to the left for Off the Wall Craftiness
Pattie's Creations Design Challenge - Colors of Your Flag - Red/White & Blue 7/14

Pixie Dust Studio - "Be Proud" Red, white & blue with optional stars  7/6
Rainbow Lady's Challenge Blog - Red, White & Blue and patriotic  7/7
The Shabby Tea Room - Happy Fourth of July photo inspiration  7/8
Stamp, Scrap & Doodle Saturdays - Stars & Stripes  7/8
Sugar Creek Hollow - Patriotic with your country's colors  7/8

Operation Write Home Memorial Day Bloghop Part II

Welcome to all of you that didn't make it here on Saturday!  Even though I still haven't finished the blog hop yet myself, I was inspired so much that I had to make some more cards.  If you would like to start at the beginning of the hop, you need to go to the Operation Write Home Stars and Stamps blog.  I want to thank everyone that makes and send cards to Operation Write Home, and if you aren't one of those people yet, please check them out!  You won't be disappointed!

This card uses one of my favorite soldier images that is made by Firecracker Designs by Pamela.  Unfortunately, she went out of business earlier this year, so you'll have to check out ebay or other aftermarket places to find it.  I actually won this set on one of my first blog hops with OWH from Shelly Schmidt of My Creative Rumblings.

I am one of the few people left that didn't have a Cuttlebug or other type of diecutting machine.  My daughter wanted to buy me a Cricut, but I decided I wanted the Cuttlebug more mainly due to the cost of the cartridges and lack of being able to use other company's files.  This stars embossing folder is perfect for making OWH cards!  It shows up much better on plain cardstock, but I like it this way also.  I couldn't resist using this Tim Holtz vintage photo Distress Powder for the image and the sentiment.  What better way to add distressing to the rest of the card and the soldier image than by using Distress Ink!

What's a blog hop without blog candy! I've already showed this candy on the previous post, but I wanted you to have an opportunity to win it, too!  I also have another bunch of blog candy that you can also win, but you must be a follower and comment on the May 28th post.  You can win this blog candy by commenting on either day, but since I love to give stuff to my followers, I ask that you must be a follower to win this one too.  I will pick a random winner on Wednesday, June 1st.

Blog candy includes:  New, unmounted Stampin' Up! Eclectic Corners stamp set, numerous ribbons and fiber, a 4 1/2"  round piercing template (this actually is a plastic canvas circle), 2" inch book rings (I use mine to store my longer ribbons on) and additional goodies.

Well, I need to get back to the blog hop, so I hope you will be as inspired as I have been!  Please take a moment this Memorial weekend and give thanks to those that have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms!

~~~~Lee~~~~

Card deets:

Stamps:  Firecracker Designs by Pamela, unknown clear acrylic stamp

Ink:  Tim Holtz Distress Inks - tea dye, old paper and walnut stain

Distress Powder:  Tim Holtz vintage photo

Design Paper:  Stripes - kismet by Glitz Design, stars paper unknown

Cardstock: The Paper Company 

Embellishments:  Dimensional Star Stickers by K & Company (another RAK I won from a OWH blog hop!)

Adhesive:  AdTech

Punches:  Corner Rounder EK Success, Corner rounder with star by Carl



Operation Write Home Memorial Day Bloghop

Sorry for the problem...I was so worried about reporting that Blogger wasn't taking my comments that I didn't even check my own blog to see if it posted.

Welcome to the Operation Write Home Memorial Day Bloghop!  If you want to stop at the beginning of the hop, you can go to the  OWH Stars and Stamps blog. 

Sit back and relax, and pour yourself your favorite beverage.  This bloghop is long, but I'll guarantee that you will be impressed at the fabulous cards you are about to see!

 I've been honored to call OWH my favorite charity for about two years now.  You see, my daughter, Chelsey, is in the Army National Guard, and she knows first-hand what a box of cards for her troops to send home mean to their morale.  She was stationed in Iraq for over a year, and I sent her cards while she was there that she shared with her troops.  When she returned home, I wanted to continue to share the joy with other soldiers by making cards for them, but I had to have names of soldiers to be able to do this.  Then I found Cards for Heroes, the former name of Operation Write Home.  After reading about their mission, I knew this would be a perfect place to send my hand-made cards that would go directly to the troops that requested them.  Chelsey just left on Wednesday to go to Haiti with the National Guard, but she sends her thanks for all of the wonderful comments that she has received from all of you!  

My card today uses a Stampin' Up! stamp from the set, Nature Walk, that I won from Holley's Hobbies, another OWH blogger.  Holley Smith has been with OWH as long as I have.  She is also on the bloghop today, so you want to make sure and stop at her blog to see her gorgeous projects as well as the Blog Candy she is giving away.  I love all of the red, white and blue cards, but I wanted to do something a bit softer for a missing you card.  I also clear embossed the leaves from this set with Versa Mark, but I don't think you can see it on the picture.

P.S. This pic was taken before I realized that I had forgotten the rhinestones.

I have a bit of Blog Candy that I want to offer to my followers in appreciation for all that you do for Operation Write Home.  You must be a follower and leave a comment below to be entered.   This Blog Candy offer will stay open until Wednesday, June 1st, so everyone has a chance to go through the bloghop.  Sorry, but I can only ship this candy anywhere in the U.S. at this time.

Blog Candy includes numerous fibers and ribbons, an Inkadinkado birthday mini clear stamp, a studio g clear stamp block and an unmounted Sweet Pea stamp by ching-chou kuik called September Rhythm.  More than 50 comments will mean more candy will be offered!

In celebration of receiving more than 50 comments even though I'm not on the "official" blog hop list, I've decided to offer more blog candy!!!  You must be a follower and leave a comment below, and the random drawing will be held on Wednesday, June 1st.  I can only ship in the U.S. at this time.

Blog candy includes an unmounted set of 4 Stampin' Up! stamps called Ecletic Corners, assorted fibers and ribbon, Staples 2" book rings (I hang my long strips of ribbon these and hang them on a clothes rack behind my door), a 4 1/2" piercing template and ???

If you just started  the hop here, the next stop is at Nicolette's blog, Beyond Scrapin.  She has some fabulous projects on her blog along with some more Blog Candy!

~~~~Lee~~~~

Card Deets:

Stamps:  Stampin' Up!

Cardstock:  Bazzill

Design Paper:  The Rouge Bird by My Mind's Eye

Ink: Versa Mark, Top Boss Embossing Ink, Walnut Distress Ink 

Embossing Powder:  Creative Zoo, ?clear detail

Adhesive:  Ad Tech

Operation Write Home Bunny Hop

Welcome to the Operation Write Home Bunny Hop!  I am just one of over 130+ blogs that are participating on this blog hop.  I hope you find the time to visit all of the stops, since these hops are always filled with lots of fun.  There will be tons of blog candy, tutorials, and maybe even a few free digis along the way!  I've been very happy to be involved with this organization for around two years. 

If you arrived here from Susan's blog, Pieces of Fate, than you are in the right place!  If not, you will want to start at the beginning of the hop at the OWH Stars and Stamps blog.

Because my daughter is a MP in the Colorado Army National Guard and served overseas in Iraqi, I find it very comforting that our soldiers are not forgotten while they are serving overseas.  She just recently signed to serve another three years, and I can't more proud of her!  I'm also a vet as was my dad, so I'm happy that she has chosen such a wonderful way to serve her country.  She also made me a proud grandma for the fifth time with the birth of her son, Caleb David, on December 26th.  I want to thank everyone again for all of the prayers that you have sent her way while she was on total bed rest and had gestational diabetes during her pregnancy.  She and her hubby, David, couldn't be happier with the addition of this handsome little fellow!

Now for my first card.  If you've been here before, you know that I love to make medallion cards.  The medallion I used on this card is an Diorama Egg #1532O from Holly Berry House with the addition of an Art Impression Giant Rabbit #P1588 in the center.  Both of these images were heat embossed with Stampendous Pearlized Carnelian embossing powder.  Since we can't use glitter on our OWH cards, I've chosen to add color to the medallions using Twinkling H20s watercolor paints in place of my usual glitter.  Don't you just love the shimmer of the Twinks?  To tie the shimmer of this Twinks together with the rest of the card, I used cardstock from the DCWV Shimmer Matstack for the matting.  Recycling items is another favorite of mine, so I added this fun trim around the egg that I stole repurposed from an old Easter basket.  Instead of adding a lot of other items to clutter the card, I added some simple shimmery pearl swirls that were part of a flower set from Basic Grey.  The finishing touch was the use of a Fiskars corner emboss plus punch.

Next is a card that is appreciated with any box you send to OWH.  It's always good to add some birthday, I Miss You, I Love You and Thank You cards with any holiday cards that are needed at that particular time.  This card uses a favorite image of mine from Hero Arts called Fancy Cake.

I used my trusty colored pencils on this image, and then I added some pearls from The Paper Studio.  The sentiment is an oldie from PSX that I heat embossed with Stamp N Stuff embossing powder.  The green polka dot DP is by My Mind's Eye Penny Lane collection.  The Ella Stripe is from the Bo Bunny Shabby Princess collection.  All of the other items are from my stash.

After the Bunny Hop, you will want to stop by OWH Stars and Stamps blog.  They have a weekly sketch challenge every Sunday, wonderful tutorials, free digis to use on your cards for our heroes and so much more!  You can also grab a box of tissues and spend some time going through the OWH Hero Blog.  This blog is full of letters from deployed service members.  Last but not least of the blogs is the OWH Homefront Blog.  This blog has the info on the number of cards shipped out on Thankful Thursday, thanks to the wonderful cardmakers that make this organization what it is on Mailroom Monday, and tons of information that's available through Operation Write Home.  The newest addition to OWH is a ustream channel called OWH TV!  Sandy is doing a fabulous job of keeping the cardmakers inspired.  Stop in on Thursdays at 6:30 pm PST for lots of fun!  If you are on facebook, don't forget to "LIKE" Operation Write Home to keep  updated on events and shipper's card needs.  Whew!  It amazes me that Sandy and the others have time for anything since they keep all of these links updated!

We ship the cards to our volunteer shippers that sort and repair any damaged cards, and then they sort and send the cards off to our heroes that are serving overseas.  Because of this, the Easter card deadline is March 18th.  The next major holiday we are preparing for is Mother's Day.  The deadline for sending in these cards is March 31st.  They highly encourage us to have the cards sent out about two weeks earlier if possible, so the shippers have time to get things shipped out in a timely fashion.

What's a blog hop without blog candy?  I would love to send this blog candy out to one of my followers that live in the U.S.  For every 25 comments, I will add some more items to this collection.  A random name will be drawn on Saturday, March 12th from all of the names that fit the details listed below:

1.  You must be a follower and comment below.

2.  You must live in the U.S.

3.  If you don't have a blog, please leave an email address below so I can reach you if you are chosen.  Avoid SPAM by adding your email in the following format:  grandma_lee_t AT yahoo DOT com

4.  I would love for you to get some friends together and make some cards for OWH, but it's not required to win these goodies.

Below are the additional items I've added to the blog candy for 75 comments.

Thanks for stopping by!  The next stop on this hop is the fabulous Kate's blog, Hello From Kate!  She has lots of wonderful tips for you that you won't want to miss!

~~~Lee~~~

Special Request:  My daughter contacted me for a prayer request for one of her soldiers, Thomas Payne,  and his family.  His wife and 5 month-old child were in a car accident today, and they had to flight-for-life his daughter to the children's hospital at Memorial Hospital due to a fractured skull and internal bledding.  I'll try to keep you updated as soon as I know more.
UPDATE:  Thomas' daughter has been upgraded to stable condition!  Thanks for all of your prayers!!

I'm Alive & Kicking!

Yes, I am alive!

I recently reconnected with a school friend on facebook, and she ordered a bunch of cards from me.  I'm so happy to be able to get to know so many of my old friends this way especially since I live over 1,000 miles away from my hometown.  Both of my parents are gone, and all of my sibling except one live in different states, so facebook is an ideal way for me to keep up with friends from my hometown that are still there or around the world.

Back to the cards.  This one uses a stamp that I've had forever.  It's a House Mouse stamp that I can't remember the name.  I just love this stamp!  There's no question what kind of card this is! lol  I colored this with pencils and added some white flocking to the cotton and Glossy Accents to the ice.  The letters, DP and trim are all from the Clove Scrap Pad by Marcella by K.  This pad has some great masculine papers in it, so I've been hoarding it for a while. 

All of the edges were distressed with Walnut Stain Distress Ink, and the edges around the image were distressed first with a Holtz Distress Tool and finished with the Distress Ink.  The base card is a from set of kraft ones that I've also been hoarding.  Now, if I could just start using more of my scraps, I'd have it made!

Operation Write Home will be having another blog hop on March 5th that I will be taking part in again.  I will be offering some BLOG CANDY as well, so make sure you stop by my blog then for more details.  If you would like to donate your extra handmade cards (no glitter allowed) to our soldiers so they have something nice to send home to their families, just click on the OWH link at the top for more information.  The last hop we had over 150 blogs involved, so there will be lots of candy, tutorials, challenges and lots of fun throughout the whole weekend.  Don't forget to mark your calendars now for this awesome event! 

~~~Lee~~~

OWH Be My Valentine Bloghop

Welcome to my portion of the Operation Write Home Be My Valentine Bloghop!  I'm very honored to participate in another OWH bloghop.  My very first bloghop was with OWH a year ago for Veteran's Day.  I was afraid that I would do something wrong and upset people.  Instead, I've become friends with a very supportive and helpful group of people who will bend over backwards to help others, especially our soldiers serving overseas!  I started making cards for the soldiers while my daughter was stationed in Iraq with the Colorado Army National Guard 220th MP unit.  I know first-hand how important all of these special cards mean to our soldiers. 

If you came here from Jessica's blog, Certainly Stamping, you're at the right place! Isn't it fabulous that she is donating her commissions until Dec. 31st to OWH! Send a super THANKS to this fabulous women for being so gracious to our soldiers! We also need to send a special thanks to her hubby who is a sailor, and her soldier brother! That's a lot to be thankful for!!!!  If you get lost on the hop or a link isn't working, you can always go back to the OWH Stars and Stamps blog to get you in the right place. 

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You may know the history behind Veteran's Day, but do you know that there is an organization that makes it possible for us to find out personal information about wars from World War I to the present from the veterans and those involved in the war effort from correspondence, pictures and other types of media?  The Veteran's History Project was created in 2000 by the U.S. Congress with the following mission:
"The Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war."

Are you a veteran or do you know someone who served and would like to contribute to this project?  Maybe you would like to know more about where a family member served or what types of obstacles they had to overcome because of the war.  Then you will want to check out this organization to see what is available, or maybe you can contribute to preserving this portion of history for others.  Take some time to check them out for yourself.
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***SUCCESS! Robyn on Paper Craft Planet found the manufacturer of the stamp.  It can be found at I LOVE RUBBER STAMPS.

My Valentine's card uses this fabulous horse stamp that I bought on ebay.  I would love to know who made it, so if you know the manufacturer please let me know.  I stamped and then heat embossed it with Stampendous embossing powder.  The star paper is a specialty paper from Hobby Lobby, and the textured silver paper is from a DCWV matstack.  The gorgeous ribbon is another ebay purchase.  To finish off the front, I matted this metal heart from All My Memories.

Here's the inside of the card that I stamped with this old PSX sentiment, and then heat embossed it with fine silver embossing powder.  There's plenty of room left for the soldier to write a personal note inside.

The Valentine's card deadline is January 7th.  Sorry if you wanted to send them Christmas cards, but that deadline has already passed.  Don't worry, you can tuck them away for now and send them to your OWH shipper next year. 

We need your vote today and everyday until December 4th at Joann's Craft for a Cause.  Just imagine how many boxes of cards could be shipped to our soldiers if OWH won the grand prize of $50,000???  Remember to vote everyday, so make sure to add this URL to your favorites.  Vote the same time everyday, so we can get the maximum number of votes allowed.  They only allow one vote per household per day, so make sure you tell your blogger, facebook, twitter and other friends to vote for OWH, too! 

What's a blog hop without BLOG CANDY????  I'll draw for this blog candy on Wednesday, November 17th!  It includes the Wedding Stamp set from the Rusty Pickle, a clear stamp set called Mix & Match Labels from Hampton Arts, an assortment of ribbons that's not all pictured here, some brights 5" x 7" papers from Making Memories, app. 50 sheets of 6" x 6" papers from Paper Symphony and some other assorted surprises!  Sorry, but the blog candy is only available for US shipping.  All you have to do to enter is:

1. Become a follower if you aren't already one.  WooHoo!!!!  Since I hit over 100 followers,  I'm adding in some more goodies!!!!
2. Leave a comment below, so I know you want to win this blog candy.
3. Go to the Joann's Craft for a Cause link today and everyday and vote for Operation Write Home
4. Leave your email in the comment section if you don't have a blog. 

Your next stop on the hop is to Doris's blog, Mom's Been Scrappin.  Not only does she make some fabulous cards for our heroes, but her family is really into helping our soldiers.  One of her daughter's even participated in the Tough Mudder event that raises money for the Wounded Warrior Project! 

****SPECIAL MISSION****

From now until Dec. 1st, you can make Valentines and send them to one of our shippers to be involved in an awesome partnership with Archway.  Gosh, OWH really love to keep our heroes happy, don't they?  Please help whenever you can, so our soldiers know how much we care about them and their families!

~~~  Lee  ~~~

Thanksgiving Cross

I originally thought I would make this card front into an Easter card, but realized it would also fit as a Thanksgiving card.  This DP in the background is from The Paper Studio, and the cross is from a mat stack by DCWV called Once Upon A Time.  After I hand cut the cross and matted it on brown cardstock, I decided to soften it by adding the edges of a doily around the edges.  The Give Thanks sentiment is by VAP Scrap, and was heat embossed with Hampton Arts brown embossing powder.  Since I don't have any of the die cutting machines, I ocassionally use my Martha Stewart scoring board for some added interest.  On this card, all I did was flipped the card over and scored it 1/8" from all of the edges.  The scoring was also done on the cross to match the background paper.

The inside included one of my favorite Thanksgiving images made by Stampabilities.  It was also heat embossed with Hampton Art's brown embossing powder that I got at Joann's.  I usually use this image on the front of the card, so it was nice to know it works as well on the inside of a card.  Since so much work is usually put on the front of the card, I like to keep the inside simple even though this image is more ornate. 

Although the deadline for Thanksgiving cards has already passed for Operation Write Home, it's not to late to mail in your Christmas cards.  You have until October 30th, and don't forget to add some Any Hero cards that are also requested at this time.  Instead of making cards specific to Christmas, I also like to make winter cards that  the troops can send for longer periods of time.  Birthday, Love, Thinking of You, Anniversary and other such cards are always needed and appreciated at Operation Write Home.  Don't forget to stop by the Operation Write Home Stars and Stamps blog to see the latest challenge, tutorials and more!  THANKS!

~~~  Lee  ~~~

Challenges:

Stamping Vacation - No! No! Challenge; nothing that starts with S

A Different Kind of Fight This 9-11

Where were you when you first heard about the attack on the World Trade Center?  Most people can tell you exactly where they were and who was with them during this memorable event.  So many of us took so much for granted until the horrible events of this day came to pass.  Unless you lived on Pearl Harbor, we couldn't imagine this country ever being attacked.  The reality of this day has changed the world as we knew it.

I was in a hospital bed on this eventful day.  I called to the nurses to show them the first and then second plane hitting the towers.  Before long, the TVs went dead.  Was this some mass attack on our communication towers?  No.  It was just the doctors pulling the plug on TV, so they could be ever so cautious for their patients' health while they were under their care.  I missed out on a lot of things in the news the next few weeks while I was in the hospital, but my kids didn't.  My youngest daughter was only 16 years old when this happened, but it helped guide her into one of the biggest decisions in her life. 

That following summer, my daughter, Chelsey, enlisted in the Army National Guard as an MP between her junior and senior year of high school.  She went to basic training in the summer and came back to finish high school.  Chelsey has been to many places that many men couldn't begin to handle.  Her first "deployment" was to help maintain order in St. Bernard's Parish immediately after Hurricane Katrina.  A few years later when she returned from her deployment to Iraq, she told me that nothing she saw in Iraq would ever compare to the horrors she saw after Katrina. 

During Chelsey's deployment to Iraq, she was involved in the biggest overseas reenlistment ceremony on July 4th, 2008 in one of Sadam's former palaces in Iraq.  Even after all she had seen and done, she still decided to reenlist.  She is pictured above with General David Petreaus just after this ceremony.  I couldn't have been prouder of my daughter for her service and for signing up for another four years of duty.

Today, Chelsey is the one in the hospital.  This time, she is fighting for her unborn son's life.  She has been on complete bed rest for the past three weeks after having surgery to stitch her cervix together.  Many of you have already been praying for her, and we can't thank you enough for all you have already done.  We were hoping she would be able to come home this weekend, but the doctors want her to stay in the hospital because her cervix isn't thickening up and is showing signs of spasms.  The prednisone shots were started today to help develop the baby's lungs quicker, and her diet for her gestational diabetes is still helping to maintain her sugar levels without insulin.  Considering the fact that they have tried to get pregnant for over five years, Chelsey is going to do everything necessary to be able to give birth to this precious little boy.  He weighs just over 1 pound 15 ounces today, and has reached the magic 24 weeks on the gestational charts giving him much better chances of survival.  I know that this may not seem like the right time to ask for prayers for Chelsey and the baby during this solemn day, but since she has given so much in order to serve her country, I thought asking for prayers would be appropriate even now.  Many people wouldn't try this hard to save a life.  This is another reason why I couldn't be any prouder of her!

We can never give back to the families that lost so much following the 9-11 tragedy, but we can do what we can to make sure this event never happens again.  Please honor all of the people who have and will continue to serve our country.  One of the ways to help our service member's when they are stationed overseas is to make cards and/or send donations for postage to Operation Write Home.  The cards are sent to the soldiers free of charge, so they have something nice to send home to their families.  I know all too well what these cards mean to the soldiers and their families.  I should.  I started making cards for the troops when Chelsey's unit was stationed in Iraq, and the comments and requests from these soldiers was all that I needed to know that I was doing something that meant so much to them.  Why not try this out for yourself...you'll be glad that you helped!

OWH | Old Spice

I had to share this with all of my wonderful Blogger friends!  Sandy always goes over and above for all of our wonderful Heroes serving overseas, but I don't know how she's going to top this one!  What do you think? 


Now, if you want to know more about what YOU can do to help, go to Operation Write Home.  I'm sure you have extra cards laying around that could be put to good use, or maybe you can donate a few dollars to help pay some of the postage for the USPS Priority Flat Rate Boxes that are full of cards for our troops!  Spread the word!  We need your help!

~~  Lee  ~~

Blog Candy Winner Announcement!!!

What a great party we had this past weekend for the Operation Write Home Blog Tour!  We got to meet some new people, picked up some free digis from some very generous people and best of all we got to see some more outstanding cards.  If you're just stopping here and don't know what I'm talking about, then hop right on over to the Operation Write Home Stars and Stamps Blog HERE to see the cards that were featured this weekend on the Blog Tour.

I've been pretty much MIA since Saturday due to some family committments and my health problems.  Needless to say, I'm sorry I wasn't able to get more cards posted.  I did have my DGS draw a name today from all of the names of commenters and the extra chances for the followers.  I really need to check into the random picker so I'm not spending so much time writting all of the names and then checking to see if any of them were also followers so they could be entered twice in the drawing. 

So, without further delay, the name of my Blog Candy winner is:

DOLORES

of The Corner Studio!!!!!!

Congratulations Dolores for winning a menagerie of assorted embellishments, ribbons, brads and more!!!!! 

For those of you that may recognize the name but can't remember why, you'll be happy to know that she is the mother of the amazing president of OWH, Sandy Allnock!  Dolores is a new cardmaker thanks to the nudging of Sandy, but she certainly didn't need any help with the talent end of cardmaking!  She is also a painter, so thanks to Sandy helping her set up a blog, I'm sure we could all nudge her a little to show us pictures of her work! hint, hint!

 I want to thank all of you that participated in this Blog Tour, and I look forward to hearing from all of you in the future.  If you aren't familiar with Operation Write Home, please take a moment and check out the organization.  We are always looking for more cardmakers or perhaps you'd rather make a contribution to this very worthy tax-deductible organization!

~~  Lee  ~~ 

OWH Independence Day Blog Tour!

Welcome to another stop on this wonderful Independence Day blog tour sponsored by Operation Write Home!  If you arrived here from anywhere other than the OWH Stars and Stamps Blog, you'll really want to go to their blog after you're done reading my post to see what all the other bloggers have created to feast your eyes on this weekend.  There are all kinds of events planned throughout the weekend as well as lots of blog candy and other fun!

Many of you are already acquainted with Operation Write Home, but if not, you should be!  This organization collects hand-made cards from all over to send to our soldiers that are serving overseas, so the soldiers have something nice to send home to their family and friends.  We always need card makers who can donate a few cards or even fill up a USPS Priority Flat Rate box.  This is an excellent way to get those beautiful cards that you've made out of those stuffy boxes!!!! ;O)  If you are interesting in sending cards, or maybe you want to find out more info about the organization because you would like to make a tax deductible contribution to help with shipping and other costs, then click on Operation Write Home. 

I'll be posting more cards throughout the weekend, but the first one I've made follows the guidelines to make a red, white and blue birthday card.  I decided to something different and make my own design paper for once.  This happened by accident when I stamped a couple star images from an Art Impressions stamp and decided to continue stamping and see what I got.

The stars were all stamped on the cardstock that I won as blog candy from the last OWH Blog Hop.  I wanted to stay with the theme, so I decided to stamp it in blue ink instead of black.  The background color was added with four different colors of blue colored pencils that were blended with a blending stump dipped in baby oil since I don't have any Gamsol (OMS).  

The trees from Stampscapes were also stamped on the white card stock with the Memories dye ink.  Originally, I was going to stamp the eagle from Mostly Animals onto the cardstock, but I had seen another blogger recently that had stamped directly onto mulberry paper and I liked the effect.  The background was also colored with the colored pencils, and then the highlights were added with a white gel pen.  The stars on the corners aren't brads.  They are small die cuts that I applied Ranger's Glossy Accents to and let them dry so they would look like brads.

Some people have asked me how I got the edges to look frayed when I work with mulberry paper.  It's a real easy technique.  You just take any small paint brush that has been dipped in plain water and make an outline with the wet brush around the stamped image (or the stencil or shape).  Let the water absorb into the paper for about 20 seconds or so and then hold the paper on both sides of water line and gently pull it apart like you would stretch a rubber band.  Make sure you don't tug on the big chunks of fiber that hang out like the piece on the right side of the pictures.  Take some sharp scissors and cut the big pieces at an angle so you're just leaving a tip hang out of the side.  After you have all of the pieces apart, just gently pull the edges out by pulling the fibers between your thumb and pointer finger to make it look hairy.  If the paper has already dried, you can rewet the mulberry paper and try it again.

Next, I wanted to add a slider to the ribbon, but I didn't have any that fit the scene I had stamped.  So I just flipped one of the American Crafts Elements over and added a rub-on that was also from American Crafts.  The scene was double matted and applied on top of the single matted design paper with some Creative Memories tape and was then glued onto a card base.  I used Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive to the ribbon so it would stay secure.  Since the cards are first shipped from us to a shipper, and then unpacked and checked and then repacked for the soldiers, it's very important to make sure any embellishments are secure.  Also, it's very important that you don't use glitter on the cards for the soldier's safety.

I usually stamp a little something in the inside, or you can keep it blank for the soldiers to write to their family or friends.  The Happy Birthday sentiment is made by PSX and was also stamped with the Memories dye ink.  The edges were inked with a dauber like the front of the card and then both of the pieces were matted on more blue card stock from Hobby Lobby.  Star stickers were added to the corners to give a pop of red in the inside.

Well, that was long enough for this post!  Come on back later and see what else I have created for the OWH Independence Day Blog Tour.  You'll also want to know the details about my blog candy!  You'll have to leave a comment to win, and if you would like to become a follower, your name will be entered twice in the random drawing.  I'm working on putting together a bunch of embellishments, papers and ribbons that will work great for your OWH cards!  I'll pick a winner from the hat on Tuesday, July 6th, so make sure to come back & see if you won!  Happy Blog Touring!!!  Click on OWH Stars and Stamps Blog to go back to the tour guide!   Remember not to drink and drive on this holiday weekend!

~~  Lee  ~~

OWH Blog Hop BLOG CANDY WINNER!

Now for the announcement that everyone has been waiting for; the winner of the blog candy!  My grandson drew the name from the hat and when I checked the winners blog, I knew I needed to offer the alternate prize to another winner instead of holding onto it for the next blog hop.  So without further ado, the winner of the 1st choice for the BLOG CANDY is:

Grammykrob

at Pass It On

The alternate winner has been chosen, but I want to wait to announce it after Grammykrob has a chance to pick her choice of prizes.  Come back later to see who won the alternate prize.

UPDATE - The winner of the Michelle Perkett Studio $10 Gift Certificate is:
Tammy

from My Craft Central

If you haven't already received my email, please contact me with your address as soon as possible. 

THANKS to all that stopped by for the Operation Write Home Memorial Day Weekend Blog Hop and I especially want to thank those that took the time to comment!  This event is for an awesome cause, and we couldn't do all of this without you, so give yourselves a big pat on the back!  Please keep those cards rolling in to OWH even if it's just a flat rate envelope full.  We need to support our soldiers!!

Won by Tammy @ My Craft Central

To refresh your memories, the winner gets to pick their choice between the Art Warehouse clear acrylic stamp set pictured below with some assorted goodies I'm throwing in or the $10 Gift Certificate to Michelle Perkett Studio digital stamps!!!!!

Won by Grammykrob @ Pass It On

~~  Lee  ~~

Operation Write Home Memorial Day Weekend Blog Hop

Welcome!  This is the third blog hop that I've had the honor to be involved with this wonderful organization.  You will notice that lots of others have also been involved with this organization for an extended amount of time for many reasons, but the most important reason is to SUPPORT OUR TROOPS! 

For those that would like to keep up on Operation Write Home when you're on facebook, go on over to the OWH facebook page and "like them" (become a fan) so you can keep up on all of the different blogs, pick up some occasional freebies, see what the new challenges are or even hear some stories or see some pictures from the soldiers or families that receive some of our cards! 

You are at blog #42 in this hop.  If you got here from Tammy's blog, My Craft Central, then you are in the right place!  If not, you can start at the beginning of the hop at the Stars and Stamps blog.  If you find a broken link, you can also go back to the Stars and Stamps blog to find your next blog.  You can also  continue from my blog since there are over 140 blogs involved in the hop this weekend.

The reason I got involved with Operation Write Home was that I used to make cards for my daughter's unit, the 220th Colorado Army National Guard MP Unit, while they were in Iraq. The soldiers were so appreciative of all the cards I made them to send home to their families. When I heard about this organization from my daughter, I knew I could continue making cards for the troops even though I didn't have a particular soldier to send them to anymore. We used to be able to send boxes or letters to Any Soldier, but since the events of September 11th, this is considered too much of a security issue.

"There is a myth about the origin of Taps that is circulating about the Internet. The true story is that in July 1862, after the Seven Days battles at Harrison's Landing (near Richmond), Virginia, the wounded Commander of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, V Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, General Daniel Butterfield reworked, with his bugler Oliver Wilcox Norton, another bugle call, "Scott Tattoo," to create Taps. He thought that the regular call for Lights Out was too formal. Taps was adopted throughout the Army of the Potomac and finally confirmed by orders. Soon other Union units began using Taps, and even a few Confederate units began using it as well. After the war, Taps became an official bugle call. Col. James A. Moss, in his Officer's Manual first published in 1911, gives an account of the initial use of Taps at a military funeral:

"During the Peninsular Campaign in 1862, a soldier of Tidball's Battery A of the 2nd Artillery was buried at a time when the battery occupied an advanced position concealed in the woods. It was unsafe to fire the customary three volleys over the grave, on account of the proximity of the enemy, and it occurred to Capt. Tidball that the sounding of Taps would be the most appropriate ceremony that could be substituted."
Words to Taps
(Note: there are no "official" words to Taps. The words below are the most popular.)

Day is done, Gone the sun,
From the hills, From the lake, From the skies.
All is well, Safely rest,
God is nigh.

Go to sleep, Peaceful sleep,
May the soldier or sailor, God keep.
On the land or the deep,
Safe in sleep.

Love, good night, Must thou go,
When the day, And the night, Need thee so?
All is well, Speedeth all
To their rest.

Fades the light; And afar
Goeth day, And the stars, Shineth bright,
Fare thee well; Day has gone,
Night is on.

Thanks and praise, For our days,
'Neath the sun, 'Neath the stars, 'Neath the sky,
As we go, This we know,
God is nigh.

http://www.usmemorialday.org/taps.html

The first card I made for today uses stamps by Firecracker Designs by Pamela.  I actually won this stamp set from another OWH blogger, Shelley Schmidt.  Ironically, she is also using this stamp set today and is also offering this set as BLOG CANDY!!!!  All of the papers I used are from my stash and the ribbon is May Arts.  I stamped the image with Memories Midnight Blue ink and colored it with colored pencils and blended the colors with blending stumps and OMS.  Kaisercraft made those awesome pearls and I got the little soldier in an assortment at Hobby Lobby.  The edges are cut with Fiskars decorative scissors.

The next card uses a retired Stampin' Up! wolf stamp that is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink.  The other stamp is by D.O.T.S. and is embossed with embossing ink and Stamp-n Stuff EP.  The embossed star paper is from Hobby Lobby and the card stock by The Paper Studio.  The blue ribbon is May Arts and the other is from my stash.  Silver Peel-Off Stickers are by The Paper Studio.  I used a American Crafts silver metallic marker to fill in the heart and words.  No glitter is allowed on these cards, but we can always use our trusty bling like this from K&Company.

I love to make cards for the kids!  This adorable digital stamp is created by Sassy Cheryl's.  I just adore her images, and she is actually having a sale this weekend, and she has some adorable patriotic images, too.  I printed this image from my printer and immediately heat embossed it with clear EP.  This image is also  colored with colored pencils and baby oil.  As you can probably tell, I was able to use up a bunch of my paper scraps. :o)  The oval is a Bazill piece, the red stars by The Paper Studio, the checked pieces by Creative Memories and the rest of the pieces are from my stashes.  The mulberry star has also been in my stash forever.  The rub-ons are by Mini-Marks by American Crafts, and the saying is by Sassy Studio.  I love getting bargains, so I snagged up several different colors of leis at the Dollar Store, and used some of flowers from them on this card.  The princess brads are another eBay find. 

What's a blog hop without BLOG CANDY?????  One lucky commenter will have a choice between an Art Warehouse clear acrylic stamp set OR a $10 gift Certificate for digital stamps from Michelle Perkett Studio!!!  The winner will be chosen on Monday June 1st.  Of course, I'd love for you to be a follower, but it's not necessary to win.  I hope you're enjoying the hop so far.  There's much more to see, so keep on hopping!

Your next stop on the hop is at the multi-talented Jan Hunnicut's blog, she's gone stamping.  You may also know Jan from the Stars and Stamps blog, so make sure and give her some love for all of her work there too!

For those of you that don't already know, my daughter, Sgt. Chelsey Burgess, is finally pregnant after trying for over five years!!!!!  She's due on December 31st, so she won't be deployed again this year.

~~  Lee  ~~