Surprises are just so much fun. Recently I got a big box full of goodies from a gal I don't know — I'm not sure which one of many different places she knows me from, or if she just randomly decided to bless me with goodies....but I wanted to show her that yes, I did make lots of cards with these treasures! I happen to love layered stickers, so these cats and dogs just made me so excited. Layered stickers are so intricate that it only takes a little patterned paper and one of these to make it into a card! Love that. 36 cards done fast!
CFH got the sweetest request for cards here, and I couldn't resist tackling it yesterday! Kids just tug at my heart, and knowing how many kids' letters we've sent out that ask the hero to write back to them — well I want to help these folks do it. (Especially since they have an address to write to! Lots of kids ask for letters back but haven't provided an adult's address for them to go to.) I'm going to get a nice big box out to them shortly, and these 40 will be in it.
What kid wouldn't like one of these gruffies? I made it kind of boy-ish.... I had a lot of half-sheets of patriotic stickers leftover from the kids who decorated some flat-rate boxes for me. Something in me just can't leave a sticker just stuck on a page, so most of the main sticker images were mounted and layered (yes, I'm kinda OCD that way!) I think it makes them look a little less like a slapped-together sticker card sometimes. This little stamped image is one I've had since visiting Fabre months ago! And I broke out a cute little ministack I got recently at Joanns - I think it's called animal crackers, and it's cute as all get out! More paper from the animals stack. You can't see it real well in the photo at the top of the post, but there are a bunch of different stamped critters in the ovals on these. Wiggly eyes, who doesn't love wiggly eyes? I had a sweet little pack of 3d ladybugs from Michaels' dollar section - and kept the card design really simple to show it off. (And then the camera darkened it enough that you can't see much of the sticker. Aiyeee!) I'm trying for some boy-cards for this box (the patriotic ones will work great for boys too)...but the Hey Buckaroo and cowdog from the Cats Pajamas is a natural! More paper from the animal stack.And another version of our little buckaroo. Someone had sent me a piece of this ribbon a long while back, and I wanted to use it in a way that would show it off. I finally decided on this! And voilá, no more hoarding (of this ribbon) at least! I added a little star to the little cowdog to dress him up in appropriate sherriff gear. (Sheriff? Sherrif? Agh.) Alrighty then...I'm off for now. Hope you enjoyed my cards for kids!
I wanted to get some quick cards done, and the ministack I just picked up at Joanns has been calling to me. In a box of cards I sorted through tonight, someone did something WAY cool - punched a shape, and tied the ribbon through the shape and around the card! It was so cute I had to do some. Well, a bunch! Here are two...and there's not even a bit of stamping ('cept the cardsforheroes.org on the back!), just the cute patterned paper!! I punched the scalloped circle out of the background, and added a regular circle punched from scraps from another paper inside each one. Cute, simple, and fast! (These could also be done without the white layer behind, but I kinda like the punch it adds!
A friend of CFH asked us to marshal our cardmakers to bless a wounded Marine — so I'm giving you all a heads-up! We can't share an address as yet, or a name, of course, until all the families of the others involved in the incident are notified. However, we can all get started!
Please make your BEST thank you, patriotic, or get well card for this brave hero. He has extensive injuries requiring much treatment, and he's back in the U.S. now to get the best care. He's going to need a lot of encouragement, so let's shower him with it! I'll let you know through all the usual venues - but if you want the first news of it, it'll be on the Homefront Blog first and foremost. (Hopefully you check in over there regularly!)
In the meantime, if you're on Facebook, do me a favor and help decorate the wall of our group page....everyone's supposed to be able to post on that wall, so let's see how that works. The group is different than the fan page:
CFH Facebook Group is---> here CFH Fan page is---> here
I finally completed this tribute to Rick who was killed in action this spring....please continue to pray for his family. If making a video like this hurts, I can't imagine what it must feel like to live with the loss every day....
Click on the picture, let it get large. See if you see what I see. I'll wait right here.
Did you see it? Our dear runner's story...run in the paper right next to the crazy streaker! I'm certain the paper didn't quite intend me to look at them and link them, but that just goes to show the kind of mind I have tonight!
How do you like the looks of this pile of mail?? Now, I know what you're thinking, I must have had quite the sorting night last night. And I did—but the contents of these packages were a little different than most days. The flat rate boxes had beautiful CFH cards in them, but all those other packages....wowsers! Fun!
The long tall package came from Iraq!! It had a rolled up poster-sized photo of one of our units there, signed by them all! They're holding bags of coffee (yes, coffee!) that I helped coordinate. All I did was send a few emails, but wow did I receive the boomerang love back! Another package contained a commendation from the Army! CFH was submitted for it by an Army Lieutenant...and I feel so blessed! It came with a bunch of things in the envelope: a pin, some stickers, a certificate, a letter from General Casey....wow! This really goes out to all the cardmakers and donors, not me, so I'm sharing so you can all feel the love! The rest of the boxes in that big pile were even more AnyHero cards from Swarovski! Their cardsigning packages are arriving, and as you can see, in droves! I'll be posting about them soon, so stay tuned!
Some kids came by to tell me I should pay them to mow my yard. (Note that my yard is all brown and crusty except for a few blades here and there. It does look bad, but is barely worth more than a weedwhacker right now!) When I said I didn't need help, one kid got angry and snapped back, "Oh yeah you do, look at this yard!" I closed the door and grumbled but didn't think anything of it. But look what I came home to after my post office run:
Yes, that's right, my flag is GONE! Someone stole it, pole, string and all!!!! I can't be sure it was those kids. But I have my suspicions!!!
What I need your help with isn't a new flag. That I can get. But I want MY flag back! And I know that'll be nearly impossible. But I want to try...and I could use your creative assistance.
I want to put up a HUGE sign. REALLY big. I want the whole neighborhood to know. So if some kid came home with a flag and a pole, a parent will know where it came from. But I don't want it to be a nasty sign. I want it to be sooooooo nice and dripping with patriotism that the jerk who took it will at least FEEL bad. I want the friends of whoever took it to give him or her CRAP because of it.
Suggestions?? I'm considering asking one of my deployed heroes to write a note I can put on the sign, maybe that would work. But I want to go put a sign out today, and can't wait for that. (Maybe it'll be a series of signs!!)
A few cards from tonight....camera's not working right so will have to re-shoot a few tomorrow.
This first card uses a new Clearly Wordsworth stamp set I got as a prize from Lyneen in the Inchies challenge! Thanks Lyneen! It's a little snarky, but I thought some gal might get a kick out of sending it home: The next card is for the nesties challenge - includign a closeup and a listing of what I used to emboss with my cuttlebug.
These are some of the prizes I'm offering in a daily challenge for Summerhaven - I pick a winner randomly (but you only win once) from anyone who uploads a creation to the gallery there, one winner each day of Summerhaven. There's still a couple days left - it ends Sunday night!
People are always asking about my Copic coloring, so I thought sending out some colored images would be fun especially for those who want to see what Copics look like compared to other materials to color with. And since I love to just sit and color, I've had a blast this week coloring these! (Click on the image to enlarge it.) Some of these — the Snoopies in particular — were requested; winners are allowed to pick from any stamps I have (by looking in my gallery or on my blog), and I'll color some to send them. A bunch of folks said "anything," so I started coloring some of my new images that I got especially to color! I'm LOVING the Greeting Farm images - the little pirates! The Bombshell images are fun as well, though a lot more challenging to use on a card! (Anyone have links to share? Show me, show me!)
So come to Stamphaven and play this weekend. If it's too hot or rainy to be out, treat yourself to a couple hours of stamping! The thread for my daily challenge is here, and the link to Summerhaven with all the challenges is here. Hope to see you there!
Did a pile of these uber-simple cards with my new stamps from SU...love this set! A quick touch of Copics and they're done! And I also made some funny fast birthday cards with wiggly eyes. Who doesn't love wiggly eyes?
If I haven't left a comment on your blog in a while, please don't feel alone or take it personally. Ack. I had no idea I was this far behind til this morning.....I think I need a plan for keeping up!
Okay, lots of cards to share from SummerHaven, and I'm not going to do as much blathering about them today...I need to get busy on some other things tonight!
Horse at right: recycle challenge. Paper matched the horse legs way too much not to use with this image!
Owl at left, also recycle challenge, the background paper was once a card.
Next two are for the "scrappy sketch"— using scraps from the week to create a strip element for a card. I made a huge pile of these, using up lots of stamped colored images!
These two are samples for my "Reflections of You" challenge, using metal embellishments. Yes, I have a TON of hoarded metal!
At left, this one covers the background challenge (using a large background stamp) and inchies! The inchie challenge also had to be red white and blue. And I added a metal embellie, just because I can.
Lil penguin - I made a lot of these too. Someone had sent me a big pile of the stamped images and I had a blast coloring them! The ice cream paper was perfect with them too.
This one scared me...the challenge was "Don't color me in!" We had to NOT color in our images, and that just upsets me! lol. Yeah, I had to set my markers aside for a moment.
And just for a little extra fun, these two aren't for SummerHaven at all! Yes, I went outside the challenges, trying to use images already colored. Trying to get as many cards done as I can right now, when my cupboard starts to empty, I get nervous! But I did get 50 cards done today - pretty good deal!
If you've got time this week, go over to StampHaven.com and check out the Summerhaven board - lots of fantastic challenges, chatty threads, and fun and games!
Oh thus it be ever when free men shall stand Between their loved homes and the war's desolation! Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n rescued land Praise the pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our causes it is just And this be our motto: "In God is our trust!" And the star spangled banner in triumph shall wave O're the land of the free and the home of the brave! —Francis Scott Key
Hope everyone's having a fantastic celebration of our nation's Independence!!! Is your flag flying? Have you and your family prayed for our deployed heroes defending us at this very moment? Have you thanked a veteran yet today?
I spent the morning with my friend Margaret—she had told me about a little town she had happened upon yesterday that was TOTALLY decked out, and I just had to go see! So we took a drive....check out this little couple-block-long stretch of homes, and all the decorations!
We drove through — very slowly, pedestrians were all over the streets — and saw banners EVERYwhere. Oh my, was it a sight to see! These photos don't even do it justice. Each house (minus one humbugger, lol) had flags, banners, and decorations all over it...we saw kids pulled in decked-out wagons, men with star spangled ties....we saw red white and blue planters, swags......check out the photo at left with the founding fathers?? I never even thought of honoring them on a day like this, at least not in this way!
Even statues were ready for the 4th...check out the shorts on this dude! lol! The whole town turned out for a little breakfast at a local business, and I sure wish we had known about it before the drive over. We had stopped along the way, and I totally would have preferred to join these folks! I'm putting it into my mental calendar to attend this one next year. What a super town!
There's something about small town America that just makes me smile. My own town is one of those formula-house-types, not many neighbors know each other, and we just don't have this kind of celebration together. Seeing things like this makes me think more seriously about where I'll live someday!
This afternoon I am frantically making cards (see my last post, eeep!), and then will head to church and off to a BBQ for the evening, and watching fireworks across the Puget Sound. Awesome celebration ahead, that's for sure!
One more pic from today... we had to take an obligatory stretched-arm-photo...lol! Thanks for a great morning, Marg—see you tonight!
And now...lest I leave you without a video on a holiday....here's Sam the Eagle! Enjoy!
