Operation Write Home~Christmas in July!

Aloha!

Operation Write Home is having a great challenge:

The challenge this week is Christmas In July, we challenge you to make a Christmas card for one of our heroes to send home. 


So, I made a quick and simple card since it's going to our heros to send home to a loved one the less embellishments the better so I didn't add any frills to it.  I also have to admit I was short on time today and I am a SLOW card maker, so I needed to make a fast card! 


Since I am blessed to have just picked my husband up safely this week from another deployment to Iraq and feel fortunate that at least this Christmas he will be home with my Son and I there have been many holidays he has not, so I know how much this program means.  


I have been making cards and getting them ready to send to OWH. I hope you will join in on fun for this challenge. Our heros and their families really appreciate it. There is a very nice prize donation with this challenge.

Here are the basic guidelines that might help when creating a card for OWH!

1. No glitter. Seriously. It's a hazard for our heroes, so we won't send cards with any glitter that will flake off the card. Read more.
2. A2 sized cards. Most efficient for our shipping dollars, so we strongly recommend A2 (4.25" x 5.5" - half a sheet of cardstock). Read more.
3. No storebought. Yep, pretty straightforward. Our heroes don't like them, so we send them our cards filled with love and creativity! Read more.
4. Watch the deadlines. We have to mail cards 5-6 weeks ahead of a holiday, so check out the deadlines posted on our homepage, on the left side. Those are the very last last last dates, so aim for a couple weeks earlier if at all possible, since we start shipping 8 weeks ahead.
5. Any quantity. One card to 100 to 500 — every card matters! We recommend emphasizing quality over quantity...relax, do your best, and pour lots of love into each card! 
6. Packing Slip. Download this handy packing slip and write in your contact info and quantity—the shipper will be able to email you to let you know your cards arrived. If you haven't heard back you can also check the Thankful Thursday post each week to see if they've arrived. Our shippers get lots of packages every day, so please give them some grace in getting back to you.

Hope you will play along!

~Tammy~

Oh Alice, Chapter 20 Challenge

Over at the Oh Alice Challenge Blog, Wonderland has gone Red, White and Blue! So, I chose to use this cute Cheeky Shooter Girl from The Greeting Farm, and I will send her with my other cards going to Operation Write Home. The sponsor of the Challenge is EAD Designs which is how I found the challenge!. Yay!

Thanks for coming by!

~Tammy~

{Recipe}

Stamps: The Greeting Farm

Paper: Bazzill: Navy, SU: Whisper White, DP: Little Yellow Bicycle 

Ink: Momento: Tuxedo Black

Other: Copics, spellbinders rectangle and scallop rectangle die, corner rounder

Simple cards and Operation Write Home

Hi all!

I hope everyone is having a safe and Happy 4th of July!

I have some very simple cards I did for some challenges and besides having lack of time this week and needing to make them super fast I also needed to keep them super simple as I am going to take both these cards I am sharing today and add them to my stash to send to Operation Write Home.

I can personally speak about receiving a card and it was touching that someone made a handmade card to send to our deployed military to be able to keep in touch with family while they are away overseas.   Kim Wilson wrote about it on her blog and it brought it to my attention again now that I have a blog that I can write about it as well and encourage others to send some of their extra cards they have or maybe you will be inspired to create for Operation Write Home. I know in my husbands case, he does not have extra time to write an old fashioned letter, so this made it easy and was appreciated on both ends. Please take a few minutes to check out their site. It really does help our Heros keep in touch with their families.

When making cards to OWH, it's best to keep things simple, and one reason is embellishments do not pop off or get caught with other cards. There are some simple guidelines and one important one is to keep our servicemen and women safe. You can read about it here. Thank you so much!

Onto my first challenge and card. This was for the Operation Write Home Independence Day Blog Hop.The Challenge was to post anything to celebrate America's birthday! Again super simple card. It just had to be a birthday themed card, and I knocked this out quickly between festivities this weekend and once again reaching in my scrap box. Gotta love it! I still had my star ribbon laying out from my last Red, White, and Blue card I made, so that was a quick grab! I have to say it was real hard for me to not add buttons on here or something to embellish it just a bit! :-)

Next up is for Kim's Off the Wall Craftiness Challenge #14. 

Here is Kim's super cool inspiration photo! 

The colors for the challenge were Raspberry Fizz, Enchanted Evening, Cream or White. My CAS short on time card is as follows!

My darker pink card stock was embossed for added texture to tie in the embossing of the elegant little heart that was stamped in Enchanted Evening and doused in embossing powder and heat set. The same steps were repeated for the sentiment.

These are now added to the Operation Write Home Stack with my others I have ready to go! Again! I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe July 4th! Happy Birthday America! God Bless our Troops! 

Tammy