Cards for the Troops

Having a strong military family history, one of my favorite things to do is make cards for the troops ! There are 2 different programs that I try to support by providing handmade cards. The first, Operation Welcome Home Maryland !, provides a warm Hero's welcome to Sailors, Airmen, Soldiers and Marines as they enter the states through the international gates at Baltimore/Washington Airport. Volunteers hand out "goodie bags" to the military men and women. The goodie bags contain bottles of water, snacks, and a handmade card (welcoming them home and thanking them for their service). Here's a sample of one of the cards I make for this program.


The second program I provide handmade cards for is From Our Hearts. We provide a variety of cards (birthday, miss you, love you, holiday, etc) that are sent to military chaplains at forward deployed areas. These cards are for the military folks to send home to their loved ones.

If you are interested in supporting either of these programs, please leave me a msg and I'll contact you with additional information.

Now.....off to play with my new Stampin' Up! products !! Hope everyone has a Stamp Happy weekend !!

Card Shares.....

Check out this beautiful card ! My friend Kathy Alt made this amazing card using an embossing folder and several punches....very elegant !

The card below was made by Dacia Smith, using the new Vintage Vogue stamp set. It was one of my favorite swaps from Leadership. I've already cased it several times !

And here's a very simple card using the Top Note die and the Thoughts and Prayers stamp set.

Hope everyone has a Stamp Happy week ! Until next time........

I'm Baaaccckkkkkk !!!

Well folks -- it was operator error ! Not really - just took me awhile to figure out the problem ! I've upgraded my software so I can post pictures again -- took awhile, but it finally occurred to me what the problem was........I know....duuuhhhhh !!!!

Even though I haven't been posting, I have been stampin' ! Here are some pictures to prove it:

I was invited to join a group of ladies to make cards for The Lydia Project. I designed 2 cards, provided the supplies and we made handmade "Thinking of you" and "Praying for you" cards to be sent to cancer patients. It was a wonderful morning spent with a fun group of ladies. We used one of my favorite new stamp sets - Vintage Vogue, for this card. I was asked to use purple in my designs so I chose Elegant Eggplant as my primary color, added some small Pale Plum flowers and used Always Artichoke for the leafy vines. The first picture is a work in progress.

These two pictures show my new stamping friends, hard at play.....

And, here are several samples....but I wasn't really happy with either

The is the card design I finally decided on. I even made up a set of cards using several different sentiments, to give to a friend.

I hope you like this card. I'll load the second card tomorrow.....for now....sweet stampin' dreams !

Another Fabric Flower and More Pages.....

I've had so much fun making these beautiful fabric pins. The best part is....they're sooooooo easy ! Don't you just love the vibrant colors in this one ? And the Summer Sun corduroy button in the middle ? I just love it !! If you'd like to learn how to make these gorgeous pins, give me a call or drop me an email to set up a date.

Here are a few more 12x12 double page spreads from the swap I hosted at Leadership 2010. I love the color combinations and the variations in the layouts. Check out the use of punches to make borders -- very, very nice !! If you're a demonstrator and would like to join this swap at Convention, drop me an email (almondy1261@aol.com).

Until later....have a Stamp Happy week !!

12x12 swap at Leadership 2010

Each year at Convention and Leadership I host a 12x12 double page swap. Here are a few more samples of the swaps. It amazes me the creativity that some of these ladies have. All swaps were EXCELLENT. Hope this helps to get you creative juices flowing. For info on my new Scrapbook Club, drop me an email: almondy1261@aol.com.

And here's a beautiful card that I received from Melissa Riker -- what a wonderful surprise - made my day ! Love the simplicity of the card and the color combination -- isn't she just the sweetest thing ....

And, here's a fabric pin that I made last weekend while visiting my fellow demonstrator friend Carol. She's made tons of these beautiful pins to sale at craft shows and bazaars. The fabrics and color combinations she uses are gorgeous ! So... would you like to learn how to make these fabric pins ?

Embossing Folders

I'm really liking the embossing folders -- they add so much to the card ! By using the embossing folders, you take a simple card and make it a WOW card -- soooo easy !! As you can tell from the following cards, I really like using punches too - again, punches just add that extra touch. Have you seen the new style punches that Stampin' Up! is offering ? Drop me an email or give me a call if you would like additional information about the embossing folders or punches. Back to my craft room to play some more !! Enjoy..........

Scrapbook Pages and more.....

Here are several projects for your viewing pleasure:

The scrapbook pages are from the 12x12 double page swap that I host every year at Convention and Leadership. These pages came from the swap at Leadership 2010. If you want to see and learn more about scrapbooking, drop me an email or give me a call -- ref my monthly scrapbook club.

Here's a picture of my creative work space after Steve put up the racks for my punches -- turned out rather nice, don't you think ? I've got lots of stamping and scrapbooking to catch up on -- it'll be easy now that I have everything right at my fingertips.