Celebrate July 4th by giving to those who give so much!!

I've mentioned before that I spent most of my life as a "military service member support staff" - both as a child and a spouse.  That's fancy-speak for "military dependent".  Just like any indentured civil servant, these brave men and women do not do this for money or fame.  They don't do it because of any reason other than a bone-deep calling to do what's right.  To defend our freedoms and those in countries who have none.  To be there on the front line, taking the hit.  To run into harms' way so that others don't have to.  To leave this world a little better than they found it. 

I am awed and honored by the sacrifices made by these brave individuals around the world.  I don't take my freedom lightly and I am thrilled that Close To My Heart has found such a wonderful way to give back.

From June 1st to July 31st, $3 from each Courage Stamp set (B-sized, retails for $9.95) and $5 from each
Home of the Brave Stamp Set (D-sized, retails for $17.95) will be donated to the USO!  The USO is an incredible organization that supports our service members.  These brave men and women sacrifice so much and they deserve to know that we don't take their sacrifices for granted!

These stamp sets can be ordered here, but ONLY until July 31st! 

Home of the Free ...

... because of the Brave! 

As a former military brat, I really appreciate how much support our country has for its service members!  The challenges we faced were much different from our friends.  When my sister and I were in high school, my dad got new orders.  At the time we were stationed at Great Lakes, and his new orders were to Washington (state, not D.C.).  My sister was going into her senior year, and my folks made the really hard decision for my dad to go out there solo and leave us all behind.  As kids, we made some serious sacrifices because of their decision and it was far from easy.  But we came out stronger on the other end, and it only ended up being for a few years.  

So I was PSYCHED to find out Close To My Heart was giving back to a cause that's close to MY heart - the military!  They came up with some wonderful patriotic stamp sets to salute those brave men and women who make it possible for us all to enjoy all the exceptional freedoms we have.

From June 1st to July 31st, $3 from each Courage Stamp set (B-sized, retails for $9.95) and $5 from each
Home of the Brave Stamp Set (D-sized, retails for $17.95) will be donated to the USO!  The USO is an incredible organization that supports our service members.  These brave men and women sacrifice so much and they deserve to know that we don't take their sacrifices for granted! 

Click here to place your order today!  Hurry supplies are limited!!

Make It From Your Heart Buzz and Bumble Thank You card

I've been commissioned by my husband's mother to make a box of cards for her friend's retirement party.  I did this for her birthday earlier this year, and she really appreciated it.  She called me on Sunday and asked me if I could have this ready for her before Saturday.  As in this Saturday.  Three days from now.  I told her it could be done.  And it can, as long as my boys cooperate.  This has been a busy week for us and I've had family business to take care of up until today, so I've been slowly working on this card. 

I used our new Buzz and Bumble paper pack to make this card.  I edged all the papers in Cocoa Ink to give it more dimension without the added weight of more paper.  The flower on the sentiment is from the Buzz and Bumble Assortment Pack.  I stamped the sentiment with our A Little Thanks stamp set.  The sentiment I edged in Goldrush Ink and Cocoa Ink to help make it pop.

Knowing that I have three days to get a box of cards (and the box itself) designed and created, would normally turn me into a frantic mess.  But Close To My Heart has the perfect solution for this.  They have this wonderful 48 page booklet called Make It From Your Heart.  They've created exclusive card (and scrapbooking) patterns and included dimensions and completed examples of each project.  And that's where I got the pattern for this card.

This is a Must-Have booklet to keep with your paper crafting supplies.  The pre-designed patterns make creating so much more of a breeze.  And it makes keeping my commitment less stressful.  I bought this booklet because I have a little one at home.  He makes it impossible to spend hours online scouring websites and blogs looking for card patterns.  You can order yours here today to maximize your scrapbooking and card making time!

I already have the next pattern, stamp and paper pack picked out for the next card.  Come back tomorrow to see it.

Pretty Stella Card

Isn't this card sweet?  I got the pattern from Mojo Monday #234.  The pattern inspired me and I knew I wanted to use our Stella paper, so I started cutting paper.  It sat on my crafting table for a few weeks because I couldn't decide on the stamped image.  Once I found the butterfly, I knew and ...  A card was born!

Hope you enjoy!!

List of Supplies:
Stella Paper (X7147B)
Colonial White CS (1388)
Lagoon CS (X5762)
Creme Brulee Ink (Z2167)
Tulip Ink (Retired)
Lagoon Ink (Z2195)
Cocoa Ink (Z2114)
Bamboo Ink (Z2103)
A Little Thanks (D1444)
Find Your Style (Retired)

Easy-Peasy Thank You Cards

I'm making Thank you cards!!  My husband was thrilled to see my card-making stash cluttering up the kitchen table.  He is the most well-mannered person I know and he has been all over my tush about getting Thank you cards made.  We have a brand new baby at home and I haven't had the time - or the energy - to make cards.  Our new little one is not a sleeper and that's also reeking havoc on my creativity.  But since I had my stuff out (and the baby was softly snoring in his car seat), I decided to go for it! 
 
I love the muted colors in the Florentine paper pack and thought it would be perfect for a thank you card.
 

 

Here's my product list.  The only thing not pictured is my adhesive, paper trimmer and pop dots.  I LOVE this stamp set!  It's the perfect addition to the card-maker's arsenal.  I also used the cards and envelopes from the Value Pack.  They're already cut to size and scored. Such a time saver!!

 

Since I was going for easy (and I was time-crunched), I totally used the extra 1/2 inch border strip at the top of the patterned paper to my advantage!  Whenever I cut smaller strips of paper to size, I'm always worried about the edges not matching up.  But this was all from one piece of paper, so I didn't have to worry about that.

 

The pieces don't look like much now, but I always ink the edges.  For this card I used Cocoa ink.  If this is not a technique you're familiar with, you should definitely try it!  I think it makes the finished product more elegant and helps to focus your eye...

 

 

...AND you have the makings of a super-cute card!

 

 

Next I stamped the sentiment.  For the Thanks, I used the Rock 'n Roll technique.  I stamped the whole image in Bamboo and then rolled the edges in Twilight.  Super cute, right?  But it was still missing some embellishing. I didn't want to add too much because I wanted the card to stay simple.

 

 

You can see at the top of the picture I considered using a stamped image.  But then I flipped over one of the pieces of paper and decided to cut the floral images out.  In order to achieve the same adorable embellishment, I would have had to paper piece them together and that would have taken the "Easy-Peasy" title away. 

I put pop dots on one side of each embellishment and used regular adhesive on the other side and stuck them on the card at various angles.  It gives the card a little bit of dimension.

Isn't this Thank You card cute? And I DID get it finished before my little one woke up!  I plan on making a BUNCH of these cards during his nap times!

Hope you enjoy!!