Success! Cards for Operation Write Home!

Hi Everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Saturday was a day of reflection and prayer for our country as we marked the 9th anniversary of the tragic events on September 11, 2001. I know like all of you, I will NEVER FORGET that day.  I pray that those who lost a husband, wife, son, daughter, friend or family member will be comforted by the loving memory of their loved one.

Two of my dear friends came over and we spent the day and into the night making cards for Operation Write Home. It was a successful day, with almost 30 cards made by the three of us. I wish we could have done more, but, we will have more get togethers soon!

Here's a collage of the cards we did get finished.

Thanks to Lynn and Amanda for helping me make these great cards! 
I'll be back tomorrow with another post! Have a Happy Monday!

Happy Birthday to My BFF

Kelli Sue Barrett Pittman. Born September 7th, and has been my best friend for the past 16 years. We've been through lots of ups and downs, laughed, cried, and always been there for each other.

I am blessed to have such a wonderful friend. Kelli is one of the most caring, thoughtful and generous persons I have ever known. She's got my back, just like I have hers. She is beautiful on the inside and out. She is like a sister to me.

Kelli, I hope you have a wonderful birthday, filled with love and all the things that make you happy. You are an amazing friend, amazing mother and I know that God has great plans for you. 

Always remember you are loved and cherished by so many people, especially me!

Operation Write Home - Birthday Bash!

Saturday, I'm having some friends over to make cards for Operation Write Home. I am very excited to get together for a day of friendship and crafting for a great cause. 

My goal is to make at least 100 cards to send to our troops! If you are local and would like to join us, please do!

Here is a card I don't think I've shared. I just love HouseMouse stamps. I really need to use more of them.


Hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day Weekend. I had a nice one even though the weather wasn't that great. Good thing, the work week will be short!
I should have another card to share with you tomorrow night.

Thanks for stopping by!

Missing You is Ruff!

Hi Everyone! I promised I'd be back tonight with some cards to share. I had such a fun time making these cards!

I followed a tutorial I found at Gina K's Stamp TV found here

The first card is made with a new stamp I purchased at StampFest in Orlando back in June. I bought it from Inky Antics and just love this little dog and the sentiment that goes with it.

The second card is similar but I didn't use the reverse nestabilities technique.

The last card I used one of my Gorjus Girls stamps by Sugar Nellie. I just love this little girl. Again, I used the Gina K reverse nestabilities technique. It's really very easy to do and I love the look of these cards!

I am hoping to get some cards made this weekend. I'm currently planning a get together to make cards for the troops for Operation Write Home. September is their big Birthday Bash and I'd love to send them a great big batch of cards! I'm looking to have the stamping get together on September 11th. If you are in the area and would like to join me, please let me know! I'd love to have you!

Card Details:


Stamps: Inky Antics and Gorjus Girls
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black
Coloring: Copic Markers
Cardstock: Stampin Up
Nestabilities, Cuttlebug Folder Swiss Dots


Thanks for visiting! Have a wonderful Friday!

A Busy Summer!

I can't believe I haven't blogged since Father's Day! I fully intend to start blogging on a regular basis again. I hope you all have had a wonderful summer! We had a wonderful time at our annual beach vacation in New Smyrna Beach.I celebrated my 29th birthday again while we were at the beach this year. (LOL)  It was a great time, my best friend and her son came this year and my son Eric was actually able to come for a couple days and spend my birthday with me. He hadn't been to the beach with us in about 4 years.

We've also been spending a lot of time on the boat this year. The weather has been so gorgeous this summer but extremely hot!  I really enjoy boating. It is so relaxing to be out on the water.

Here's a photo of my niece Adele on her first attempt wakeboarding. She has become the little expert after a week of practice!

Happy Father's Day!

Today is the day we celebrate or remember that special Dad in our life. I am so blessed to have a wonderful Dad. This is my Dad...

I am a very lucky girl to have such a wonderful father. He is my mentor, my friend and my inspiration. I love you Dad!

Today, I have a couple of cards to share. Yesterday, I went to StampFest in Orlando and had a wonderful day with my friends Lynn and Amanda. I got lots of great new stamping things that I can't wait to play with... Here's a couple of photos of all my goodies.

I can't wait to make some cards for OWH with these two stamps! Aren't they adorable? I also got really good deals on the Just Rite Stamp sets. I used the "By The Sea" stamp set to make a Father's Day card from my Dad and my Dear Hubby.

Both cards are stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with Copic Markers.  The first card is for my Dad...

I cased this card from the Just Rite Gallery and found this awesome card made by Kathy J. Her blog is Inspired To Stamp. This is the card of her's that I cased:  Click here
This card I made for my husband and the father of my children. I am also blessed to have such a great husband. I love you sweetie!

I hope you all have a wonderful day spending time with your family!

S & S Sketch Challenge #21

Good Evening! I don't know how the weather is where you live, but here in Florida it is HOT!!!!!!!!
This morning when I got up it was 90 degrees. Our high today was 97 with a heat index over 100 degrees! UGH. It's only mid June... I can't imagine how hot it will be in July and August which are our really hot months.

This week Karen gave us  a great sketch to work with.  I strayed a little bit from the original..using an Oval image instead of a square image.

Here's the Sketch:

This is the card I made:

Card Details:
Stamps: Just Rite Stamps - Breath of Spring Borders
Colored with Copics- Crystal Effects on Tulips; Red Stickles on border

Thanks for stopping by tonight. I'd love to hear your comments on my card.

Enjoyed the Sunshine Today!

Hi everyone.. I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend! I had a nice one myself. I have a few photos to share from my day today boating with my dad and cousin Josef.  I have a couple of cards to share too, so sit tight and bear with me...

Josef is really great at wakeboarding and we spent the afternoon on Tampa Bay soaking in the sunshine and heat!

As we headed into the bay, we saw a wonderful display of Sailboats...

We headed to a popular boating place called Beer Can Island...but it was a little too crowded for us to anchor down and slip onto the island, so we just circled the island and headed back towards downtown Tampa..

As we headed back in, we passed the beautiful Carnival Cruise Ship - The Legend.

Then Josef decided to do a little wakeboarding...

It was a fun day!

Now my cards to share....

I finally have my box of cards for Operation Write Home ready to ship! Included in this box are about 15 Any Hero Cards that I had my scrapbooking girlfriends sign when I went to a weekend retreat back in April. Some of the ladies actually made their entire cards, other's just wrote a message to a Hero inside and then I made the cards when I got home.  Here's a few of the cards:

I also made a card for a friend of mine's little girl Gabriella to give to her father for Father's Day. I love this GinaK designs stamp called " With Daddy's Help".  The designer paper is Basic Grey and I colored the image with Copics.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope to have another card to share with you tomorrow! Have a great week everyone!

Bella Birthday Card...

Greetings!  I have a card to share today.. though it's rather simple.  I've been trying to put cards together to get a box sent to Operation Write Home for the troops. I've got so many images already colored and I just need to get my butt in gear to put the images on cards.

I'm also excited that this weekend my friend Lynn is coming over and we are going to be card making fools. I have about 7 cards I need to make for myself to give to people and then I'm planning on making more for the troops.

If you are interested in making some cards for our troops, we'd love you to join our great group! You can find all the information you need at Operation Write Home's website. Check out the videos there too! It's really been awesome seeing all the publicity lately in the magazines like CardMaker, PaperCrafts and even Creating Keepsakes!  If everyone just sent in 10 cards a year, we would make a lot of servicemen and women very happy!

My daughter will be deploying soon to Afghanistan. She already told me that she wants OWH to send her boxes of cards to share with her unit.

I hope everyone is geared up for summer! It's HOT as heck here in Florida. I hope to have another card to share with you tomorrow night!

Have a great evening and thanks for stopping by!

What Memorial Day Means To Me

Good Morning! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today! If you are following the hop in order you just came from Heather's blog Stamptastic Creations. To start at the beginning of the hop, please start at the Stars and Stripes Blog. 

If you are just learning about Operation Write Home, you are in for something! I am so proud to be a cardmaker for OWH and help give our servicemen and women something to send home to their loved ones. We are a group of cardmakers focused on making hand made cards for our troops to send back home to their loved ones. We make cards for all occasions: all the major holidays, birthdays, thinking of you, and Any Hero cards which are cards we send to the soldiers to thank them for their service and send encouragement to them while they are deployed. You can find a wealth of information on the Operation Write Home website. They also have a Facebook page and two blogs.

My daughter is currently serving in the United States Marine Corps. My husband is retired from the Army. My Grandfather was a Colonel in the Army during WW2. My brother Stephen served during the Persian Gulf War in the Army. My Uncle Wayne served his whole career in the United States Coast Guard. My cousin Jim served in the Navy and Air Force. My brother in law Jim, served in the Air Force.

As you can see I have a strong line of military pride in my family.  Memorial Day is an important day to our family as we remember the fallen heroes that have made our country the best place to live on earth. I am grateful for all of the branches of Service that defend our freedom and ensure that my family sleeps safely every night.  The pride that I feel as my daughter serves as one of the Fewer and Proud is indescribable. Thank you to all of the past, present and future servicemen and women who defend our country and serve it so well!

The theme for our blog hop is " Miss You".  My card is dedicated to the memory of my brother who passed away in 2007 and to my daughter who I miss everyday as she is away from home serving our country.

My card is made with the Red White and Blue theme with a Tilda stamp from Magnolia. I colored this cutie with Copic Markers. I cut out Tilda and popped her up with dimensionals to give the card a little extra zip.

We would love to recruit some new card makers for OWH. Even if you are new to card making, please think about joining us in this great cause.  Our soldiers LOVE cards of any kind! There are some wonderful tutorials on the OWH website and especially on the Stars and Stamps blog! The Facebook site is a great place to ask questions and get answers from all the cardmakers. Don't be shy... we'd love to have you join in our passion to make these cards for our troops!

The next stop on the hop is Deborah at Thoughts of a Grasshopper. I know you'll enjoy her creation! She does fabulous work! Please leave a comment if you stopped by today. I'd love to hear from you!

Have a Wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

Coming Up For Air......

I can't believe it's been two months since I have blogged! I have to remedy this situation and fast! I'm back in the craft room and have some new cards to share.. but, I won't share them all at one time.

So, since I last posted, my daughter has moved to her permanent duty station in North Carolina.  I was blessed to be able to travel there on Mother's Day Weekend to spend some time with her and see her new home. My husband and I drove her car up to her and boy was she ever happy! She's been without her car since October. I was a little worried she might have forgotten how to drive. LOL

I've been busy lately making cards for Operation Write Home. For those of you who know me, you know that this is an organization near and dear to my heart. This Saturday, on Memorial Day Weekend, I will be participating in my third blog hop with OWH.  I hope you'll take a few minutes this weekend to visit the wonderful cardmakers to see the great creations and tributes we have to share with you in honor of our service men and women.

The card I have to share with you tonight is a card I made using the sketch challenge from the Stars and Stamps Blog 

I love this cute Magnolia stamp.. Tilda with bee.  Isn't she the cutest??  I colored her with Copic Markers. I will be back tomorrow night to share another card with you.  I hope you have a great day! Thanks for visiting!

Lucky Winner of My Blog Candy and a card to share....

Good evening everyone!! Thanks again to everyone who stopped by on the Blog Hop! It was so much fun and I thoroughly enjoyed everyone's cards and posts along the hop!  What an awesome group of talent we have making cards for our heroes!!

The lucky winner of my blog candy is Rufus!  I've sent you an email.. please reply back with your mailing address so I can get the goodies in the mail to you!

I have another card to share with you all. If you know me, you know that Magnolia stamps are one of my all time favorites!  I made this card by paper piecing Tilda's outfit with designer paper.  I colored the rest in with my Copic Markers.

This is a very simple card, but sometimes I like simple! LOL

Hope you enjoy it!

I will be back tomorrow night with another card to share.. meanwhile I hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday!

Hugs,

It's Blog Hop Time!!!

Welcome to the Spring Operation Write Home Blog Hop!

I’m so glad you are here! If you didn’t start at the beginning, please go here:

http://www.owhstarsandstamps.org  

I’d hate for you to miss out on any of the great blogs before me!

If you came here from Joscie’s Blog.. you are following the right path.

I am so excited to be participating in today’s blog hop. Last October my daughter joined the Unites States Marine Corps. My husband served 20 years in the US Army, and my brother served in the Army during Operation Desert Storm.  I had taken a break from cardmaking while my daughter was in bootcamp and have just started crafting again.  I’m really happy to be making cards for our troops so they can send cards back home to their friends and loved ones.

I have two cards I’m sharing today as well as some blog candy! 

The first card is my spring card I created..

The image is from Sugar Nellie, sentiment from Stampin Up, and designer paper from Basic Grey. Cardstock Stampin Up and I used my Copic Markers to color my image.

The second card is one I have made to send to “Any Hero”.  I will write a note of thanks to let our heroes know how much I appreciate their service to our country. 

To be entered in the drawing for my blog candy pictured below, please leave a comment on my blog no later than Sunday night at 10pm EST.  I will draw a name from the comments on Monday evening and post the winner here on Monday night. I am also committing to making one card for each comment left here.  

It gives me such a sense of honor to be involved with Operation Write Home. I know how much these men and women sacrifice to keep up safe and Free!  I hope during your many clicks through this blog hop, we will inspire you to make a few cards for our troops! Please visit the OWH website to see what a great organization Sandy runs.  The website is full of information, motivational stories, cardmaking tips and the Stars and Stamps blog also runs weekly challenges! 

Your next stop on the hop is none other than Sandy, the Operation Write Home founder and President.  She works tirelessly with many other women to get these cards shipped to our troops every week.  

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have fun visiting all the other wonderful blogs on the hop! 

Two New Cards... Gorjus Girls

Hi everyone! I have two cards to show you tonight. I've had these adorable stamps - Gorjus Girls for quite some time and just love them.  I just love the little girl that's got attitude!

Both of these cards were colored with Copic Markers. I hope you like!

I'm ready for the big Blog Hop on Saturday!  I really hope that you'll stop by and also play along with the rest of us who are hopping! I can't wait to see all the wonderful cards out there!

I 'll be back tomorrow night with another card to share! Have a great Friday!!

Getting Ready For The Blog Hop--- Operation Write Home- Join Us!

As many of you know, the military men and women hold a very special place in my heart. Now that I have a daughter serving proudly in the United States Marine Corps, I have to say my love has grown to a whole new level.

When I first started cardmaking 2 years ago, I started out by reading lots of different blogs. I came across a blog called Cards For Heroes which has now evolved into Operation Write Home. OWH is a non profit organization that sends thousands of cards to the deployed troops all over the world.  These hand made cards are made by thousands of different card makers who generously donate to this great cause.

When my daughter was traveling from her last training base to the current training base, she flew into St. Louis International Airport.  I told her to make sure she stopped by the USO room at the airport if she had time to kill before her bus arrived to transport her to her base.  She was so excited when she found a box of hand made cards there that had been donated.  She found several cards she took and a few days later she surprised me by sending me one.  Inside she wrote how the cards immediately brought a smile to her face because she knew how much work us card makers put into making them.

She even likes to make cards too.  I always have fun helping her create a card for a friend or her sweetheart.
Anyway, on Saturday, March 20th, OWH is holding a blog hop. We have 80 people participating and we'd love to have you join us!

I've been busy getting things ready and will have some blog candy to offer on Saturday. I'll get a picture posted here in the next couple of days.  I'm steadily getting back into the card making mode and hope you'll like the cards I have to share.

Stay tuned for more... Please visit the website link above if you are interested in participating with us on Saturday.

I'm Still Here....

Hi everyone... I'm still here and just returned from seeing my Marine graduate from the last portion of her Basic Training for the United States Marine Corps.  My dad, also in this picture with Kristina and me, accompanied me on the 12 hour drive from Florida to North Carolina to see the graduation.  It was so nice to see my girl and yes, we are soooo proud of her!

She is now in Missouri at her MOS school learning the job she will do.  She is in the Motor Transport Field and will learn to drive different vehicles.  She'll find out where she'll be stationed permanently in about 5 weeks.

Now that things have settled down, I am really looking forward to getting back into card making and doing a scrapbook for Kristina.

I hope to start blogging again on a regular basis! I've really missed you guys!  Hope everyone is doing well and life is good!  I'll start popping in your blogs again soon!

Hugs to you all!

Monica

We Have A New United States Marine!

Hi Ladies!

I know I haven't blogged in FOREVER!! I haven't had time to make cards in so long and I really really miss it! 

The past 13 weeks my daughter Kristina has been going through boot camp at Parris Island, SC.  I am happy and oh so proud to tell you she just graduated and is now a United States Marine!

I promise I will be back soon! I'm going to get back in the craft room and start creating again!

Hope you all are doing well!

Hugs!

Monica
Proud Marine Mom to PFC Kristina!