Friday, September 30, 2011

our first bloghop!

Welcome to our stop! We are Theresa, me, & Thomas, my son who is 14 & is the IT guy for our blog. This is our first time being a stop on a hop, as we are relatively rookie bloggers. We are so excited to finally be able to do more than just look. :) I have been making cards for Operation Write Home for a little over 2 years now. I first started after a co-worker passed away very unexpectedly on the 3rd of July. He was retired Navy & his family suggested military support groups for donations instead of flowers. I wanted to do something a little more personal & looked up OWH, which was Cards for Heros then. I made 51 thinking of you cards in Dale's honor, 1 for each year of his life. And I just kept going. :)

Thomas & I make cards together and he often comes along with me to help Sandy stamp & tuck & sort when she gets over run. He is the MASTER card stamper. You can see him in action here :) We keep making cards for OWH as a way to spend time together & to help our hero's maintain that same connection with their family and friends. We always  keep the kleenex handy when we read the hero blog & then make more cards! :)

If you are just starting here, great! The beginning starts here at the OWH Stars & Stamps blog. Now for the good stuff! Our cards!

I started with cut out sheet from The Beary Patch that has been in my stash for a very long time. I'm not sure if they are even in business any more....


I cut out the elf, Santa, stocking, & reindeer parts. Added some solid cardstock that I embossed with Tim Holtz snow flurries folder. Pierced and pen stitched white cardstock & mounted both the embossed & stitched pieces on solid red cardstock. I used dimensional foam tape adhesive to adhere the cut outs to the stitched piece. Add some glossy accents to eyes, noses, & buttons to dress them up a bit. The end result--


Our favorite is either Santa or the Elf

 
I'm not sure what we'll do with the Christmas tree or 2 other pieces on the sheet. The tree is to big & the others don't lend themselves to cards... May just use the back for mounting since it is a nice heavy textured stock. :) It feels good to use up some of those older supplies in the stash! 

We hope you have all enjoyed hopping so far! Let us know which is your favorite card! We'll make 1 Valentine or winter love card for every comment. :)

23 comments:

  1. These are adorable! I can't pick a favorite! The embossed background is great!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Loving these cards. My fav-the Reindeer. :) How nice that you and your son spend this time together. Warms my heart. :)
    I have a suggestion for the tree you didn't use:
    If you cut off the trunk would it fit on a card? or, you could cut it to look zoomed in and put an ornament on it... :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful cards - love the embossed background. Thank you for sharing :)

    Manda :)
    ajsarts at gmail dot com
    www.ajsartsanddesigns.com
    www.ajsdigishoppe.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Very cute cards!

    Lauren, Paper Love
    readysetlove@me.com
    www.readysetlove.me

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ok these my favourites card now :) I want beary patch papers NOW lol

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nice job with these cutouts. I have used this technique before. I made a point of copying them first so I had more for the future. We must think alike. I also used Diamond Glaze on mine but I covered the entire cutout which was smaller than yours. Your cards will be a welcome addition to the troops

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your cards turned out so cute, they are going to be cherished for years to come by the families who receive them.

    ReplyDelete
  8. These are so fun and whimsical! I think the elf is my favorite but they are all really cute. Thanks for supporting OWH and for sharing your touching story. What a beautiful way to honor your friends memory.

    ReplyDelete
  9. these cards are adorable!
    I probably have some of these beary patch cutouts in my stash, I loved them!! thanks for sharing and thanks for your support of OWH

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hmmmmm... tough choice! I'm thinking the reindeer. I'm a sucker for reindeer! Thanks so much for your support of OWH and Sandy! That gal needs all the help she can get! Can't believe how much she does.
    R/

    ReplyDelete
  11. Love your cards, so much character in them

    ReplyDelete
  12. Theresa and Thomas, thanks for sharing the touching story about how your first got involved in OWH. Love these cards. I'm not a fan of coloring, so this style card is one of my favs!

    ReplyDelete
  13. TFS these cute cards!! They are adorable and thx for all you do!! ROCK ON!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. These are too cute! Love the little mittens/paws and the embossed background. Could you use the tree if you cut off the trunk? I don't think you'd miss it.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Your cards are adorable! I like the elf too, the mittens really caught my eye. Also love the faux stitching and embossing. :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. What cute cards! I'm so glad that your son is involved too and how sweet of you to honor your friend by helping out OWH.

    Thank you for your sweet comments on my card. Happy World Card Making Day!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. So creative - love the addition of the stitching to amp them up.
    Thanks for sharing with OWH!

    ReplyDelete
  18. They are just adorable! Love Glossy Accents!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Awwwhhh! I adore what you did! Way to work on your stash! Love that Thomas helps you! Keep up the great work!!! TFS!!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. These turned out just darling!!! The troops will love getting these great cards. Great OWH blog Hop!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Great cards Theresa! I love how you popped up the cutouts and framed them up - makes them look so special! And great work by your IT support person there, too!

    ReplyDelete