Happy Holidays from The Miller Family

Happy Holidays! It has been an interesting few months around here, with lots of changes...but we will march on and move forward. I wanted to share our family holiday photo with everyone - our friend Angela Moen of The Button Farm (www.TheButtonFarm.com) was here visiting, and we had a small snow accumulation. At about 9am before she left to return to her home in Maine, we threw on some clothes and went out to the backyard to snap some photos. This was our favorite - and the one that is going to be on our holiday cards.

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday - I look forward to be back to making cards right after the holidays are over, and will share more of my designs in the new year.

Veterans Day Blog Hop!

Happy Blog Hop #2, Operation Write Home! Thanks for visiting my blog! I am one of the volunteer shippers for OWH, located in the Boston area. You can learn more about Operation Write Home at our website, OPERATION WRITE HOME

Things have been crazy busy for me, we've packed up 53 holiday boxes here to go to the middle east, and we have about 10 more to go this weekend. My personal goal was to pack about 50, so I am thrilled! Thank you SO MUCH, cardmakers!

This blog hop was a challenge for me, yet fun, as I'm still having a hard time gearing up for Thanksgiving, let alone Valentines day! Knowing the need that we are going to have for great Valentine's Day cards, however, I brought out the hearts and created 2 cards today...

The first card was created as a reminder that we are going to need Valentine's Day cards for kids as well as adults. A cardmaker recently RAKd me this dinosaur, and I just fell in love with him (her?). I was lucky enough to purchase my first Copic markers recently, so he was colored in with those, and a chipboard button tied with a ribbon makes the heart. The sentiment was just printed in MS Word. It's a simple card, but I liked it...



The second card is one that I made with a young couple in mind. As some of you know, I have a little..umm...penguin fetish! I just adore them! If a scrapbooking supply comes out with a penguin on it - I buy it! I loved this stamp from River City Rubber Works! The background is cuttlebugged with the hearts embossing folder. The three red "dots" are brads, and the sentiment was from the same set. I have a stitching template from Hot off the Press that I used for the doodling. Another simple card.

I hope these two cards have inspired you to go make some Valentine's Day cards for our service men & women who are working so hard for us!

Leave a comment on my blog with a goal that you have for making Valentine's Day cards (remember, they have to be mailed by January 5th to one of our shippers) and I will enter you into a drawing for an envelope full of goodies!

Finally (nobody ever accused me of being short-winded), your next stop on the blog is one of our fabulous cardmakers, Seongsook! She makes some amazingly lovely cards - please be sure to check out her blog here:

Seongsook's Blog

Some new cards...please don't fall off your chair!

Phew! What a whirlwind the past few months have been....a few getaways - one to Washington DC with my husband, and one to Ocean City MD with our whole family....not to mention the whole back to school routine, and getting in to the holidays swing for my business.....wow! I've also had the great privledge of taking some great scrapbooking classes in the last few weeks - an Alcohol Inks class with Tim Holtz, and two Copics classes with Sally Lynn Macdonald! It has been a lot of fun!

We're hitting RECORD NUMBER of donations for Operation Write Home, which is really exciting! Each week I am shipping 10-12 boxes of cards to the Middle East, which is really wonderful! Thank you to all my blog followers who donate cards - you are really making a difference!

I've been making cards here and there, and finally got around to taking some photos. Will share them in dribs and drabs over the next week or two, now that I have a little lull between getting the last of the Halloween boxes packed up, and getting the Christmas cards out to our heroes!

Card #1 is a tribute to one of my favorite sports....FOOTBALL! I'm really a college football fan at heart (PENN STATE!), but this one is done in the colors of my favorite pro team, the Pittsburgh Steelers! I love making cards that our troops can send to their kids, and thought this one would be perfect:

This was such a fun card to make, using a Memory Box Penguin Stamp, American Crafts Rub-on, random gold star brad from my stash, and the cuttlebug folder that looks like snakeskin.

Card #2 is a tribute to one of my favorite cities, Paris. The stamp is from Tim Holtz, and the background is misted with walnut ink, over which I embossed the stamp. The paper is DCWV Travel Stack.

I am trying very hard to make masculine cards for my OWH boxes - they are always a challenge for me!

The third and final card for today is a fun, funky little card. I bought the stamp about 9 months ago and have never used it (sound familiar?) so I pulled it out to have a little fun...

The background was done using one of the new CuttleBug folders, and I simply stamped the image and cut it out, and pop dotted the young lady on the scooter! FUN!

Thanks for reading - I promise to be better now that life is a little more...uh...less hectic?

Have a great weekend! Go Penn State!

Happy Holidays to Our Heroes!

if you landed here in the middle of the bloghop, please be sure to start here to go full circle: CFH BlogHop


Yes, you are wondering what is going on here in Eastern Massachusetts, aren't you? Happy Holidays????

NOW is the time to start preparing holiday cards for Cards for Heroes!

According to the best estimate I could find, there are over 150,000 military personnel deployed currently in Iraq and Afghanistan (and other support posts nearby).

Last year, Cards for Heroes mailed over 37,000 holiday greeting cards to the military - this year, we'd like to do even more. As you can see if your math skills are good - this still isn't even one card for every three servicepersons currently deployed. Does this inspire you to make a few more cards this year? GOOD!

As for my card, I was inspired in a different way...earlier this year, Cards for Heroes worked with another fantastic organization called Project MOT, providing some Passover cards for this organization to put in care packages, which were sent to Jewish military personnel currently on deployment. They loved the cards so much, they have asked us to provide Chanukah cards this year.

Being Jewish, I was happy to help out with the project....but found my supply of Chanukah stamps rather, um, lackluster. I mentioned this to my friends Monica and Tim at Hambo Stamps, and asked if they might be interested in designing a cute Chanukah stamp for me to use. After a few e-mails back and forth, Tim drew a digital stamp for me....and the result was perfect!

There's no particular creative genius to this card....but I just loved the way it came out, and it was my first time using a digital stamp (and I am sure hooked!!!!). You can resize the image to whatever size you need, and I'm sure the digi folks could tell you that there are many other things you can do with these great stamps!

Like the stamp? Tim & Monica at Hambo Stamps have offered its use FREE OF CHARGE to anyone who is going to make Cards for Heroes! How generous is that??? If you are interested in the stamp, just e-mail me at fabre@cardsforheroes.org and I will e-mail you the image. It will be fun to see what others do with this stamp....

For your next stop on the hop, check out Brianne's blog. I was moved by her story - and glad to honor her as a hero at home! Check out her blog by clicking on her name in this paragraph!

Thanks for reading, and for your support of Cards for Heroes!

Post Blog Hop Challenge

Well, as many of you know, I joined in on Lisa's Post Blog Hop Challenge at Cards for Heroes. I vowed to make one card for every comment left on my blog. I decided personally that I needed to get out of a creative rut, so I am going to create a total of 152 DIFFERENT cards....challenge myself to step out of the box, and try new techniques, stamps I haven't ever used, etc. Here are the first few cards....

Card #1

This card was made with an RAK image that I received, as well as American Crafts Rub Ons (Sentiment) and some old paper I had in my stash, and ribbon. Very simple but I really liked the way it came out. I do struggle with masculine cards, so I was pleased to be able to create this one.

Card #2

This card was made using two stamps I bought from River City Rubber Works, and had never used. I cuttlebugged the background, and used a border punch to create the scallop. Simple but cute kids card.

Card #3

When Stampin' Up came out with this sock monkey set, I knew I had to buy it. I used watercolor pencils to color him in, and cuttlebugged the background. He is just so cute!

Card #4

Another masculine card - this was a simple card to make, I used a French script stamp and Versamark ink for the blue background, the happy birthday sentiment was from Paper Source, and the paper and ribbon were found in my stash.

And finally...

Card #5

My friend Marcy got a sticker set in the mail as a freebie that had lots of vintage 50's images - sunglasses, a jukebox, and this silly lamp. I used the sticker instead of a rubber stamp, and the celebrate sentiment is a rub-on. It was a pretty ugly set (sorry, Marcy!) but we were able to put our heads together and come up with some pretty far-out cards!

Kids Any Hero Letters

I got a great envelope this week from one of my regular cardmakers, Laura O. in Tennessee. She makes some really beautiful cards and I always get excited when I see her packages come in the mail. This time at my mailbox was a flat, 8.5x11 envelope. Hmm.....did she flatten her cards? Send me a magazine? Didn't quite know what to expect, until I opened it and found 22 of these...



What an amazing surprise! Our heroes just LOVE getting the any hero letters, especially ones from children. My husband and I had the best time reading these, they were so cute - some of my favorite quotes from these letters were:

• "Thank you for letting us have freedom. And getting to have that flag hanging high"
• "I hope you are going to have a good time there and win! Make a lot of friends! I hope you win!"
• "Thank you for going to the war for the schools, everything else - good job and thank you!"
• "Thank you for saving our country. You're awesome for doing that you rock!"
• "Thank you so much for being out there - for letting us have houses"
• "Thank you for fighting for our freedom. We give thanks to the people who gave their lives to let us live another day, so we have a chance to take another breath of sweet life"
• "Thanks for all the good you've done to help keep us safe and sound. Hope you keep the bad guys away from us. My grandfather has ridden in the Stars and Stripes before. Well I hope you guys are safe"

And my absolute favorite....

• "Thank you for what you are doing for us. We all love you. But could you do us a favor, make a trust, you know, shake hands. Love, America"

Have kids that need something to do this summer? Take an hour, and have them write a few of these letters! They can be shipped to any of our shippers at Cards for Heroes, and we will happily send them along in our boxes to the heroes. There is a printable template for kids to use on our website here:

Any Hero Letter Template

Feel free to have kids create their own cards as well...whatever is most comfortable for them and you!

In a season of beaches, picnics, boating, sunscreen, friends and family, and freedom...let's remember why we have those things - and take a few minutes to thank someone. It's simple, easy, and has long-lasting effects.

Update to Cards for Heroes Blog Post

Without further ado....our big winner is Heather, blog post #58....

Heather said...

Wow that flower card is absolutely darling-- I just called my mother in from the other room to look at it!!!
You did an amazing job!

May 23, 2009 8:46 PM

Heather, please e-mail your address to me and I'll get your goodies out right away!

And in another update....
I have joined Lisa Hacker in her challenge to make one card for each post left on my Cards for Heroes blog post this summer. I will be creating 152 cards in honor of each one of you - thank you - please consider joining this challenge! check it out here...
Cards for Heroes Post Blog Post Challenge

Thanks!

Cards for Heroes Blog Hop!

Wow! We've made it! Thanks for visiting my stop on the blog hop - it has been a labor of love these past few weeks for the blog hop team, and my love and appreciation goes out to everyone who has helped to make it happen.

If you are in the middle of the hop, click the button below to start at the beginning....

I want to tell you a bit about my involvement with Cards for Heroes. Two years ago, our daughter Victoria was preparing for her Bat Mitzvah (a rite of passage in the Jewish religion). She needed a community service project, and I met someone online who was serving in Iraq that wanted some cards for her unit. We sent some along, and soon after, she was back here in the US - however, I still wanted somewhere to send cards, did some internet sleuthing, and came across....CARDS FOR HEROES!

Earlier this year, the president of Cards for Heroes, Sandy Allnock, announced that she was taking a business trip to New England. I of course wanted to meet up with her, and she came and stayed with our family for the weekend. We had lots of chats, and even some cardmaking AND shopping, and she asked me if I would be willing to come on as a shipper for Cards for Heroes! I have never been more honored in my life - I have been a shipper for 6 months now, and I am just loving every minute of it. I have processed many thousands of cards through my home, and every day brings joy to see what comes in the mail for the day! My husband, Larry, is now on the board of directors. It is truly a family affair!

Enough blathering....I made two cards for the hop - the first is a baseball themed card with some patriotic colors. People always ask what types of cards we are looking for - the main focus for us is getting the heroes cards that they can use to write home on. We can use all types - lovey cards for their wives, cards for their kids, cards they can send home to their parents, etc. Make sure to check out our card garllery on the website here CARD GALLERY to see even more examples of what people have made.

Above is a "patriotic" baseball card. The image is from River City Rubber Works, and the background paper is actually wallpaper samples! LOL! They have an Americana feel, don't you think?

This next card was made with the heroes in mind. A simple "Thank you" for all that they have done for us, to protect our freedoms. The stamp is from Hero Arts and the flowers are from Prima. Both companies are participating in the Blog Hop, be sure to visit their blogs too and thank them for their support!

I am going to write an anyhero letter inside of this card - just a simple note telling someone that I am thinking of him/her, and that I appreciate what they are doing. We include as many of these as we can in each box. Believe it or not, there are heroes who don't get ANY mail when they are serving our country. Consider putting an anyhero letter in with a package of cards sent to Cards for Heroes - it really does make a difference! Another one of our shippers, the fabulous Kris, came up with our current challenge which is called 25+2, check it out here: 25+2



Please be sure to link to the next blog, Deborah! Her use of color is amazing - be sure to check out some of her older posts too!

Finally, I wanted to thank everyone personally for their participation in the bloghop! Please consider sending some cards or a financial donation to one of our three shippers - every card and dollar really does make a difference!

Enjoy your memorial day weekend!

Fabre

A bonus shot - Sandy (left) and Fabre (right) enjoying the warm temperatures in Boston! Guess who is the hearty New Englander? Hint - NOT Sandy! :-)

If you leave a comment below about Cards for Heroes and our 25+2 challenge -- I will do a random drawing on Tuesday for a RAK envelope loaded with goodies!

Almost time...

I had hoped to get a wonderful post up tonight about the cards I received this week for CFH, including a box of 100 cards from a young lady celebrating her 100th day in kindergarten, and a box of about 125 cards from a group of senior citizens with an average age of 85. Well, it didn't happen. Why, you might ask? Our blog hop has BLOSSOMED! It has been nearly a full time job to manage this past week, which has been just great by us! I am so excited for tomorrow, hope I can get some sleep!

Thank you to all who are participating, hopping, browsing, and especially creating for Cards for Heroes. Hop in - you'll love it!

Some Recent CFH Creations

What a day! Poor Larry has been home sick all day, and I have been running around trying to deal with clients and keep the house somewhat in order....lol! Finally things are calming down tonight and without American Idol to watch tonight- I'm able to update my blog! YIPPEE!

I'm spending the day tomorrow with a friend of mine, Marcy, who I am teaching how to scrapbook! I am really looking forward to it. We have gone shopping a few times, now it is time to teach her how to use all the goodies we bought. May is "Teach a Friend to Scrapbook" month, why not share your love of a hobby (be it cardmaking or scrapping) with someone else? I always find it more fun to craft with a friend anyhow....

And speaking of crafting, I have been making some new CFH cards again. No rhyme or reason to what I have been making - just whatever mood strikes me. This is one of my recent favorites...

I used a penguin stamp from Rubber City River Works as the centerpiece of the card. The background is Cuttlebugged red paper. It was a simple card to put together, but I thought it was cute when it was done.

Here's another card that I made to fit a special size envelope that was donated to us at Cards for Heroes...

The images were printed from the Microsoft Design Gallery online. I used some paper that was YEARS old in my stash, and some baseball ribbon. Our son Zack plays baseball, so I can only imagine how excited some youngster will be getting this card from mom or dad serving overseas.
One more card, just for fun...

April was the month of the military child, so I used this adorable little owl and paper pieced a tree trunk for him to sit on. The sentiment is just done with my printer. Simple!

Hope everyone has a great weekend, I know mine will be spent enjoying our family, sorting CFH cards, and preparing for the Blog Hop memorial day weekend!

What goes on at my house....

Hi! I have been a bad blogger, but I am going to try to get into the habit of posting more. Between Facebook, Twitter, message boards...oy! Anyhow....

Lots going on around here these days! We had a big yard sale for our Relay for Life team (Lettuce Make A Difference) and it was a success! To date we have raised about $900 and we still have a few more items for sale online. We are hoping to raise over $1,000! I think we will hit our goal. Our Relay is June 13-14 at the Ashland MA Middle School. It's an important cause to all of us.

On another note, card sorting has been in FULL SWING at my house. I wanted to share some photos of what my dining room looks like when we are sorting cards to send to our heroes. Here's one....


Each stack with a band is 10 cards. The stacks are about 6 high, and go the whole way across my dining room table! These cards are packed in to the priority mail flat rate boxes, as seen in the background. Here's a little closer shot of some of the beautiful cards that people have sent in to me recently...


I am really looking forward to participating in the Cards for Heroes BlogHop. I guess I'll have to get cracking on my blog so I don't look LAME (I am one of the ORGANIZERS of the bloghop, after all). Please join us if you can!

More later - Zack is at baseball game and I need to get some dinner ready for when he gets home - I think we're having a veggie stir-fry tonight! YUM!

Happy Mother's Day to all! Night for now!

Welcome to My New Blog!

Welcome everyone to my new blog! I am so excited to get this started as part of my involvement with Cards for Heroes, and to have a space to share all of my creations - both craft and food related! And don't worry, I'm sure there will be some good family fodder thrown in every once in a while!



For starters, I wanted to share a link to an interview that happened today on blog radio about our organization. Check it out here:

Blog Radio Interview for CFH

Our president, Sandy Allnock, did an amazing job!

You can learn more about CFH by listening to the interview, or by visiting our website at Cards for Heroes