Believe Kid's (or adults) card kits!

Need a weekend project to do with your kids? If so, try this fun card idea! Create a basic card base for a card (in this case, the cards are for Christmas). Stamp a lined image onto white paper. Let the kids color the image then attach it to the card. A great way for them to help in your Christmas card making! This card was designed using the Believe paper pack, and the exclusive stamp set from the Believe Workshop To Go. I put 6 cards, the envelopes and a few crayons in a clear box for cute little gift sets for kids.

All Decked out for the Troops.

Today I volunteered in my daughter's preschool class where we made Christmas Cards for Operation Christmas Cards.  It was such a delight to spend time in her classroom: to see her interacting with her friends and to share my passion of making cards with the boys and girls.  Abby's teachers, and principal, were incredibly supportive of my project.  Because of the size of the class, and the limited amount of time we would have for the project, I pre-stamped the snowman for the children, matted and adhered them to the card bases.   I talked with the children about how we make snowmen...and let them walk with me through the process.  They were so creative in their answers about the snowmen they had made before!  So, after we used those teachable moments, they created their own snowmen creatively on paper.  I think they turned out great!  I have no doubt that they little snowmen will bring smiles to our servicemen and women's faces. 

This is what we started with.

And here are a few of the children's cards.

The stamp set that we used was "All Decked Out" that is pictured here. 

I adore this stamp set.  It worked great for this project, and is truly one of my favorites!

You can get your own "All Decked Out" here!  And don't forget, in the month of November, when you make a $25 stamp purchase, you can add the Holiday Wishes stamp set for just $5.  With a $50 purchase you also qualify to purchase our November stamp of the month for $5.  That will warm up your winter!

Holiday Wishes:  All Cricut Compatible

November Stamp of the Month:  Cherish the Day

To add these fantastic stamp sets to your collection, e-mail me at: inallsassiness@juno.com or shop my website at:  http://www.ctmh.com/tonyasheridan.

 

Operation Christmas Card...still going strong

I must tell my followers, that participating in Operation Christmas card has been incredible rewarding--much more than I ever thought possible.  For me, it started out as a project at Michael's that the paper ed instructors were to organize and participate in.  I remember thinking this is such a cool idea...so I decided to challenge myself to make and collect them as well. My original goal was 500 cards, and at this point, I have tripled that number! I have made cards until my fingers were inky and numb. And I have been truly honored by the support that I have received from my scrapbookers!  My non-card makers ("I will never make a card....") and card makers a like.  Several of my CTMH customers have religiously cropped and made or signed cards with me both at Michaels and at my own events and I am so appreciative. 

Even more than that, I have seen this project put sparkles in my children's eyes!  As many of you know, Nicholas and I have made cards for Send Love Today for several years and I have witnessed this project help him grow in his writing and his literacy skills.  But this project has been different.  All three of my kids have been Gun-ho on making cards.  As Nicholas told my mom tonight, "we have a lot, I mean a really lot of cards to make...because there are a lot of soliders!"  Their hearts are so completely into this cause that it truly warms my heart.  They are helping others, and learning while they are doing it.  Abigail is learning to write her whole name instead of just Abby, and is FINALLY learning to enjoy coloring; and Gabriel has amazed me with his developing writing skills...he has learned to write his last name because of this project. Nicholas learned to spell the word "Christmas" tonight which I think is pretty great for a first grader.  This commitment, and cause, has truly put the meaning of Christmas back into Christmas for me! 

To our many servicemen, and women, that might be reading this...our family thanks each of you for your sacrifices that you have made for us, and we honor and pray for you each night.  And in Abby's words, "I love you Mr. Soliders.  Merry Christmas."

Creativity with Punches

My friend Jennifer and I had a lot of fun experimenting with, and creating with, Martha Stewart's Punch around the page punches last Saturday at an Operation Christmas Card crop at Michaels.  I wanted to share the cute cards that we created!  The sentiments are "Season Defined" and "Always" from Close To My Heart.  Word of warning...they ARE addicting!  Once you start punching it is hard to stop!

Operation Christmas Cards pouring in!

My many thanks for all of you who have supported me in making, signing, and collecting Christmas cards for our troops! If you would still like to participate, you can e-mail me at: inallsassiness@juno.com. I have until the 17th to collect as many cards as possible! If you have a group that might be interested (Bible Study, children's/youth group, or even just your family) I can even help you with some ideas or prep work! Just let me know! In the spirit of my collection, thought I would share a few of the cards I have collected over the course of the next few weeks!

This stamp was created with White embossing powder. 

Stamp set used:  Captured Moments.

Stamp set used:  Tannenbaum. 

Stamp set used:  Holiday Magic.  (October Stamp of the Month). 

Note:  If you are interested in this stamp set, I have a few extras!  Just e-mail me!

Operation Christmas Card!

This fall I have decided to use my talents to create cards for our troops who will spending the holidays over seas defending our country and away from their families. The organization, or cause, is called Operation Christmas Cards and began in 2009. In that year, Operation Christmas Cards sent out over 87,000 Christmas Cards to those who were deployed and last year, they sent out 140,000 cards. Their efforts are amazing and many of the card makers are just like me...individuals who love making cards and hoping their cards will be the cause of a smile. The mission of the group is simple: "To love our troops one card at a time" and the vision clear "to put a card into the hands of all those deployed during the holidays, boosting their morale and spirit".

Operation Christmas Cards has shared that: "Many of these service members go without receiving a single piece of mail, and often times it is the kinds words of appreciation, support and love from total strangers that give them the very strength and motivation to carry on with their missions at hand.

We all have left over holiday cards every year, so why not put them to good use and send a note to someone fighting for us to enjoy our holidays with family and loved ones.

Participation is very easy and we encourage everyone to help. Get your friends, families, communities, school, churches, etc. involved."

Do's and Dont's:
-do NOT seal the envelopes
-only write supportive notes
-you may include email or mailing address
-envelopes may be decorated

Many people ask about postage. We mail the cards in bulk to the troops, so you do not need to include stamps on the cards. However, we operate strictly upon your donations and shipping costs are not cheap. Each box of cards costs $12.50 per box and contains roughly 300-700 cards depending on the size of the cards. For the 2011 season we estimate that 350+ boxes of cards will be shipped out. At $12.50 per box that puts just shipping at $4375 not including administrative costs to print the labels and run the mailing database and supplies such as packing tape. Any and all donations are greatly appreciated and put directly toward Operation Christmas Cards. They can be made as a tax deductible gift to "Liberty Churches" and be sure to note that they are for Operation Christmas Cards. We want to thank each and every one of you for your continued support of this program and most importantly your support for our troops! "

You can find more information on Facebook: Type Operation Christmas Card as the cause.

If you like local to me, I have decided that I want to try to make, and or collect, a box full of cards and am aiming for 500. I will take on the responsibility of mailing the cards if you would like to arrange to get them to me.

And for my Close To My Heart customers, and friends, I have an incentive to motivate us! I know that supporting our troops is a big enough incentive, but I thought I would make it fun too! So, here goes! I will have a drawing for a $25 CTMH gift certificate on November 1st. For each card donated to me by that date, your name will go in a drawing. But, it gets better! With each 25 cards collected, I will add a prize to the drawing so the more we make and collect, the better your chances for winning a prize. I know I personally have a lot of scraps that I need to use up anyway so what better way to use them! I will keep you posted on my collection efforts On the right sidebar of my blog! Happy Card Making!