Veteran's Day Blog Hop

Let me first say a heartfelt Thank You to the very hard working and dedicated OWH "shippers"... Sandy, Fabre and Kris, who do a whole lot more then "ship". Without them, none of this would be possible.

It is my honor and pleasure to take part in this Veteran's Day Blog Hop. I have been making cards for our heroes since April 2008 and can say with certainty it is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. I have a deep respect and admiration for all who serve and am a dedicated supporter of our Armed Forces. Every year on Veteran's Day I make a point to try to get out-and-about and I look for at least one Veteran, who I don't know, to thank. A few years back I spotted an older gentleman in a local shopping center. He was wearing a hat embroidered with military insignia. I walked up to him, said hello, and I asked him if he had served, as I motioned to his hat. He said yes, and proceed to tell me briefly where he had served. I will never forget the stunned look on his face when I reached out to shake his hand and thank him for his service. We owe our Veteran's a debt that we can never fully repay. Let us never forget that America is the Land of The Free, Because of Our Brave. God Bless our Veterans!

Below is the "Any Hero" card I made for the blog hop. One of my favorite color combinations has always been Red, White & Blue so it's very hard for me to make Any Hero cards that are not Patriotic in style. This one uses a slightly off variation, as it's a deeper red/burgundy and slate blue combo. Every so often I spend a crafting session making a stack of patriotic, blank any hero cards. I find having a dozen or so on hand makes it easier to include them in shipments. I can take a couple, write a simple but sincere note of thanks in them and send them along with whatever cards I have packed and ready to go. (These stamps are from CTMH, I think retired now).


Here is the Valentine's Day Card I made. I most often try to stick to the "generic" messages in my cards so that if it takes me a couple of weeks to get a shipment ready there is no concern for missing a deadline. I enjoy using a variety of materials and techniques, sometimes coloring, other times stamping and still others using a combination of papers and layering alone to create cards. The background on this card is a page from an old damaged dictionary that I bought at a used book sale. I enjoy incorporating unusual things and recycling odd paper elements from places you wouldn't normally think of like this.



Last, but not least, as my way of saying Thanks for stopping by and supporting OWH I am sharing my stash and offering a box of crafting goodies. (If you're like me you have enough stuff to open a small craft store in your basement!) As you can see in the pic it's a mixed lot of papers, embellishments, ribbon, rub-ons, stickers, cardstock and more! Open to anyone who is interested, no blog comment necessary. Just email me at PSPAG3@aol.com with the subject line OWH and I'll include you in the random drawing. I will draw a winner and notify them via an email response on Tuesday, November 17th.



Now it's time to move on, there's so much still to see, so off you go to the NEXT STOP ON THE HOP... If the great cards on Shelly's blog are any indication I can tell you that Life on Altadena Avenue is great! Make sure you see her absolutely adorable Monster Cards, and if you're a dedicated card maker like me you'll wanna bookmark her blog for future inspirational visits!

http://lifeonaltadenaavenue.blogspot.com

OR CHOOSE YOUR DESTINATION BELOW

If you are a crafter, cardmaker or simply wish to express your support of our military with a donation or note of thanks, please be sure to visit the OWH home page and consider joining us.

If you have some time, I also encourage you to check out the links at the left of my blog to see how these great organizations honor and support our Armed Forces.