OWH Shipment...

This is my first package of the year to Operation Write Home.  I've been holding on to cards I've made since the first of the year because I didn't want to send the box during a holiday "peak" time.  Well, we learned yesterday that OWH will be closing down at the end of the year due to the drawdown of our troops.  Although there are still troops in the field, the need for cards has diminished significantly.  I've gathered these up, plus some Christmas cards, and got them postal this afternoon.  I have another box I am working on but after that, it won't be Operation Write Home to whom I'll send.  Btw, there are 146 handmade cards and 8 Any Hero cards in this shipment for a total of 154 cards... 

OWH Shipment...

This is my largest shipment to date... woot! woot!

 

143 Handmade and 18 Any Hero... 

 Of those, I'm proud to boast that 55 are "missing you" cards.  Also, this puts me over last years TOTAL cards by alot and it's only July.  What's the difference you ask?  Ok, maybe you're not asking... but I'll tell you anyway.  LAST year, I was working out of a sardine can in Massachusetts, planning a wedding, a graduation and a move.  THIS year, I'm settled in New Jersey with the most amazing studio where I can get lost for hours...



Off and running to OWH...

My current shipment to Operation Write Home consists of 83 Handmade and 26 Any Hero...

 

I've had a blast the last two weeks catching up on my crafting but alas, another hiatus is coming up.  A wedding this weekend then nine days in Ohio...

 



OWH shipment...

This is my next shipment to Operation Write Home which includes the 18 Any Hero cards we did with the neighbor kids back in January.  Original post here.  It also includes 78 of a variety of cards for the troops to send home to their loved ones, including Mother's Day, well ahead of the deadline of March 31st... yay!

 

I rarely send seasonal (other than Christmas) because I can't count on getting them shipped on time for the deadlines.  However, I sent 17 Mother's Day cards in this batch because I was determined to use up some pink paper I had purchased three years ago for just this card.

 

Since beginning card making (now four years), I think I've learned, at least I hope I've learned, that I don't need to buy 20 sheets of the same paper to make alot of the same card.  I do like doing duplicates but enough paper for a thousand is a bit overboard, wouldn't you say?  ...LOL

The Last Shipment to OWH for 2013...

 

Well, here it is!  The last shipment to Operation Write Home for 2013... woo hoo!!  There are 63 handmade cards and 9 "Any Hero" cards for a total of 72 all together.  They include 18 "miss you" cards (very proud of that!), 10 "thank-you" and a bucket full of "general" cards.  I've updated my sidebar with the totals and they are not even close to last years.  However, I think I earned a "bye" with getting married, moving, son graduating and going off to college all in the same summer.  It took me till November to even get my head half way out of the water... :)



Final Christmas Shipment to OWH

 

Here's the last shipment of Christmas Cards to Operation Write Home for 2013.  AND, I'll beat the early deadline of October 15th... woo hoo!!  I will continue with the challenge to make five Christmas cards a month though, but the rest will be for my personal stash.  This would probably be a great time to start a tradition for me and Ernie to send Christmas cards to all our friends.  You know, all two of them.  JUST KIDDING!!  Are you my friend?



First shipment from New Jersey

 

Of course she had to help!  That's what Wuzya's do...

 

Other than the five Christmas Cards from the previous post, the rest of these were made in Massachusetts before moving.  As I'm organizing my studio, I collected random cards from this stash here or that stash there and got them ready for my first shipment from New Jersey.



Four weeks ago...

 

 

Four weeks ago today, I had the pleasure of meeting with a group of Marblehead High School students who wanted to learn about and make cards for the troops. I set up a couple different stations and they assembled cards from some kits I had made up.  One of the stations had paper, embellishments, pens, markers and stickers and they made and wrote their own Any Hero notes.  One of the young ladies asked me what an Any Hero note was.  While I explained it (btw... something I have explained many, many times before to countless people), I got so choked up and had tears in my eyes that I couldn't speak.  I shared this story with my fellow cardmakers on the Operation Write Home facebook page and someone pointed out that I may have become so choked up because many of our heroes are not much older than the students I was teaching.  I think she was right...

 

Altogether, they assembled 41 cards and made and wrote 14 Any Hero notes.  And I just know, they won't soon forget what we did on that day... :)

 



Early Bird Card Drive...

 I really didn't think I'd have enough for a shipment to Operation Write Home this month since yesterday was my first day back to making cards. However, with all the cards I left in my card rack for the family to oogle over while they were here AND the Christmas cards I've been making in a challenge with another cardmaker (see side-bar), I had enough to enter into the Early Bird Card Drive ! Add to that 31 "Any Hero" cards from the students at MHS that I did before family came and voilà... a shipment for July!