Operation Write Home - Memorial Day Weekend Blog Hop!!!

Hi everyone! Thank you for stopping by today as we share our craft, prizes and tutorials in honor of all the men AND women that are serving our country. If you just arrived from Virgina at Scrappin' Along then you're in the right place! The official hop begins at 10am EST & you can find a list of all the blogs HERE, but feel free to jump in right here and keep on going with the rest of the hop.

If you haven't heard of Operation Write Home, you aren't alone - I just became aware of this amazing organization about a month ago as I was talking to a friend online. She mentioned one of my cards would be great to make and send to OWH and I was like, huh, what is OWH? And thus the seed was planted....then a few weeks later another person mentioned OWH in a forum and I knew I had to check it out. Enter google and I found out what a wonderful cause this organization is and that there was a blog hop coming up that I knew I HAD to participate in! I love blog hops. It's great to see fresh, new designs and different styles of this papercraft I love so much. I have a long post today, but be sure to get ALL the way to the bottom for a very special blog candy. :)

Today's hop is in honor of Memorial Day. Do you know what Memorial Day really is?! I've always felt kind of weird when people would say "Happy Memorial Day!" Like, really? I mean, sure it's a national holiday, most people get the day off from work, a lot of people use it as the official kick off to summer & brush off their grills for some yummy barbeques. But to me, it's always held this sort of reserve for me....like I want to tell people to stop a moment, just take a quick quiet moment and think about what the holiday is really for...to REMEMBER all the men and women who have died while in the military. Serving our country and giving the ultimate sacrifice while doing so. So, I ask you this, just take a moment to reflect on this fact. We ARE in a time of war even tho it is miles and miles away. We DO have men and women risking their lives every day & MANY die each day doing so. Let's never forget that.

Okay, So in that regard, I have been busy making my FIRST of many cards to send to OWH. I hope you will like them and perhaps find inspiration to make your own cards to send to our military. They really do love receiving these cards to send to their loved ones. It is so much more than just a piece of paper or a store bought card.

For my first card, I followed this weeks OWH Start & Stripes Sketch Challenge! I used Soldier Ian from The Greeting Farm. I colored him using copics. The blue & white star paper is also from The Greeting Farm - Dirty Rodeo Paper Pack. The sentiment is from Stampin Up!

For my 2nd card, I used my fancy frame cuttlebug folder to make a clean & simple card showing appreciation for our troops. The sentiment is Stamping Up! & I embellished with some red, white & blue skittles. I wanted to make the words pop, so I highlighted them with red & blue copics.

For my 3rd card, I used a brand new {ippity} set - The Simple Things. I stamped the butterfly flower with Pure Poppy on kraft cardstock and also created a little shadow with versamark but that doesn't show up well on the photo. I also added some bling & the ribbon to complete this CAS card. I love the sentiment and wanted to keep it simple.

For my 4th and final card, I just had to ink up another new {ippity} set: Now & Always. This set has {4} big beautiful flowers perfect for stamping on pretty patterned papers & layering like I did on this card using the fabulous October Afternoon papers. The sentiment is also from this set. I stamped the swirls from the same set as a background. This is pretty out of the norm for me as I almost always use DP as my first layer! I love the simple effect though. And that Gothic Cute image is from Tiddly Inks - Always The Flower Girl. I love this line of digi stamps - they are so funky & cute at the same time! I colored her using copics.

All {ippity} sets used on my cards today are available for purchase on my {ippity} sales blog. This is the last weekend I will have FREE Shipping (in the continental US). I will also ship internationally, just send me an email to quote that before you order. I am also including a **free** 4x6 sample of the new October Afternoon paper pack with each order.

I hope you liked all the cards and have lasted this long on my post! I am now offering up some blog candy for you!!! I love blog candy and am sure you do too!! What is in it, you ask? Well, let's see, a little sampling from each of my cards that happen to be a few of my favorite things.....

1. {ippity} set Where You Should Be

2. {ippity} 6x6 Spring Collection October Road Paper (6 double sided sheets)

3. The Greeting Farm 6x6 Dirty Rodeo Collection (6 sheets)

4. The Greeting Farm Soldier Ian Single (not pictured)

5. Red, White & Blue Skittles

6. Courage Stamp set by Stampin Up!

7. $10 Voucher to Tiddly Inks Digital Stamps

To be entered to win this fabulous blog candy I have challenge for you:

Leave me a link to a card or cards you made to send to OWH below. You can find all the information on how to get your card to your OWH volunteer HERE. You don't need to have a blog to do this, if you just upload your card to your online gallery, you can put that link in your comment. You will get an extra entry for each card you make! Please NO OLD posts, these must be new cards. ;) Have fun today! ****PLUS, IF YOU PLACE AN {ippity} ORDER WITH ME, YOU'LL GET 2 EXTRA ENTRIES FOR EVERY $10 SPENT!!!**** Check out my {ippity} sales blog to see all the fabulous stamps!! Just mention this blog post when you place your order!

This candy will close on June 6th @ 11:59pm MST. I will announce the winner on Wed, June 9th.

Thanks for stopping by - Now it's time for your next stop on the hop: Karen!!!