Saturday, May 25, 2013

Memorial Day BlogHop 2013

Hi everyone!

Welcome to a stop on Operation Write Home's 2013 Memorial Day BlogHop!

MemDay2013PageBanner
To return to the top of the hop, please click here.

Operation Write Home is a wonderful organization of cardmakers who make greeting cards for deployed troops to send home to family and friends. Each Memorial Day weekend, OWH sponsors a bloghop full of ideas and inspiration.

The theme for this year's bloghop is thank you cards -- using OWH sketches. The card below is a thank you card for one of our troops to send to a loved one. The card at the right is an Any Hero card.


OWH Sketch #74
Distress Ink core paper
computer-generated background and sentiment (Mistral)
Paper Studio antique brads
the Ribbon Boutique natural jute

 Blog Candy

Blog Candy
Tim Holtz Alterations
Texture Fades
Airmail & Compass Set
Is there blog candy? Why, yes there is!  Since these two cards have a bit of an international/travel feel, I thought travel-themed candy would be appropriate.

If you'd like to be entered in the drawing for the candy at the right, please do the following:
  • Leave a comment about a recent gesture of thoughtfulness that meant the world to you by midnight Monday Pacific Time.
  • Include your e-mail address written in the form cards[dot]by[dot]sybrina[at]gmail[dot]com.

Parting Thought

Thanks for stopping and happy hoppin'!

120 comments:

Donna Hanley said...

Your computer generated paper is fabulous and so very appropriate. Enjoy your weekend.

sherry varga said...

Love the different thank yous on the background paper. Great use of burlap!

~Antoinette (inspired stamps) said...

Hi Sybrina!
Really liked the burlap on your card! Glad you are supporting OWH!
Blessings,
Antoinette

Melanie Rozwood said...

This is really pretty. TFS.

Donna Nuce said...

Hi Sybrina. Love the computer generated background on your card and the rustic burlap ribbon. Thanks for supporting OWH.

Paula-Scrap Addict said...

LOVE this burlap! and the colors you used are very pretty together

Anonymous said...

Love when different colorways are shown.

Patricia Chalas said...

Lovely card... creative way of using the burlap..

Tammy said...

Fantastic cards, and I love all of the distressing!

Barbara Greenberg said...

Great card, love the jute you used on. Gives it some great texture.

Cindy Lawrence said...

Wonderful! Love the kraft and the burlap too!

Marsha said...

Very nice CAS enhanced by the burlap. Thank you for a chance for your blog candy.
We have a single woman living with us (since October) because she is working here on a job which 5 hours from her home. She bought me roses for Mother's Day. I thought that was so sweet.

Rufus said...

Love the burlap strip and the background paper is great. Thanks for supporting our Heroes and OWH. Would love to win your compass EF. Happy Memorial Day,
R/

Andrea T said...

You cards are wonderful and just go to show that you don't need a lot of supplies to make a great card. It meant so much to me that my brother took some any hero cards to his friends for them to write to heroes. Showed his support for our heroes as well as my efforts too. avtaft(at)aol(dot)com

Carol L said...

Your cards have such an earthy look with those great colors! Very pretty!
The nicest gesture of kindness I've experienced lately was on Mother's day when my neighbor surprised me with a beautiful vase of cut flowers! How sweet is that?!
Thanks for offering those cool embossing folders too - incredibly I've never seen them before, but I like them ......a lot!!
Have a happy Memorial day weekend!

Anonymous said...

Great card...and I love the background paper! Thanks for joining the blog hop and for the chance to win some goodies. I have been very blessed this year with RAofKindness...finding flowers, wine and hand decorated cookies at my front door to lend support during my husband's treatments. It really goes a long way to make someone else feel great! I try to pay it forward whenever I can. slbuller at fullchannel dot net.

Jen R. said...

Lovely card....like the color combination!!! Recent act of kindness in my life? People who have checked in via phone, fb, or e-mail since my surgery. I also appreciate the cards sent (I love snail mail!!!). Thank you for supporting OWH!!!

JPScraps said...

Fabulous card! My dd gave me an extra gift of candy when she heard me talking about candy with my sister. :)

Verna Angerhofer said...

Wonderful cards. Love the layout and the burlap ribbon works wonderfully too.

Unknown said...

very nice card. I like the burlap it adds dimension and interest. thank you for sharing and supporting OWH

Dana D. said...

Great card.

Cindy Sartain said...

Love the use of words as a background texture and I love the way you used the burlap.
Act of kindness: Mom has early Alzheimers. She lives in Kansas and her brother lives in Hawaii, my sister is in California and me in Ohio. My sister took all of us to Hawaii so we could have quality time while Mom can still appreciate it. Thanks Sis!

reflections:0) said...

Great card liking the burlap have yet to use it myself maybe something I need to try.

refletions:0)

rlovew said...

I love the background with the many thank yous on it!

Jen M said...

Love the burlap! Your cards are really nice!

Recently a friend stepped in to watch my daughter for me when I needed to see my doc - I could've taken her along, but it would have been more difficult and stressful for me. I am so thankful she took her for an hour so I could focus on my health!
Jen
jennifer.mueller409 at gmail dot com

byAnnette said...

Nice Cards!
Great idea to make two cards at a time with same design.

DIYDesignStudio said...

really love the burlap touch, very lovely. TFS

Jocelyn Olson said...

Pretty card! The natural jute is gorgeous! What a wonderful way to honor those who serve and have served.

mswhizz said...

Love the message and the texture. Different and interesting.

Susan S said...

Very cool using the fiber. This would also look good with drywall tape - I've got to find my roll!

Sylvia said...

What a great card, Sybrina, love the computer paper background and the use of earthy elements! TFS and have a great weekend. #133

Misty said...

Always love texture and you have it down pat!
Hummer Hugs,
Misty
http://delitefulsuds.blogspot.com/
hummingbird204 at comcast dot net

paula said...

Love the burlap on the cards. Thank you for supporting OWH.

Joanne Travis said...

Love the band of texture with the burlap. Lovely card!
Thanks for supporting OWH!

Anonymous said...

So cute. Love the background paper and burlap. Nice coordination of the sentiment to the "world" theme.

Rhonda Miller said...

What a wonderful cards. I love the background paper. For me it was last week when some of the local young men showed up the edge and mow my lawn because my mower isn't working.

Sarah said...

Awesome card-- love the burlap! Thank you for supporting OWH!

grandmax2 said...

Burlap is a nice masculine touch.

Sandy Allnock said...

Fabulous use of burlap - and I love the big circle. Nice!
Sandy, OWH Exec. Dir.

garnett said...

Burlap made the card.

Jules said...

such pretty cards - great use of the burlap too!

postalorphan said...

Great cards - love the use of burlap, and the large circles really focus on the main sentiment! A small act recently - when a teenager (not an employee) offered to put up the shopping cart of an older lady in the parking lot the other day.

Unknown said...

As soon as I read the requirement I knew exactly what I was going to write. I was going through a very hard time with a family situation. I just felt lead to call a particular co-worker-she asked me where I was and she left work immediately and came to my house to check on me. She was so comforting and supportive.
Thanks for the blog candy...I hope I win. TFS. Your card is beautiful! (Amy A. #118)

Marilyn's Cricut Crafts said...

I like all the thank-yous on your background paper. The burlap was a perfect touch of texture. Great cards - TFS! ~ Marilyn

I have witnessed so many RAK recently here in Oklahoma following the tornados. No way to list them all - God is so good!

Teresa Godines #6857 said...

Love the textures. Beautiful cards.

Debbie Fisher (debbiedee) said...

I like the use of burlap and white ink!

Sherry Hickey said...

Hi Sybrina, these are such great cards!! I love kraft and your jute ribbon is awesome. Great to see you on the hop!

Ann said...

Sybrina, fabulous! I love, love, love the burlap ribbon! The computer generated background is awesome, too!

Sharon Russo said...

The burlap is a nice touch.
Thank you for sharing.

Unknown said...

so creative - great choice of paper - thanks for sharing and supporting OWH

Patti J said...

Very nice! Thanks for sharing!

Erika said...

Great cards Sybrina. I like that you made the sentiment the focal point. Since I have so many embossing folders, you can exclude me from your blot candy, but I wanted to stop by and leave a comment for ya.

Miriam Prantner said...

Wonderful cards, the burlap adds great texture! A crafty friend recently sent me some WONDERFUL crafty goodies as a RAK. mprantner at gmail dot com

Paula S. said...

I like the distressing and the textural quality the burlap adds to these cards Sybrina. Thanks for joining in the hop and for supporting Operation Write Home!

Paula S.
OWH Blog Team

scrappingnana said...

Great cards. Love the burlap.

sarahstone said...

This is what I like about your cards: the background stamped in different languages, the burlap ribbon with the buttons, the Kraft, and the monochromatic colors.

Here is a gesture of thoughtfulness that someone did for me: My dear husband took the kids to get me some gifts for mother's day including a whole bag of pistachios and a bouquet of flowers!

Here is my email address: sarahstone[at]marykay[dot]com

Jessie said...

Love the card! I just bought a roll of burlap from Blitsy and this would be a great card to use it with.

Heather Grow said...

I like the jute. I'm always a fan of texture on cards. Thanks for sharing and supporting OWH.

Annie Wills said...

Love the sanding you did on the sentiment. Thanks so much for sharing this.

I was driving on the highway recently when someone abruptly cut me off to get in my toll lane at the last minute. It scared me half to death and I'm assuming I was visibly upset because when I finally got to the toll booth, the man had paid my toll. Sometimes people make mistakes and own up to them, and I appreciated that.

Penny L. said...

I love cards that have extra interest, such as your with the burlap...will make people want to feel it!

CatieStamps@yahoo.com said...

What great cards. Lovely use of texture. My teen girl scout troop has been working on a 100hr community service award. Their amazing desire to help others and come up with so many creative ways to do that has amazed me with how wonderful these young women are.

msalmon said...

Fabulous card, love the burlap, nice texture

Leslie Hanna said...

Mmmm, jute. I just got a too-big roll of the stuff. I'm stealing your idea for using it. :) (leslie #113)

Unknown said...

Like these cards for several reasons--computer generated BG (i've done the same), the distressed cs--way cool and the elelments of the cards are work together.

cr8iveme said...

Your cards are wonderful. Love the burlap.

Hugs,
M.E.

Ginny said...

Nice cards! I love the fringe on the canvas layers!
One form of thoughtfulness that touched me recently was how the nation came together after the bombing in Boston and the tornados of Oklahoma

ajsdigishoppe said...

I love the jute. Thank you for sharing and supporting OWH!

Amanda :)
www.ajsdigishoppe.com

Camille Short said...

These are absolutely beautiful!!

Patricia H. said...

I love that your background paper says "thank you" in so many different languages. :)

Recent act of kindness: a few weeks ago my husband and son went out to one of our favorite restaurants for supper, but I didn't feel up to going because I had a really nasty cold. DH ordered a whole rack of baby back ribs for his meal and brought half home. I figured he was going to take them to work for his lunch the next day, but he told me he'd brought them home for me to enjoy. Let's just say he didn't have to force feed them to me. LOL

ph_in_va[at]comcast[dot]net

Unknown said...

Love the texture! Thanks for sharing.
oconnorfarms(at)comcast(dot)com

Margaret said...

I love the background piece and both cards are wonderful! The distressed burlap strip is fabulous!

Mare said...

I love how you used burlap on your cards. Now I know what to do with my scraps I saved!

Anonymous said...

So nice! I really need to start using my computer and digital elements!

RAK: My older son (14) cooking for my younger son (11). That seems so odd, I know, but they are in the stage of arguing constantly and this struck me as a VERY RANDOM act of kindness.

Thank you for the opportunity to win. cissy[dot]murphy[at]gmail[dot]com

barbara macaskill said...

Love the kraft and burlap together! THe pop of green is awesome! This OWH hop is so touching that so many people have gotten together to thank our military men and women for their service! macaskillbarbara at yahoo dot com TFS!

Kelly said...

Love your sentiment! sometimes thats the hard part of a card! Burlap is so "in" right now, you did a great job.

The post right before this one had a patriotic card with a child waving a flag, totally cute but the creator said in the comments that she left off a boot because she thought it would make a hero sad! I would not have thought of that. Its thoughtfulness such as that that I appreciate.

Barb said...

loved the card- great use of burlap

Marybeth said...

Very trendy and beautiful card! Great job!

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed your cards, the sentiment goes great with the background you created.
the gesture of kindness I recently experienced was receiving a card from someone I hadn't been in touch with for many years.
tpatti/at/windstream./net

Sheila said...

Beautiful!! Have an awesome weekend.

Crafting Adventures said...

Love the earthtones!

Anonymous said...

I like the burlap.

www.hokiecoyote.com said...

I really like the jute in the background. TFS.

Lynn. G. said...

Love the frayed burlap. Nice paper too. Nicely done. Thank you for sharing. I am new to stamping and one of the girls blog that I follow is in the service. She just got deployed and is an administrator at their military hospital. With all her new duties and traveling, she still took time to e-mail and answer to one of my stamping questions. I salute her and all of the military.
dodge3670atAOLdotCOM

Pam said...

I like the burlap on the card. Great going!

Kathy said...

The burlap is wonderful! I love the texture.

April said...

I like the distressed look of your thank you cards. I like the sentiment, too.
My boss recently gave me Bravo points for working so hard (Bravo points are like money to spend on stuff in the company store). I really appreciated the recognition. april(underscore)story(at)hotmail(dot)com
April

Linda said...

Super nice job on generating you background paper...it is fun to do...the second card stands out a little bit more with the sentiment spacing. I have to say that my parents gave us a little cash and a card for our anniversary...that was thoughtful...lough855ataoldotcom.

Nancy M said...

I like what the burlap adds. I was in for an emergency CT for an abdominal mass (I've had cancer 4 times!) and I have no cell phone mins left; the secretary there gave me $20 to add mins to my phone!
RBBRRMQN at YAHOO dot COM

Kelley said...

Great idea creating your own background paper. Love the texture of the burlap.

Recent RAK: After putting my groceries in the car, I saw an older gentleman several slots over was just about done loading his. I went over to get his cart and instead, he insisted on taking mine! I've never had anyone turn the tables on me before over a cart.

kelleyroth81 at gmail dot com

Patti said...

Hi Sabrina. I like that you did one of each with the same design. The burlap is a nice touch.

I am very lucky to have a very thoughtful daughter who performs RAK all the time. If she isn't doing something for me she's doing something to help out a neighbor or make someone's day brighter. She always makes me want to be more like her!

Patti said...

Oops, I forgot my email address - thanks! imwritingtopatti[at]gmail[dot]com.

Susan said...

love how you used the netting on the cards! great texture!
so....today at the grocery store, between the arguing with each other, my sons took the time to help a man in a wheelchair pick out cereal. sounds crazy, but you should have seen two teenage boys grabbing boxes, reading price per ounces, ingredients, making suggestions, etc. I think they (and the man) enjoyed the interaction more than the actual cereal. sorry to ramble!
yetanothersusan at gmail dot com
thanks!

Barbara said...

Just wanted to stop by and say how fun it is to use burlap on your card! No blog candy for me downsizing my craft area...let some else enjoy the prize this time!

Unknown said...

Great cards! Thanks for sharing. What means the most to me is: my late fiance's daughter was expecting twins and a friend of mine on FB asked me for my address and showed up with a crib, baby clothes, bottles, and other items that the twins would need and refused to let me pay her for the items! Thanks for the chance at the blog candy.

Colleen said...

The burlap is so perfect!

Sue D said...

wonderful cards!
My sister drove 10 hours to help me out while our mom is in the hospital--this gave me a much need break and meant the world to me.
slrdowey at hotmail dot com

Mary-Anne V said...

Wonderful texture on the card. I have had many people offer to help me with my little one. jeandonny2000 at hotmail dot com

Unknown said...

First of all, Beautiful card!!!!!! Love the texture! A few weeks ago, I moved into a new place with my son. It took everything to pay the rent, deposit, get the utilities on, etc. I was going to have to just have my son and myself moving us because we didn't really have anyone to help. I didn't tell anyone I was tapped out on $$ bcuz I was a little embarrassed. A friend of mine paid two guys to help me move as a housewarming gift! I felt so blessed to have the help. She has become like a mother to me and I cherish her greatly!
Birdofparadise73[at]gmail[dot]com

Unknown said...

And thank u for sharing and offering BLOG candy on top of it! OWH is blessed to have you join them in this!

Lynn said...

I love your take on this sketch and the burlap ribbon! I will be marking this one for inspiration. When I first moved out here to this very rural farm and had no stamps with which to make the cards, a generous OWH lady heard about me and sent me a care package of SU stamps. I was shocked and blessed! Once again, the true spirit of the folks who are involved in OWH. Thank you for supporting OWH and have a great weekend!

craftysahmiam said...

Well done ! I like that jute behind your computer generated sentiments. Thanks for sharing and making cards for the heroes !

Amy Martin said...

wonderful cards. Love the idea of computer generated paper. It is really neat. Love the different colors too. Thanks for joining in the hop. I have not really put myself out there to be helped because I am the one that is always so busy helping someone else. But I did have this wonderful woman who I helped out because she locked her keys in her car. And she surprised me months later with flowers. It was amazing to be thought of after helping her and that she still remembered. You feel blessed to have made someones day. Thanks for the chance. HUGS
amy_cj79 (AT) yahoo (Dot) com

Unknown said...

Great card. Love the background paper and the burlap is a nice touch

Karenladd said...

I love your card with it's customized background and the texture! I especially like seeing masculine cards. I appreciate every small gesture in everyday life that i experience, whether someone who lets me pull into a space in traffic or the newspaper delivery person who always makes sure our paper is on the porch! It touches my heart when I read about supporters of OWH who use their craft to send thanks to those who are far from home.

SHartl said...

That burlap adds such a wonderful texture to your card. Great design for OWH!

BobbisTreasure said...

Glad to see your stop on the hop! Love how you did the background, and the dimension and texture with the buttons and burlap add great detail!

Marilyn M said...

Lovely card. The burlap adds so much.

Sammantha said...

great card. I love cards that can be easily multiplied. :)

Amie Kiger (Kigz) said...

Great job with the sanding and the burlap! :)

Amie Kiger (Kigz) said...

Fabulous addition of burlap, and I love your sanding! :)

Beth F. said...

I love the different languages all with the same meaning! Great cards!
The most RAK that I saw was when the kids at our VBS all made any hero mail to send to OWH! Their heartfelt messages will be sure to mean so much to the troops.
bfiscus[at]nntc[dot]net

silvia said...

Pretty cards!! LOVE the burlap!!

I was truly touched when a stranger overheard my son talking about graduation in line at Dairy Queen and she bought his ice cream

Cheri said...

Love that touch of burlap...the texture is awesome. Fantastic!!!

Unknown said...

Nice to see a different take on your card. Like the threads a lot.
It might be after the weekend here in the UK, but I just wanted to support such a good cause.
"Like the ivy and the wall, together we stand united we fall"

Unknown said...

Great card! Love the CAS design! TFS!

Paper Blessings said...

Great card! Thanks so much for sharing your talent with us. And how kind to share a goodie! ;) A recent act of generous thoughtfulness? When my niece gave up her own time to care for my FIL in his last days, with no expectation of gaining anything other than time with him. Gives me so much hope for the future! zimmersgirl(@)yahoo(dot)com.

PoJo said...

Love your style! Thanks for sharing!

ptucker6 at cox dot net

NJ Stamping Queen said...

Nice cards--I love the distressing of the white core cardstock--it makes that center image pop. thanks for your support of OWH!
:) Marie

Julie said...

Recent thoughtfulness? All the comments on my own blog from this hop! So sweet and thoughtful and they mean the world to me.

Love your cards, I gotta get me some of that jute!

Lyn Kaufmann said...

Your cards are wonderful!!!
You have so much texture I want to reach out and touch the card!
Thank you for sharing your talent. I am still hopping. Keep stopping to make cards, what can I say.
Lyn Kaufmann