The amount of time I've been spending in hotel rooms has given me lots of time to pre-stamp and cut things - for assembly at home in between of business trips.  This is the largest shipment I've done yet for Operation Write Home, and it's being packaged up for shipping on Monday. 

Sandy's most recent SitRep encouraged folks to seriously cut back on the number of Holiday cards - which i had not even started on yet - so given that I will most likely NOT do any holiday cards for OWH.  I will however, do the cards for the office (well, 2 offices, since I directly support 2 locations.) They've gotten used to me showing up with a box of homemade Christmas cards at the beginning of December, ready for signature and dispatch to the various departments, department heads, selected vendors, and other enterprise senior managers it's appropriate to send cards to.  All told it works out to about 150 cards for the 2 offices...which in between of other 'general' cards for OWH, should keep me busy enough! 

OWH has the 5 'general' themes, Miss You, Love You, Thinking of You, Thank You and Happy Birthday.  Below are the cards in this shipment, broke up into those categories.  As usual, the base cards are all StampinUp cardstock. The background and accent papers and diecuts are from StampinUp DSP stock, or stock from those bargain bin lots available at the national chain big box craft stores.  The diecuts and stamps are from a variety of manufacturers, including cuts made on my Bosskut Gazelle machine, either handgrown or from "freebie" files with generous Angel Policies that I've downloaded from the internet.  I'm finding the Gazelle a boon to cutting many of a single shape or border, while my Cuttlebug is great for cutting a few of something specific, if that makes any sense! 

I'm afraid I'm not as creative as some - seemingly i have a likeing for a particular layout on my cards - but it's one i'm comfortable with.  Maybe with the slowdown of needs for OperationWriteHome, I'll find more time to try to try new design concepts, or to do the challenges, like the MidWeek Throwdown Challenge or Sketch Challenges - that might expand my comfort zone some. 

Miss You

 Love You

Thinking of You

Thank You

Happy Birthday

So now i start the summer, with road trips to hotels nearly every week.  I got through the 9 day stretch with a large bag for crafting packed - and we had a marvelous vacation!  And I had a great time yesterday shopping at my local A.C.Moore craft store.  I'm usually an online shopper via a few different webstores - for brick and mortar I generally prefer to give my money to HobbyLobby, but they don't have everything - so yes - do keep up with stock shifts and changes at and periodically purchase from the other national chain craft stores in the area.  I'd heard rumor of a storewide 40% off sale at ACMoore...and couldn't resist.  Turns out the local store is converting(ed?) to an outlet store, and everything in the store is at least 40% off.  And will always be!!  So I managed to keep the total bill under $100 - but i got a bunch of new stamps - some cardstock scrap packages for die cutting accents, yet another storage container for papers, spare cutter blade dealies for any of my cutters they had blades for...and some other stuff i just don't remember right now.  I just generally had fun!!! There's a few of the stamps that just jumped up and talked to me - told me how they had to be used on the next batch of cards for my next shipment! 

I am horribly distressed over the recent uptick of activity in Iraq this past week, as well as the most recent hostage swap - as both mean our soldiers over there are in even greater danger.  Hopefully the efforts of the crafters around the United States through groups like Operation Write Home provide some smiles to our military and their families. 

These are the last 2 sets of cards to go in the box shipping tomorrow - these are Happy Birthday and Thinking of You, and bring the total in the box to 95 cards. They are rather simple cards and again, they are all on StampinUp Card Stock, stamped with Memento inks.  The Birthday cards are stamped on the Recollections GoldWhite Shimmer Paper.  The background and accent papers are StampinUp, mostly retired, or papers from one of those sale packages at those National chain craft stores mentioned above.  Die Cuts are done on papers and card stock from the 'pound of paper, again from one of those National chain Craft stores. And I have this great little corner rounder that i use a lot!  I got the Spellbinders die set for cutting the shapes with 2 square and 2 round corners for use with my Cuttlebug - but i still find myself at the table grabbing my little yellow one and using it more often than not! 

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I'm between business trips and vacation - with more business trips coming up. I had worked on a bunch of cards while based out of a hotel room for 9 days - and have done a bunch since i got back.  I've started packing a box, instead of trying to wrap everything in an envelope. I've got 70 cards so far....

The cards are all done on StampinUp card base and the background papers are also StampinUp, unless noted.  Stamping was done on Recollections White/Gold shimmery paper, or a cream colored paper purchased in bulk at one of the National Chain craft stores.  Accent DieCuts are cut from papers in one of those "pound of paper" you can get at the same National Chain craft store. The stamps, although from different manufacturers, were all done with Momento ink, and when colored, were with Letraset markers.  And the kit-cards are from a StampinUp kit I'd purchased a few years ago from a vendor on that really big auction website. And all pictures taken after the cards were already tucked, so the insides you can't see any of the inside motifs, but each card does have something!!

There is also some 'templating' going on here (other than the kit-cards) - the one of a kind cards have mostly the top/bottom layout - with a gap in the middle - although i did change that up a few times depending on the stamps being used.  And then there's the groups of the same cards ...But that's OK.  I saw a couple of the "Open the Box" videos, and it would seem that the favored card designers do groups of all the same cards, not all unique like i have a tendency towards.  Admittedly the groups do go much faster!

Sandy from OWH has asked everyone to focus on a few themes - so here's my offerings for her categories.  I will be kicking off again when i get back from Vacation to finish filling the box with Birthday and Miss You/Thinking of You - but wanted a clean break before i left, getting everything in work finished, labeled, tucked, photographed and into the box behind dividers.  

Happy Hellos - These from a StampinUp kit I'd bought years ago - when StampinUp had really nice Stickers.	These are also "thinking of you" cards - i really like the chairs under the umbrella in the garden.  I may do that again!
Happy Birthday for little Princes and Princesses!  and one of the Kit Cards	More Kit Cards - Cheers to You - Happy Birthday!
And still more KitCards, and one just because for Birthday!	And "Love You" is another requested Theme.  I really believe this sentiment will speak to military families...
As will this one! Passion from the Heart!	And my Fav - Based on Corinthians!
Thinking of You ... and home....	I Miss you - Thinking of You...
OK - so i'm a sucker for this stamp too!	"Thank You" - another requested type of card.
A couple more Thank You cards -	And the card kit had a Thank You sentiment in it!
But i did particularly like this Thank You sentiment...	So It became the basis for a group - The pink ones for the ladies...
A Group of 'Love You...This Much!'  with hand colored balloons - good for guys or gals! These were done with a DCWV printed paper on the front.	And these green based ones could be for either the ladies or the gentlemen.  The simplicity of the design appealed on this one.

When I get back from VaCa, I'll do groups for Happy Birthday, Miss You, and Thinking of You i think.  I'm going to try to to work in sets, some for Ladies and some for the Gentlemen - or as with the Love You - something that could work for either!  And maybe some more Castles and Princes and Princesses for the children's Birthday Cards.