This is my entry for the blog hop sponsored by Operation Write Home .   If you read this post on Wednesday when it went up,  you’ll notice I edited it for the hop itself.  Also, if the Valentine in this post looks familiar, it’s because I posted it Thursday night when I made it, because I was too excited to wait.   So if you scroll around on the blog and see it posted twice, you’re not imagining things. 

Yay! Blog hop! 

First, I’m sure you all know that Operation Write Home is a non-profit organization that makes and donates hand-made cards to service members stationed overseas, so they can have something pretty for writing letters home to friends and loved ones.  I’m an Air Force brat, and I’m very aware that the families of our service members also sacrifice for our country.  I love that I can use my hobby to bring smiles to both the hero and the hero’s family.  It’s like twice the good for the deed, except really it’s three, because I get to feel good too!

Just want to take a moment to thank Sandy, Kris and Fabre, our shippers, who sort and repair and re-box our cards and ship them to their various destinations overseas.  That’s a lot of work, and particularly this time of year.  Thank you, ladies, for what you do for us!

Now, the valentine.   First, the card is a Spinner Card. The ”I Love You” hand spins as it goes from one side of the card to the other when you tilt it.  The splitcoast tutorial for the spinner card is here.

About the card: The card stock is Whisper White, Real Red and Night of Navy on a base of Naturals White. The hearts are from the Happy Hearts stamp set, and were inked with Night of Navy and Real Red markers and stamped on Whisper White card stock and cut out. The hand is from the I Love You stamp set, and is the American Sign Language sign for “I love you.” It is stamped with Real Red and embossed with clear embossing powder.

I wanted to show off the spinning action, and I don’t have a tripod for my little video camera, so I was trying to hold the camera and tilt the card at the same time. After much difficulty (which is edited out for your convenience) Opie decided to help.

Opie Loves You! from Kate Mrdja on Vimeo.

You gotta love that Opie.

Ok, now my Any Hero card.    In addition to sending blank cards for the heros to use to write home, we send notes of thanks or encouragement or just hello to the heroes themselves.   Here’s a card I made for that purpose.

About the card:  The card stock is Real Red, Night of Navy and Whisper White on a base of Naturals White.  The stamp is part of the Hero wheel, and I inked it with Real Red and Night of Navy markers.  The ribbon is Real Red and Whisper White. 

I wish I’d had some star-shaped brads or something to jazz it up.  I’ll just have to write something sparkly on the inside.

Ok, thanks for stopping by my blog.  I hope you’ll bookmark me and come back often.  I’ve made a commitment to make a card a day, and so far I’ve kept that going for four months.  Or, at least I’ve posted a card a day.   Which totally counts.

Now, off to your next blog hop stop.   Click here to go visit Jennifer at Lasting Memories.    She’s got a lot going on over there, from ornaments to scrapbook pages, to a great report on a successful card-making day for OWH! 

Happy Hopping!