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Friday, September 28, 2012

OWH Blog Hop! Welcome


Welcome to the CropChocolate OWH (Operation Write Home) Blog Hop!  If you've landed here, welcome to the fun!  If you'd like to start at the beginning, please head to my good friend Amber's blog (http://ambaju.blogspot.com).

Operation Write Home is an awesome organization that provides handmade cards to the troops all over the world for them to write back home to their families.  There are many guidelines that OWH requires and requests of the cards they receive and ultimately send out, some of the guidelines will be listed below, or you can visit their website directly at http://operationwritehome.org for further information and to order a OWH stamp for the back of your cards.

What I've chosen as my challenge is something I'm hoping everyone can participate in and the cards turn out flat enough to send to OWH but they still have dimension.  Create a card using a stamp and a punch. It can be like this card of mine where you stamp the image, then punch it out:



or it can be like this one and have a stamped image with a border punch:



or it can be like this one that has a stamped image and punches everywhere else:




or it can be anything you can come up with that has a stamped image and a punch!

Have fun with it but please remember NO GLITTER! We do not want to endanger our troops with glitter that gets everywhere (we all know about the glitter mess, right??). A little dimension is ok, stickles are ok, just no loose glitter please!

Also they ask for A2 (4.25" x 5.5") sized cards, use good quality supplies.  Don't forget these cards are going to be mailed to our troops overseas, to write letters home to their families. They need to be of good quality cardstock and have adequate strong glue.  Some dimension is ok, but no BIG buttons or deep 3D embellies.  

Lastly, this one seemed important to me, just as important as the NO GLITTER thing is no handwritten sentiments, please.  Some of these cards are going to wives and girlfriends that this is their only communication with their loved ones and to see another woman's handwriting on the outside or inside may be a teensy bit disheartening.  

There will be a prize given away after all is said and done.  The very technical....one random name from a "stick the names in a hat" drawing!  Now if you've read all the way down here, good for you because this is where you'll find the final blog to visit, my good friend Chris (http://thriftysisters-chris.blogspot.ca)!!

Leave me some love, create away and post your card using the linky thingy!! :o)   Don't forget at least 50% CC product and NO GLITTER! :o)


Monday, September 10, 2012

Pencil Shaker Box

 Our September DT assignment was 3D.  I've always wanted to make a shaker box and....this was the perfect opportunity to learn!

Started with 2 clip art images (one for the top, one for the bottom) that I trimmed.  Used some craft foam the kids had laying around and cut strips to make the height for the box part.

I measured and trimmed the opening in the top with an exacto knife.....word of caution, if you are not familiar with an exacto knife, please be careful!  I was not all that familiar with one and almost had an issue!  Just take your time and cut slowly!


once all the glue on the foam dries (I used liquid glue and let it set up overnight with a little bit of weight on top to secure it), fill it with whatever you are filling it with....I used seed beads.  Glue the "window" on and again I let it dry overnight to be sure it was good and stuck down.


and VIOLA!  The finished page with the shakerbox.  It's not as hard as it looks, you should give it a try!