Guest Blogger, Sandy Allnock, Founder of Operation Write Home

• posted by: Tami
• posted in: Uncategorized, Guest, Inspiration, charity efforts
• on: September 1, 2010

Please welcome Sandy Allnock, founder of Operation Write Home, as our guest blogger. She started what has become a huge charity in the card making world. Her spirit and story are so inspirational. I’m thrilled to share it with you through her words:

The Fiskateers are invited to a crafty celebration! It’s Operation Write Home’s second birthday party, and I hope you’ll be able to make it for some of the fun!

Operation Write Home is a way for crafters to show deployed heroes that America supports them - by sending handmade cards for service members to write home on. We’ve sent over half a million cards overseas since we started…that means at least a million smiles - a hero and a recipient for each and every beautiful card!

The organization started in 2007 with a post on a message board. I had heard a radio story about a woman in Texas who sent 1,000 cards to a unit from her town, and I looked at my basket overflowing with cards I’d never use. I knew that between my friends and I, we’d have 1,000 to share, too. I posted a question on the message board, asking if anyone knew an organization I could send my cards to. Surprisingly, a hero responded. She had been lurking on the board, getting her crafty ‘fix’ from Baghdad, and said she’d be happy to share them at her combat support hospital! I was so thrilled. Some friends sent me some cards to include in a box to her, and before I knew it, we sent a couple boxes worth. She gently suggested I find someone else to mail to as well, since they didn’t have enough use for that many cards! So the hunt was on, and before long, we began sending to more and more contacts and gathering more and more crafters for the project.

I wasn’t certain where things were headed, but I began organizing on my blog and via email, and in a few months set up our first website. I was still waiting for my friends to get “tired” of the project and have it all come to an end. But instead it only grew! By summer of 2008, we had a group of organizing directors and registered as a nonprofit corporation - with much fear and trembling! I had no idea what we were in for. On September 12, 2008 we received our official recognition as a corporation…and within a year had our 501(c)(3) status as well. So this month we’re celebrating two ‘official’ years!

Operation Write Home is organized fairly simply: cardmakers mail cards to one of our addresses, and our volunteer shippers process, sort, and ship the cards. They take care of adding “Operation Write Home” to the backs of the cards if it’s not already there; they tuck them into their envelopes; they perform triage in the card hospital when embellishments escape, or when dark cards need liners. Shippers spend countless hours emailing cardmakers, reporting each donation (both financial and cards), and communicating with their own rotation of heroes. Shipping costs are covered by generous donors who send in from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars; we have no paid staff, and are very grateful for everyone who donates toward the costs of the work itself as well as the website and other administrative expenses!

Service members can sign up on our site, and they receive a box of cards - approximately 325 - every 6 weeks or so. The boxes contain a packet of “AnyHero Mail” as well - letters of gratitude and encouragement from people across America. Cardmakers, schools, churches, and scout troops can all help out with writing notes, and we encourage everyone to send in at least one AnyHero letter with their package! You can read letters from our heroes about the cards on our Hero Blog - take a kleenex with you!

Keep up on our latest news in a number of ways…our Homefront Blog reports on Mondays tell you where our boxes are off to each week; Thursdays we share a list of everyone who’s sent in cards that week. Other days we share inspiration, tips, and other project details. The Stars and Stamps blog is our card blog - full of challenges, tutorials, cardmaker features, and all sorts of creative inspiration! Our Facebook Fan page is another great place to keep an eye on goings-on each day, hear from our heroes and their families in their own words, be inspired by other crafters, and share your own ideas.
You’re invited to join in the fun this month (and anytime!!). The Fiskateers message board is hosting a Birthday Bash on September 17th to encourage support for our nation’s heroes - there will be wonderful inspiration and prizes to get you motivated!

The basic guidelines for cards are pretty simple:
• no glitter (it makes messes that can make our heroes visible to night vision goggles!)
• A2 sized handmade cards (half a sheet of normal cardstock, folded; no storebought cards)
• write or stamp “Operation Write Home” on the back; you can put your own name/stamp there as well
• any quantity, any theme, anytime! Most requested themes: missing you, love, birthday, thank you, and general/blank/thinking of you
• Holiday deadlines: Sept 20 Halloween; Sept 30 Thanksgiving; Oct 30 Christmas
• mail to any shipper

Thanks so much to Fiskars and the Fiskateer community for joining in our birthday celebration and making it so much more special! I look forward to chatting with you on Friday, September 17th in the fiskateer chat room.

Thank you so much Sandy for visiting with us today. Don’t forget to the check the Fiskateer Calendar for the Card Making Party and Chat with Sandy coming soon.

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Fashion Inspired

• posted by: Tami
• posted in: Uncategorized, My Life, Challenges, Tools, Projects, Inspiration
• on: August 30, 2010

I love watching the award shows to see all the gorgeous dresses. I find clothing design inspiring for my paper craft designs. Last night’s Emmy Awards provided me with a whole runway of gorgeous inspiration. I loved all of them, even the outlandish what was she thinking dresses. There are always a few of those. Mostly I love the classic, elegant dresses. Tina Fey, one of my fave comedians, wore a gorgeous black lace over white satin gown that was cut beautifully and was simply elegant. I couldn’t get to the craft room fast enough this morning to try to re-create the design in a card.

I used Fiskars Henna Petals clear background stamp on this one. I’m happy to report that this huge stamp gave me a perfect image the first time out of the package using Tsukineko Versafine ink and Stampin’ Up whisper white cardstock. That made me very happy and I love that the stamp is slightly larger than an A2 sized card, so no need to mat and cut and paste. You can just stamp directly onto your folded card and get complete coverage. The friend sentiment is from Family Stamp Set. I also used the My Funny Valentine squeeze punch. The bits of lace, pearls, and bow tie are from my ribbon bag stash.

I’ve posted a challenge on the message board to create something inspired by fashion. You don’t have to make a card as I did, but you can. If ATCs or stitchery or painting is your thing, it all works. I put no limitations on what fashion inspired you or what you can create for the challenge. All I ask is that you share as much detail as possible about your creation and the source of inspiration. I have an RAK for a random winner of the challenge who posts their creation in the gallery and links it up on the message board thread. I hope you’ll join me by creating something fashion inspired this week.

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Fiskars Lesson Plans

• posted by: Tami
• posted in: Uncategorized, Crafts, My Life, crops
• on: August 28, 2010

I’m excited to share a really great resource for home schoolers, teachers, and those who help with art in the classroom. Fiskars has teamed up with Scholastic to create some very crafty lesson plans. You can find them here at Scholastic. I was a home school mom for a two years, a cub scout leader for several years, and am a substitute teacher now. Any help like this that we can get to engage kids in a creative way is a joyful find. My son is in high school now, but I recall the days of The Very Hungry Caterpillar with a smile in my heart. The artwork in children’s books is the perfect springboard for creative art projects. You’ll find quite a few in the lesson plans linked above.

We’re also having a Kid’s Crafts Online Crop today at the Fiskateer’s Message Board. You can play along if you have a kid or even if you’re just a kid at heart.

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