Cards for Heroes Blog Hop

Hello my blogging friends - I'm here today to tell you that even hippie liberals like myself care deeply about our troops!! :-) I was so honored when I got an email from Cards for Heroes, asking if I'd like to participate in their blog hop this weekend. I was not familiar with this organization - but wow, what a great group of people!! CFH's mission is to support our nation's armed forces by sending blank greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them. How many of us create card after card, many of which end up just sitting in a box somewhere in our craft room?? I encourage you to take some time this weekend and look through your stash, put a few together and get them sent off to CFH! Or, spend your stamping time today creating some new hand-stamped happiness to send! Check their website, there are some guidelines - for example, the cards cannot contain glitter, as it can be a safety hazard! You also should not send potentially offensive cards. And I do realize the card I'm sharing today has the potential to offend, so I will not be sending this particular one to CFH. But it will go to a soldier in Iraq! Last night as I was banging my head on the desk, trying to decide what to create for this hop, a chat window on Facebook popped up with a message from my friend Gary. Gary and I have different political views, but we are able to laugh about it - and he was actually teasing me about something I had posted. Gary also served in Iraq, so I mentioned what I was working on. He told me that when he was in Iraq he received cards like this and really appreciated it - so that of course warmed my heart, to hear that feedback. Then I told him, jokingly, that I was going to make a hippie card to show that even liberals like me care about this - and he told me he knew a fellow hippie liberal currently serving in Iraq who would love the card!! So then I had to make it!! So this particular card will be going to an Air Force officer stationed in Iraq, who was thrilled when he got to meet President Obama and Rahm Emanuel during their recent visit to Baghdad. I don't know this man, but I am so completely thankful for what he is doing for our country, and I plan to tell him so. I'll write a note to him on a separate sheet of paper, so he can in turn use this card to send to one of his own hippie liberal friends back home who will appreciate it. And then I'm going to go through my card stash and find another stack of cards to send off to Cards for Heroes. I can't think of a better way to spend my Memorial Day weekend!! If you'd like to send a note of gratitude to a soldier, visit the AnyHero page at the CFH website. And now I'm sure you are anxious to keep hopping, and I'm thrilled to be able to link to one of my absolute stamping idols, Leigh at Sunflower Studio!! I'm sure you're in for a treat, her work is always fantastic!! And if you just happened upon my blog here in mid-hop, I encourage you to go back and start at the beginning, at Cards for Heroes. Thanks for stopping by today!!

• Stamps: Hippie from Stampola, Feeling Groovy from Verve Stamps
• Paper: Kraft, GP white, blue DP from Kaiser, red DP from Making Memories
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa, SU Creamy Caramel & Chocolate Chip, Copics for coloring
• Accessories: Janome Sew Mini