Jennifer McGuire, ink.

Card Drive for Kids!

Hi!

I am so excited to start this.  I love any excuse to make a card and I love any excuse to do something nice for someone.  So, why not combine the two? :)

Here is the info:

This card drive is for 3 adorable little kids living in Africa... Taylor (9), Lauren (7) and Samuel (3).  Their family just moved there and are building a home and dental clinic.  They are living there unselfishly - totally to provide dental care to those who would never get it.  To find out more information on their work, click HERE and HERE.

As you may expect, starting a life in Liberia has it's challenges, especially for the kids.  I thought it would be such fun to send them tons of cards from people across the world - cards that would just brighten their day.  You can simply send the cards to me.  I will then box them up and pay to send them to the kid's parents - my sister-in-law and brother-in-law.  Their parents will give them each a card a day, just to make them smile.  (I am having you send them to me since it costs a lot to get it there.)

The details:

• Cards can be anything cheery: "sending you a smile", "happy day", something silly, "thinking of you", etc.  The more cheery the better. 
• Please sign your name in the card, along with any message you want.  It would be fun to also say what state/country you are from.
• You can put a sticky note on it telling who the card should be for: Taylor (9), Lauren (7), Samuel (3)... or it can be for all three kids.  That way I can make sure it gets to the right person(s).
• Mail the card to me as you would any card.  (If you have more than one, you can pack them together - whatever is easiest.)  When I get it, I will put each card in a separate envelope with just their name(s) on it.  This will save in shipping for you since you won't have to double-envelope.
• If you have a few extra stickers you want to throw in for them to play with, great!  But please don't send anything heavy or big, though - shipping really adds up.
• You are also welcome to do a card for their parents, Keith and Kristin. (I have their permission to do this card drive for the kids, but a few cards for them would be nice, too.)
• Please send the cards to arrive to me by August 1.  This should give enough time for those overseas to play along.  The cards should be sent to:

                                     Jennifer McGuire
                                     Card Drive
                                     PO Box 428612
                                     Cincinnati, Ohio 45242

And... how about some prizes as a thank you for participating?  For each card you send, your name will be put into a basket.  At the end date, I will draw names for prizes.  I am currently gathering prizes and will be adding them here.  There will be good ones! 

PRIZE 1:



These goodies are from Scrapbook Bakery!

More prizes soon... check back.

I cannot thank you enough for participating in this.  Means the world to me... but mostly to three little kids a half a world away...

Need a smile today?

I did. 

And this did just the trick.

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

A big thanks to Lisa for posting it on her blog... making me smile today.  Love you, girl.

There are some really great companies in this industry...

... and I talk about my favorites a lot.  Hero Arts, Close To My Heart, Cricut/Cuttlebug, Doodlebug, Ranger, etc.  And another great one is Fiskars.  They are incredibly generous to other companies (I can't begin to tell you the many donations they make) and have good people.  I met Melanie Bauer when she worked there, and am so thrilled she now works for 2Peas!  She rocks.  Anyway... blabbing... before she left, she asked me to be a guest designer on their site.  This is the project I did for them using their Tear Edgers.  (You can see them HERE.  They are fun little tools.)  Colin started counting at an early age and was really obsessed with numbers.  (He is a nerd like his Daddy.  Hee.  But we love nerds here, so I can say that lovingly. :)

As seen on fiskars.com.  All supplies are Fiskars.

Off to work on a post about the card drive.  More soon!  Have a great night. :)

I am a ditz...

... at heart still.  I completely forgot to pick a winner for the stamp set from last week!  Der.  I am so sorry.  But better late than never.  The winner of the Close To My Heart stamp set is Holly!  I will email you. :)

Hey... if I owe anyone a prize or CD of Keith's and you haven't gotten it yet, please email me.  My greatest fear is that something gets lost in the mail and someone never gets it.  Would hate for that to happen!

A few random things...

On my post from yesterday, a few people asked what white pen I used.  It was the white Sharpie pen.  Worked pretty well.

Someone also asked if you can use Cuttlebug embossing folders with the Big Shot.  I believe you can.  I would recommend doing a google search - there is likely even a youtube video on it.

I have gotten emails about the yummy silk ribbon.  It is from Creative Impressions - I believe you can buy it from their site!

Want some amazing inspiration?  Be sure to watch Hero Arts Blog this week.  Shari is sharing some amazing stuff.  Wow.

Just a quick card share using a new Hero Arts stamp.  I did this for the catalog work but didn't like how it turned out so I never sent it in. :)  It is a transparent Hero Arts card over a Chocolate Hero Arts notecard.  Yum.  Love that look.  (The card just took a turn for the worse when I started embellishing... hee. :)

 

Supplies:

Hero Arts stamps (background, hearts and greeting), clear tag, clear card and notecard

White Staz-On Ink

Artprint Brown Ink

Primary Chalk Ink

Creative Impressions silk ribbon

I think that is all for now.  Have to go work on gathering photos for holiday pages for Hero Arts!  So hard to do when today was the most beautiful summer day...

Night!

I sure wish I could doodle...

... like Kelli Crowe or Elsie or others.  I LOVE to doodle, but am not great at it.  So when CK asked me to do a page on which I did something I never do, doodling was perfect to try.  Thought I would share it here, although I did it a year or so ago...

As seen on creatingkeepsakes.com.  Large photo by Essenza Studios.  Love their photos.

Today we celebrated Kay's 13th birthday at Benihana.  She is such a good person - thoughtful, sweet and gorgeous.  And tall - she is taller than me. :)  And I love her even more because she is playing with my hair  giving me "prom hair" as we speak.  I love when they play with my hair. Feels so good...

Thanks for the nice comments on my little dude in the video.  He is a fun guy and LOVES stamping so much.  And the girls do, too.  I will have to share some of their creations... they are fabulous.  We spend most of the summer in the basement - it is hard to tear them away.  Makes me so proud.

Oh... quick enabling alert: Hobby Lobby has paper 50% off this week.  Go get some of that kraft goodness! :)  You can see the packaging HERE.

Hope you all had a good weekend.  Night!

How-To Video: Embellishing Scalloped Edges

Hello, stampers and scrapbookers...

Another simple video for you.  It is another card (sorry... I will get back to scrapbooking soon) with a good basic design that would work for anything.  Just change up the colors and greetings.  Use up some of your scraps.  You could even make a set of these as a gift.  This is just a basic design I go back to often.  The scallop edge was cut from Bazzill scallop edged cardstock.  I keep strips of this in a drawer to use.  And, by the way, this uses reject pieces from two other cards: HERE and HERE.

Oh, and sorry for the interruption in the video. :)

Supplies:
Hero Arts stamps (flourish background, little flowers and greeting), gems and notecard
My Mind's Eye and Bo Bunny (dot) patterned paper)
Ranger Ink
Marvy Punches
Black Memories Ink
Ranger Pool Ink
Bazzill Scallop Cardstock (the holes were already in it)
A big honkin' flower that Colin found on the floor
A cute dude to join in on the fun

By the way, 2peas still has 20% off their stamps - great deal.  Check it out HERE. 

And I must say thank you for the kind, positive response to my idea about sending cards to the kids.  I will organize something and post the info this week for you all.  And, for each card you send, you get entered into a drawing for some prizes.  Working those out, too.  And I will give enough time for you overseas folks to play, too!

Thanks, all!  Off to watch Camp Rock with the girls... again. ;)

Prayers are needed for my Music Man.. and a card

Hi!

When we were in St. John, we got some sad news from Keith.  (Keith is my brother-in-law whose music I use in my videos.  He and his family are missionaries in Africa.)  His father, who has been battling cancer, was only expected to make it through the night.  The next day, their family of 5 flew the 30 hour journey from Africa to San Antonio in hopes of getting there before he passed.  Thankfully, they did.  On Father's Day, Keith's dad passed away with him at his side.

(The stamp on this card is from Verses.  My local stamp store owner owns this company and they make great greeting stamps like this one.  You can call them if you want to buy anything.  They are fabulous there!  I really like to support local and USA-made stamp companies.)

Supplies:

Verses stamp

Making Memories, Bo Bunny and Scenic Route papers

Hero Arts pearls and flowers and notecard

Creative Impressions silk ribbon

If you are the praying kind, please keep their family in your prayers as they heal.  They do so much for others... such good people.  They will be in the States for a couple weeks before heading back home to Liberia.

This also got me thinking.  As a cardmaker, I know how uplifting it is to get a simple handmade card in the mail.  Makes you feel loved and happy, right?  Well, I was thinking it would be fun to send Keith and Kristin's kids - Taylor, Lauren and Samuel - a bunch of cards.  Just encouragement cards.  These three kids are living an adventure.  Finding new friends in a foreign world.  Living extremely simply as they wait for their home to be built.  I am sure it is hard on them, even if it is good for them, too.  I would love for them to know that a bunch of people out there are thinking of them.  So, here is my question: if I set up something for you to make cards for them to send over to them, would you be interested?  I would just have you send them to me and I would put a huge box together and send them over to them.  Their parents could give them a card every once in awhile as a pick-me-up.  I think they would love it.  Would anyone be interested in participating?

Here is a picture of the kids in front of the home they are staying in right now.

Here is a picture of the home as it was when they first got it.

Here is a current picture of their home.

They have a long path ahead of them. They also are working on the dental clinic where they will be doing work.  I can't imagine. But, boy - they are doing such good for our world. 

Just a thought... let me know what you think.  I am not one to ask for money/donations. But giving in this way could be fun, easy, rewarding... and an excuse to do some cardmaking. :)

Thanks for listening!  God bless all you gals out there... :)

Some answers and a card...

Hi!

Just a quick post to answer some questions and share a card.

I have gotten a lot of emails and comments about where we stayed at St. John.  St. John is very pristine - no huge hotels or chain restaurants.  Not even a stop light on the island.  2/3rds of the island is a national park, so all the beaches are bare - just trees behind it.  I love that.  It is perfectly normal to be the only ones on a beach in the morning.  You get kinda spoiled. :)  The island is so pristine and "true"... it even gets it's water from rain.  It is just the prefect break from a crazy world.  When we go, we stay in villas.  They are always on the mountain with a surreal view and a short drive to the beach.  (It may sound like a bummer to not be stayin ON a beach.  But when you go to beaches without big hotels on them, you quickly realize why it is so wonderful.)  We rent a lot from Destination St. John.  We have had great luck with them.  We got with our big family and love two villas.  The one I posted in the last thread is Great Escape. There is simply no better view and it is big.  (60 foot pool.)  And you can't see another house - it is very private - just the family.  (If you are a Kenny Chesney fan, check out his song Old Blue Chair - he sings about Cinnamon Bay which is the bay we are overlooking from the pool.)  We also LOVE Ambiance.  This is the most amazing design - two houses with a pool between and a bridge connecting them.  The whole tall wall opens up with HUGE sliding doors.  Wow.  I love that place.  (For our pictures from Ambiance, click HERE.)  If you need a smaller place, you can find fabulous places on the same website, based on the number of people there.  For more of our photos, you can find them HERE.  Ken is great at beach photos. :)  And, if you want more details on the island or such, email me.  Ken is a travel-research-freak and can answer any questions. :)

Oh, and if you ever go on a cruise that stops in St. Thomas, I highly recommend immediately jumping on a ferry and going to St. John.  That is how we found it.  It is MUCH more beautiful. And a TON less people.

I also got questions about the flourish punch I used in the last project.  It will be coming out in July. :)  Paper Shapers are my favorites. :)

I still am sifting through other questions in email and comments - will get to them soon.  In the meantime, here is a quick card share.  It was made in a similar way to the card shown in a video HERE.  This tag/card uses Hero Arts' alphabet clear sets.  They are SO cute.  They each have several fonts and they all match the other sets.  A great scrapbooking tool. :)

 

Supplies:

Hero Arts stamps, clear tag, pearls, button and paper

Paper Shaper's incredible scallop circle punch

ArtPrint Brown Memories Ink

Cuttlebug embossing folder to emboss the clear tag - love that look

Cheap string

Oh, and a bit of enabling. :)  Those pearls and gems that I love so much are now available at 2peas.  Yum.  They are inexpensive... love that.  Check them out HERE.  Oh, and they have the clear tags, too... HERE.

One last thing: if you live in the Cincinnati area and are interested in a 12x12 wire paper shelf, email me for more info.  I have one I need to get rid of.

Have a good day!  Off to get some work done.  One kid is sleeping and the others are at the pool with a friend.  Woohoo! :)

How-To Video: Fish Card

Hi!  Have a video for you...

This card I made using the scraps from the butterfly card HERE.  No fabulous technique or idea here - just some fun twists on using punches on a fun card for no good reason. :) 

 
 
Supplies:

Hero Arts stamps (background, fish and greeting), notecards and black gem

Black Memories Ink

Ranger Pool Ink

Paper Shaper punches (flouish punch will be available in July!)

Stickles

Other: Colored pencils and gemsol

I think the fish card was inspired by my trip.  I love to snorkel - one of my favorite things to do in the whole world.  Here is one picture from our trip to St. John - me hanging out with Kay and Audrey in our pool at our villa.  It felt like we were the only people on the island.  Love those girls and love that place.  (Oh, and by the way, this photo is true color - no editing.)

 

Need something else to do tonight?  Go check out all the new stamps from Hero Arts.  Some are 12" long images! See them HERE. Also, check out 2peas... they have stamps 20% off right now!  More soon.  :)

Home!

Whew!  Home.  Finally!  It takes about 17 hours to get from your villa in St. John to our doorstep back home.  What a long day.  But we had a fabulous trip.

Just wanted to jump in to say I will be back to posting a lot tonight.  Turns out internet on the island was harder this time than I thought it would be, so I have a lot ready to share.

In the meantime, be sure to post a comment on the previous thread for a chance to win a great CTMH stamp set.

Take care!