Journals!!

About a year ago I was talking to my friend at Huntsman Cancer Institute, she mentioned that they had a real need for Journals for their patients who are either in the Intensive care unit or undergoing a bone marrow transplant. Fast forward a few weeks and at our March 2013, Diane from Montana came to the show with about 75-100 adorable journals! What a blessing! Here is an excerpt from a letter I received after dropping off our donation:

 We have started passing out some of the journals and the patients have marveled at the creativity of the volunteers that put those together.  Majority will go to our intensive care patients....

his has been a great connection Kristin, I cannot thank you enough.  The patients are truly appreciative and the smiles we get when they receive the gifts are priceless.  It lifts their spirits, even if for a moment.

 

 

What a miracle the journals have been! We need more! Pick up a composition notebook, some paper and a few embellishments and before long, a beautiful journal can be put together!

There are a few ways to get involved:
1. Make a few at home and donate them at the show in our Care With Cards and Crafts booth
2. Stop by at our Make-n-Donate area during the show and use the available supplies and your creativity to put together a beautiful journal to donate.

In addition to journals, at our March 2014 show we will also be collecting hats, blankets, card kits and cards for soldiers! Thanks SO much for helping out and getting involved!!

Blankets & Hats

If you haven't been following the blog this week, I have been highlighting all this week the different opportunities we have found for us to work together at Scrapbook USA to give back to our community.

If you have not been involved with our Care With Cards & Crafts program in the past, please consider putting something together and bringing it to the show in March. You can get an overview of things HERE.

Earlier this week I highlighted cards for soldiers and card kits. Both are great! Today we are talkin blankets and hats!

Hats: Without even asking for them, each show I have had a few donated. So, why not make it official! Huntsman Cancer Institute is always taking them so if you crochet, this one is for you. If you don't crochet, that is ok! You can sew them or use a crochet hat loom. ALSO, stop by our Care With Cards booth and we will have a "Make-N-Donate" area. Sit a minute and do a couple of rows on one of our hat looms OR check out a loom and take it back to your table and while visiting with friends, take a break from scrappin and work on a hat. The great thing about the looms is that we can pass them around and everyone can do a few rows. Before we know it, we will have hats!

One other note on that, if you crochet flowers, please make some and donate them. They would look great on the hats that we loom at the show. I can crochet hats but not flowers (I am a beginner) so some embellishments would be fantastic!


Blankets:

Huntsman Cancer Institute & The Bone Cancer Center: A blanket is given to each new patient when diagnosed with cancer. Hundreds of blankets from Scrapbook USA Attendees have already been given as a comfort to these patients as they begin their new journey. When selecting fabric remember there are kids and adults as well as male and female who are cancer patients, so a variety of fabrics are helpful.

2 of the hundreds of blankets that were donated in 2013

 Used items cannot be accepted.

 Blankets and hats can be dropped off at the show to our Care with Cards & Crafts booth inside the show. Remember, for each item you donate, you receive a raffle ticket!

Darling blankets! Can't wait to see what comes in this March!

Here is a letter I received from Huntsman Cancer Institute after our March 2013 show donations were delivered:

Thank you so much for the wonderful donations you brought yesterday.  We have started passing out some of the journals and the patients have marveled at the creativity of the volunteers that put those together.  Majority will go to our intensive care patients. 

The blankets are absolutely fun and festive.  I know our infusion and bone marrow transplant patients will love those.  I found the bags you mentioned, how cute and yes we can definitely add a blanket and other donated goodies to those to hand out to the patients. 

This has been a great connection Kristin, I cannot thank you enough.  The patients are truly appreciative and the smiles we get when they receive the gifts are priceless.  It lifts their spirits, even if for a moment.

So thank you, thank you.  Please pass along our gratitude to all your crafters, they make a huge impact on the lives of our cancer patients.

 Thanks so much for supporting Scrapbook USA and Care with Cards & Crafts! See you March 28-29!!!

Card Kits for Juvenile Detention Center

Last April I was able to drop a few hundred card kits to the Juvenile Detention Center. I received an e-mail in the fall and discovered they were an absolute HIT! With these kits the young ladies are able to assemble a card and then write a letter home to a relative, friend or other loved one.

I have a soft spot for the detention center's because when I was 16 years old I volunteered there for a summer and found it to be an amazing opportunity! I know these cards will be a real blessing in the lives of these youth and their family's!

Kits are easy to do! Instead of finishing your card, put all the supplies into a ziploc baggie (sandwich size) along with a black and white photo (photocopy is fine) of what the finished card should look like. Easy Peasy! The nice thing is that you can make 25 or 30 of these and using an assembly line like process, get them bagged up and ready to go. My daughters love helping me with these. We have spent a few Friday nights working on these and hope to have a large box by the end of March.


In addition to bringing your card kits from home, stop by our "Make-n-Donate" area at the show and work with us to get some card kits assembled and ready to go.

Have fun with this and I can't wait to see the kits that come to the show this March!

Cards: Operation Write Home and Cards For Soldiers

Operation Write Home is the most popular organization we have been donating to, and for good reason. They are top-notch!

Millions of cards have been sent to soldiers through Operation Write Home and we are thrilled to support them.

 

http://operationwritehome.org/

Cards for Soldiers is another fantastic organization. They are smaller but still serve the same purpose.

 http://cardsforsoldiers.blogspot.com/

The cards we ship are blank on the inside and are shipped straight to our soldiers who are able to pick them up for free and use them to correspond home with their loved ones. They are able to ship the cards at no charge through the US Postal Service.

 Click by each organizations logo above to go directly to their site to find out more about them but in a nutshell here are the guidelines if you would like your card to go to Operation Write Home or Cards for Soldiers:

*4.25X5.5 size cards ONLY. This is 1/2 of a 8.5X11 sheet
*NO GLITTER-It is a safety concern for the soldiers and they won't be sent. I get at least 100 every show that are gorgeous but also very glittery. No problem for the Juvenile Detention Center, so they are donated, but they will not go to the soldiers. You can use stickles or glitter pens are fine as long as the glitter does not rub off. that does not rub off.
*No store bought cards
*Nothing handwritten-if you personalize it on the back it WILL NOT be accepted by Operation Write Home but will be accepted by Cards For Soldiers. Just try to avoid this if at all possible.
*Thickness- Remember these are shipped USPS, keep the thickness to a minimum so it can safely travel through the mail system.
*Quality-Quality is much more important than quantity. Use quality product and make sure everything is adequately attached.
*Include Envelopes-Please include envelopes if at all possible (white, cream or tan).
*White Lining- If you use dark cardstock for the card, that is fine just please "line" the inside of the card with white cardstock so the soldiers can actually write inside the card with a regular pen.

Donated in October by Brittany A. during our Card Challenge

Themes:
Birthday (General)
Blank
Thinking of You
Miss You
Friendship
Love (General)
Holidays: Valentines, Easter/Spring, Halloween, Thanksgiving/Fall, Christmas/Winter

The best cards are those that have a long shelf life, meaning that they can be used at various times throughout the year.

Remember: While there are many women in the military, there are more men. Try to keep the themes as "neutral" as possible since we do not know who giver is or who the receiver is. That does not mean that pink swirls are out, just make a blue card for every pink card :).


Each card that goes to Operation Write Home needs to be packaged a certain way with a stamp on the back. You are welcome to help out with this process at the show (in fact we would love it). Just stop by the Care With Cards booth and let them know you have a minute or two to give.

Care With Cards 2014- Lot's to be Excited About!

Care with Cards at Scrapbook USA Expo is now entering it's 3rd year at the show. It has been SO amazing! We have collected over 15,000 cards, card kits, journals, hats and blankets in just 2 years. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! Thanks SO much for getting involved!

We have been able to get involved with some incredible organizations who are doing alot of good in our community and throughout the world! This year we will be continuing with some of the same organizations as in the past as well as adding another new group that is also doing some amazing work.

Here is a little breakdown of what we will be collecting and where it will be going:

Cards: Operation Write Home
Cards: Cards For Soldiers
Card Kits: Utah Juvenile Detention Center
Crochet Hats: Huntsman Cancer Institute
Altered Journals with Composition Notebooks: Huntsman Cancer Institute
Adult Blankets: Huntsman Cancer Institute
Youth & Baby Blankets: Project Linus

WOW! I know that the ladies (and gents) that attend Scrapbook USA are the best crafters in the world so I know we will be able to send some beautiful talent to these organizations!

Each day this week I will be highlighting one of the above organizations and will describe their needs and share some ideas on what you can do now to get involved and have something to bring to the show.

Plus! For every donation you make, you will receive a drawing ticket that may just win you one of the many great prizes we will have at the show including a TV, an IPAD, or a Kindle. Plus hundreds of other fun items that will be up for grabs!

NEW this show:

Make-N-Donate: Take a few minutes at the show and participate in a "Make-N-Donate". We will have all the supplies there, cut and ready to go. Just stop by and help to assemble a card or card kit to donate. It will only take a few minutes, will be alot of fun and there will be prizes for all that participate.

Hat Looms: if you have a few minutes to spare while visiting with a friend, sit down and do a few rows on a hat loom. If everyone does a few rows, we will have ALOT of hats! You can sit in our Care With Cards (and crafts) area or check out the loom and sit at a table with your friends and visit while working on a hat.

2014 Create A Card Challenge: Do you have what it takes to make a beautiful card with whatever supplies you are given? We will find out!! Enter at the show stage to have a chance to see if you have what it takes to WIN! Each contestant will receive a kit of cardmaking supplies. You can only use the items in the kit but they can be "altered" using products you have or products that are available at the show (ie adding the use of punches, trimmers, scissors or cutting devices is acceptable). You will have a "short" time limit to complete your card for judging. Prizes for all who dare to participate in this one plus all cards will be donated to Operation Write Home.

Also, ALOT of stamping and organizing goes into getting the cards ready for shipping after the show. If you have 5 or 10 minutes at the show feel free to offer your "services" to help out our wonderful workers at the Care With Cards booth. They will be busily organizing the cards by themes, stamping the backs and getting them ready for shipping.

See You ALL March 28-29, 2014!!

Thank You Cards - Perfect for an Operation Write Home Donation

Hello and good morning...

It's Wendi here and I'm sharing some thank you cards with you. With Scrapbook USA being just a few months away, it's the perfect time to start working on a few homemade cards for Operation Write Home.

Here's a batch of quick and easy cards that I came up with.
My first #thank U card wa made using the "Homeroom" DCWV collection, normally it's a school line, but I pulled some of the less themey papers from the line for this card. I also used the "Natural Fibers" paper for the pinwheel.

My second "Thank You" card used the DCWV " Modern Meadow" collection.  For the blue layers, I fuxxy cut a few of the scallop layers on one of the paper sheets and then staggered the scallops.

And my third "Thanks" card, I used DCWV "Sweet Tangerine" collection. I fussy cut the flower and butterfly from the papers and used pop dots to add them as embellies to the card.

On each of my cards I also used my sewing machine, just to personalize the card a bit more. It's amazing how sewing on a card will really grab someone's attention.

So grab your supplies and create a special note to someone and express your thanks.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Other supplies: October Afternoon mini alphas, Kaisercraft bling, Basic Grey brad, machine sewing.

Homeroom DCWV Stack!

Wondering where to send your cards? Find all the details HERE for our October Card Drive!

Have you seen the totally cute Homeroom stack from DCWV? Oh my gosh, love it!! I am totally excited to use it for a couple of layouts I'm planning, but for now I've got this fun and easy card for you:

I loved this paper airplane sheet and thought it would be perfect for a card. I just cut the sheet down to the size I needed and folded it in half, added a little word bubble with mini alphas for my sentiment and then fussy cut the word bubble w/ HI out of a full sheet of fun word bubbles that was in the stack. I punched the side of the card to give it a notebook paper look, inked my edges and then added a little marker doodling to finish it off. 

 Super fun and cute! 

:)Ange

Supplies:

DCWV - pp

colorbox - ink

stampin up - marker

ek success - punch

making memories - tiny alphas white

mls - tiny alphas red/green

The Sky's The Limit

There is still plenty of time to put some cards for our Operation Write Home Card Drive!

Remember our goal is 500 cards this month!! Every card that is submitted will enter you into a drawing for great prizes including more card making supplies, Scrapbook USA show tickets and more!!

The Sky's the Limit! Especially with this fun stack from DCWV! I created this card using 4 papers from the stack:

I pieced together the layers over white cs (after inking the edges of course), added a strip of washi tape and then fussy cut these fun elements out of another pp from the stack. I inked their edges and added them to the front of the card. Inside I added y-heart-u! with alphas and a fussy cut heart in a slightly larger size than you see here.

 

  I think it turned out pretty cute.

:) Ange

Supplies:

DCWV - Sky's the Limit stack

sei - ink

american crafts - thickers

stash - washi tape, white cs

Cards with DCWV Pebbled Stack

Hello! Ange here, with a super simple and totally awesome card using the Pebbled 6x6 stack from DCWV. As many of you know, Oct 5 was World Card Making Day and to go along with that The Original Scrapbook USA Expo is having a donation drive for Operation Write Home. Help us reach our goal of 500 cards! All the details are in this post, 500 Cards. 

 There were plenty of challenges available over the weekend, to get everyone making some cards. So I found a nice sketch fromPagemaps and created this card using it:

I loved the layers and the simplicity of the sketch because I knew I wanted to use more than one sheet from the Pebbled stack but I wanted the card to feel masculine at the same time. I started with just white cs as my base, then added the sheet of grey after using my emery board on it to really help the awesome pebbled pattern show. Then I grabbed a pp from the Sky's the Limit stack for a bit of color and pattern behind the dark yellow paper from the Pebbled stack. I added a couple strips of washi for a banner and some rub-ons for my sentiment.

Easy, quick and elegant.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

DCWV - Pebbled and Sky's the Limit stacks

pagemaps - sketch

bazzil basics - washi

colorbox - black ink

creating keepsakes - rub-ons

stash - white cs, emery board

Let's Get Cardmaking!

 

 

This is it!

 

500 Cards is a BIG undertaking in one month but I know we can get there!!

 

A few things to remember:

 

Theme: Christmas, Miss You, Love

These cards will be sent to US Troops stationed throughout the world who will then be able to select a card at no charge and send it home to a spouse, parent, child, friend, etc. Make sure it is appropriate!

 

Envelopes must be included

 

There are regulations and rules for these cards

Visit Operation Write Home for the guidelines

 

Must be received by October 25th

 

We will share selected cards on our website

 

Write your name and e-mail on a sticky and attach it to your cards

 

Drawings will occur each week in October for product and Scrapbook USA Tickets!!

 

PLUS!

Once we reach our goal of 500 cards 1 lucky winner (random drawing) will win

2 tickets for our 2014 All Night Crop Party!!

 

Of course if we can get to 1000 cards we will have to do another drawing!!

 

 

 

 

 







Care With Cards - Card Kits!!

THANKS!! So much for all the cards/kits/blankets and journals that were collected at the show!!

I have been organizing for a little while now and it is taking longer than I expected. I just have to look at every one !! I have a rundown of our total collection coming later this week but today I just want to share the beautiful card kits.

We collected 573 kits! I am super excited to donate these kits later this week to the Juvenile Justice System of Utah! What a great activity for the youth to do, plus once they are done with the activity they will have a DARLING card but more importantly they will have a card that they can use to write some thoughts and sentiments to somebody they love. These incarcarated youth are facing many challenges and so are their families and friends. I hope that some shared positive expressions can be passed on through these cards.

Now, let me share what I have been seeing for the past few weeks....

I took photos of most of the kits but about an hour into it I had to stop (lol). The secret to card kits is to do a mass production. Once you have the layout it is easy to mass produce a large quantity. Most of the kits came with anywhere from 10-40 duplicates which is no problem since these will be divided between a number of different facilities.

If you are not familiar with the card kits they are basically a ziploc baggie with a photo of the finished card and all the pieces needed inside the bag. Here is what they look like inside the bag:

The black and white is the front with a copy of a photo of what the finished product should look like. The second bag is that back side of the baggie with all blank card, envelope and all the pieces. Isn't it cute??

This next one is a cute "get well" card. Here are all the pieces outside the bag:

Honestly, every one of these kits is unbelievably cute. I am just really excited for this project!

One thing I noticed with a few of the kits was that the design was the same on a few of them but the papers on the inside were a little different.

This is a great project for using up leftover pieces. It is easy to come up with a design you like then utilize all the scraps around your craft room and put together 10-12 of these kits.

THANKS again for donating card kits!! It is just so incredible. I will be delivering them this week and in the next couple of months I look forward to getting feedback and seeing how fast they are used up. We hit over 500 this time and I would like to be over 1000 at our  March 28-29, 2014 show!

 I am looking for more organizations who can utilize our card kits and cards. If anyone knows of any group or organization please let me know!

Pin Wheel Cards Using My Mind's Eye as seen on My Craft Channel

Happy Monday!

Today on My Craft Channel my episode is a tutorial called "Pinwheel Cards". I really LOVE this technique and I am sure you will love it too.

You can visit My Craft Channel to watch the video plux  check out the photos and details are below.

This card is SUPER easy plus is perfect for any season and can be made with just a few leftover scraps.

I used the brand new "Collectable" collection from My Mind's Eye. This is a great collection with TONS of coordinating papers and embellishments. It is perfect for spring and summer as well as many different occasions. I am doint a "Thank You" card today but this line would work for almost any occasion.

Check out the complete collection at My Mind's Eye's site.

To begin this card you will need two 4.5 inch squares to use for your pinwheel template. You will not see them in the end so any scraps will work. You will also need:

eight 1 3/4 inch squares
eignt 1 5/8 inch squares
These squares need to coordinate. Layer them with one another.

Next, Layer your 2 square scraps as shown above.

Begin the process of layering your squares around your template. It is just like a puzzle. You will need to do some tucking as you work your way around so make sure you are aware of where you are putting your adhesive.

Once you are done it should look like the above photo.

Finally, add an embellishment to the middle and place your pin-wheel onto your card.

There you have it....A Pinwheel card!

Have fun!!

Care With Cards - Huntsman Cancer Institute

There are SO many ways that we can work together to give back during Scrapbook USA Expo this year!

Huntsman Cancer Institute has a few needs and I know we are the perfect ladies to get them what they need!

Here are a few of their needs that we will be collecting at the show!

Journals:
During radiation or chemotherapy patients receive journals to record their thoughts and experiences. These journals donated at the last show were just what they are looking for.

Using mod podge just cover a composition notebook and decorate it in cute and refreshing colors. The facility could really use these!

Quilts, Hats and Other opportunities: Visit here to get the specifics. Scroll down to "Group Service Projects"

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."

—Winston Churchill, displayed in the halls of Huntsman Cancer Institute

In addition to Huntsman Cancer Institute there are a few other organizations we will be supporting this year. Check out other opportunities:

Utah Juvenile Justice System

Operation Write Home

More About Care With Cards

Care With Cards - Kick Off!

Care With Cards just began last year and we have already collected over 12,000 cards! 

Thanks so much!

Last year we were able to share our cards with Operation Write Home and Huntsman Cancer Institute and this year we are going to spread our love even farther!!

This year we are expanding our efforts to include:

Cards

Card Kits

Quilts

Journals

There are a number of organizations who are in need of our skills! I am so excited to see what we will be able to accomplish this year!

All items will be donated to:

Operation Write Home

Huntsman Cancer Institute

Utah Juvenile Justice System

 No time to waste. We are only 6 weeks away from our 2013 show so let's get to work! Please click on the above organizations to see what you can do to help.

If you will not be attending this year's show, you can send donations to:

The Original Scrapbook USA Expo

PO Box 1237

Draper, Utah 84020

Remember, Quality over quantity!!

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."

—Winston Churchill, displayed in the halls of Huntsman Cancer Institute

Care With Cards - Operation Write Home

This year at The Original Scrapbook USA Expo we will be continuing to support Operation Write Home.  We have already donated over 10,000 cards to this great organization. Let's see what we can do this year!

Over 1.5 million cards have been sent to U.S. troops stationed overseas through Operation Write Home. Ever single week they are shipping to U.S. bases all over the world.

Thanks to this great organization our troops are able to pick up a handmade card for free that they can use to write a note to a love one and then ship home to family and friends.

Because of the nature of this project there are a number of guidelines that must be followed in order for Operation Write Home to be able to use the card.

Please visit their GUIDELINES page before getting started so you know the do's and don'ts.

Appropriate themes are really important. Upcoming holidays that we can be involved in are:

Father's Day

Independence Day

Halloween

Other themes that are ALWAYS welcome are:

Just Because

Birthday (teen and adult especially)

Thinking Of You

Blank

Bring your cards to the show. We have a collection area near the center stage where we will be collecting your cards.

In addition to Operation Write Home there are a few other organizations we will be supporting this year. Check out other opportunities:

Utah Juvenile Justice System

Huntsman Cancer Institute

More About Care With Cards