And The Winners Are-------

Drum roll, please! The winner of the Scrap'nTote, generously donated by Marlo of ContainYaCrafts is-----from Deb's Blog, If It's Groovy--Josie, comment number 5. Josie said, "Wonderful! Cheryl is such a nice person too....she welcomed me when I joined the Fiskateers! I love the photo of the baby too!"
Krel will be emailing Josie, or she if sees this,she can contact at Karel at ksjennings (at) gmail (dot) com with her mailing information.
Our second big winner, of the Spellbinders Nesties, donated by Anne of Paper Patch Crafts is---from Christel, at One Scrappin' Sista----number 41---Gina Thornton! Gina said, "Cristel, thanks so much for sharing your father's stories and family member's as well. Thanks for hopping along with us!" Hey that's me!!!

Thanks to all that hopped along with us, left comments and for Karel for pulling it all together!

Land of the Free Because of the Brave Blog Hop

Hello all! You should have arrived here from Rachel's Blog here, if you just stumbled across my blog, you may want to go to Karel's Blog and start in the beginning!!!
We are doing this Blog today to honor all of the Veterans out there!

Because I have so much information, I decided to do this in a few posts. See the posts below to read about my veterans, and also a great charity, Operation Write Home! PLEASE LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS ON THIS POST FOR THE CONTEST!! Thanks to the MILLIONS of men and women who put their lives and families on hold to ensure our freedom! We all owe them, for if it weren't for people like them, we wouldn't be free. How would your life be different with out them??? Think of that the next time you do something, the little things, that we all take for granted.
There are many different organizations out there that are looking for cards that they can send to the troops so they may send them home to their loved ones.Keep in mind there is no Card store right around the corner for most of the troops! What a great way to show some support - Send them some hand made cards!!!! We all have our favorite organization, and here is one that I deal with most often:
Operation Write Home
Now on to my projects! I added a few oldies that you may (or may not) remember. First is the USA card that I made for Memorial Day. It features the Faux Torn Mosaic technique.

Next up is bookmarks. I want to show how a little embellishments can make a difference. First Un-embellished:

Here is one of the bookmarks Embossed in Silver (kind of defeated the Red/White/Blue theme):


And in Red glitter (this one is not suitable for our troops because of the glitter):

My embossing powders weren't cooperating tonight, so these are not perfect, but you get the idea!

Here's the card I made for the hop. It is a no frills card, simple but it says a lot. It features the "Courage" set by Stampin' Up.

It didn't turn out at all what I had planned on, but I still like the result. I had planned on embossing the image, but after my issues with the glitter, I just left it go! For some reason I couldn't get the camera to get a good picture of the card. I really need to get a light box! Hopefully it is okay.

Now onto the nitty gritty information:
Our amazing Blog Candy (2—count ‘em! TWO Chances to win!!) are brought to you through the generosity of Marlo, who created the marvelous Scrap’NTote and Anne, from Paper Patch Crafts.
The rules for entering are the same for both prizes: Hop along our path and leave a comment AND a way to contact you on each and every stop. Please leave contact information in a safe manner ( ie, written out, rather than a direct link). On Friday, November 12, KarelJ will use random.org to first select a blog number (1-20) and then a comment number from that blog for each prize. She will post the winner’s name on her blog and notify the bloggers, so they can also post the winner. KarelJ will contact the winner, using the information left in the comment. If there is no information available, she will choose another winner from the same blog. It is up to the winner to contact KarelJ at ksjennings(at)gmail(dot)com. If she has not been contacted by Monday, November 15, another winner will be chosen.
Now, on to the good stuff! Our first prize is a wonderful Pink Scrap’Ntote to store your Cricut Cartridges in! It comes to us from Marlo, at ContainYaCrafts. You can see the wonderful way this binder system keeps all your carts together, and ready to go in a flash on this link: http://www.cricutcartridgestorage.com/index.htm Need more than one? Put it on the Christmas Wish List and have the hubs order NOW, as they are simply flying out of stock! We got one of the final donations for the year, and are so grateful to Marlo!
Our second terrific prize is a set of Spellbinders Nesties in the Crown Circle Shape. It comes to us via the generosity of Anne, whose family has an incredibly strong military heritage. You can also check out paper Patch Crafts here, to see what other incredible things Anne has to sell! http://stores.ebay.com/Paper-Patch-Crafts?_rdc=1

Thank a Veteran today!!!
Blog Hop List
1. KarelJ at One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity http://karelj.blogspot.com
2. Celeste at Touched By a Butterfly http://www.touchedbyabutterfly.blogspot.com
3. Deb at Tidbit’s Place http://tidbitsplace.blogspot.com
4. Michelle at Peanut Butter and Jelly Designs http://peanutbutterandjellydesigns.blogspot.com
5. Jennifer at Young’s Scrapping http://youngsscrapping.blogspot.com
6. Diane at Crafting This Moment http://craftingthismoment.blogspot.com
7. Judy at Be Present Be Real http://bepresentbereal.blogspot.com
8. Marianne at Life From Marianne’s Table http://number1aunt.blogspot.com
9. Deb at If It’s Groovy http://ifitsgroovy.blogspot.com
10. Christel at One Scrappin’ Sista http://onescrappinsista.blogspot.com
11. Belinda at Queen Bee’s Musings http://queenbeesmusings.blogspot.com
12. Colleen at Col’s Creative Corner http://scrappycol.blogspot.com
13. Summer and Jennifer at Cricut Diaries http://cricutdiaries.blogspot.com
14. Rachel at Suburban Crafter http://www.rachelstampshappy.blogspot.com/
15. Gina at Gina Thornton Stamping http://ginathorntonstamping.blogspot.com YOU ARE HERE!
16. Becky at Sew in Stitches http://sewinstitches.blogspot.com
17. Rebecca at Creations With Becca www.creationswithbecka.blogspot.com
18. Bobbi Jo at http://sweetsassydiva-gspot.blogspot.com/ CORRECTED19. Angie at Gypsy Paperie http://gypsypaperie.blogspot.com20. Linda at The Tulip Collector http://thetulipcollector.blogspot.com

Interview with a few of my Veterans

The first Interview is with my Mom. Woman Marine Virginia Ruth Irvin (Rueber)

1. What branch of the service were/are you in? Marine Corps 1962-1964 2. What’s your rank? PFC3. What made you decide to join the service? Why this branch? I wanted to get an education to become a nurse, I figured if I was going to enlist, I’d go with the best! (by the way, as she found out in Boot Camp, you don't go into the Marine Corps to become a nurse!!!)
4 What’s the best thing about being in the military? You get to travel. The chance to serve my country
5. What’s the hardest thing about being in the military? Being away from Loved ones.
6. Do you think Veterans and Active service Personnel get the respect they deserve? They do now, but they didn't used to
7. What could crafters and artists do to help support you? Send cards to send home to loved ones, there is no place to buy them. Even on base the pickings are few.
8. What else would you like to share with our readers? I had the honor of being the escort to John F Kennedy, 2 months prior to his assassination. I was in Communications at the time. I took a lot of pictures. He came to my defense when the Commanding general Thought that I said “I guess so” Actually I said “Yes sir” and President Kennedy said “Sir, she said yes sir”. “Sir, yes sir, I said Yes sir” “He said she must be from the Boston area” (she is from the Philadelphia area.) He smiled and told her “it’s okay, no one understands me either!”

Next up is my brother Duane W. Rueber:


1. What branch of the service were/are you in? Marine Corps
2. What’s your rank? Lance Cpl
3. What made you decide to join the service? Why this branch? They were probably going to be the only place where I could learn to be a "man." -- Why pick an "easy" branch? If I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it right, all the way.
4 What’s the best thing about being in the military? Best thing is the bond that no one else ever has unless they have served.
5. What’s the hardest thing about being in the military? Hardest thing is being "government." Too much red-tape BS!
6. Do you think Veterans and Active service Personnel get the respect they deserve? I think they get it NOW, but it was a long time coming for our older Vets.
7. What could crafters and artists do to help support you? Crafters and everyone else need to really grasp, and understand the SACRIFICE our Vets give. Some, never come back home to their families. Don't we owe quite a bit to the one's that do?
What can we do? Push for unconditional support when they are done serving. Stop throwing our Vets away.

And finally, my husband David R Thornton:


1. What branch of the service were/are you in? Navy
2. What’s your rank? FN ( E-3) Which means a non-rate.
3. What made you decide to join the service? Wasn’t too sure what I wanted to do. Why this branch? I talked to other recruiters and was thing of Which I would like more to be in. The Navy, is a way to see other parts of the word and able to do it for free!
4. What’s the best thing about being in the military? The free travel we got to do.
5. What’s the hardest thing about being in the military? All the training we did on board an air craft Carrier. Also the different watches I had to do at all times of the night. But enjoyed every minute of it.
6. Do you think Veterans and Active service Personnel get the respect they deserve? Not really.
7. What could crafters and artists do to help support you? Send cards to send home to loved ones, there is no place to buy them. Even on base the pickings are few. Support the active members by sending card to help them write home to their family.
8. What else would you like to share with our readers? Keep supporting the active members. They all need to come home.(his brother is currently serving in the US Army)


There are other members of my family who proudly served, but are no longer with us. My Great Aunt Dorothy (Irvin) Fisher served as a nurse in the US Army during the Korean War. She also had the honor to be a private nurse to Eleanor Roosevelt!!! What an honor that must have been!!!!

Another interesting story, a great, great grandfather on the Irvin side, served in the Irish army. He was shot in the stomach with a cannon ball, and it went straight through his stomach!!!! He survived this attack, and lived many many years. He later died crossing the street. He was hit by a drunk driver.

Why not do a little research into your family, and see what great stories you can find??

Operation Write Home

Operation Write Home is an organization looking for donations of hand made cards which they collect, and in turn send to our troops. The troops can pick cards to send home to their loved ones when they can't be there themselves. They welcome any cards, regardless of skill. There is also a place where you can click and print out pictures that you can have your children color and send in! There are a few things to keep in mind when creating for our troops. A very important one is NO GLITTER!!!! It can stick to their uniforms and be seen through Night Vision goggles! There are a bunch of ladies very dedicated to collecting cards and separating them according to holiday/occasion. They work VERY HARD at their "jobs" (it's all volunteer!).
If you'd like to donate, you can click on the picture above, or follow this link:
http://www.owhstarsandstamps.org/p/about-owh.html
Once there you can get all the rules about cards! You can also find them on Facebook!

Oh and show your support to Operation Write Home! They are currently in the top 3 running for a $50,000 donation in the Craft for a Cause Contest!!! You can vote once in a 24 hour period.


Click the picture to vote!!!

Another Blog hop coming soon!!!!

Join us on November 11, 2010 for a Veteran's Day Blog Hop! All of the fun will begin with Karel's blog

Here is more information:
November 11: The Land Of The Free Because Of The Brave Blog Hop begins at midnight and ends at midnight...24 hours of Veteran's Day Interviews, stories, craft projects and Blog Candy! The Grand Prize Blog Candy Give-Away is a Scrap 'N Tote from Marlo Letterle! You can check her out here: http://www.cricutcartridgestorage.com/ There are other great prizes available as well...20 marvelous crafters are taking part as bloggers, some with amazing blog candy, but all with simply wonderful new projects and ideas for you to see!

Dont forget to Hop along with us!!!!!!!!!!!!