OWH Update and some eye candy!

Hi Everyone.  Happy Sunday!

I can tell you that this is going to be our best OWH card drive ever!   I won't be finished prepping the cards, photographing them and getting shipped off until the end of the week.  I can tell you that I have already done that with over 500 cards and there are multiple boxes waiting to be given the same treatment.    Over 500 cards already completed!  That in itself is an amazing number, but nothing compared to what the final number will be!

So, a huge shout out to the following ladies, whose cards were waiting for me when we got back yesterday.

• Beth
• Cam
• Carol
• Jeanne
• Kelly
• Lissie
• Lynne
• Marcia
• Maureen
• Rachael

That's in addition to the cards already received from: Cindy, Colleen, Doris, Gill, Marilyn, Maureen, Melissa and Pamela.  I know that there are a couple more boxes coming, too!   So far we have 18 amazing ladies that have already participated.  I cannot thank you all enough.  You all know that I really appreciate your participation, but not as much as the troops and their families will.  Putting together cards takes time, dedication and money – but the feeling of doing something for such a great cause, is priceless.  Thank you to all of you.

I'm not sure how long it is going to take me to make up the slideshows, but I know it's going to be quite a while.  I do want to be able to showcase the cards that our fabulous blog-mates have made for the drive, though, but you will have to be patient whilst I get all the slideshow's created.

However, I thought I would begin sharing a card from each of the sets of cards that have already been prepared and sent off.  I'll be adding more examples during the week.  It was really hard chosing a single card to highlight.  Remember though, that this is only a teaser, I will be sharing much more of these amazing ladies' works with extended slide shows later.  This is just to whet your appetite.

I have three cards to share with you tonight and they are real masterpieces.

Let's start with this beauty from Doris. 

I love the red polka dots with the window cut-out.  The little pop of ribbon was a perfect way to draw even more attention to that fabulous colored image.   It's also perfect for any age and very versatile.  This card made me smile and is guaranteed to brighten the day of the final recipient! Awesome!

Now, let's take a look at this amazing masculine card from Marilyn.   I always find masculine cards hard, and tend to be really shy about adding color.   Marilyn rocked this masculine card with her strong colors and masculine elements.

That overstamped image of the bike creates a feel of movement and the crumb cake base was the perfect one to highlight the orange and black elements.  Finally, what a fabulous use of the cog stamp.  Genius!

Let's go from masculine to very feminine.   This gorgeous card from Cindy is soft and beautiful.

The grey layer is such a perfect backdrop for the fabulous flower.   The silver elastic cord wrapped around it and then repeated on the focal layer is a surprising and totally awesome element.  The tied cord placed over the top of the flower is the perfect finishing touch and brings all the elements together.  Gorgeous!

So… there are just 3 of the over 500 cards that I have already prepped.  I really can't wait to begin prepping the cards that arrived whilst I was away.  I know you will be as in awe of these talented women as I am!

On a personal note:

Well, Lou and I are back to reality.  It was a totally fabulous trip, but it is good to be home.  A couple of weeks ago, my employer let us know that my division was being made to take a one week furlough.  It was a bit of a shock, especially on the heels of another massive lay-off in July.  Let's hope that this saves some more jobs.

I had intended to spend the week at home working on my OWH cards, but Lou decided that, as he travels so much, and we get to spend so little time together…. oh, and the fact that we have only had one quick trip away since we moved into our new house nearly 16 months ago, that it might be a good idea to get away.    What a great idea, I thought!    I hastily looked for something to do and managed to find a very last minute deal on a cruise leaving out of Quebec and finishing up in Boston.  The timing happened to coincide exactly with the dates of the furlough!  I called our cruise agent and managed to get one of the last cabins.  We also managed to get flights, which was pretty amazing considering it was a long weekend!

We started off with a couple of days in beautiful Quebec and then went on to Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and then into Maine before our arrival in Boston.  The weather was wet and rainy for most of the days.  It really reminded me of England, but the weather did not stop us getting out on tours and really getting an introductory feel to some of these beautiful places, and beautiful they really were.   I will share some more details – and some photographs – later in the week.

It was one long date 🙂   Out and about during the day and then going back to the ship to dress up for a dinner date.  I didn't think about work the whole week and it was only when we had been on the ship for a couple of days that I realized just how much I needed the break.  We had a truly fabulous time and saw some absolutely beautiful places.

Before I left, I managed to get two quick cards made for the Paper Players challenges and uploaded a couple of blog posts.   I had intended to log on from the ship and do a couple more posts during that week.  However, the cost of the connection was .75c per minute and it took me 10 minutes to log on to my email.  I did try doing a blog post, but it took 15 minutes to get 1/4 of the way through the post and then the entire PC locked up on me.  In the end, I just gave up!  Over $11 and I couldn't even get a blog post done.  So, I hope you will forgive me for not posting frequently last week!

As always, thank you for your visit and for your comments.  They are always much appreciated.  Hugs and prayers for those of you who need a little lift tonight.

Hugs

Jaydee