Perhaps you saw the post I made last week about Team Cookies & Cards sending homemade cards and cookies to soldiers overseas? Well, our team is just a tad over half full, but we're still looking for more cardmakers/bakers to fill those last slots on our team and to help bring a smile to the faces of our servicemen and women that are serving their country. Would YOU like to be one of those team members?
We have a soldier and I'm excited to introduce him to you!
When I first started my team, I was waiting to have a soldier found for me, but then I heard from a mom ( Nicky) of a soldier (this mom also happens to be a fellow Stampin' UP demonstrator) and she was excited to join our team, especially because her son just went overseas for his first tour of duty. This got the wheels in my head turning. I was still waiting for a soldier for our team to send their cookies and cards to, and here was an opportunity staring me right in my inbox! I quickly emailed Nicky back and asked if our team could "adopt" her son for this round of baking. She was thrilled and sent me a picture of her son, along with a little more information about him.
Here's what Nicky shared:
My son, Wayne, just turned 23 on October 17th. He joined the Army in July of 2007 completed his basic training at Ft. Jackson.
Wayne left for Ft. Belvoir to begin his AIT training for a 21L, which is a Geospatial Analyst. Basically, what that entails is creating customized map products for Route Clearance, Infantry and other "ground pounders". They show them where past threats have been, potentials and other information, such as, a general overview of their Area of Operation or a route study.
Wayne arrived in Kuwait on September 5th to begin training before getting to Iraq on September 11th. He has finally made it to the 5th Engineer Battalion the first part of October.
Wayne is also recently married to Megan and will be expecting a child in April.
Nicky also sent a picture of Wayne from basic training, when he first arrived in Iraq.
So, what is Team Cookies & Cards all about?
It's a team of 20 bakers/cardmakers that commit to making a batch or two of cookies, packaging them up and mailing them to our soldier, along with a bag of 10 handmade holiday cards with envelopes. These holiday cards should be blank inside so that our soldiers will have something to send home to their families and friends. Holiday cards are not an easy thing to find overseas when you're in the military. Our soldier, Wayne, will receive all 20 packages and then disperse all the cookies and cards to the soldiers in his battalion.
Just think how many smiles will be on the faces of the soldiers in that battalion when they get all those packages and EVERYONE gets a "taste of home."
I still need 9 more cardmakers/bakers to fill up my group and we'll be ready to go. Our packages should go out in between October 30th and November 10th, so there's still plenty of time to sign up and take part in this wonderful project!
I created the card above to send as one of the handmade cards in my package.
I made this adorable card using the Mr. Twigster set from the Stampin' Up Holiday Mini Catalog.
I'm not a big "copier" when it comes to magazines and catalogs.....I don't know why. I've always needed to close them and put them aside when I create. I find that I just get distracted if I'm looking through magazines and catalogs when I'm trying to design a card. But.....the sample card in the mini catalog really caught my eye, so I did a little bit of a twist on it.
When I stamp snowmen, I like to add a little bit of Bashful Blue marker to one of their sides for a little bit of dimension and shading. I also added some Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the little light bulbs the snowman is carrying
The patterned paper strips come from the new HOliday Treasures Designer Series paper pack. I LOVE these color combos!
Rather than using a ribbon on the tag, I opened up the brand new package of Little Felt Flurries. I punched a hole in the middle of the snowflake with my 1/16 inch hole punch and it went through effortlessly. I secured a mini silver brad in the hole and adhered it to my
card using a mini glue dot.
For more information about Team Cookies & Cards and to learn how to sign up to be a part of the team, click here ---> Team Cookies & Cards
Happy Creating!
-Stampin' Mama
Wonderful and very festive.
Posted by: Ida | October 24, 2008 at 08:49 PM
Hi Erika! I've been out of touch lately and this is the first I've heard of "Baking GALS". What a wonderful idea and I would love to participate! I've already joined your Team and will get busy making my cards. You will let me know where to send, right? Oh, can't forget to say that I always enjoy your blog...YOU GO GIRL! :)
Posted by: Pam Speidel | October 25, 2008 at 02:17 PM
Erika -
I think I joined your group successfully! let me know what we do from here...
Posted by: Vickilyn | October 26, 2008 at 08:38 AM
What a cute card! Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Mary | October 26, 2008 at 12:11 PM
Hi Erika - What a fabulous idea. I saw that the team was full, but if you have anyone who drops out or can't do it please keep me in mind. I would love to help. My kids and I are going to do 25 random acts of kindness as our countdown to Christmas, so if you know of any other organizations that we could help - please let me know. THANKS - I hope all is well!!!
Posted by: Joy Cronin | October 28, 2008 at 05:47 PM
Thanks for giving us the opportunity to live outside ourselves. Blessings in abundance to you!
Posted by: Charlene | November 01, 2008 at 12:08 AM
Happy Hi Erika! I've been working on my cards for the troops today. If you want to see a photo, please check out this blog post...
http://smileycollector.blogspot.com/2008/11/operation-baking-gals-cards-cookies-for.html
Posted by: Pam Speidel | November 02, 2008 at 04:00 PM