The other day, I posted about the package that I sent as part of my mom's Operation Baking Gals team. I had so much fun putting that together so I decided to put my own team together.
So, what IS Operation Baking Gals?
It started out with one woman's vision and a group of 10 bakers that wanted to send some lovin' from the oven and support to our troops serving overseas. Word spread and it's now gone from 10 bakers to 700 bakers and there's a current 30 teams that are being put together to send out even more love and cookies to our troops.
Each month, groups of 20 bakers each make cookies and send packages to a soldier who then receives all the packages and opens them with his troop and divvies out the cookies so that all the soldiers get a "taste of home."
You can check out a great article about the cause here: Operation Baking Gals: Cookies for the Troops
When I sent out my package last weekend, I put a package of 10 handmade cards and envelopes in with the cookies. It's not like these guys and girls can walk downtown to the nearest Hallmark store in Iraq to pick out cards to send home to their loved ones and friends on special occasions and holidays. With the holidays approaching, our soldiers need cards more than ever to send home.
I knew I wanted to host a round for Operation Baking Gals but after I sent mine off with both cards AND cookies, I thought it would be fun to put together a group of bakers that were also papercrafters that would send both cards and cookies.
How about it? Are you up for joining "Team Cards & Cookies?"
Round 4 is starting up and I'm looking for 20 bakers/papercrafters that would be willing to put together a package of homemade cookies and 10 handmade holiday cards to send to a troop between the weeks of October 30th and November 10th.
If you'd like to be a part of my team, you can sign up over at the OBG site by clicking here ---> Team Cookies & Cards
When you sign up, make sure to leave a comment here on my blog, as well, so I can confirm you with the list there. Also, leave your blog address in the comment if you have one. :)
I'd love to have you be a part of my team! Susan, the Original Baking Gal, is finding a soldier for our team and I'll be posting again soon with some more information about our soldier.
In the meantime, I created this holiday card today using one of the newest sets from GinaK Designs. The set is called The Magic of Christmas and it's Rupa Shevde's newest set for GinaK. Aren't those ornaments just the cutest? I stamped them on a strip of watercolor paper and staggered them so they looked like they were hanging at different lengths. I used the lids of my ink pads (Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss and Riding Hood Red) to pool some of the ink from the pad and then used a watercolor brush and water to create my own watercolor "paint." I added some extra coloring to the left side of each of the ornaments to give it some shading.
The patterned paper is from the new Holiday Treasures Designer Series paper pack (Stampin' UP). The green cardstock is Kiwi Kiss and the blue card base is Baja Breeze.
The greeting on this card also came from the Magic of Christmas set.
On each of the ornament images is the little "cap" that you see on ornaments where the wire hanger fits in. I wanted to add some sparkle and dimension to my card so I covered over that part of the images with the new GinaK Self Adhesive Rhinestones. These rhinestones come in 4 different sizes so there's a lot of versatility.
This is one of the cards that I'll be packing into my box of cookies for this round of Operation Baking Gals.
And going back to the whole food thing.....make sure to check out my mom's blog and enter for a chance to win an amazing copy of Junior's Cheesecake Cookbook!
Happy Creating!
-Stampin' Mama
I really enjoy your blog very much.
What kind of white cardstock did you stamp these lovely ornaments on?
Posted by: Donna | October 15, 2008 at 08:36 PM
Hey Erika, I just joined your cookie group, so definately include me in this campaign!!! Let me know what I need to do next!!! Hugs, Melanie
Posted by: Melanie | October 16, 2008 at 11:30 AM
I love this card! The colors are Fabulous!! Love the bling too
Posted by: Dee Jackson | October 16, 2008 at 12:20 PM
Erika,
I'm signing up now. Any specifics on the cards? All the same? Doesn't matter?
Giant hugs!
Jodi
Posted by: Jodi Galland | October 16, 2008 at 12:28 PM
Okay, I'm a baker and sometime stamper. I don't know that I'm gonna have time to do 10 cards. It's literally been months since I've stamped, and I've got about 10 sets that still need to be putting together. I've done Rnds 2 and 3, and I like this idea, but I don't know that I'll have time to do 10 cards.
Plus, is the soldier gonna spread these around? What's he/she gonna do w/ 250 cards? Even I don't send that many out during the holidays.
Shan
Posted by: Shan | October 16, 2008 at 01:12 PM
i'm in! i have a suggestion for a soldier for our team. why not contact beate johns and see if her husband could be our soldier or if there's someone else in his battalion who could be our point person. they certainly know what to do with cards! let me know what's next...
Posted by: jenn nahrstadt | October 16, 2008 at 04:34 PM
Erika,
I signed on last night. I sent you an email from that blog. Hope you received it. But you had asked for one to left here. So here I am. Anyway, this will be loads of fun. These soldiers are so generous with the service as well as looking out for one another. I have send two boxes of 100 cards over the last two Christmas' (as I will again this year). The cards are needed and wanted. I am very excited in the group effort. Remember everyone, they don't have to be fancy. How about Night of Navy cs with Silver embossed Merry Christmas. Simple, yet elegant. The soldiers also like getting baby wipes and Q tips. I thought, had I been there I would want the sand out of my ears, when I sent them to my brother in law he said he was finally able to clean his gun. Male and female minds, so different.
God Bless
Shelly
Posted by: Shelly | October 16, 2008 at 05:25 PM
Beautiful! love the ornaments with rhinestones and that DP
Posted by: Melanie Muenchinger | October 18, 2008 at 05:31 PM
Hi Erika - I believe I am signed up for your group. Please let me know what I need to do next. Thanks for helping me today
Annette
Posted by: Annette | October 22, 2008 at 05:15 PM
Hi,
I joined your group. I just felt like this was something that I could do to help the folks serving our country.
Posted by: ConnieC | October 24, 2008 at 11:12 PM
OK Erika, I am signed up!!! Go Team Cards & Cookies! My daughters and I will do some baking next weekend, and get our package off on Monday morning! I'm going to go post something on my blog directing readers here to see if there is more interest!
Posted by: Tammy Hershberger | October 25, 2008 at 09:10 AM
Ooops! I should get the team name right! LOL Go Team Cookies & Cards!
Posted by: Tammy Hershberger | October 25, 2008 at 09:11 AM
Hi Erika! I'm all signed up! Could you tell me the best way to ship the cookies?
Posted by: Amanda Angert | October 25, 2008 at 06:35 PM
I would love to join!! I tried the link but was having issues as it was telling me to sign in. Did I do something wrong? If you could drop me a line so I can figure out how to actually get joined properly, I would appreciate it!!
Vicki
[email protected]
Posted by: Vickilyn | October 26, 2008 at 08:30 AM
Hi Erika! I just joined your baking group! This is sooooo cool! My nephew is currently deployed in the Persian Gulf on a carrier. Can't send anything to him on the ship, but at least we can help out where we can! Any specifics on the cards, cookies, etc? Where do we send the baked goodies?
Posted by: Nancy | October 26, 2008 at 03:44 PM
do you still need more team members? I would love to be able to help out!! let me know!
Posted by: jennifer | October 27, 2008 at 12:40 PM
Hi Erika,
I signed up for the team the other day and today I'm finally leaving a note over here. Love the idea of combining this worthwhile project with the cards. Good on ya! :^D
Posted by: Elizabeth | October 28, 2008 at 03:42 PM