Card Drive Wrap-up

Hello Crafty friends, 

This year's Caring Hearts Card Drive is wrapping up for 2017. Here in Canada, we received more cards than ever! A total of almost 9000. I spent all day yesterday with some volunteers and friends, sorting and boxing up the cards for mail and hand delivery (thank you SO MUCH, Carole and the crew at Crop-a-While) . But we still have many more that need a home...  If you know of a nursing home in your area which would enjoy receiving the cards to distribute to their residents, please let me know.  It is especially meaningful if you have a connection with someone there--a family member who is a resident, or if you know someone who works at the home. We hear that the staff enjoy looking at the cards almost as much as the seniors who receive them!

Here in Ottawa, we also received some local publicity for the drive. See the story HERE. 

Thanks to all who contributed to make this year's drive such a success!

Caroline 

P.S.  What is a blog post without some eye candy?

Beautiful thank you card created by contributor LC Lamothe. And it matches my tea cozy!!

Caring Hearts Card Drive 2017

Hello my crafty friends,

It's time again for the Caring Hearts Card Drive. 

This event is now in its eighth year!!! Last year's response was overwhelming--64,000 hand-made Christmas and holiday cards donated and distributed to nursing home residents in the United States, Canada, Australia and Great Britain.  Vera Yates, the true heart 💓 behind the drive, is willing to do it again. You can check out all the details HERE on her blog.

Briefly, the idea behind the drive is to brighten the holidays for residents of long-term care facilities by sending them signed, hand-made cards, with wishes from the creator. We all love to make beautiful things, why not let them have a heart-felt purpose; a way of paying it forward. I have had letters from some of the facilities to which we send cards, telling us how much they mean to the recipients. One gentleman, who has received cards several years in a row, asked "I wonder where my card will come from this year?" Please know your cards are cherished.

In 2016, my partner in crime, Rita Andrews in Cochrane, Alberta, and I managed to send 5700 cards to 20 different seniors' residences in ten provinces, and two of the three territories. Several more nursing homes received cards along with pet therapy visits, thanks to our partnerships with PATS in Victoria BC, Blue Ribbon Therapy Dogs in Montreal, St. John's Ambulance Dog teams in Nova Scotia and PEI, and Ottawa Therapy Dogs, here in town.  This year, being Canada's 150th anniversary of confederation, we're considering  sending our cards even further afield. Some warm winter wishes from Canadians, sent across the world ❄.  So, if you know of a nursing home, within Canada or abroad, that would like to receive Christmas cards over the holidays, please let me know, at canadian_liner@hotmail.com.

Here's a card I made today, to get things started:

Background sponged with Catherine Pooler inks, "earth" coloured with Ken Oliver Color Burst powders. Die-cut village from Ellen Hutson; banner die from Simon Says Stamp; sentiment from Lil' Inker Designs; starts are Nuovo drops.

I look forward to seeing all the wonderful creations from the generous card makers out there.

To my Canadian friends, Happy Thanksgiving 🦃

Happy crafting,
Caroline

Please vote for me!

Hello crafty friends!

Here in Canada we are enjoying a beautiful long weekend of spring weather, barbecuing, cycling, admiring tulips, etc.

So why am I posting a Christmas card, you ask?

Over at Stamp Nation, there is a contest going on. You enter by posting a card made with Stamp Nation goodies, and ask your friends to vote for your entry.

Here is a cute card I designed last Christmas for the Caring Hearts Card Drive. It features the candy-cane strip background, stamped tone-on-tone and heat-embossed with clear powder, the frame die and sentiment from the Candy Cane lane collection, and finally, that adorable deer. We dearly love our even-toed ungulates (I had to look that up on Wikipedia) here in Canada: caribou, elk, moose, and of course, reindeer (although I think they may live in Scandinavia).

So get outside and enjoy the sun, but first visit THIS BLOG to vote for our cute friend.

Happy crafting,

Caroline

Tagging along with FMS #256

Good morning, crafty friends!

Another week, another challenge from Freshly Made Sketches.

This sketch features a large fish-tail tag.  

I made two cards following the sketch and am leaning towards the second, pink one. What do you think?
Both cards feature new stamps and dies from  Stamp of Approval collections, Candy Cane Lane and Lovely Notes (wreath).

I heat-embossed the Lovely wreath in white on vellum, as I didn't want to lose the detail on the patterned tag. The pine cones and greeting are embossed on copper powder from WOW.

For this card, I reversed the plain and patterned paper and created a swag using the stamps from the Candy Cane Collection Beautiful Boughs. The JOY die is from the same collection. Less busy and better balance, I think.

How is your Christmas card stash coming along?  Make sure to check out the details on the Caring Hearts Card Drive HERE or HERE, and get crafty!

Caroline

The DAY we've all been waiting for!

Good morning, crafty peeps!

How awesome is today?  

World Card-making Day, celebrating the kindness and creativity reflected in our hobby.

As I scan through my blog feed, I'm seeing several blog hops commemorating the occasion with very worthy causes. Check out HERE and HERE.

Today also appropriately marks the kick-off for The Caring Hearts Drive 2016.

I'm attaching details from Vera Yates' post. There's lots to read, so grab a beverage, sit back and read on...

2016 marks the 7th year for our annual Caring Hearts Card Drive. Its purpose is to collect hand-made holiday greeting cards for the elderly living in nursing homes. The card drive was begun in 2010, to honor Vera's mom's request. That first year,  750 cards were collected; each year since, the drive has grown. Last year, over 22,000 cards were received and distributed to 96 nursing homes in the States, 15 in Australia, 16 in Canada. The drive creators, Vera Yates and Jennifer McGuire, are excited to continue bringing holiday cheer. This year, the drive is branching out to the United Kingdom. 

The holidays are about family, kindness, and joy. During this time of year, many elderly nursing-home residents can feel lonely, missing their families. What better way to bring a smile to their faces & brighten their holiday season, than by sharing our love of card making? A simple gesture letting them know that they are not forgotten, that someone still thinks of them. We all love making cards and what’s better than knowing that our creations have brought a smile? 

 Here's how to participate:  - 

• The card drive runs from October 1 to November 25, 2016.  Your cards need to be received by November 25, 2015, so plan accordingly when sending them in.
•  Please make the cards for Christmas or Holiday Wishes. (For those sending cards within Canada, French sentiments are appreciated, too.) Anyone can send a card, your children, church groups, scout troops, etc. 
• All cards must have a message inside (it can be stamped or hand written) from the sender. Please sign your name and include where you are from. Part of the fun for the recipients is receiving cards from different part of the country and the world!
• Please include an envelope for each card and please don't seal the envelope.  
• Cards should be standard size (A2 or 4-1/4" x 5-1/2") as this helps in packing them more efficiently.
• Please don't use any pins (for safety reason). Glitter and glitz on the other hand, most welcome!

• This next is totally optional, but if you'd like to include $1 or $2 to help with shipping, it is much appreciated. We cover the shipping costs ourselves, without sponsorship, so any donation toward shipping helps tremendously. Some card-makers send stamps vs dollars through the mail. 
• Please send cards to the collection address nearest you.

• For the USA, you can mail the cards to: 
• Vera Yates, 1314 Roy St., Houston, TX 77007 
•  Tina Schrof , 185 W. Pugh Drive, Springboro, OH 45066 
• Lynn Reloza, 3353 Cimmarron Road, Cameron Park, CA 95682  

• For Australia: 
• Linda Langes, c/o Gilston State School, 588 Worongary Road, GILSTON QLD 4211, Australia 
• Deb McCleary, PO Box 213, Heidelberg, VIC 3084, Australia  

• For Canada: 
• Caroline Bredeson, 7 Brown Street, Ottawa, ON K1S 1L9, Canada 
• Rita Andrews, 28 West Gissing Rd, Cochrane, Alberta T4C 1L6, Canada  

• For UK/Europe: 
• Taheerah Atchia, 36 Pinewood Crescent,Orrell, Wigan, Lancashire, WN5 8NF, United Kingdom 

• In each package, PLEASE include THIS SUBMISSION FORM. This helps us in keeping track for prizes! That's right, to thank you for your generosity in sending in cards, various paper-crafting companies have donated prizes. Each card you send, enters you into a draw for a chance to win a gift. And there are many to be won :) So the more cards you send, the better your chances.  
•  To help us promote the card drive, whenever you're sharing your projects for Caring Hearts on social media, please use the hashtag #caringheartscarddrive. This drive represents part of the creators' wider goal to spread kindness and make it a trend.
• The nursing homes that we support are based on those people suggest to us. If you would like your local nursing home to receive cards from the card drive, please email Vera or Jennifer, providing the names of the nursing homes and the number of residents, so we can make sure that we send enough cards. Each year, the number of nursing homes we can support is based on the number of cards received.  
•  The prize list will be updated as more prizes come in. And huge thank you to all the fabulous, generous companies who support this card drive by donating awesome prizes.  See the complete list on Vera's blog.
• A new feature this year is a Caring Hearts Card Drive stamp set! The generous people at Sugar Pea Designs have created a whole line of goodies to help spread kindness.  20% of all sales from this collection will be donated to the Alzheimer's Association. There is a blog hop to introduce the set, with yet more prizes up for grabs. Check it out on Vera's blog HERE.

I conclude this LONG post with a few Christmas cards to get the ideas flowing. I hope to share some cards made with the Caring Hearts collection in the next few days.

 More Dazzle stickers and Simon Says greeting die, in French.

 Stamps and paper from Close to My Heart; dies from Penny Black and Paper Wishes; greeting die, Ellen Hutson.

 More Paper Wishes products.

Decorating the inside of the card adds to the fun!

Have a blast crafting today!

Caroline

Merry...Wednesday :)

Happy hump-day, crafty peeps!

Just three more sleeps until World Card-Making Day!

Which is also the launch of this year's Caring Hearts Card Drive.  More details on that on Saturday.

In the meantime, I'm adding to the Christmas card stash, playing along with this week's Merry Monday challenge:

using the non-traditional colours of dark & light pink and grey or silver.

I used a cut-away card design I say on Stamp Nation's latest blog hop, by  Ingrid Blackburn.

A portion of the card is cut-away, and the top and bottom parts are connected by some silvery snowflakes.  The pink watercolour dot paper is from the new Close to My Heart Whimsy Fundamentals paper pack. I thought it looked like softly falling pink snow! The card base is Raspberry cardstock. Snow flake dies by My Favorite Things.

Inside message appropriately sparkly, from Winter Greetings stamp set by Lil'Inker Designs.

Still lots of time to link up with the Merry Monday Challenge #215! 

See you there,

Caroline

FMS #255

Post #2 for today.

It's been quite awhile since I played along with any challenges. 

I used this week's Freshly Made Sketch #255, to consume some more supplies for ever-growing stack of Christmas cards.

The big rectangle in the sketch seemed perfect for some festive plaid paper (old SU), and I've been wanting to play with those cute little gingerbread people (Lil' Inker Designs) for quite some time. Adding a little Copic marker around the edge of the kraft paper made them nice and "crispy."

Finding a font which would fit between the parts of the sentiment (also LID, currently on sale!)) was tricky. The word JOY was cut with an old set of Sizzix alphabet dies. Their wonky angles inspired the cart-wheeling gingerbread men.
There's still a few hours to play along with FMS this week!
Caroline

Supplies:
All cardstock: Close to My Heart
Patterned Paper: Stampin' Up
Die and stamp set: Lil' Inker Designs
Liquid Pearls, Wink of Stella Pen, Versamark & white embossing powder, Copic markers 

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Hello crafty peeps!
It's been a long while since I shared anything, although I have done some scrap-booking, card-making and sewing in the past few months, along with a lot of browsing of internet crafting blogs... Just no time to photograph and write about my own creations.
But all that is about to change, because the advent of fall means that a cause near and dear to my heart is about to begin again.

The Caring Hearts Card Drive is about to start its seventh year :) 

This "sharing of kindness" was begun by Vera Wirianta Yates in Texas. She began sending hand-made Christmas cards to nursing home residents, to brighten their holiday season. Many cards (22,000 in 2015), volunteers and years later, the movement has spread from the US to Canada, Australia, and now through the UK, to Europe.
The drive begins officially October 1st (also World Card-Making Day!) and runs through November 25th.  I will be sharing sneak peeks of cards I've been working on leading up to the launch next weekend. I will also share the complete list of details on how to participate. You are welcome to make cards, as well as to help in their distribution.

I like to start the Christmas card-making season by clearing up my desk and using up supplies (yup, not allowed to buy anything new until I've made a couple dozen cards with the goodies on hand).
This year I began with a partly-used kit from 2010 by Paper Wishes.  One of their specialty items is a line of stickers called Dazzles. You might think, they don't look like TOO much on the sticker sheet, but once you begin backing them with patterned paper, colouring them in with Copics or Distress inks, altering them with embossing powder or alcohol inks, they look AWESOME! I feel every holiday card needs a little sparkle, and the foiling on Dazzles does just that.
Here's a couple of examples from that kit:

See what I mean by creating a scene, colouring in the Dazzles, and adding some extra glitz with sequins, Liquid Pearls and Stickles?

 The snowflake holographic paper from Paper Wishes sets off those snow-peeps perfectly. And check out the (craft-foam) "snow," for some tactile fun.

Off to do some Sunday stuff; stayed tuned for more on the Caring Hearts Card Drive.

Caroline

GD for The 12 Kits of Occasions

So around the time my full-time job was cancelled, I got an email from my loyal blogging friend, Kim Heggins, asking me if I'd like to join The 12 Kits of Occasions team as one of their guest-designers for November.  Before the change in job status, I would have regretfully declined, as crafting has had to slip in the list of priorities in the past year. However, with only part-time work starting this month, the idea of creating with a kit of delivered goodies sounded delightful! 

In case you don't know about this fun blog, it has 12 permanent members, who take turns being hostess. Each month, the Hostess picks a theme and makes up identical kits of supplies to send to her team-mates, who, in turn, create 4-5 cards to post at the end of the month. It is amazing to see the variety and creativity the arises from the same materials.

Kim's kit arrived in early November and I had such fun with the supplies! Lots of polka-dot paper, Thanksgiving and Christmas themed sentiments and adorable critter images to colour.
I made five cards, and just kept going.
Here's a pic of all that was left of the original kit!

First, fun with Copics:

 

Inside the Beary Happy card...

Then a stab at watercolouring:

 Inside the ice floe card... (see the cool shades?)

Then, simple graphic paper-piecing (a favorite pattern from my quilting days).

 Then some Christmas cards with those big bold polka dots and shimmery washi tape:

And my favorite, a gate-fold card with those scampering mice:

Many thanks to Kim and the 12 Kits of Occasions team for including me this month. I had a blast playing along!

Check out the rest of the team's creations HERE:

Hugs,

Caroline

Caring Hearts Post #5

Hello patient friends!

I have been MIA again, regarding the blog-o-sphere.  Lots going on on the home front, winding down at work and making cards, as well as receiving, sorting, and registering all the wonderful cards that have been coming in for the Caring Hearts Card Drive. Over 800 before I left for a wonderful Thanksgiving with our friends in Milwaukee.

Next week my helpers and I will begin boxing up the cards for delivery.

My friend Julianne, one of the founders of Ottawa Therapy Dogs, here in Ottawa Ontario, had the brilliant idea of having therapy dog teams deliver the cards to the nursing home residents they already visit regularly. Project Reindog was very successful and enjoyed by both the "deliverers and receivers."  This year, Julianne contacted other pet therapy associations across Canada, to see if they would be on-board with hand/paw-delivering the cards in other provinces. The idea was welcomed enthusiastically, and we will ship boxes of cards to British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Maritimes. Ottawa Therapy Dogs will deliver cards in the National Capital area, and we will also send boxes directly to nursing homes in Ontario and Manitoba that have contacted us. Spreading joy and smiles!

Thank you to all the wonderful craftspeople who have donated cards, dollars and stamps for shipping costs, and personal messages this year. The Caring Hearts Card Drive is such a win-win endeavour! We all love creating, and knowing that our efforts are appreciated is frosting on the cake... I'd like to thank Vera Wirianta Yates for continuing to spear-head the drive for the past six years.

Happy last-day-of-Thanksgiving, and have a great week!

Big hugs,

Caroline

And so the Magic Begins.... Caring Hearts Post #2

 

Hello my crafty friends!

Well, the postal delivery person (aka the mailman!) dropped off the first batch of cards for the Caring Hearts Card Drive today. Sooo exciting to see the beautiful handiwork of kind and talented people! I love that the cards come from as far away as Quebec and Alberta.

 Receiving them has given me the impetus to get my own card-making underway. I spent last night drafting and cutting to get some samples and kits ready to go. I hope to host a few workshop sessions in my home over the next few weeks, inviting friends to join in the fun.

Here's the first card.

I'm trying to use up existing supplies and tools as much as possible, and I'm starting with my stamps and dies from Lil' Inker Designs.  This is a pretty direct CASE from one of the samples on their website. But with the addition of a strip of black suede paper from Paper Wishes (wonderful rich texture) and a line of silver using...a Sharpie! Who knew something so ordinary could add such a nice accent? The diagonal lines were made using a REALLY OLD Texturz Plate from Sizzix. Remember those? You had to layer the black plates, rubber mat, etc, etc... So glad the world now includes embossing folders, right?

Just in case you'd like to support the Caring Hearts, here are the details on participating.

 

• The card drive will continue until November 28, 2014. We need to receive your cards by November 28, 2014.
•  Please make cards for Christmas or Holiday Wishes. Anyone can send a card, your children, church group, scout troops, etc.
• All cards need to have a seasonal message inside. This can be stamped or hand written.  
• All cards must also be signed by the maker, including your name and  and where you are from. 
• Please include an envelope for each card and please don't seal the envelope.
• Please stick to standard-sized cards:  A2 or 4-1/4" x 5-1/2"
• And please don't use any pins (for safety reasona). Glitter and bling are most welcome!
• This is totally optional, but, if you'd like to include $1 or $2 to help with shipping, it'll be much appreciated. We cover the shipping costs ourselves, with no sponsorship, so any donation toward shipping would help tremendously.
• You can mail the cards to:

          Vera Yates, 109 N. Post Oak Lane Ste. 430, Houston, TX 77024                              
          Card Drive, c/o Tina Schrof , P.O. Box 75,  Springboro, Ohio 45066 
             Linda Langes, c/o Gilston State School, 588 Worongary Road, GILSTON QLD 4211
             Piney-fine, Attn: Anita, P.O. Box 30,  Piney, MBR0A 1 K0, Canada

          Caroline Bredeson, 7 Brown Street, Ottawa, ON K1S 1L9, Canada 

So, get crafting, my friends!
Caroline

Happy 8th Day of Christmas

Hope you are all enjoying a jolly old time, with friends, family and food. That is what the holidays are all about. Some excellent meals, killer game-nights and generally catching up going on at our house, with three sons, parents and sister from Amsterdam all converging. It's been busy... Talk about your polar vortex!

I am very late in giving a final followup on the Caring Hearts Card Drive, Canada-side. You can click onto Vera's blog to see her final post. The drive was a HUGE success this year.

The total number of cards I received for distribution was:

1020 

Woo hoo! These were sent in by 36 wonderful, generous and talented card-makers. Thank you all! It was a treat for me to see your outstanding handy-work.

The prize I promised to the person sending in the most cards went to Adrian Michaud. She conceived of a service project for her son's scout troupe. She made a couple dozen Christmas cards and had the scouts write personal notes to seniors inside. She contacted the Madonna Nursing Home, in Orleans, Ontario. When she found out that there were 160 seniors, many of whom would not be receiving Christmas gifts or greetings from family and friends, she decided to make a card for EACH ONE. That's right, she personally make 160 cards.  Way to go, Adrian!  You have a huge heart!♥

The remainder of the 1020 cards were sent on to 17 nursing homes. 

One of my "elves" who attended my card-making workshops had the idea to have her group, Ottawa Therapy Dogs, help distribute the cards as they made their regular nursing home canine visits. She called the project "Operation Reindog," and the dogs and their handlers really got into it!

We also received some lovely feed-back on the cards themselves:

"I should like to thank Ottawa Therapy Dogs for sending a Christmas card via Claudia & Simba to my wife Helen Young. Helen has lived at The Ravines retirement home for the past four years but is unable to reply herself because of dementia. She did however enjoy the card which is beautifully handmade and unlike any other we have seen" (from a resident's husband).

"Harris and I did watch "guests" opening these beautiful hand-crafted cards.   I have to admit that I had not looked at any beforehand. They are SPECTACULAR!!!!

Please extend my huge thanks to Caroline and all of the amazing women who  have made this happen" (from one of the Reindog's handlers).

So there you are, folks! You gave some people beautiful reasons to smile this Christmas. Just another  reminder that it is just as blessed to give as to receive.

Happy holidays, and all the best for 2015.

 Love you all to bits!

Caroline

Caring Hearts...♥

Happy Saturday, crafty friends!

Collection for the Caring Hearts Card Drive 2014 ended yesterday.

Want to know the total number of cards I received, here in Eastern Canada?

936

Wowsers, eh?

Many of the contributors commented on how much they enjoyed making cards for such a good cause, and that they look forward to doing it again next year (yes!). Several mentioned that they held card-making "bees" with their friends. Some asked how to make sure nursing homes in their area receive cards next year. This thing just keeps on growing!

 

As a "depot" I got to admire & enjoy the beautiful designs and top-notch craftsmanship of the cards that arrived. We had contributions from across Canada (British Columbia to Nova Scotia) as well as a few from overseas (France and Australia). Amazing!

I'm going to wait to announce the winner of the prize I mentioned in THIS blog post; Vera will take another week to finish collating all the results and drawing for prizes.

Next week I'll be able to tell you about a special project we have going in Ottawa to deliver the cards to nursing homes... It has an awesome name.

Finally got a little time to craft today, and was inspired by this advertisement:

I used the stripes from the shopping bag, and a new stamp set from Close to My Heart.

Took my trusty Paper Smooches bookmark die, and some platinum embossing powder and voilà.

I love those bright colours sandwiched between the traditional red & green.

This card is being entered in this week's Card Concept challenge: use a tag.

Stay tuned for more Caring Hearts news...

Happy crafting, 

Caroline