I Feel the Love: Cards for our military

Happy Tuesday, my dear friends! :o)

As you know, a staple in my crafty routine is supporting the incredible I Feel the Love Project, hosted monthly by the sweet and talented Madison of Funky Cards. Each month she highlights a particular person, family, or organization in need of a burst of love... in turn, we have the privilege of using our hobby to make someone's life better. This month we were asked to honor those who serve our wonderful country. Our cards are going to members of the U.S. Navy who will soon be shipping out overseas. Before they deploy for their next mission, we get to send them some love. :o)

My plan was to make five cards and a sweet gift box for them this weekend. I was excited! Unfortunately, early on in the process I sliced my finger. :( I was unable to meet my goal, but I did the best I could under the circumstances. I hope these three cards deliver shiploads of love.

(Individual photos below!)

My inspiration was clearly to find a way to clothe these brave heroes with so much love that beautiful smiles appear upon receipt. :o) It's the least we can do, aside from praying for them daily. I wish I could include a hug, but hopefully these will somehow incite the same feelings. :o)

Because of finger pain when I type, I cannot say as much as I'd love to. However, I simply MUST share with you that on all three cards I used a brand new cartridge! I am thrilled to finally own the Art Philosophy cart, a gift from my sweetie! **happy dance** I've longed for this since it first came out and it is as exquisite as it appears. The timing was perfect because I can't think of a better way to break in a new cart than by using it to serve others.

And now, a few technical highlights of each. :o)

I wanted to make a whimsically fun patriotic card first, so I naturally turned to Create a Critter. I gave the sweet puppy a Peachy Keen Critter face, a flag to hold with pride, and nestled him atop my first Art Philosophy cut: the heart doily! Oh how I love this cut! Expect to see it often, my friends. ;) I used my new gorgeous My Craft Spot crinkle ribbon in Scarlet Red, ordered with a gift certificate I won from my sweet friend Nita. (Thank you again!) The sentiment is from one of the coordinating Close to My Heart stamp sets that come with the cart, which I attached with Peppermint Stick Trendy Twine. The sentiment has a double-purpose, as it's sending them my love and also signifies the heartfelt love our military feels for this great nation. The two little stars are from the Whimsical Designs Whimsical Fun~ Volume 1 stamp set.

For this one, I was able to use more new blessings. The banner is from the Spellbinders Lacy Pennants set, which I won from Sentimental Sundays. I am going to get a TON of use out of this set! I 'strung' them with more trendy twine and 'adhered' them with sparkles. (Even the military likes to sparkle! I'm sure of this.) Everything on the card is inked with Tim Holtz Faded Jeans Distress Ink. The stars are from Art Philosophy, which I stamped in Versamark Dazzle with the corresponding Close to My Heart stamp and heat embossed it with deep blue pearly embossing powder. I used Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Four for the Hero. USA and Hero are cut from Storybook. The bases are embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder for texture and all the cuts are attached with foam tape for dimension. The star paper is from Creative Imaginations. Thankfully I had *just* enough left over from last July!

Lastly, I wanted to make a fun star-shaped card. The gorgeous star is from Art Philosophy (I LOVE the flourish with it!), which I stitched around with my sewing machine. For the interior part of the star I cut the Reminisce patterned paper so it would be slightly angled like the rhinestone-accented flourish. I nestled three heart buttons at the base to signify being rooted and built up in God's love. When we do that, we are sure to flourish. :o) I topped it with more Scarlet Red crinkle ribbon and attached an Art Philosophy tag beneath it. The sentiment is from the Whimsical Designs Whimsical Fun~ Volume 1 stamp set. Whichever Navy member opens it is certainly a super star. :o)

Patriotic cards are the hardest for me, but I hope my heart shows above any design detail anyway... that's always my goal, especially with Madison's project. Thank you for visiting me today! I hope your day sparkles with love and blessings. :o)

Challenge entered:
 * Creative Cutter Room~ Shape cards
 * DL Art Thankful Thursday~ Anything Goes
 * Frosted Designs~ Shape it Up x 3 (Geometric shape used three times: Hero card!)

Key Recipe Components:
 * Most are listed above.. I need to rest my finger, so I will add them here soon!