From Our Hearts

Sugar Grove Stamps ! ! !

. . . and what an event they put on for From Our Hearts on September 13!  Lots of planning went into this card making marathon.  Just take a look at these bundles of holiday cards:

600 + cards, all made with care, bundled up and they arrived on our doorstep.

A great big From Our Hearts thank you goes to Julie W. from Sugar Grove, Illinois who organized this event on our behalf.

Here is Julie, with her adorable granddaughter Madalee.  Thank you sending us the pictures and one with you, too, Julie!  It's nice to put a face to the names we typically only see on e-mails or voices we hear on the phone.

Julie says the following dedicated stampers and scrapbookers and students came out to help:  Nancy I., Debbie K., Linda S., Jan D., Ginger E., Maureen M., Marcia H., Danielle B, Nice K., Bethanne L. and Christopher.  They did a phenomenal job creating such gorgeous cards.

And, one special addition:  Ann L from Oswego, Il donated 100 cards of her own and included them in the box.  Here are just two:

A beautiful holiday peace card!  And the next one she created in honor of her very special furry friend - she even e-mailed his picture.  Can you see the resemblance? 

Ann created several of these "dog" cards, each adorned in a different outfit.  How clever!  Thank you, Ann, they are in the boxes, ready to go.  We are sure there are many dog lovers serving our country and these cute card will be some of the first to go!

Julie has taken our cause to heart and is holding another event on November 1 from 1 - 4 pm at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Oswego, Illinois.  For more information and to make reservations (so Julie will know how many cards to prepare for) please contact Julie at jkw1211957@yahoo.com.  There is no cost; donations are welcome to help with the cost of supplies and postage.

If you live in the Sugar Grove/Oswego area, mark your calendar, call Julie and plan to come for a fun afternoon of stamping for our troops!

Deadlines for Card Shipments

We have been asked many times for "drop dead dates" of when cards need to be received for shipping over for the upcoming holidays.  One day in the near future, when time permits, this list for the entire calendar year will be posted.  Until then, these are the next few holidays and dates:

Halloween cards have been shipped!

Thanksgiving:  cards will be mailed over on or around October 8.

Christmas/Holiday:  cards will be mailed over on or around Halloween.  If sending just cards with no envelopes or clear envelopes, we need time to purchase and of course, assemble them for the boxes.  These need to be to us by October 15.  Otherwise, if they are ready for the boxes, October 25-26 will give us time to get these boxes ready to ship.

Valentines (oh yes, this is our next big shipment - can you believe it?) - these will be mailed over right after Christmas - yes, the timing is right at the holidays, and we are all busy, busy, busy, but we need time to get them to our servicemen and women!!

The address for CARDS ONLY is:

From Our Hearts, 1100 Dogwood Dr, Jefferson City, MO 65109

Card fronts go to a different address.  Contact us for details.

Thank you for your continued support.

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Jolene S, A New Contributor to From Our Hearts Donates in a Big Way

And wow, did she blow us away.  Not one, not two, but three boxes arrived from Ohio, all with the same return address.  Were we ever surprised and pleased to receive her contributions!

This is just one of the three boxes that appeared on our doorstep.

Inside?   Take a look at the contents of one of the boxes:

Cards, card fronts, paper, envelopes, clear envelopes, a beautiful handcrafted magnet stamped with the "create" definition from the "Define your Life" stamp set and even a special note card (very elegant!) with a check enclosed for us to use for supplies or postage -

Thank you Jolene, your kindness and most generous donation we know comes from your heart!

Sam S From CA Donates Again to From Our Hearts

And does she say it with enthusiasm or what?  This package arrived at our doorstep - what a joy to see this message on the outside of her box:

And inside, she makes it easy for our VP of Operations, Susan T, who counts, sorts and accounts for each and every card and donation that is received.  Take a close look at what Sam has done.  She has counted every type of card, bundled them up, and placed her name and where she is from on a slip of paper on the inside of the box!  A dream come true for us at the home office.

Thank you, Sam, for your donation of cards, envelopes and clear envelopes - you have made our job so much easier - and these cards will be going over very soon as these cards require so little "work" on the home front find their place in the proper box!

Boxes arriving Daily at From Our Hearts

And we aren't complaining one bit - as these cards are going to a great cause - keep reading.

Our servicemen and women are writing us daily, thanking us in many different ways.  We'll be showing some of our recent contributions very soon.

But first, we want to share a recent card we received from one of our recipients of our cards.

This one comes from a female soldier.  She writes:

To:  A Friend

Thank you for sending us these beautiful cards.  They are truly magnificent.  There are many times we find excuses not to send a letter home but with these cards, they always encourage us to be closer to our family and friends.  It helps us express ourselves and be a little less sad!

It's so hard out here.  I have three babies and I always send them a card.  I can't wait to go home.  Thank you so much.

Love, your friend,

(signed)

We are making her day a bit brighter - thanks to all of you ! ! !

Arlene D from NY's Contribution is from the Heart

Many boxes are arriving daily and when this one arrived we were thrilled to see that it was from none other than Arlene D, from Rome, NY - and we recognize this name as she had sent us a box just a few months ago.

 

Inside was a note to use, again on a heart shaped sticky note (just love those hearts!!!)  She takes the time to turn card fronts into cards before sending them on to us!  And wow, what nice cards they are!

They were even sorted, with envelopes and in clear envelopes !!!

Thank you, Arlene!  What a nice surprise for us to receive your generous, counted and ready for the box contribution!

From Our Hearts Library event Sept 13

Every month, From Our Hearts sponsors a free event at the Missouri River Regional Library in Jefferson City, MO.  The public is invited to come and stamp and to assemble cards for the troops.  This event is usually held the second Sunday from 1-4 p.m., upstairs in the multi-media room.  We never know how many will show up, so we are prepared for a large group to keep them busy for 3 hours of stamping.

This past month, about a dozen showed up to give of their time and talent.

Above are pictured Tammy and Katrina, a mother and daughter team two fine young Elders whom we have had the opportunity to get to know - they created beautiful cards for our boxes.  None had ever stamped before!

Those pictured above are some dedicated stampers who have attended a few of our local events in the past.  Cheryl K, Karen W., Sue S., Emily K, of course, Gerry!

Below is a sampling of the cards they created:

 

 

 

 

What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  And of course, we took with us the chewing gum that was donated by Leanne!

Many thanks to all who participated this month.  Over 180 cards were made - we look at this count as a half a box!!!

Arrived Just In Time

Robbie C.'s box of cards arrived just in the knick of time:

We opened it and the contents spilled out - gorgeous cards!  These cards were sorted and in among them were Halloween and fall cards - just in time to be placed into the Halloween boxes we just shipped over.

The posting from a few days ago of Susan T. preparing the final cards for the boxes are Robbie's Halloween cards so go check them out - her cards are top notch!

Robbie, we appreciate you sending them by priority mail so they could be included in this shipment!  Imagine the smiles that these cards are going to bring to not only our servicemen and women, but to their loved ones, too!

Thank you, from our hearts!

Donations of All Types Arrive in Multitudes!

And when we say multitudes, we arent' kidding!  Much to our surprise and delight, not two, but THREE boxes arrived, all with the same return name and address from Leanne G. in KS.  Leanne, we don't have an e-mail address for you to let you know that they have arrived safely!

Look what goodies she sent to us:

not only cardstock, glue, notecards, envelopes and paper,

but three nice notes thanking us and many packages of gum for us to pass out at our cardmaking events!

How thoughtful  And yes, we handed them out this past Sunday at our monthly free cardmaking event at the library and have already used some of these supplies - they are now cards!

Thank you, Leanne!

How Perfect Can Perfect Be?

Take a look at this box:

 

It looks like any other ordinary large Priority mail box, doesn't it?  This one arrived from Bernadette C. all the way from California.

But when we opened it:

 

WOW!  That was the only thing that we could say. WOW!  Is this just not the most perfect box?  Cards, with envelopes, in clear envelopes, sorted, and aren't those just the cutest Santas she stamped to separate the different card types?

Do you see what is peeking out behind the cards?  Any guesses?  A roll of packing tape!!!  Now that is a nice surprise!  Her box of 200 cards (no, we didn't have to count them because she included that information in her note!) needed a little extra something to keep them from shifting in transit and a roll of packing tape fit the bill!

Now, on to her note.  "From Moo to Ewe" - Thank you Bernadette, and I thanked our mailman on your behalf!  Her note says "FYI - 200 cards total, all made during the sweltering heat of sunny Southern California" - and "until the next box . . ."

We can't wait to see what you have in store for us!  Thank you Bernadette, you made our day with your Perfect Box!