From Our Hearts

Long List - Recent Contributors, We Thank You!

We, at the home office, just do not have the resources or time to call and thank each of our contributors and to let them know their boxes have arrived.  So, we are posting those that were received these past 2 weeks - it is a long list, and we have been very busy checking in each box and admiring the works of art!

Take a look below; you'll see cards coming from all over the country!

Sharon C - Allen Park, MI

Mary M - Peru, IN

Karen R (Caring Cardmakers in Cortaro, AZ)

Susan J - Chicago, IL (2 contributions)

Belinda R - Lexington, NC

Sue S - Holts Summit, MO

Julia C - (The Reach Project, Columbia, MO)

Lina W - El Paso, TX

Judy D - N Ridgeville, OH

Amy C - Cda, SC

Joann B - Paradise, CA

Regina A - Topeka, KS

Karen B - (Stampin' #8 Club, Morton Grove, IL)

April S - (Mad Hatters, Chino Hills, CA)

Cynthia K - Norco, CA

Rosemary C - Maquen, IL

Judy M - Riverside, CA

Valerie B - Riverside, CA

Susan R - Grove City, OH

Joan D - Tariffville, CT

Karen K - (Cream City Caligraphers, Waukesha, WI

Gail D - Lancaster, PA

Bev W and Susan M - Sacramento, CA

Ruth F - Gilbert, AZ

Barbara S - Warner Robins, GA

Phyllis M - (Mainely Caring Cardmakers, Woolwich, ME)

Kathy G - Lompoc, CA

Thank you, thank you!!

Jan, Ching, And Local Volunteers Help From Our Hearts

Jan C, from Cedar Rapids, IA contributed another box of cards to From Our Hearts, and we appreciate receiving a box again from her!

Jan's cards are beautiful, and we thank her for sending us thinking of you, thank you, love you, hi/hello and so many more cards that we need, including miss you cards!

Jan sent some fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Valentines, too.

Our fall/Halloween and Thanksgiving cards will be shipping out next week and we thank ALL of our contributors who have helped to fill up the boxes!

Ching T is our next contributor, and we thank Ching for ALL she does for From Our Hearts! Not only did Ching send us 184 cards (and awesome cards they are!), she also sent some ribbon AND a package of cheese ball mix - and we can't wait to give it a try!

Ching's cards, this time, were made from card swap fronts as well as cards she made for Design Team assignments and other cards she made for fun. 

Ching made many blank cards, as she knew we needed them!

And kid cards, too.

Our thanks to Ching for helping us, once again!

Next, is a special mother/daughter pair Britney and Julie H from Holts Summit, MO - a local team who are our newest volunteers - they decided to make cards using donated paper, ink and stamp sets -

They stamped and created 64 cards!  and Britney donated $1 to our effort (what a sweetie she is!).  We thank Julie for guiding her daughter in helping her daughter in learning to give from the heart . . .

They made pretty awesome cards!

Of course, we made sure they were "fun", kid-type of cards!

Our thanks to Julie and Britney for stamping for our troops!

 

Thanks to the Residents of Heisinger Bluffs

Every month, From Our Hearts stamps with a group of residents of Heisinger Bluffs, a retirement center located in Jefferson City.  We use donated card stock, designer paper, ink pads, ribbon and other donated supplies to create many cards each month - and this month, card kits were created by Kavi C, Hillsville, VA for our event.  This group of about a dozen senior citizens ranging in age all the way up to 94 years young, assemble, on average, 120-150 cards.  Yesterday, they filled an ENTIRE large APO/FPO priority box - while we didn't count, we think they broke their record by about 100 cards!

In addition, the resident population recycles their aluminum cans, and provides From Our Hearts with funds to ship over one box per month.  We thank the residents of Heisinger Bluffs for 3 1/2 years of support!

And We Thank Juliana...!

Juliana B, Philadelphia, PA recently commented on the posting of her cards received:

"Thanks for the shout out! I just wanted to state for the record that the card fronts attributed to me in this post were actually designed by other people. I merely mounted them on full card bases to save Regina and her crew some time and supplies. :)"

We thank Juliana for going the extra step!

From Our Hearts Stamping At The Office

Recently, some of our local volunteers gathered at our office and took a break from the "normal" work of checking in boxes and filling boxes to ship out to stamp and create Christmas cards for our troops.  A welcomed diversion - and they had fun!

Using donated card stock, paper and supplies, they created many cards that were included in the 70+ boxes that were mailed off last month.

Seated to the left is Anne H and to her right is Sue S, both who create "card kits" with our donated supplies for our local stamping events we hold at the library and the retirement center.  On the right is Susan T, our VP of Operations.  Below, the cards they made - and many of each type.

We thought we would share some of the cards made locally!

And we have our contributors to thank - as the supplies were all donated, including the double sided tape.

And this includes the ink - as many have donated ink pads and re-inkers, too.

Our thanks to everyone for the help given to us!

And our thanks to our local volunteers who help us on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.  We could not operate without THEIR support!

Girl Scouts From PA and NJ Contribute

Girl Scouts have been busy!

Cheryl S from Auburn, PA, scout leader of troop 31344 from Orwigsburg, PA tells us her troop got together twice to make cards and this is he result - a box of 86 cards shipped our way.

Not knowing the ages of these girls, we can only assume they are older girls, or they sure did have some great leaders who certainly taught them well!

Very nice cards and quite the assortment!  Anniversary, birthday, congratulations, thank you, the list goes on.  They also included a monetary contribution to help us out.

Cheryl's note to us:  "it's a small token of our appreciation for them (the troops).  Thank you for your service to them as well!" 

We appreciate your kind words and of course, for your support of our effort and of our troops!

Stephanie V sent us these pictures of Girl Scout Jr Troop 1040, Parsippany, NJ hard at work . . .

Not making cards, but making the Psalm 91 bookmarks!  Stephanie and her co-leader, Lisa, assisted the girls and they created 54 laminated bookmarks that will be placed on top of the cards.

Her is a photo of all the girls, displaying their handiwork.  In addition, they also created cards to with notes to the soldiers.  Stephanie and Lisa tell us they found us through an internet search while looking for a creative way their troop could show their gratitude for the soldiers overseas.

The girls are 4th graders - we thank Natalie, Rachel, Michelle, Kayley, Mia, Maggie and Samantha for all their hard work and for choosing From Our Hearts!

The girls really enjoyed making the bookmarks and adding their special touches to them.  They are priceless!  Can we put a dollar figure on these?  We think not!

Willliam Woods Students Create and Contribute To From Our Hearts

The students at  William Woods University, under the direction of their art professor, Terry Martin, have been busy again! Two different classes contributed their works of art to From Our Hearts - and their masterpieces are on their way overseas.  These cards are not our typical hand stamped and pieced cards but see for yourself:

Terry writes:

"My students in basic design studied ancient Celtic designs and applied techniques of the early form of making prints by means of dry point engraving.  The project has been a valued service learning experience and is a good way for them to express appreciation for others who protect our freedom and way of life."

Beautiful, creative designs!

Original, for sure!  These students have talent!

We are in awe of each and every one.

And some even have a patriotic bent to them.

We thank each and every student for contributing their works of art and to Terry for his continued support of our effort!  We appreciate you incorporating From Our Hearts into your academic program.

Roark Data Employees Show Their Support

Headed up by Melissa E, the employees of Roark Data, Eden Prairie, MN, gathered together to stamp for our troops.  (Melissa is standing in the back, overseeing their work . . . making sure the cards are p-e-r-f-e-c-t ! ! ! )

The employees, men and women alike, stamped 177 cards.

under the watchful eye of Melissa!

Melissa tells us that Roark Data contributes the clear envelopes.

The employees take their "work" seriously!

And they had fun, too.

The result?  Beautiful cards, each and every one of them.

Thinking of you, miss you . . .

Valentines, and birthdays, too.

Birthday., blank note cards and thank you cards were contributed by Mary Kay R and Cory D, too - 33 in total.

Her total box?  210 cards - a big shipment that arrived on our doorstep!  We thank Melissa, Mary Kay, Cory and the employees of Roark Data for your help and for supporting our troops!

2nd Annual Christmas in August Event A Tremendous Success

Our heartfelt thanks to Bev Penick (pictured below, center) who orchestrated this big event at the Drury Inn on August 15 on behalf of From Our Hearts.  Susan Troxel, our VP of Operations, joined us - she is pictured on the left, and Meghan M, on the right, was a tremendous "right hand" to Bev.

Julie Wilson, our volunteer in Sugar Grove, drove down and helped to set up and brought a couple of thousand of cards to make - and some already made for us to take back to Jefferson City - a great way for her to save on postage!

She is pictured below, on the right - with Martie.

It was great to finally meet Julie!

We drove up early to help set up - only to find the room all ready!  That is efficiency!

Above, Bev is putting the final touches on the give away table.

The doors opened, and much to Martie's suprise, her cousins showed up to support the troops!  None had ever stamped before, but they follow From Our Heart's blog and had noted the date and time of Bev's event!

All in all, over 100 individuals, young and young at heart, came to stamp!

Fun was had by all. . .

And there was a piece of a card to be made by each and every participant.

Julie's daughter was in charge of "stuffing" the cards...

Even the men who showed up dug in and helped.  Most were veterans - many military showed up as Scott AFB is very close by.

Giving away the freebies is always a fun time!

Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween and even a few all ocassion cards were made.

Cards awaiting the final packaging . . . and the count?

3033 cards! - How many boxes of cards does this equate to?  Ten!!!

And at the end of the day, all were loaded into Martie's car - and headed to Jefferson City!

We appreciate the time, talent, and effort that went into holding this event - it took many hours of work and coordination on Bev and her demonstrator/friends' part and to the Drury Inn for donating their ballroom space -

And to Julie for her contribution of so many cards and supplies that she brought and donated as well (and to those who made the trip with her from the Sugar Grove area!) -

We thank you all!  Our servicemen and women are benefiting from all your hard work!!!

We can't wait for the 3rd annual event next year!

 

 

From Our Official Volunteer in Norman OK

Hi Martie,

Look at what I'm inventorying to mail out next week. 5+ boxes.

This represents my first 4 days at the Christmas store and one 40 minute session at OU for a work retreat where the ladies knocked out 100 cards in 40 minutes :0) There are not quite 6 boxes.

I'll let you know when I head to the PO.

--
Big Hugs,
Ruth

AngelArtistok

Norman, OK USA

Wow!  Ruth has been busy - but then, she is ALWAYS busy, holding From Our Hearts events on a regular basis for the troops.

Final count?  We'll know when she finally gets the cards in the mail!

A BIG HUG TO YOU, RUTH!

Think of how many smiles will be on so many faces because of your effort!