From Our Hearts

Illinois Again . . . and again!

You'll be seeing much coming from Illinois as they have been BUSY!  Lisa B from Aurora, IL is no exception - her box of supplies arrived without warning (like Bev, she was most generous!) - 50 cards accompanied this box - a side shot of it, to show the PACKING TAPE!  (much needed and very much appreciated!) 

And punches . . . we counted 6 of them, a crimper, brayer and WOW, clear envelopes, too!

It's like candyland - two days in a row.

Then, these boxes arrived from Julie W in Sugar Grove, IL (you remember Julie?  She is our Illinois volunteer and on Facebook - "Stamping From Our Hearts In Illinois".

Sifting through the THREE, yes, THREE boxes of cards, we discovered 54 cards donated by, yes, Lisa!

Julie always sends us a note, detailing all of what she has sent; 659 cards were made/donated at her January 31st cardmaking event in Sugar Grove.

Not only did Lisa add cards to the boxes, but Val H from Oswego, IL also sent 135 cards, bookmarks and these ink pens for us to include in the boxes:

 

It gets better!  57 cards were also donated by Ann L (a familiar name, you remember her son Ethan who stamped the St Patrick's Day cards?) and 27 cards from Jan D (a new contributor), both from Aurora, IL.

Julie is holding 2 events this month - March 14 & 15 at the Heirloom Rubber Stamp & Paper Arts Festival at the Kane City Fairgrounds in St. Charles, Illinois - she is setting up a booth to represent From Our Hearts and invites stampers and the public to stop by and make a card for the troops.  We wish we could be there with you Julie!

On March 21, she is holding another event at the Church of the Good Shepherd.  For more information, contact us or visit her facebook page.

Illinois stampers, while it may have taken us several days to get through those boxes, we don't mind at all.  Keep on stamping!  Our troops LOVE OUR CARDS!

Supplies arrive and cards, too

An ordinary box.  Or so we thought . . .

No, not the typical box full of card donations for the troops we expected to see, although we did manage to find a few among the many, many supplies that Bev from Shiloh, IL shipped our way.  Were we surprised when we saw this when we opened the box:

 
Brand new stamp sets, wheels, ink pads, ink refills, brads, the list goes on and on - we kept finding more supplies as we removed the first layer.

Her note to us:  Use them at your events or use them to raise funds to help ship over the thousands of cards.

We are touched by her generosity, as we are every time we open a box that we receive as we know it comes "From Our Hearts" - each and every contributor.

Our many, many thanks Bev - these words we write so often, they indeed come From Our Hearts!

Patriot Way Stampers Come Through AGAIN!

All the WAY FROM MAINE (didn't we say we get cards from all 4 corners of the USA?)

Marilyn Mae and the Patriotic Way Stampers were stamping their hearts out again and a few hearts even spilled out on the box before it was shipped out !

Yes, these patriotic ladies were at it again, this time stamping and creating 204 Easter cards.  YES . . . ALL Easter cards!  Marilyn Mae tells us there are a core group of 5 ladies in the Patriotic Way Stampers who are actively participating and creating these cards.

All the same design, same stamp, different colors, different designer paper and ribbons, but all basically the same card.  And all HAND colored - what a tremendous amount of work went into creating this box of flowers.  Each card is a symbol of their love of God, Country, and the Troops.

Marilyn Mae now has special T-Shirts for her group of Patriot Way Stampers!

Enclosed in the box was a note from Marilyn Mae, and some dimensionals, which we will put to good use.

To our surprise and delight, a cash donation was included in the box for postage, compliments of Diane O.  This will help us ship out those boxes of Easter cards!  Many thanks to Diane - we receive cards but without the funds for supplies and postage, they wait until they are available.

Marilyn Mae is helping to spread the word about From Our Hearts by networking - as she believes in our cause and in supporting our troops!

We thank you, Marilyn Mae, for all you are doing to help us to get as many cards in as many hands of our servicemen and women serving our country in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Much of our card donations and financial support is received because of individuals like Marilyn Mae, who spread the word of what we are doing.

Supplies and MORE from Philadelphia, PA

Juliana sent us a box.  It rattled.  Hmmm....  Not our ordinary box of cards, obviously.

And we were right.  SUPPLIES!!!

Buttons, templates, rubons, envelopes, paper and just too many odds and ends to list out.

We think this will be a fun box to put on a table at one of our free card making events to let our more experienced stampers "just have fun"!

But it gets even better.  We were notified of a paypal donation from, yes, Juliana!!!  We can certainly use these funds to purchase much needed supplies to ship over the many, many boxes overseas.

Our gratitude to you, Juliana, for your box of supplies and for your financial support as well!

Kathy W Goes Above and Beyond

When our request went out to the stamping community to purchase a retired stamp set that we needed for our February 6 card making event, Kathy heard our plea.

This is what arrived in the mail:

Not only the stamp set, which she would not let us pay for - her most generous contribution to From Our Hearts (and we will use it to make our Father's Day cards, baby, birthday . . . such a versatile set!) but a box full of cards made by her:

And one more little surprise, made by some little ones!

These cute cards, made with the Loads of Love stamp set by Stampin' Up!® were made and donated by children who made them at their school:

Just adorable!

 

We suspect Kathy had a hand in helping these children put these cards together.  What a wonderful surprise to see them included in the box!

Our many thanks to Mrs. Murphy's class, and to Kathy for her multi-faceted contribution!

How much to Send?

Many times From Our Hearts receives e-mails asking if we have a "minimum" number of cards that "have" to be donated as many of our contributors send us literally hundreds of cards with every shipment on a regular basis.

Our response:  You may send us one card.  Every card, added to the next, fills up a box.

These 12 cards were contributed by a stamper just 30 miles north of our home office in Columbia, Missouri.  Her name is Kathy B.

Well made, she crafted birthday and much needed Mother's Day cards.

They key to what we send over is QUALITY HANDCRAFTED cards.

 

If no envelopes or clear envelopes are sent along, From Our Hearts provides these - yes, this takes away from the amount of funds we have available to actually ship those cards over!

Our costs are escalating.

This year alone, our postage costs are nearly HALF of what From Our Hearts incurred ALL OF LAST YEAR!

Why?

• The number of card contributions has increased dramatically (thank you, all of you!)
• The number of chaplain contacts has increased x 5 (word is spreading!)
• postage has increased as of January 4
• the number of boxes we've sent since January 1 is increasing accordingly!

Envelopes and clear envelopes are appreciated when sending cards.  And, financial contributions to help us to continue with our operations is most welcome - From Our Hearts is a not for profit, total volunteer organization that relies entirely on contributions.  Our time at the home office is volunteered as well.

The letters and cards received from Iraq and Afghanistan are proof that our boxes and boxes of cards are very much needed and wanted.  We will continue to send them until the need is no longer there.

From Our Hearts received a paypal donation just last week.  It came from someone we did not know but the address was MA - so we knew it was the east coast - and we acknowledge each and every contribution via e-mail.  The response back to us (within a matter of just an hour or so) was short, but took us back:

"Love your cards.  I send them to my son from Baghdad."

A donation from a serviceman in Iraq!  To us, this means "keep sending the boxes"!

Thank you to all who have contacted us and who are planning to help us, and to those of you who have contributed, whether it be a dozen cards or 1,000 cards, supplies OR by financial contributions through our paypal, credit card link or checks in the mail.

Together we are making a difference, one card at a time.

Clear Envelopes and More Arrive

These came from Bev P in Shiloh - just across the river in our neighbor state of Illinois.  Bev sent us 2 boxes and one package -

Only one picture taken, below - of the many, many cards and supplies she sent to us.  And over 400 much needed clear envelopes (thank you BEV!!) over 400!!!

In addition, many stamps, ink pads, ribbons, card stock, designer paper, you name it, she sent it to us.  These items we can use at our many stamping events.

And it gets even better.

Bev sent us a paypal donation to ship over several boxes to our servicemen and women in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Our Hearts are with you, Bev!

We will be certain that those special chaplains get those special cards . . .

Another Angel in Our Corner

Her name is Kari.  She lives in Washington, MI.  It seems that she always knows when From Our Hearts is in need.  This was time was no exception.  Planning was underway for our very first annual Mother's Day card making event and fundraiser to be held on February 6 and Kari e-mailed us, out of the blue.

"I'm sending you a box of supplies.  I figured you could use them."

Not knowing what she had in mind (as we never do when Kari starts filling up her box), we waited patiently for her box to arrive.  And take a look at what we found when we opened it:

Card stock, designer paper, ribbon, stamp sets, wheels, and long envelopes (always needed for those over-sized cards that arrive without envelopes!)

 

Kari was our very first contributor to our cause, long before From Our Hearts officially became a not for profit.  She knew just what was needed, without any words spoken.

Since that time, many boxes have arrived from her - and as always, they contain just what is needed.

An angel, from Michigan, moved to send what is needed at just the right time.

This box is no exception.  Much of what she sent will be used at the card making event on February 6 and the new-in-package items are in the silent auction to help raise the much needed funds to help us to continue our operations - to purchase card stock for our volunteers in Kansas, supplies to ship the boxes and of course, the cost of mailing the 20 + boxes every month.

Kari's connection over the miles to From Our Hearts is unique; she is one more angel in our corner!

From Our Hearts Believes in The Magic of the Season

"Believe in the Magic of the Season" - this was the saying that was stamped on the inside of a Christmas card From Our Hearts received one day, not too long ago.

On the outside of the envelope:

no return address.

Postmark:  APO AE

No stamp.  In its place the words "free".

. . . Another card received from the war zone . . .

Inside, the most beautifully handwritten message.

Merry Christmas

To all our loyal friends at From Our Hearts, I would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year.  Thank you for all you do.  Your support and generosity is greatly appreciated.  Here is a small donation so you may continue to take care of our troops while we take care of our great nation so far from home.  Keep up the great work.  God Bless.

-signed-

We could not read the signature.  There was no return address so we don't know who sent us the donation.  We suspect the contributor wants to remain anonymous.  This is a first for From Our Hearts - to receive a donation from the war zone.

Imagine, busy serving our country and taking the time to write to thank From Our Hearts and to help with cash so that we may continue to send the boxes . . . now that is from the heart!

This card and his/her words are meant for each and every contributor and volunteer to From Our Hearts.

Believe in the magic . . . our cards are a gift we give year round that keeps on giving and touching thousands of lives in so many, many ways.

Gretchen's Special Box

When From Our Hearts opened the door for Stephen and he handed us this box, were we excited!  You see, we have been waiting anxiously for this special box to arrive.

All the way from Decatur, IL, Gretchen had e-mailed us several weeks ago, letting us know that she was putting together a special package of her sample cards that she creates and posts on her blog.  And what creative cards she makes!  We just knew that these cards would be gorgeous.

Before we move on to the cards, we want to show a close up of the box:

Isn't this just an amazing picture?  Drawn by her daughter, it captures the essence of what From Our Hearts is all about.

You, the soldier, sending the card (with love . . . see the heart?)  and then a the wife (or husband) and "kid", the recipient of the card.  How precious is this?

From the heart of a child . . . yes, we have female military personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan who leave their husbands and children behind and who appreciate receiving our cards, too!

Here is a copy of Gretchen's e-mail to us that she sent when she shipped the cards - she added it to the box as well.  It included a breakdown of the cards by type and the number of each.  She sent 146 completed cards, each ready for the boxes (with envelopes and clear envelopes) AND 50 card fronts/swaps that are already on their way to Topeka.

And another bonus for us:  2 packages of cardstock - whisper white and basic black - a staple for us for turning card fronts into cards.  That will create 160 usable cards!

Inside?  See for yourself.  All cards are sorted by type.  She even affixed her own label to each clear envelope with her special "made by" information on it.

In a hurry to get these in the boxes as they arrived just before we met for our "boxing party", no individual pictures were taken.  But, here is the link to her blog.  I encourage you to visit her blog and see her cards.  I guarantee you'll agree with me when I say, her cards deserve an A+ for creativity and workmanship.  We are honored that Gretchen has chosen to support our effort and to send us her samples.  Our troops deserve only the very best!