Hello stampers and happy Monday to you. Card ministry? That is the subject of my blog post today and it is ever so fitting that I am at my parents’ while I am writing this. You see another card from this “card ministry” by Sonja arrived in the mail for them today. Let me tell you a little about Sonja and her card ministry.
Sonja and her Card Ministry
I met Sonja many years ago when I did a fundraiser called Hearts for Haiti. That was the beginning of a long friendship. I found out later that Sonja was part of a card ministry at her church. Every month she would send a card to the people on her list, mostly elderly and shut-in people. She also sends cards to as many veterans as she can, not just in November, but every single month! Sonja has taken her hobby and turned it into a ministry and my family is also now on her list.
My parents and even my brother Oliver now feel like they know Sonja. You see, she doesn’t just send a card, she writes a lovely, newsy letter in her beautiful handwriting in each letter. My mother was touched that Oliver is now also included in the salutation. What a wonderful example you are to all of us Sonja. To make it even more significant, you should know that Sonja is also a long term caregiver to not one, but two people!
Sonja’s Card for Veteran Fred
What an amazing idea for a Remembrance Day card. You see, Fred’s family is so grateful for Sonja’s monthly cards that they send her a picture of their father with his card every month. Sonja asked if she could share his story and his photo with her card ministry people and this is the result. I am so blessed to have met people like Sonja in my business. We really can change the world one card at a time, this is proof of that.
Card for my Family
Here is Sonja’s October card for my family. I had to include a snippet showing her beautiful handwriting and how she included my brother Oliver because she knows that he is the primary caregiver for my parents. What a blessing!!
What Can We Do?
I would love to shower Sonja with cards of encouragement. Share you stories with her and show her some love. Here is her mailing address (she has no idea that I am doing this and I hope it will be a wonderful surprise!) Sonja Russchen 388 Talbot Street West Blenheim, ON N0P1A0, Canada
You could also do what Sonja does. Start gathering names of people who could use monthly encouragement. Word will spread and you will be asked by family members to send their loved one a card.
Thank You!
Thank you for joining me today on my blog. I hope you were inspired. The latest International Create With Us Tutorial has just been released and it features the Painted Christmas Suite. You can get it for free with a $60 purchase or you can buy it for $20US. Just click here and it’s almost yours!! If you want any of the supplies that were used in today’s cards, just click on the links below to shop in my online store. I appreciate it!! Have a super day.
Hello stampers. I finally had some time to play with a technique I came across a few weeks ago. It is called Faux Leather. Tina Zinck had done a video on it and Sheran Rigg made a beautiful card and linked Tina’s video. And that is how I got hooked. It is so easy and it really does look like leather. You can buy sheets of fun foam at Michael’s or you can get it on Amazon as well. I cut it down to a 3″ squares. You then ink up the stamp you want to use. If you use Stayzon you don’t have to worry about drying time, but I like using early espresso for a deeper colour. You then heat up your square of fun foam for about twenty seconds or until the corners start lifting. Then you firmly stamp your image on the fun foam and hold it there for a few seconds. Let it dry and then run it through the Big Shot with a stitched framelit of your choice. Here are some cards I made and at the end of the post I will include a video.
I also like to sponge the edges of my fun foam after it is trimmed down to give it a more weathered look. I use tear and tape for my adhesive as it works best on this surface. The cowboy boots come from the stamp set Country Livin’ and they suit this technique perfectly.
I love the sayings on this card, they come from the stamp set So Many Shells. The ability to truly listen to someone is such a lovely and rare gift that it deserves to be celebrated with a card don’t you think? Don’t forget to finish the inside of the card, or as France Martin says, bring the party inside!
The faux leather technique also works great with any nature images, especially trees and leaves. This card uses the quintessential Lovely as a Tree and Tree Rings background stamp.
The saying “Just a Note” comes from the Soft Sayings Card kit. I used the burlap ribbon and copper trim to finish it off. Card base is very vanilla heavy cardstock (love that stuff!) and then crumb cake in 4″ x 5 1/4″. The oak tree image from Lovely as a Tree also works ever so well for a sympathy card.
Here you can see how much this really looks like leather!
The last card I am sharing with you uses a retired stamp that I just love, For Your Country. For several years now I make a point of going to the cenotaph on Remembrance Day and handing out hand stamped cards to the veterans to show my gratitude.
I did find that for this technique our rubber stamps work best. The photopolymer stamps that I used simply did not leave a deep enough etching to really make it look like leather. I hope you have lots of fun with this simple technique that has such fabulous results with so little time. As always, you know that I would welcome you on my team if you live in Canada. I am celebrating my 12th anniversary with Stampin’Up this year and to include you in this celebration I am offering a draw for a free bundle of your choice if you place an online order with me in October using the current host code. Good luck!
