crafting for a cause {cards for heroes}

Article and projects by Kelly Purkey

Cards for Heroes is a wonderful organization that I'm proud to be a part of along with thousands of cardmakers across the country.  Their mission is to support our nation's armed forces by sending blank greeting cards to troops for them to write home on, as well as sending them cards of gratitude for their service.  It's so easy to join in and provide Cards for Heroes with lots of homemade cards to bring a smile to someone's face.

I put together these three cards to send to Cards for Heroes.  They prefer cards that are 4.25x5.5 in size so that they can make the most of shipping them in flat-rate boxes.  Cards that are not time specific are in greatest demand so I created this one that simply says "thank you."  Because the heroes are both men and women, I tried to keep it gender neutral and punched stars from cardstock using my Fiskars Twinkle Twinkle squeeze punches.  Even though the cover of the card is teal, be sure to keep the insides of the card white so they can easily be written on by a hero.  Make the stars stand out by first punching a star with the Twinkle Twinkle L squeeze punch, then layer one punched with the Twinkle Twinkle M squeeze punch. 

Thinking of the families that are separated by many miles, the second card I made has a simple "miss you" message.  I started by punching a scallop circle out of cardstock using my Fiskars Cameo Appearance squeeze punch and layered on a circle punched with my Fiskars Round 'n Round squeeze punch. 

A heart punched with my Fiskars That's Amore squeeze punch and buttons adds some great detail.  Add a strip of cardstock trimmed with Fiskars Pinking Paper Edgers, then set the letter stickers on top. 

However, you don't have to spend a lot of money on supplies to create cards to send.  You can easily make a card using leftover cardstock you have on hand. My flag card only uses cardstock and shapes punched with my Fiskars Twinkle Twinkle and Apron Lace punches. 

Use the Apron Lace border punch on both sides of the strips of cardstock for a great lace look.  You can use small scraps of paper to punch a five stars and four strips of cardstock to make this patriotic card.

Ready to crank out some cards to send?  I've also come up with three easy sketches for you to follow to whip up some cards of your own.  You can easily repeat these designs using just a few scraps of paper to create a bundle of cards to donate.  The sketches incorporate the Fiskars Twinkle Twinkle and Star Pop-Up Punch, as well as the Scallop Sentiment border punch but feel free to substitute in any of your favorite Fiskars tools.

Please visit www.cardsforheroes.org to learn more about joining in this great mission and to read letters from heroes about how our cards have made a difference.  It's a great way to support our troops and put those Fiskars tools to work for a wonderful cause.

I (May Flaum) was so inspired by Kelly's wonderful article, that I asked our Fiskars fans on Facebook if they have stories to share about crafting for a good cause. Here are two stories sent to me -

Gretchyn Edwards ~ I teach papercrafting projects once a month to the scrapbooking group at Gilda's Club in Royal Oak, Michigan.  Gilda's Club is a free, non-profit support community for anyone who's lives have been touched by cancer.  Many of the women in our group are cancer survivors or have someone close to them who has gone through/is currently going through the disease.  It's a wonderful group of gals, and for as much as they thank me for coming every month, I can't thank them enough for the way they encourage me.

Susan Summerville ~ One of the many things that Project Ed Bear does each year is to sponsor a summer camp for children suffering from cancer and blood disorders. During camp we do several arts and crafts projects. The one that every child does and that each parent looks forward to each year is a About Me Scrapbook page that is framed.

The children include a picture of themselves, journal blocks and handmade (that they make) and store bought embellishments. Their creativity is amazing. Each year at camp they (as a group) also make an item to auction off at the annual Project Ed Bear dinner and auction that is held on the first Monday after Thanksgiving. Some of their past projects have included a Christmas tree with handmade ornaments, a quilt and this year they made a calender with original artwork from several of them. The auction has 500 attendees. Many  of them are the childrens doctors and staff so the items they make rarely go for under $1000...you should see their faces light up when their items are bid on.

Thank you Kelly for your article, and to the special crafters everywhere who use their talents doing good for others in so many ways.

By Kelly Purkey