A card of thanks

My family has been supporting the troops since before I ever married my husband, who, if you didn't know, is a Soldier in the U.S. Army. We have sent care packages to numerous Soldiers and Marines since 2006. And it's like pulling teeth to get them to tell you something they need. It's understandable, they are very far away, supposed to be strong brave men, and we are just strangers writing them letters. But one of these guys broke down and told me he needed a new toothbrush. Well, this just got my family in an uproar! These guys are over there for a whole year and they have to ask a stranger for a toothbrush?? Not to mention, my grandmother was a dental assistant and now works as the receptionist for our dentist back home. Dental health has always been a big deal in my family. So since that one Soldier asked for a toothbrush, all of the care packages my mother has sent have included at least 2 toothbrushes, so they can share.

A good friend deployed to Afghanistan about a month ago. Their living conditions are some of the worst I have ever heard of; very similar to the stories I heard about Iraq in 2003. I have heard that many of the guys (if not most) are physically ill with the food and water they have available. So I asked my mother to once again rally the troops (i.e. my family) and get some care packages off to this guy, and no worries, he'll share, he's a great guy. So she called my grandmother for some tooth brushes. Her theory is that if they are getting sick, they NEED to change their toothbrush fairly often. Our awesome dentist gave my mom whole boxes of toothbrushes, small variety tooth pastes (which one deployed Soldier told me he liked because it was just another variation for his very "Groundhog's Day" deployment), and floss! And of course, all of the old "dude" magazines from their waiting room. I just couldn't believe it. So the nerd I am, I immediately thought about making him a card! (Sadly, this is not the first card I have mailed to my dentist, but that is a different story. And quite frankly, my dentist rocks!!)

So here is the card I mailed to him and his staff:

They're dog tags!! Aren't they awesome?!?! I love the Stand & Salute cart for just this reason. They have so many images, but then each image can be made into a note card, dog tag, or border.

A theme?

Sorry I've been kinda absent. In an odd turn of events, I found out I had a gallbladder full of gall stones and was admitted to the hospital for semi-emergency surgery two weeks ago. While recovering, I couldnt bend over to craft. My cricut is on the floor in our living room and it was hard to operate when I could barely bend over and sitting on the floor was a chore. But I found out that my cousin was admitted to the hospital for a very serious condition only days after I was discharged. So I sucked it up and sat in my floor to make her a handmade card. She is still in the hospital, but seems to be doing better. Her aunt even contacted me to let me know she got the card and absolutely loved it. That was the first time in my adult life I had ever been in the hospital, and I knew that even a little color would help brighten up the room.

This is from the Create a Critter cart. The card is made at 5 1/4 inches, as are all my cards. I love this cart. The layers make the animal so detailed.

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