Getting Cricky Blog Hop Preview Day TWO -- Sleeping Peacefully Hero Card!! :)

Before I begin today's post, I'd like to say thank you to all of my fabulous followers (new and not-so-new!)...  It means so much to me that so many of you take the time to stop by and see me!! :)  Now for some excitement...

Woot-woot!!  DAY TWO!!  Only THREE more days until the wonderful, excellent, fabulous, magnificent, fantastic, extraordinary, outstanding, terrific, really GREAT Getting Cricky Blog Hop!!  :)  {Can you tell that I'm just a wee little bit excited about this???}  My WONDERFUL Design Team Sisters will be featuring all of K Andrew's BRAND NEW Stamp Art Stamp Sets -- PLUS you'll be among the FIRST to see two more NEW RELEASES during the Getting Cricky Ustream Event!!  Whatever your plans are for Friday...  CANCEL THEM so you can join the Getting Cricky Crowd!!  hee hee...  :)

Now on to today's card featuring Getting Cricky's K Andrew's "Freedom Isn't Free" Stamp Set!! :)

I used the Paper Pups Cricut Cartridge for the sleeping puppy (cut at 1.5") and the moon (cut at 2.5").  The clouds are from the Create A Critter Cricut Cartridge (cut at 3").  I used my Creative Memories Wavy Trimmer to cut the apple green cardstock.  All distressing/shadowing was done with caramel ink.  Both the puppy and the moon are popped up for dimension.

This card will be sent as a Hero Card for Operation Write Home.  Currently, two of my son's closest friends are preparing for deployment (with two different branches of our nation's armed forces)...  I try to imagine what this must feel like for them...  I know they are happy and proud to be serving our country, but I also imagine that they must have some fear for the uncertainty that they are facing.  By sending Hero Cards to OWH, I get the immense joy of knowing that I might be able to encourage a Hero (just like my son's friends) who needs to read something positive or just know that someone, somewhere is thinking of him or her!!  If you'd like more info on OWH, I invite you to visit their site HERE...

I had a lot of fun creating this card...  I knew I wanted to use this fabulous phrase from Kristal's set: "Sleeping peacefully tonight because of you" but I wanted it to be a 'happy' card...  Well, it just so happens that while I was playing with my stamps on the evening that I received my sample, The-Toby-Dog was in his familiar spot (sprawled across my feet taking a 'nap')!!  Who sleeps more peacefully amid the noisy distractions of everyday life than The-Toby-Dog???  I've seen him 'nap' with his eyes wide open!!  He's such a funny dog...  We adopted him from Animal Friends when he was only 10 weeks old (he was tiny and oh-so-cute!)...  He's now morphed into a 50-pound 'puppy' who follows me everywhere and loves attention...  And he's the best dog EVER!!  If you offer him a treat, he'll bark "I love you" in his own special language...  If you toss his bo-bo toy across the room, you'd better be prepared to play fetch for at least 20 minutes...  And when you tell him to lay down, he'll almost always promptly go to sleep!!  So the puppy on my card was inspired by my real life puppy and hopefully will bring a smile to the face of a special Hero who needs to receive this card!!

I hope YOU have enjoyed my card today -- To see more creative previews of K Andrew's Stamp Art Stamp Sets, please visit Getting Cricky (HERE)... Remember, I'll be posting another card made with this FANTASTIC "Freedom Isn't Free" stamp set tomorrow!! I'd love for you to stop back and see it!! :)

In case you haven't heard, Kristal has selected a specific charity to benefit from the sale of each and every stamp set!!  $1 from the sale of each "Freedom Isn't Free" stamp set is donated to Intrepid Fallen Heroes -- a non-profiit organization that provides rehabilitative services to US military members who are severely disfigured from combat.  When you pre-order Kristal's stamps by Wednesday you will receive FREE shipping AND she will do a 'matching' donation (isn't she the SWEETEST?)!!  To place your pre-order, please click HERE!! :)
***SECRET TIP (please don't share this with anyone except all of your friends or anyone who might want to WIN one of K Andrew's fabulous stamp sets!!):  I will be offering BONUS chances to win a K Andrew Stamp Art stamp set of your choice for comments left on each of my Blog Hop Preview Post from this week!!  You can get a head start by leaving a comment on YESTERDAY'S post and TODAY'S post!!***






Until next time,