Stampin' Up's support of Ronald McDonald House

There are so many reasons to love Stampin' Up! One of the best is their statement of the heart. It is: To love what we do and share what we love, as we help others enjoy creativity and worthwhile accomplishments . . . in this we make a difference!

This statement isn't just a nice thing to think about, the company puts it into action! Stampin' Up designs an exclusive stamp set every year to help raise money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities. This year the stamp set is called Very Thankfull and is located on the inside back cover of the catalog. It is a set of 4 stamps for $14.95. $2.oo of every one of these stamp sets sold is donated to RMHC. Stampin' Up demonstrators are also encouraged to volunteer at their local Ronald McDonald House as well as donate cards that the families can send to their children in the hospital to cheer them up or to send to family and friends who help them out during their child's hospital stay. Stampin' Up demonstrators also donate decorated lunch bags which are used to brighten up the parent's day when they go to eat their lunch they bring with them from the Ronald McDonald house.

This charity is special to me because many years ago we had a son in a hospital in Atlanta, GA for an extended stay and we were able to stay at the Ronald McDonald house a couple of times while we were there. The house was beautiful and comfortable and the volunteers were wonderful. My other children didn't want to leave to go back home! The availability of this home away from home made the hospitalization easier for our family.

Here is a link to a story about the Ronald McDonald House Charities and how you can help also.

http://www.rmhc.org/how-you-can-help/volunteer/30-ways-in-30-days/spread-the-word-by-sharing-your-story/

If you can, spend some time on the site to see how you can volunteer or donate. It is a wonderful charity and a very needed one. If you want to help by ordering the stamp set, I would, of course, be happy to help you out :~)

I have 2 other links to share today, one is from a site I have often gone to get ideas from when planning crafts and activities for the Girl's Camp I do every Summer and for the ladies at church. There is a wealth of information and great activities and art projects there! In the link I'm sending she tells about her decision to start an annual service project and how she teamed up with Sherrill Graff (I've talked about her in other blog posts) to do a project where they made not only cards, but blankets for the Ronald McDonald House children. Farther down in that link she tells how you can help if want to join with them in their project.

http://www.sugardoodle.net/mambo/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4995

The third link is to Sherrill's blog where she shows a picture of Stampin' Up presenting a big (in more ways than one!) check to RMHC. Ronald makes an appearance every year at our convention to receive the check from the sales of the stamp set designed for the charity. You can't read the amount of the check in the picture but you can tell there are a LOT of 00's!

http://www.latenightstamper-stampandscrap.blogspot.com/

One of the best ways to feel better about yourself is to volunteer to help others. I hope you will find some time this week to serve, maybe do it annonymously. It is a great way to make a difference in your little corner of the world.

Since we don't have a Ronald McDonald House here in Clarksville, TN but we are next to a huge military reservation, Ft. Campbell, KY; I put a lot of effort into making cards for the soldiers. I have several friends whose husbands are in Iraq and Afganistan right now so it is very easy to find an address to send the cards to. We meet at my church the last Thursday of every month and I have card kits ready to put together. I can stuff about 280 cards and envelopes into a Priority Box. We send the blank cards to one of the soldiers and request that they give them to a chaplain or a company commander who has access to many soldiers. Then they can have them available for the soldiers to pick through when they want to send a card home to their family. I've heard how much the children love getting a card from daddy when he is so far away. It isn't much but it is something I can do to help the troops. If you live near Clarksville and would like to help, this Thursday is the day. I'll send you information on the time and address.

I thought I did a post Saturday night but the last one is from Thursday. I must have done it in my sleep and it is out there in dreamland cyberspace somewhere. I will include pictures of a couple of cards I made Saturday, they must be what I thought I posted!

The card on the left is made with the Cottage Wall Designer paper along with the stamp set I won at convention with my necklace. It is called "Charming" and is one of the stamp sets in the Holiday Mini Catalog that will begin next Tuesday, September 1st. There are so many great sets in the Mini Catalog that I will be sharing with you the next few weeks!

The card on the right is a super simple card but I really like it. I made it for my nephew's wedding this Saturday. I punched the flowers with the 5-Petal Flower punch and highlighted them with

the Bashfull Blue marker and added a rhinestone brad in the center of each. The sentiment, "For the Newlyweds" is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set.

Since it isn't late at night I'm pretty sure this post will actually go through. Have a great day and remember to do something nice for someone else!