Season's Giving Blog Hop

Hi'ya everyone! Happy 2019!! I would like to wish you all a very happy New Year and may this year be a blessed, fantastic year for all of us filled with good health, prosperity and many things that makes you happy.

Welcome to the 7th annual Seasons Givings Blog Hop. What's fun & unique about this hop is every single blog that participate has giveaways. So, grab your cup of coffee or tea and browse around. Stick around and you'll see my giveaways on the bottom of  my post. :) And, big thank you to my dear friend, Latisha Yoast who organize this hop.

2018 had been quite an eventful year for me. Creativity wise, I continue designing for SugarPea Designs, The Ton Stamps & Honey Bee Designs. I am very blessed that I get to work with these great companies. I also learned to do loose floral watercolor, which I am very excited about and still continue practicing. Caring Hearts Card Drive had another successful year as we collected 29,147 cards and send hundreds of card packages to nursing homes throughout the US, Canada, Australia and UK. And, I got interviewed for Voyage Houston magazine for my card making. Still pinching myself over this. You can read the interview HERE.

Personally, 2018 was also filled some ups and downs moment. In May, we met up with my whole family in Lisbon, Portugal!! This mark the first time ever since I moved to the States where I get to see my whole family two years in a row. To say that my heart is happy is an understatement. What warm my heart even more was the fact that my niece now remember us immediately the moment she saw us. We are a close knit family, but if it possible, this trip make us even closer.

Two weeks after we came back though, our world was rocked to is very core. My 5 year old niece was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. My heart hurt so much thinking of how much she has gone through since then. 6 months later she's still going through chemo. She is so brave though. And, she taught me so much through all of this. She taught me to do what you love every chance you get. The moment she feel slightly better she dance because that's what she loves to do. She also never lost her sense of humor.

Hubby and I went to Singapore to see her in October and even though it was only for a short 3 days, we cherished it very much. I love this little girl so much and continue praying for her to get better. I sure hope I can give her hug again in 2019.

My plan for 2019? To really live in the moment. To be able to find gratitude every day. Learn something new whenever possible and just enjoy & continue loving on my family.

Now, as we started the new  year, I look back and want to share my favorite projects from 2018. Let's get on with it right away, shall we?

Now, on to the giveaway. Cause after all that's why Season's Giving all about. I am giving away the 4 stamp sets below!

To enter the giveaway simply follow my blog &  follow me on Instagram (you can find me under: WIRIANTA). If you already a follower, please comment and let me know how long you've been following my blog or my Instagram. Easy peasy, right. You have till Sunday, 1/6/2019, midnight CST to leave a comment. I will announce the winners on Monday, 1/7/2016.

Are you ready to hop? Here's a complete list of the participants. Enjoy and thank you again for all the support. Happy New Year!!

Lawn Fawn
Scrapbook and Cards Today Magazine

Hero Arts

My Favorite Things
Reverse Confetti
My Sweet Petunia

Picket Fence Stamps
Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L
Ink Blot Shop
Indigo Jade Art
Sunny Studio Stamps
Paper House Productions
Kraftin Kimmie Stamps
The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store
Newton's Nook Designs
Kelly Klapstein
Latisha Yoast

Lydia Fiedler
Lori Craig
Dina Kowal

Nichol Spohr
Chari Moss

Jenn Shurkus

you are here --> Vera Yates <-- you are here

Ashley Newell
Beth Pingry
Giovana Smith
Dana Joy
Heather Hoffman
Margie Higuchi
Mindy Eggen
Julie Tilman
Cindy Lawrence
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Kelly Latevola
Emily Midgett
Ilina Crouse
Emily Leiphart
Kristi Goulet
Debi Adams
Tracey McNeeley
Wanda Guess
Ashley Harris
Tracey McLennon
Janine Tinklenberg
Amy Rysavy
Caly Person
Marcie Sharp
Mary-Ann Coulter Maldonado
Amy Tsuruta
Tricia Barber
Shemaine Smith
Christine Meyer
Lisa Henke
Shellye McDaniel
Kathy Schweinfurth
Yvonne Van Der Grijp
Lynette Kaufmann
Laura Williams
Dana Tatar
Cheiron Brandon
Patti Gilliam
Gracie Chavez
Carisa Zglobicki
Debbie Seyer
Mariana Grigsby
Michelle Woerner
Deborah Saaranen
Lisa Stein
Ceal Pritchett

2018 Caring Hearts Update & Prize Winner Announcement

Hi everyone. Sorry it took us a while to finish everything. Thank you for your patience. It's been a whirlwind, crazy few weeks for all of us at Caring Hearts. Most of us work full time, so it's been quite a struggle trying to balance everything out and get this done. And, Lynn one of our volunteer lost her dad a couple weeks ago, so for her to be so committed in finishing this card drive is simply amazing. I am grateful for my team. We did 2018! This year, we have another great turn out for the card drive that truly humble me. 

Here's some of the facts from this year:

- Last year, for US, Canada, & Australia we received close to 47,000 cards. This year, we received 29,147. And we expanded back to UK, thanks to Tania who offered to help collect cards for UK. 

- We have about 600 contributors. THANK YOU to each and everyone of you! You all are amazing. 

- We mailed the card packages to about 300 nursing homes and some elderly that are home bound and lives by themselves.

- Fun tidbits, Rita Andrews our volunteer in Canada got interviewed by her local newspaper and Caring Hearts Card Drive made the news in Canada. It gives me such wonderful feeling that Caring Hearts become part of a school program that encourage students to engage in meaningful and empathetic activities and is a required course.You can see the article HERE.

I am very proud of the way this card drive has grown. In our first year in 2010, I received 750 cards and look at where we are now. And, it's all because of YOU! Your support and generosity are what make it so successful. And, I am so very grateful for your support & kindness. And, huge thank you to my team of volunteers, whose dedication and commitment are simply means the world to me. I love & appreciate each of you!!

Now, what many been waiting for. The winners for Caring Hearts prizes! For all the winners, I'll be emailing all of you this weekend. As you can see the list is pretty long, so please bear with me. Congratulations & thank you for all your supports. :)

CARING HEARTS GIVEAWAY WINNERS

A Jillian Vance Design  $25 GC - Adrienna Chavez

Altenew  Two $50 GC - Suzanne Gribbon & Billie Tounzen

Avery Elle  Two $50GC - Mary An & Midori Riecke

Bossy Joscie  $50 GC -  Debbie O'Connor

Butterfly Reflections Ink  Two $25 GC - Cynthia Yankovich & Sharon Christian

Catherine Pooler  Prize Package - Lynn Lohne

Clearly Besotted  approx £30 GC - Katya Ireland

Ellen Hutson  Two $25 GC - Eileen Babka & Debbie Dobbins

Gina K. Designs  Two $100 GC - Ann Kikuchi & Enna Adams

Hallmark Scrapbook & Crafts – Three $50 GC - Sharon Roselli, Ayaka Oldham, Adrian Michaud

Hero Arts $50 GC - Cheryl Yamashita

Honey Bee Stamps  Two $50 GC - Kathy Black & Sally Foos

Jane’s Doodle  $50 GC - Alma Dirpaul

Jennifer McGuire Ink  $100 to SSS - Lori Dehaii

Kat Scrappiness  $25 GC - Norma Canete

Lawn Fawn  Three $50 GC - Sue Perkins, Marsha Bennet & Nikki Cochran

Lil’ Inker Designs $50 GC - Anne Slattery

Little Things from Lucy’s Cards £30 GC - Anang Agarwalla

Mama Elephant $25 GC - Laura Litzinger

My Favorite Things $50 GC - Diana Weaver

Newston’s Nook Designs Two $25 GC - Karen Talbot & Takisha Hearne

Organize More $75 GC - Ileana Rivera

Paper Smooches Two $25 GC - Diane Hermiman & Kit Arndt

Picket Fence Studios Two $50 GC - Lercy Rubin & Kaitlyn McCleary

Pink & Main $25 GC - Betty Bywater

Pretty Pink Posh Two $50 GC - Karen Olaveson & Susan Chateli

Reverse Confetti $25 GC - Cheryl Alipio

Right At Home $20 GC - Kirsten Krause

Simon Says Stamp $50 GC - Becky Thomas

Spellbinders  $25 GC - Karen Sanjo

Studio Katia  Two $35 CG - Mary Plaisance & Judy Downey

Stamp & Storage  $100 GC - Kim Washburn

SugarPea Designs $30 GC - Stephanie Mah

Taylored Expressions Four $25 GC - Jackie Sitton, Libby Foreman, Brealynn Mann & Audrey Evers

The Greeting Farm $40 GC - Mellanie Risenhower

The Ton Stamps $20 GC for The Ton stamps - Lisa Dixon

Winnie & Walter Two $50 GC - Robin Hoff & Darlene Russel

Wplus9 $25 GC - Anne Nolan

Caring Hearts Update

Hi all. I just want to pop in to post a little update on Caring Hearts. We are still working hard behind the scene, sorting and packing the cards.

A couple weeks ago, one of our volunteer, Lynn Marasigan lost her father and of course, being with her family was a priority. She just now able to work on the packages on her end. So, please be patient us.

Winners announcement will be done hopefully by mid next week. We need to get all the entries from all the volunteers so we can do the draw fairly.

Thank you all for your understanding. Have a blessed day!

Deck The Halls

Hi peeps. Quick post. I am just popping in to share this card I made for SugarPea Designs Mix It Up Challenge # 48. My card was inspired by both sides, the colors on the candy and the sketch.

With Caring Hearts Card Drive in full swing, I chose to do Christmas theme and gave some love to older SugarPea sets. For the wreath I used Funky Wreath - All Seasons and tuck in the cute penguin from Tinsel In A Tangle set.

You still have about two weeks to join the challenge, so I hope you'll join us. To enter and to find the challenge details, please check out SugarPea Designs Blog.

Well peeps, that's all from me today. As this post goes up, I'll be on my way to seeing my dear niece. I am ready to give my tiny warrior a big hugs. She has faced cancer with bravery and smile and I am ready to hear her sweet voice again. May your day be filled with wonderful thing. Happy Wednesday!

The Ton 2018 Fall Release Blog Hop

Happy World Card Making Day. And, welcome to The Ton’s Fall 2018 Release blog hop! For this release, The Ton has debuted 11 new stamps and a new pop up floral die. There are free gifts with purchase promotions also! There’s also a little surprise for today since it is World Cardmaking Day. Head over to The Ton’s blog for more details.

If you've been following the hop, you should arrive from the talented Laura Jane blog. In case you missed a link, you can always find the full list on The Ton blog.

Let's get on with the cards, shall we? For my 1st card, I used Blizzard Hugs and mix it with a set from previous holiday release, called Holiday Ornaments.
.

How fun are these snowflakes?? I stamped mine in Carribean Turquoise and add shadow with Copic RV00. Super light color, that probably don't show too much on the screen, but in person, it adds just the right touch in my opinion. ;) I like to add shade to stamped image, just because. Hah!!

Once I am done with the snowflakes, time to add the holiday ornament. I stamped it with Fresh Green, cover it with shimmer marker, trim and adhere to the card base with foam adhesive. I drew a line with silver pen and added a silver string. Finish by stamping the sentiment.

Too early for Christmas cards?? Well, don't forget, Caring Hearts Card Drive is in full swing. If you need reason to make tons of Christmas cards right now in October, this is a good reason. And, pst the sets I used today are great for mass producing. :) 

On to the 2nd card. For this one, I used Coming Up Poinsettias & Holiday Chic Tags. 

See the sprinkles background? Yep, I used the sprinkles rectangle from Holiday Chic Tags set and just stamped it repeatedly till it covered the whole card. I love, love this sprinkles background.

Next, I stamped the striped one on a piece of cardstock and trim it to tag shape. The bottom part of the tag was made using distress oxide ink. Now, the poinsettia, is from Coming Up Poinsettia. Doesn't look like it? Yep, instead of using the whole poinsettia branch, I fussy cut one of the flower and used it as centerpiece for the tag. Great way to expand your stamp set look here. You get totally different look just by trimming the image. 

Then, adhere tag to the card base, add a little golden enamel dots and stamp the sentiment with Noir ink pad. I know this is not the usual Christmas colors, but sometime I just like trying unusual color combo. :) 

GIVEAWAY:

For today’s hop, there are giveaways on each stop so be sure to leave a comment on each blog for a chance to win a stamp set of choice from our new release! The comment period for this giveaway will close on Monday, October 8 at 11:59pm EST and winners will be announced on The Ton Blog.

Now, there's quite a few blog to visit, but you're almost at the end. From here please hop on over to the amazing Janette Kausen. Thank you all so much for stopping by here and I hope you enjoy the hop.

Well peeps, that's all from me today and I am off to play with some goats. For real! I am pretty excited over this. Have a great weekend!!

2018 Caring Hearts Card Drive

Hi Everyone! Welcome to the 9th Annual Caring Hearts Card Drive. The purpose of our card drive is to collect holiday cards for the elderly that live in nursing homes. I started this card drive in 2010 and for our 9th year, I am honored to do this in memory of Sean Wilkerson, brother of Christy Wilkerson (our volunteer from last year) who passed away recently. Sean was well known for his kind heart and his family’s request is for people to do an act of kindness. I'd like to fulfill Sean's wish trough Caring Hearts.

The holidays are about family, kindness, and joy. During this time many of the elderly living in nursing homes may feel extra lonely or miss their families. We can bring a smile to their faces and brighten their holiday season simply by sharing our love of card making. A simple gesture to let them know that they are not forgotten. That someone is still thinking of them. We all love making cards and what’s better than knowing that our creations can bring a smile to others, right?

Our team of helpful volunteers are all ready to assist us in delivering the cards to selected nursing homes.

IMPORTANT DETAILS:

• This card drive will be run from October 1 to November 10, 2018. We need to receive your cards by November 10, 2018.
• Please make the cards for Christmas or Holiday Wishes only.
• Please limit 100 cards per person.
  (The reason for this is because my 5 year old niece was recently diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and I'll be making a trip abroad during the card drive to be with her. Being with her & my family at this time is very important to me and at the same time I want to continue doing the card drive. Limiting the number of cards will also help in keeping things manageable for our volunteers and me. Thank you for your understanding.)
• All cards need to have a message inside (can be stamped or hand written).
• Sign your name and where you are from inside the card.
• Include an envelope for each card and please don't seal the envelope.
• Please stick to standard size A2 or 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" card as this will help us in packing more efficiently. 
• Please don't use any pins or loose glitter (for safety reasons).
• This is totally optional, but if you'd like to include $2 or $3 to help with shipping, it'll be much appreciated. We cover the shipping cost ourselves & postage prices have increased, so any donation toward shipping would help tremendously.

For US, you can mail the cards to:

• Vera Yates, 1314 Roy St., Houston, TX 77007 
• Cindy Groh, 111 10 Mile Rd NW Sparta, MI 49345 
• Lynn Marasigan, Pine Tree Villa, 3353 Cimmarron Road, Cameron Park, CA 95682 

For Australia:

• Deb McCleary, CHCD, PO Box 54, Watsonia, VIC, 3087 Australia

For Canada:

• Caroline Bredeson, 11 Ave. des Oblats, Unit 112, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5V8, Canada
• Rita Andrews, 28 West Gissing Rd, Cochrane, Alberta T4C 1L6, Canada 

For United Kingdom:

• Tania Ahmed, 47a Melbourne Road, Bushey, WD23 3LT UK

In each package, PLEASE include THIS SUBMISSION FORM. This helps us in keeping track for prizes! For each card you send, you will get a chance. So the more cards you send, the better your chances.

To thank you for your generosity in supporting this drive, we have several PRIZES ready for several winners. There will be many winners. :)

The nursing homes that we supported are based on what people suggested to us. If you want your local nursing homes to receive cards from the card drive, please email me or Jennifer McGuire the name of the nursing homes and the number of residents, so we can make sure that we send enough cards. The number of nursing homes we support are totally based on how many cards we received. To keep things organized, we assigned the 7 collecting addresses above.

I'll update the prize list as more prizes coming in. And huge thank you to all the fabulous, generous companies who support this card drive by donating awesome prizes.

PLATINUM PRIZES (everyone sending 100 cards will be entered for these prizes)

                                                               

Gina K. Designs - Two $100 GC

Jennifer McGuire Ink - $100 for Simon Says Stamp

Organize More - $75 GC

Stamp-n-Storage - $100 GC

GOLD PRIZE (everyone who send cards will be entered for these prizes)

Altenew - Two $50 GC

A Jillian Vance Design - $25 GC

Avery Elle -  Two $50GC

Bossy Joscie - $50 GC

Butterfly Reflections, Ink - Two $25 GC

Catherine Pooler - Crafty Package

Clearly Besotted - approx $40 GC

Ellen Hutson - Two $25 GC

Hallmark Scrapbook & Crafts - Three $50 GC

Hero Arts - $50 GC

Honey Bee Stamps - Two $50 GC

Jane's Doodle - $50 GC

Kat Scrappiness - $25 GC

Latina Crafter - $35 GC

Lawn Fawn - Three $50 GC

Lil' Inker Designs - $50 GC

Little Things from Lucy's Cards - £30 GC

Mama Elephant - $25 GC

My Favorite Things - $50 GC

Newston's Nook Designs - Two $25 GC

Paper Smooches - Two $25 GC

Picket Fence Studios - Two 50 GC

Pink & Main - $25 GC

Pretty Pink Posh - Two $50 GC

Reverse Confetti - $25 GC

Right At Home - $20 GC

Simon Says Stamp - $50 GC

Spellbinders - $25 GC

Studio Katia - Two Canada $35 CG

SugarPea Designs - $30 GC

Taylored Expressions - Four $25 GC

The Ton Stamps - $25 GC for The Ton stamps

Winnie & Walter - Two $50 GC

Wplus9 - $25 GC

I will update the prize list as I get more. :) Please feel free to share about this card drive. We really appreciate your support & generosity. Let's rock this card drive and bring Christmas joy to as many nursing homes as we can!! Thank you.