Tuesday Tutorial

Wow, the response to the last tutorial for Sandy’s Funky Fold card was amazing! Weren’t those funky cards fun? Let’s keep the ball rolling with those differently-shaped cards with this fun tutoral by Jodi. Her cute coffee cup card is just too irresistable in this cold weather that I know a lot of us are still experiencing! My favorite part about this card is the little lip print at the top… it looks just like my coffee cup every morning!


Jodi used all Stampin’ Up! products to make this card but I know that you guys will figure out ways to make this card with your own alternates if you like. Also, let’s see who can come up with the cutest coffee sentiment for their card??? Or, think outside the box, and make this cup for tea or cocoa! Here’s the tutorial. Now go, make, and share!   -Nancy K.

COFFEE CUP CARD OR GIFT CARD HOLDER

Cardstock used: Certainly Celery, White, Crumb Cake and Expresso

CARD STOCK IS CUT AT THE FOLLOWING:

CERTAINLY CELERY: 10½ x 4″

WHITE: 1” x 4 1/8″  (top edges are rounded to make the “lid”)

ANOTHER WHITE STRIP: ¼ x 4 1/8″  (part of the “lid”)

CRUMB CAKE: 2” x 4” (the crimped “cup holder”)

EXPRESSO: 5” X 3” (the insert)

You will also need 4″ of ribbon, and whatever bits you want to make your sentiment.

ASSEMBLY:

The green card stock is folded in half to make the base of the card. 

The front of the card is run through a diecut machine with an embossing folder of your choice.

At this time, cut a strip from each side diagonally, making the  \_/  shape of the cup.

Using red-line tape or choice of glue, glue the inside edges of the card shut and set aside.  

  (This step makes the green part a “pocket” that the inside of the card slips into!)

For the band on the cup, use the crumb cake cardstock and run it through a crimper. Trim it to fit the green part of the card and adhere.

Stamp the sentiment and punch or cut out if a punch is not available. The ribbon goes around the crumb cake band and the label is mounted over it using dimensional adhesive.

For the insert, mount the Expresso 5×3″ carstock to the very top on the back side of the white cardstock “lid” that is 1 x 4 1/8″.  Make sure to leave enough space for the Expresso piece to slide down into the card. Then turn it over and adhere the small strip to the white piece and give it a kiss! Slide this into the card and you are done. (This part also requires a bit of trimming, to get the edges to match the “cup” shape!)

Thank you, Jodi, for the awesome tutorial! Jodi doesn’t have a blog, so please… leave her some love in the comments, and be sure to share your cup cards here!

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Funky Fold Tutorial

Ahoy mateys!! This here tutorial be comin’ to ye from Sandy on th’ high seas of the Caribbean from some scurvy pirates! (You too can talk like a pirate with http://postlikeapirate.com !)

This Grandfather Clock is one of the class cards that was taught yesterday aboard the Navigator of the Seas…and you can pretend you’re on board with us by making a card with this cute fold! It’s not one invented by OWH, but sure is darling. The video shows this card, made with the Hero Arts/OWH All the Time stamp set and papers in the Studio Calico kits that the class participants received.

Supplies:

• Heavy duty cardstock for base, 4-1/4 x 11
• Rotary paper trimmer
• Scoring tool of some sort
• Nesting dies
• Hero Arts All the Time stamp set
• Ribbon
• Strong adhesive
• Stamping papers
• Inks
• Patterned papers

The video shows this particular card – and the still photos below show another card made with this fold.

diagram with measurements:

Decorative panel measurements:

1. Thin side panels: 1/2 inch x 4-1/4 inches, or if you want to completely cover the card base, 3/4 inches x 4-1/2.
2. Center panel: 2-1/2 x 4-1/4, or if you want to completely cover the card base, 2-3/4 x 4-1/2 inches.
3. Bottom crosspanel: 1 inch x 4-1/4 inches
4. Liner if needed for inside: 4 x 4-1/4

The card base for this second card has one pink and one yellow side – so  you can see more easily what’s going on, I hope! 

Make scores at 1, 2, and 6-1/2 inches – and make them less than 3/4 inches long

Turn the card over and make the same scores on the opposite side (this is to help you see where to make marks, if your score tool shows you the measurements, you don’t need to flip it over)

Make a cut 3/4″ from each side, from the 1 to the 6-1/2 inch score lines

Go over the score lines again making sure they reach the cut marks you just made

Add a score in the center portion ONLY, at 5-1/2 inches

Begin to fold – mountain folds at 6-1/2, 5-1/2 and 1, and a valley at 2 inches

Crease the scores well with bone folder. Then decorate!

Decorated with yellow ribbon and paper from the Studio Calico kits, image from The Greeting Farm, and other leftover bits of paper and ribbon.

Hope you give it a try! Note that these cards tuck ALL the way into your envelopes, they don’t hang out the front. 

A 5 minute bonus tutorial

Sandy here….I’ve had some random things I wanted to get out there, and had five minutes at the end of lunch hour to write them down for you!

Annual Review:
Interested in telling people just how much OWH has accomplished in the last year? Check out our Annual Review, and share it with your friends! Maybe they’ll be encouraged to join us. http://operationwritehome.org/ar2011.html

Tutorials: 
We’re trying tutorials every other week rather than every week this year…we hope this might help more people have time to join in and try them out! Of course this week it’s a bonus list of random things from me, so this one’s just filling an empty spot 🙂 🙂 🙂

1. To search old tutorials, scroll down in the right hand sidebar to Tags, and click Tutorials – that will pull up all tutorials in one spot. 
2. OR click here, where I already did #1 for you. 🙂 
3. OR if you prefer a listing that tells you what level the tutorials are (101 = easy, 301 = advanced, etc), go to our website under the FREE section, and we have a Cardmaking Resources page with a list of convenient links! Right here: Click.
4. We have the BEST cardmaking glossary I’ve ever seen on the web! Check it out here!

Blog circle:

To have your blog listed, you need to be a regular OWHer – so if we go visit your blog, you should have badges posted, or talk about OWH in some of your last couple posts at least. (We don’t have room to list the entire internet in our circle!) Any one of our OWH blog team can add your link to our list, so leave a comment on a post – or you can email sandy@operationwritehome.org.

Email list:

Oh you didn’t know we had one? We do! We send out a mostly-monthly email newsletter in the first few days of each month. Go here to get hookedup: http://operationwritehome.org/email.html

If you thought you were on the list but haven’t gotten our enewsletters – check your spam folder, and also add sandy@operationwritehome.org to your address book. In February we’ll have a special enews with a survey that we would love your input on – so please be sure you sign up for the email!

Subscribe:

You can subscribe by email to our blogs! Wayyy convenient. Our posts come to YOU, so about 12-24 hours after we post something, you get an email in your inbox. Just put your email in the Subscribe by email box in the sidebar of any of our blogs. (Note that we cannot remove you from those lists if you change your mind; look at the bottom of the email to change your subscriptions.)

Sketches:

Our sketches are available as one big pdf! And Kathryn made us a cool pdf to check off when we’ve tackled each sketch…pretty awesome!

I think that’s it for my punchlist of things to share…hope you learned something new! 🙂

Tuesday Tutorial… Organizing your space!

Happy New Year, card-makers! We’re off to another great year of card-ing… Will 2012 bring another million cards??? If you’re anything like me, you love to start fresh sometimes, with a clean, organized craft space… Maybe reorganizing your area helps you remember supplies that you meant to use or helps you make a list of things you will need for the year. Maybe sorting through the paper and stamps helps get your muse in gear? Our very own Jen Mueller from The Sparkle Within has generously offered up this fantastic tutorial on Organization! Stop by her blog and leave some love, won’t you?

Organizing Your Craft Space

This time of year always makes me want to reorganize and clean. I think it’s partly the clearing up after the holidays, and partly my continual effort to stay organized! My mother is one of those people that is extremely tidy. I have my mom to thank for the tidy gene, but I find that life gets in the way sometimes (this is not necessarily a bad thing!) and then things get disorganized. Here are my best tips for getting organized and maintaining your craft space… now I will go organize mine (AGAIN) and try to follow my own advice. (Yes, I did have to clean and clear up the clutter before I took pictures. I’m not superwoman.)

1) Purge is NOT a four letter word.
For some people, purging is GREAT. It’s freeing and liberating and for others, the very idea makes one shiver and rush for your stash to hold on tight!  If your heart is beating a little faster at the thought of getting rid of some things, consider this: how often do you use those things in your craft space that you don’t really like – that tool that never works quite right, the paper that you bought a year ago but haven’t used yet, those stamps that you thought were just fabulous but you’ve never ever inked? My guess is you shove them (literally or mentally) to the side and reach for the things you do love. This year, I encourage you to embrace the things you love and let go of those things you don’t. Sell or donate those things (if this seems impossible, pick 10 things you never use. Put them in a bag and stash it out of sight. Make a note to find the bag in 3 months. Do you even remember what’s inside? Let ’em go.).  What you have left is what you will USE. That is a good thing!

2) Know yourself and your space.
Embrace your space. We’d all love a big, spacious room with custom-built storage for crafting. Unfortunately, most of us aren’t nearly that fortunate! Look at what you do have and go with it. Whether you have shelves, drawers, or plenty of space for a big table – experimenting with boxes, baskets, and peg or bulletin boards will keep your stash in order.

This is where you begin to think about where you need help. Is your paper stash a mess? Sort it by color, pattern, or brand. Ribbons taking over, or stamps all in jumble? Google for some ideas or ask for suggestions on Splitcoaststampers or the OWH Facebook page – or search Pinterest! There is no one “right” way to organize something. This last year I realized I wasn’t using my ribbon stash because it was stuck in a drawer (if I don’t see it, I don’t think to use it). I googled for some ideas and chose what I thought was the cheapest solution – cutting out 2″ squares of posterboard, wraping the ribbon around, and securing with a hair band.. I went to the dollar store and spent $2, only to go home and realize cutting out all those squares and wrapping everything with the cheap hair ties that kept breaking was NOT going to work. I looked for more ideas and came up with this:

I spent about $10 on the wooden clothespins, but I had plenty of pins from my sewing stash and the glass jars I was able to get free from my local Freecycle group since I didn’t need lids. The very BEST part is that this system really works well for me. It keeps everything contained and I can SEE my ribbon, so I am using it!

3) Find your organizational tools.

There are lots of things that most of us have in our homes that could easily work as storage tools. I have really deep drawers in my craft space, and if I just toss stuff in, it gets jumbled up and I spend more time looking for things than crafting! My solution is super easy and cheap: shoeboxes! I arrange them in the drawers to hold adhesives, punches, embossing tools, and more! Think about how you can repurpose things for storage – empty plastic containers, shoeboxes, jars, and boxes can all be ‘prettied up’ to become storage on your workspace or left plain and functional to work inside drawers or containers.

If there is a specific solution you are looking for, thrift stores or Freecyle and Craigslist are good resources. I found this great file folder box at my Goodwill for 2.99! It locks and has a handle, and has plenty of space for my scraps.

On the other hand, I splurge a bit on these Scraponizer cases and file folders because they work SO well for organizing my Unity Stamp collection.

If you try something and it doesn’t work, TRY AGAIN.  Don’t give up!

4) Maintainance
Now that you’re organized, you have to maintain the calm! In my opinion, the BEST tip for staying organized and the hardest one to keep is to simply PICK UP after yourself. It is soooo easy to leave out just one or two things. I’ll finish a card and leave my scissors or a couple of scraps out thinking I will use them on the next card and then get pulled away to make supper and before I know it, WHAMMMO! My office is a disaster. I have a couple of strategies to make maintaining my peaceful, calm space a little easier.

If I have to leave my things before I get my card done, I use SU clamshell boxes or small baskets to keep the pieces contained until I can come back to it. This way I don’t lose anything, and I have picked up most of what I was working with and usually just need to put away my tools and scraps.

Use the 1 in, 1 out rule – if I get a new embossing folder, I have to go through my folders and sell/give away one. This is a good way to curb impulse buying!

Dedicate 5-10 minutes every day (or 2-3x/week) to picking up and fine-tuning your space. Even if I think I have a disaster, 5 minutes is often enough to get most of the job done.

I think the real bonus to having a neat and organized crafting space is I know what I have and I love what I have, which often jumpstarts my mojo. Win-win! 🙂

 –Jen

Thanks Jen for the awesome tutorial! Here is my favorite photo of Jen’s organizing ideas: Twine stored in sugar jars. . . the end of the twine comes out of the hole in the top of the jar for easy cutting, and don’t they look so cute on the shelf??? I love it!

Your Turn…

We thought it would be fun to use the InLinkz this time to share YOUR organization ideas and skills! Share a photo of your favorite organization products, your unique un-clutter ideas, your paper-filing mastery, or maybe a before / after shot of your space, if you dare! Then… get back to work, your heroes need you!!! 

-Nancy K.

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Tuesday Tutorial – Looking Back, Looking Forward

It’s that time of year when we look back and take stock and look forward and make plans, and with that in mind Sandy recently encouraged the blog admin group to think about how to keep things fresh. After thinking about it, I realized I’ve been organizing the weekly tutorials almost two years, and it might be good to get some fresh energy in this spot. So beginning next week our new tutorial “wrangler” will be Nancy of Scrap Happens! fame. Nancy creates great tutorials, and I’m really excited to see what she has in store for all of us.

I have loved my time in the Tuesday Tut position. How often do you get a chance to combine your professional experience with your favorite hobby and a fantastic group of people working for a cause you love? So, before I yammer much further, I want to say thanks to Sandy and all of you for the opportunity. It’s been my privilege.

So, we had the impromptu blog hop this weekend where people picked their favorite cards, and I though I’d carry on the theme in today’s post and link to some of my favorite tutorials from the past couple of years.

You know how great it feels to see the pics of our Heroes holding up the cards they’re going to write home to their families. Some of you know how great it feels to realize they’re holding up a card you made. That’s how I feel when I see a Hero holding a card featuring a technique from a recent tutorial. Check out this pic. The Hero on the end is holding Necktie cards.

I feel just as pumped when you guys post pics of cards you’ve made featuring the tutorial techniues. So, which tutorial led to more uploaded photos than any other? Say it with me…. Pinwheels! (which we actually called Pinwheel II because there are three kinds.) I doubt there are more than a handful of people who read the blog who haven’t made a pinwheel card, because they’re so easy and cute and are a great use of scraps. Here’s a pic shared on FB by Yolanda.

More often than not, I’ve had to learn or figure out how to do a technique so I could then turn around and post a tutorial on it. The thing I’m happiest to have learned for my own cardmaking benefit is probably the easiest technique we’ve featured, and that is the Bow tying – Fork Method. I am bow-challenged, and sometimes you just want to have a cute bow.

Sometimes I have gotten to share my own favorite techniques. I’ve been proud that we feature 101 level tutorials right alongside the more advanced techniques, and the Masking 101 tutorial features one of my favorite cards I’ve ever made.

And probably my favorite techniqe ever, featuring my first ever video (which was what gave Sandy the idea to offer me the gig in the first place), was the Dahlia Fold tutorial.

I’ve been so glad to have help from many of you who have volunteered to share tutorials of your own. There are some I’ve actually not gotten around to doing yet, but really want to. One of those is the Shaving Cream technique. I bought shaving cream and everything. I just haven’t done it yet. I’m afraid my cats might try to help me!

Another technique I’ve done a little of, but really want to play with more is Paper Punch People. Not just people. I’ve been wanting to try to make a lot of things with punches. One day I was at a stop light behind a jeep and I caught myself thinking about it in terms of circles and corner-rounded rectangles.

And last, but definitely not least, I really want to improve my Basic Coloring. I think Sandy and I are opposite-twins when it comes to cardmaking. She’s always saying she struggles with CAS and heat embossing, and that’s what I totally rock at. I, on the other hand, can’t color my way out of a wet paper bag. I am resolving to improve my coloring skills in 2012.

So, what have been your favorite tutorials and what have you been meaning to try but just haven’t yet? I’m putting up an inlinkz. The list of past tutorials is on the Cardmaking Resources page. Try something new and link on the inlinkz below.

I’m not going anywhere. I’ll still be helping behind-the-scenes and you can still write me at kate@operationwritehome.org. Thanks again for putting up with me on Tuesdays for so long. Do me a favor, and give Nancy a great welcome, and I’d especially love it if you’d write her at nancy@operationwritehome.org and tell her what you’d like to see a tutorial on, or better yet, volunteer to do one for her.

You guys are awesome!

-Kate

Tutorial – Shaker Card

We’re going to shake things up with this week’s tutorial, thanks to Penny! You can see more of her work if you visit her blog – Penny’s Page.

What you will need: an A2 card base, patterned paper, a die or punch, closely woven tulle, score tape and filling.

I used Theresa Collins paper and Nellie’s Dies. Adhere patterned paper to front of card and decide on placement of opening. I taped my die down to prevent it slipping.

You will also need another paper to for the inside cover. I chose to use white cardstock, but anything you choose is fine. After they are all run through your machine you will have this:

With the inside of your card facing up adhere one end of the tulle to the card front. I used my ATG for this step. Add your choice of filling (small beads for me) and fold the tulle over. At this point you will want to use score tape or other adhesive on the tulle getting as close to the edge of the design as possible. Don’t worry about about the stickiness, it will be covered. I apologize for the bad picture, but you can see the score tape around the heart.

Adhere your piece of cardstock, matching the shapes together over the tulle hiding the messy bit. Take the reserved heart die cut (patterned paper) and adhere to the inside of the card again matching the shapes together. At this point, you can embellish/finish your card as you choose. I chose to make frames for the opening on both sides of the card front.

I also added the swans to the patterned paper heart. I stamped “love you” on a small white heart and pop dotted it to the front of the card. When the card is closed the patterned paper heart shows through the tulle.

I hope this tutorial will help you to make great cards!

Thanks, Penny! I’ve seen these shaker cards and never given them a try. Let’s all try it this week and be sure and add a linky below.

Tutorial – Origami Butterfly

The rest of the world may be wrapping up their final plans for Christmas, but in Operation Write Home world, you know that means we’re pushing past Valentines and starting to think Spring!

Does it feel like spring yet? Well Rhonda of Rhonda’s Place to Share is helping us get into the springtime mood with origami butterflies. Thanks, Rhonda, for sharing this fun technique with us today!

Supply List
2 pieces of designer paper or origami paper (the size depends on how big you want your butterflies, I used 2×2)
Bone folder
Adhesive

First start with your 2 pieces of paper (If your using a paper with fancy edges like I have, make sure the corners are opposite each other).

Fold paper, bringing the 2 opposite corners together. Unfold and fold the same way in the other direction, unfold. You should now have 2 criss cross lines meeting in the center of your paper.

Next fold one side of the paper in half in both directions. Unfold and fold again on the diagonal line (if you have an edge with a design make sure it is on the right and bottom of the triangle.

Lift up on the paper to form a peak like shown in the picture above. Bring the top edge of the peak across to the right so that it lays flat, forming a square.

Using the diagonal line in the middle of the square as a guide, lift that section of the paper to form a “flap” (see picture below).

You now have your right wing. To form the left wing, follow the same directions with the paper on the reverse side. (your starting triangle will face left instead of right).

Now that you have your 2 wings, adhere them together on the bottom flaps.

You have your finished butterfly.

Thanks again to Rhonda! Ok, everyone, let’s give it a try.

Tutorial – Bargello Background

Today’s tutorial is another great way to use scraps! Also, we’re still celebrating the new Hero Arts stamps, so my sample card today features stamps from the Right at Home (CL583) set. Be sure and watch the S&S blog, Facebook, and this week’s OWH tv show for chances to win a set of your own!

Start with strips of patterned paper. You can use whatever size (width) scraps you have as long as you have enough length to stretch across your background. I cut my patterned paper for this card, so I have six strips that are each 3/4″ wide.

Adhere your strips onto a piece of paper or thin cardstock. You want to use a lot of adhesive because you’re going to be cutting these up later. You can use a xyron if you have one. I just used a LOT of ATG.

Trim the ends and then cut your paper into strips of different widths going the opposite direction. Mine are alternating 1/2″ and 3/4″.

Stagger the strips and adhere them to another piece of paper or thin cardstock.

Here’s the background before the card is fully assembled. Mine goes uphill a bit, but that’s how you can tell it’s handmade, right? 🙂

Here’s a video with a different Bargello background. It’s in French, but the card is beautiful, and it’s definitely worth watching. She makes her own background paper (anyone still working on last week’s Throwdown?) and then cuts it into strips and staggers those. It’s also a really great example of sponging.

Remember, if you have a tutorial idea or a technique you think we should feature, please email me at kate@operationwritehome.org.

Tutorial – No Fail Ribbon

Today’s tutorial is brought to us by our very own recently-retired-shipper Dixie! Please stop in at her blog, What’s Next. She has super cute stuff there.

I’ve seen several “tutorials” for tying ribbon on cards, and I thought I’d add mine. This method uses no adhesive or glue, and trust me, it’s not going anywhere! You only need to make one tie, and you don’t have to worry about the tightness of the ribbon around your project. It will be tight, and it won’t move.

I’m working on some hearts for cards for Operation Write Home, and this technique makes card making quick when you’re doing multiples.

You’ll need your project, ribbon, and a hole punch. I generally grab my “anywhere” punch, but any punch will do. Pick the hole size based on the width and thickness of the ribbon.

Punch the hole where you want the ribbon tie to be.

Lay your ribbon across your project.

Flip your project over and thread the ends through the hole. (I sometimes use a skewer to push the ends through.)

Pull! Try to keep the ends even, and pull them on either side of the ribbon on the front of your project.

Make any adjustments. Sometimes you need to straighten a “twist.”

Tie and clip the ends!

Here’s a picture of the back. It’s nice and flat, and it’s not going to move!

You can see another example of this technique on my niece’s wedding invitations HERE.

Thanks, Dixie, for sharing this technique with us! Remember, everyone, if you have a technique to share, please contact me at kate@operationwritehome.org.

Tutorial – Color-Bleed Grid Technique

Thanks to Cindy O. for today’s technique. This looks fun! You will want to check out Cindy’s other creations over at her blog, Mostly Markers.

Color-bleed? Sounds like a laundry disaster, but it’s actually a beautiful and easy Copic background technique. I learned it from a tutorial by Julia Stainton on Ellen Hutson’s The Classroom blog, where you can find a detailed how-to with photos at every step. The Classroom blog is one of my favorite resources for techniques.

What you will need:
– Several different Copic markers. Other types of alcohol-based inks might work, but I don’t have any to test.
– Your favorite Copic-friendly white or light-colored card stock.
– A refill bottle of Copic colorless blender liquid. If you don’t have a Copic colorless blender refill bottle, you can use 91% rubbing alcohol and a small eyedropper from the drugstore. I tried it and it works fine, just takes a bit longer to dry.

Here is the basic process and my tips:
1. If using a digi stamp image, print it first.
2. Cut the card stock down to your desired finish size – no bigger than A2. I would suggest starting with a smallish piece, maybe 3×3″.
3. Color a rough multi-color checkerboard with Copic markers, using plenty of ink (should be visible on the back). Color completely with no white spaces. I like my squares to be about 1/2″ to 3/4″ wide. Uneven squares look more interesting to me, so I don’t use a pencil grid. IMPORTANT: Let it dry completely. (“Completely” means it no longer feels cool when you touch the back.) This will give you crisper drip marks in the next step.
4. Drip small drips of Copic colorless blender refill onto the colors, including your card stock edges and your borders where two colors come together. Do NOT overlap your drips at this stage. Again, let it dry completely.
5. If desired, drip again, this time overlapping your previously dried drip marks. Let it dry completely.
6. If using a non-digi stamp image, stamp it now.
7. Color your image, if desired, with Copics or other media. If using Copics, keep your coloring fairly simple, and the drip background will show through nicely.

A few tips:

How much blender liquid to drip:
Think of it as an experiment! The process is unpredictable, and no two pieces will look alike. I learned that I prefer small drips, released close to the card stock. The little eyedropper from the drugstore was very helpful for me. If you get a large puddle on top of your card stock, you may not like how it looks. If that happens, you can let it dry completely, recolor the area, and re-drip.

Selecting Copic marker colors:
After the drip process, you will see rings of color. The drip centers will be lighter than your original color, and the outer rings will be darker. Try Copic colors ending in 1 or 2 for a soft pattern, or colors ending in 4 or 5 for something bolder. The colors don’t really mix together, so for instance, you could use orange next to blue, and not worry about it looking muddy.

Selecting images:
For your image, keep in mind that your drip pattern will look “busy.” With a dark, bold drip pattern, try a silhouette or simple-lined image. For a more detailed image, choose lighter color inks in your pattern. Or you can skip the image and just use it for a nice patterned paper.

Questions? please leave a comment, and I’ll be happy to explain more. Enjoy!

Thanks, Cindy, for this great tutorial! I swear, you guys are going to make me buy copic markers yet!

Everyone remember, if you see a nifty technique, or you’d like to show us how you made a special card, please email me at kate@operationwritehome.org.