May is Military Appreciation Month and I worked with my manager, Candy, to come up with something special to do with military families and wives, here in Arizona.
Back in 2019, T-Mobile sponsored an AWESOME holiday craft retreat I hosted for wives at Fort Huachuca. we reached out to T-Mobile about an idea for a bigger event on base and they said YES! T-Mobile is committed to those who serve, helping military families save millions through the Magenta Military plan – they even have a hashtag #UnstoppableTogether (see more info at the bottom of this post).
Even better, we hosted the event at Fort Huachuca in honor of Mother’s Day and Military Appreciation Month. Double celebration – make that triple!
Not only did T-Mobile make this happen, but they also asked us to host a virtual retreat for military wives all over the country! It was such a beautiful experience to do something so meaningful.
One thing I really noticed at the 2019 event is how many stories these wives had about moving across the country, raising theirs kids on base, all while pursuing their own hopes and dreams. I looked forward to reconnecting with them as well as making new friends.
Crafts! Food! Sharing stories!
Candy and I came up with two projects – a reverse glass painting project and three types of greeting cards. We packed all the kits ahead of time and shipped half of them out for the virtual event. Each guest received their craft kits, some T-Mobile swag including a branded Lite-Brite set!
A crafty day!
My husband and I drove to Fort Huachuca to find Candy had set up the room beautifully on base! The wives came in and we welcomed them with their gift bags, a yummy lunch and their craft kits!
A couple of the moms even brought their babies, who were so adorable! These moms managed to craft and rock their babies to sleep at the same time. Impressive multi-tasking for sure!
I set up a table with my books os people could learn a little bit more about me and why I wanted to be there – to share stories and craft.
Sharing stories
Each mom introduced herself and chatted about her familia and then about her own personal goals. and that military life, of course. From college students to fitness trainers to bakers and artists, our group was so well-rounded! This beautiful young woman told us about how she going through school so she can work at Disney some day.
Here is one of the cards we made. I used my illustrations for each kit and everyone had a different picture. So random. The women loved them and some even mentioned they felt the specific picture in their kit was meant especially for them. I seriously felt goosebumps hearing them talk about the message they felt from their picture!
Here is the reverse glass painting.
This one took a bit of concentration, but everyone finished and their end result looked great! I loved this girl, she was super nervous about crafting, but when it came to making the greeting cards, she loved the process. I hope she keeps making cards!
While we crafted and ate lunch, I asked if anyone wanted to share a tip they learned from their industry. This gorgeous amiga works in skin care and reminded all of us to wash the make-up off our faces each night. Good reminder because I often forget!
At the end of the day, we cleaned up and gathered to take a picture. We all felt full from lunch, giggling, chatting, and being creative. Everyone was excited for those T-Mobile Lite-Brite kits!!
Another tip from the two bakers in the group
Always use parchment paper when lining a cake pan, it will make your cake come out clean and smooth. No crumbles!
Amigas por vida!
When it’s all over
Here I am with Candy after the event, the next day we held the virtual class! We felt so happy and are excited to do this again! Muchas gracias to Candy to putting this event together from beginning to end!
We are so thankful to T-Mobile for making this event happen. We had such a great time! T-Mobile has the Magenta Military Plan where more than one million military, veterans and their families receive 50% off the regular Magenta plans rates for family lines. HERE is where you can learn more about the plans, and check out #UnstoppableTogether on social media to see more!
Nice! Thank you for sharing this blog about military wives’ creative talents.
That looks so fun! So many activities, I am sure the military wives enjoyed a lot.
Yep, moms are good at multi-tasking. This sounds like an all around great day for everyone!
What a fun way to spend the day with friends! Military wives are under appreciated!
What a fun way for women to connect. I bet it’s so nice having women going through similar things as military wives/moms to be able to talk and connect.
Wow it looks like everyone had a really good time! This is such a great idea – well done.