World Autism Awareness Day Hop

Several of my stamping friends and I are taking this opportunity today to bring a smidge of information to you about something that affects so many around us.

For me, I encounter autism in my circle of friends and family, and in my professional life as a nurse.

I have several stamping friends who have children with autism, and being a listening ear when we get together is definitely something I am up for. We all need a safe place to share our unique joys and frustrations.

I work with a doctor who has 2 sons with autism, and I admire the way that he parents all of his children, and watch him struggle with the lack of coverage to the maintenance therapy his children need through our insurance company. And the sacrifices his family makes to ensure they get what they need. 

When my son got married this fall, I gained a 14 year old grandson with autism. He is a bright and enthusiastic child with lots to say, and is eager to interact with us all. Meal time is a challenge though, lol. He will eat anything full of sugar, and always wants steak. Neither of those items is on the list of things that I serve for a house full of people. Family gatherings here are frequently for a group of 15 or more! There are many other quirks, but I won't violate his privacy to share them. We love him, and would not cause him harm for any reason.

When a child with autism comes in to the ER, whether ill or injured, it does present some unique challenges. We are asking them to adjust very quickly to new settings, new people, and frequently painful interventions. Flying by the seat of our pants is our specialty, but not so for these youngsters! Sometimes we can take the time to help the child cooperate with what is happening. Sometimes the child needs care quickly, and that can get dicey! Then you try to get things done as quickly as possible to avoid drawn out fear and anxiety. It helps if everyone around the child remains calm and supportive despite screaming, hitting, and behaviors from the child. You know what, that applies to anyone, autistic or not.

By being flexible and caring in our interactions with each other, we can make this world a better place for those who have additional challenges to their everyday routine.

I embraced the blue that symbolizes Autism on this project. It doesn't hurt that I love blue. All blues. Not even kidding a little bit. If you saw how much blue I own, you might be shocked.

I also love watercolor, and rustic things. And supporting my friends! This will be a great card for one of my stamping friends!

I used only two inks here, Versamark and Pacific Point. That is an awesome blue, isn't it?! Why do we neglect it so much?

For the inside image, I stamped off once to get a softer impression. It needs to be subtle to let the message I will write be the focal point.

I did use some Clear Wink of Stella on the heart and leaves inside and out, but it is nearly impossible to catch on camera.

That is all I have for your today. Hopefully I have made you think about how Autism touches your life, and how you can help those it touches in your life!
 
Here is a link to allow you to donate directly to the Organization for Autism Research, in an effort to assist individuals living with autism and bring more awareness, in support of World Autism Awareness Day

 

Time to head to the next stop on the hop, Sharon Dalton.

Don't miss any of the other projects:

Stamp Review Crew: Happy Birthday Gorgeous

Happy April everyone! I hope you had a fantastic Easter weekend with you family, or close friends. Or a relaxing weekend anywhere. The Stamp Review Crew is here to help you step into the new week withe some fresh inspiration with a set that you may already own. And If you don't you will probably wish that you did!

We are featuring the Happy Birthday Gorgeous stamp set this hop, and it is full of small images and sentiments that are great for all kinds of celebration.

For those who are new to the Stamp Review Crew, here is a little background. We are an international group of Stampin' Up! demonstrators that gets together on the first and third Mondays of every month to do a blog hop. Each hop features a single stamp set to give you loads of inspiration for that set! The hops are archived at the Stamp Review Crew blog, and you will be able to click through each hop at any time, going directly to the posts for that hop whenever you want! And you can click on the banner of this post to go to the master blog roll for this hop also.

If you are following along in order, you just arrived from Charlet Mallett's blog. I am certain that she has come up with a bunch of goodies for us!

I concentrated on a graduation vibe for this project, as that season will soon be upon us! Although "concentrated" is a big stretch.

I created this is 5 minute bursts throughout this weekend while I had a house full of family. From Friday afternoon to Sunday evening, I was cooking and entertaining for 10. And it was great!

So, I fell back on a pretty standard method for myself. Sponge and spritz a pretty backgroun on watercolor paper, then add a few die cut items and a sentiment. Bam!

The leaves/vines had a big of a octopus or alien feel to them, now that I am looking at them. Hmmm.

My original brief thought before stamping the leaves was a feeling of growth and moving up in the world. Meh. I can't win them all! LOL.

 I almost did not share the inside stamping as it is lacking in design. But hey, maybe you all will love it!

And now, Linda Callahan! I can't wait to see what fun she had with her granddaughter! And her beautiful card 😊

If you have seen something you need for your crafting life, just click the image in the supply list below and it will take you to my store! 

Spellbinders January 2018 Kit and Caboodle

I am thoroughly enjoying all of the kits that I am getting right now, and exploring crafting styles that are new to me.

I had always thought that I could not work with paper embellishments that I had not created from scratch, but am discovering that I can indeed use them and make them feel like I made them, partly.

The Spellbinders Card of the Month/Kit and Caboodle kits are helping me along with that task. The Card Kits come loaded with premade embellishments that I am actually excited to use!

Check out what I have made so far with the January kit. 

The vellum strip is modified by using a label die from the kit to cut the end. I layered some pink cardstock from the kit behind it, and die cut that edge to match.

The leaves are cut from the gorgeous gold foil cardstock that is included in the kit also.

The Layered Leaves embossing folder is used to spice up the white panel I created by cutting down the cardbases from the kit. I personally prefer a heavy smooth white cardbase.

The sentiment is from sentiment is from Beautiful Bouquet, which I got in December. And am just now using.

LOVING this black and white check pattern! It is such an awesome contrast to the very feminine florals.

This sentiment is from Colorful Seasons.

How about an elegant wedding or anniversary card?

Beautiful Bouquet works very well for the inside of this card also.

And a tag using the Papertrey Ink Bookmark 3 die and a couple of ephemera elements and ribbon from the kit.

Now, I can't remember what stamp set these sentiments are from. Sorry. That's what happens when you create with abandon and then blog about it much, much later. And don't write yourself some notes.

That luscious ribbon is from the kit too!

I added a snippet of the patterned paper on the inside here too.

Want to shop for some of the goodies I used? Feel free! When I make a little money, I can buy more stuff to create projects to share with you all.

Papertrey Ink March Blog Hop Challenge

Here it is, the 25th of the month, and it is time for another Papertrey Ink Blog Hop Challenge! I am so excited to have an excuse to play with my PTI stuff every month, how about you?

This is the inspiration photo for this month, and it is so fresh and spring-like. LOVE! Sadly, it is still gloomy and snow covered where I live. I think we will have to do our East Egg hunt inside this year.

I so badly want it to warm up and act like spring that I have been refusing to wear my winter boots and wearing tennis shoes instead. That is a risky choice this time of year. I mean, I still have to climb through snow banks in parking lots, and in my own yard!

But hey, at least the Schwan's man didn't get stuck in my driveway this week, lol! Click here for that story.

However, I can get my spring on in the craft room any time I want! I have had Embellished Elegance for a couple of years now, along with the coordinating dies. And this was a great excuse to pull them out.

I made a wet-on-dry watercolor wash in blue to mimic the lovely table in the photo.

The nest die is from the February My Monthly Hero.

I dressed up the inside as well. I will have to sort through my sentiment sets and find something about spring.

One more shot to show off the dimension on the card. I love the concept of the flowers growing out of the nest!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you are enjoying some lovely spring weather wherever YOU are!

Hello, You Sassy Lass

So, I have begun collecting some sassy and snarky stamps. Because I must. Really, if you know me in real life, you can attest to the fact that I am both sassy and snarky when the occasion demands. 😁

Well, I have discovered CZ Designs by Cathy Zielske. She even lives in Minnesota!

The Hello You stamp set has several sassy sayings. I am not sure which is my favorite, but here are a few at the top of my list:

You Cheeky Monkey
My Hide-a-Body Friend
You Non-Angsty Teen
You Saucy Sailor

OK, I really could go on and on! There are just so many! And there are several that are safe for your grandma. 😉

I was playing with the Folk Dance Stencil from Simon Says Stamp and sponged on Crumb Cake cardstock with Distress Oxide in Cracked Pistachio, Wild Honey, and Abandoned Coral.

The Coral and Honey combine into a lovely orange, which is great because I still need to buy the Spiced Marmalade Distress Oxide pad.

And release 2 and 3 Distress Oxide pads. Yes, I do need them. I do too! Don't tell me what I don't need. OK, bank account, you have been heard, go sit back in the corner. I will wait until I earn some more fun money. 😜

I added some light stenciling on the inside too. Insides deserve some love too!

Ha! You sassy lass, indeed! (Maybe I am talking to my bank account again, lol!) I can't wait to send this to some fellow snarky friend!

The "hello" is stamped then die cut with the coordinating Hello die. LOVE LOVE LOVE coordinating dies!! 

Thank you so much for visiting my blog, and I hope to see you again soon!

Supplies used in this project:

My Inky Friends Challenge #4

 

My Inky Friends and I hold a monthly challenge on the 4th Friday of each month, and it is that time again! This time we are issuing a color challenge. As always, the inspiration for this color challenge is taken from the Annual Catalog where you can find all kinds of creative sparks.

The challenge this month is to use Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz, Marina Mist, and Blushing Bride on a project.

That was harder to do for me than it should have been! I just don't use some of these colors very much right now.

But, that is what a challenge is about, right? Getting you outside of your comfort zone, or out of a creative rut.

You can participate in these challenges and share your creations with all of us. Check it out and play along!

The Fairy Celebration stamp set is one of the sets that caught my eye right away when it came out, and I got it fairly quickly. And used it just a couple of times in which I was not happy with my coloring of the images.

I decided to try again, with watercolor this time. I used a #2 round brush so that I could get good control of the flow of color and water, and have a nice fine tip.

I used the four challenge colors plus So Saffron and Crumb Cake. The mushroom colors are actually Blushing Bride and Pear Pizzazz mixed together with varying amounts of each color.

Lydia Fiedler is to blame for the mixing of colors. She recently did a video where she talked about how creating your own neutrals from the colors you are using gives the best and most organic looking results.

I tried to capture the shimmer from the Clear Wink of Stella on her wings, hair, and the flowers. Couldn't get it. But it isn't a bad close up!

I had also used my Stamparatus to stamp the image again over the top of the watercoloring to crisp up the black lines. However, I did not wait long enough for the ink to dry when I rubbed my fingers over it to adhere the layers together.

So this card really does have my personal touch, fingerprints and smudges included!

Don't miss any of the other projects for on the challenge blog, and please add your own project for a chance to win the Best Inky Friend Favorite award!

If you have seen something you need for your crafting life, just click the image in the supply list below and it will take you to my store! If you order less than $150, please use this month's Host Code, which can be found at the top of the sidebar on the right.

And be sure to check the box allowing me to contact you when you check out. I can't send you a thank you card if I don't know your address! And I promise to only send you happy mail, no junk mail :)

Spellbinders February 2018 Card Kit

Hello everybody! I have started getting the Spellbinders Kit and Caboodle monthly kits, and thought I would share the projects I have made so far with the February kit. The kits are packed with goodies, and you will be able to make loads and loads of projects with just the consumables in them. And the dies are to die for!

I did a quick video showcasing these cards too. 

The Papertrey Ink Wine Bottle Tag came out to help again, as there are some gorgeous thick elements in this kit that I just could not put on a card. They sure look good on a tag though, don't you think!?

I used up both of the beautiful, and very dimensional, butterfly elements on wine bottle tags.

This gorgeous patterned paper is helped along with the gold foil cardstock from this kit, and the sentiment and die cut word are from the March 2018 My Monthly Hero.

Another slice of that gorgeous paper! And a Layered Leaves embossed panel cut from the cardbases provided in the kit. The sentiment is from a past Paper Pumpkin kit.

More of the patterned paper and ephemera from the kit come together into a lovely card with almost no effort! And no stamping at all on this card.

Take a moment to go shopping with this clickable supply list. The affiliate links help support this blog and YouTube channel. I have purchased all of the product used in this post myself, and have not been paid to create this post.