Autism Awareness Blog Hop 2018

This is such an awesome topic, I had to play in 2 hops! This month in Autism Awareness month, and we are hopping and sharing our stories to bring greater awareness. I am joining several of my stamping friends to bring you some creative inspiration, and some humanity inspiration!

Whether you have Autism, have a family member or friend with it, or just want to be a better human being to those in your community that you may encounter with it, knowledge is power!

Here is what I shared on the other hop, as it pretty much says it all for me:

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.

If you would like more information about Autism, check out this site that a friend recommended: the Autistic Self Advocacy Network.

Empowerment is a great thing! You can support this cause by donating here:

Sometimes, the best thing we can do is just be there. Talking, sitting quietly, or sharing a task without conversation. Just being a peaceful companion. We all need that puddle of calm now and again.

And it is a special person who can do that for any of us! I hope I am that kind of someone for my loved ones, and my patients.

Most strongly in my heart, this card is for my husband. I am so glad he is my someone.

BLOG ROLL:

Sue Plote

Jenny Hall

Denita Wright-Smee

Maria Willis

Elizabeth Price

Tami Hewlett

Lisa Curcio

Lauren Alarid

Tanya Boser- You are here

Jen Sootkoos

Eva Dobilas

Kim Oliver

Charlet Mallett

Sandi MacIver

Adrienne West

Amy Koenders

Carolynn Sander

Stella MacKay

Scrapbook Sunday

Welcome to the April edition of Scrapbook Sunday! Hopefully we are inspiring you to keep your scrapbooking going 😀

This month's challenge is to use pastel colors, which is a stretch for me!

As usual, my format is an 8"x10" page that I can hang in a frame on the wall. This base is Sahara Sand-kind of a pastel neutral, don't you think?

Soft Sky and Pear Pizzazz cardstock is used with thinlits to create embellishments. And stitching. Of course!

A peek at the journaling, because it would not be complete without the journaling.

And here is the whole page. I threw this together in about 20 minutes. That has to be a record for me!

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!

My Inky Friends: Inking Up the Retiring In Colors-Flirty Flamingo

Hello stamping friends! Welcome to our hop featuring the retiring 2016-18 In Colors. Now is the last chance to stock up on the supplies of these colors before they are gone forever. The new In-Colors are going to delight you, so don't mourn to hard. 😉

We demonstrators have some inside information, and one piece we can share is that Flirty Flamingo is actually sticking around and becoming one of the core color family colors!! So awesome.

If you are following along in order, you just arrived from Holly Krautkremer's blog where she used Emerald Envy.  ANd If you want the master blog roll, find it here.

I used Flirty Flamingo on Crumb Cake with Emerald Envy, which is retiring for reals. I love them both, and they stamp really well on Crumb Cake.

I did use the Stamparatus, which I just got. I love that I can do repeating images by just shifting the plate over one notch at a time!

The white on the flowers is the white Watercolor pencil. Loved that!

The Garden Trellis embossing folder adds nice detail to the background.

Here are a few more cards I have made using Flirty Flamingo. Click on the image to go to the blog post featuring each card:










OK, I could probably find more. But I think it is time to move on to the next blogger, Mary Haugen! She is featuring Peekaboo Peach.

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!