Very Sad News - an Edith Update

It is with tears streaming down my face that I share the following message from Sue Drees. Many of us know Sue from the House Mouse and Friends Challenge blog, but she is blogging buddy to all of us.

Donna, it is with profound sadness that I must tell you that my beloved sister passed away this afternoon.

The past four days and nights we have stayed at the nursing home with her.  All of her children and grandchildren made it into town to be with her in her final hours.  We are so grateful to have all been together (13 of us).   I will miss her everyday for the rest of my life, but rejoice that she is with my parents in Heaven and can breathe freely at last. 

I want to thank you for all you did and a special thanks for each and everyone who sent a card, note, and in some cases some extra goodies.  This display of love from complete strangers brought great joy to Edith and our complete family.

Prayers and well wishes were so very much appreciated, and continue to be.

Big Hug to All, 

Sue

In case you have not seen the tab at the top of my blog for Edith Updates, please let me share something very endearing. Edith kept the cards YOU ALL SENT in a box. When visitors came to see her, she brought the box out to share them with others. Sometimes she even took the cards to show the nurses and staff and various medical facilities. We never know the results from our pretty "prayers of our fingers".

If you would like Sue's Address Or Edith's Husband's address to send a sympathy or thinking-of-you card, please send an email to thinkingofyou@tampabay.rr.com.

Thanks for brightening someone's final days, and for cheering her caregivers. And thank you for sharing your personal experiences with this dreaded disease as well. It is not a forgiving disease, nor are the treatments easy on the patient.

Loving hugs,

OH MY! September Blog Candy

WOW! I unexpectedly hit 300 Google followers when 

Wendy L, 

Susie Stacy, and 

KraftyKoolKat 

joined this week! 

So I am going to award one of my followers blog candy! 

A pretty Christmas set called Winter Swirl, 

a wonderful Autumn set called Fall Harvest by my favorite artist Rosiland Solomon, 

(both valued at US $24.49) 

and

and A sweet Spring Time set called Tulips (valued $13.49).

If you follow me by e-mail, and want to be eligible for these prizes, please e-mail me privately by replying to your email, or by visiting my blog (click on the title on the top of your email) and leave a comment by clicking on the tiny word "comments" at the bottom of the blog post.

If you follow me via bloglovin', or some other means, please visit my blog post and leave a comment by clicking on the tiny word "comments" at the bottom of the blog post.

If you follow by Google Friend Connect, please just leave a comment as you ordinarily would.

Please contact me or leave a comment no later than September 30, 2014.

One problem - 

I can only mail the rubber stamp sets within the US. But I promise if the winner lives overseas, or across the border, to have a wonderful prize for you, too, which is not as costly to mail. Thank you for understanding.

Thank you, dear blogging friends, for visiting my blog and leaving comments so faithfully. I am home-bound, so the internet community is my where my friends are. Thank you for the ways you enrich my life and encourage my soul.

blogging hugs,

Edith Update, and request for more cards if possible

Hello dear blogging friends.

It is with a sad heart that I share the following information from blogging friend Sue Drees about her sister Edith. (Who is Edith? Please click here).

September 4, 2014

Thank you, everyone, for your generous outpouring of cards.  

I am sad to share that Edith is not good.  She is not herself.  All she wants to do is sleep and her thought process is slow.  I don't know how sick you have to be to be in the hospital, but the insurance company says she does not have to be hospitalized.  All I see is a downward spiral....

hoping and praying for the best.  

Thanks, everyone, again, for all your prayers and especially your support, it means a lot.

Hugs

Sue

For those of you not familiar with brain cancer, and the radiation therapy which follows the surgery and chemo... It is often the radiation which causes the worst side effects. They show up "after the fact", and might show up years later. My prayers are that Edith is able to overcome the fatigue and cognitive changes. Thank you for sending her your prayers in the form of cards - whether they are hand made, or just store-bought or hand-written notes. They will all help encourage her as she fights this dreaded disease. Thanks again,

hugs,

Scrapy Land's New Challenge! {Scrapy Land}

Note: for Edith updates, please click here. She has experienced a little set-back - cards would be great!

Welcome to the All-New Scrapy Land Challenge! My teamies and I are looking forward to to inspiring you with our challenge creations twice a month on the first and third Wednesdays. (Rules are HERE). The Winner and Top Three are selected by the design team. The Winner will be awarded a $15 gift card to the Scrapy Land Store, where there are more than 40 brands of dies and other goodies offered at a discount!

We are also looking forward to being inspired by YOUR creations, as well! 

Spellbinders "Bitty Blossoms" S5-086
Tattered Lace "Couple" (dancing)
Cheery Lynn "Fanciful Flourish"
(for several fancilful flourish options click here)
Spellbinders "Scalloped Borders Two" S5-202

The rules are simple - just follow the theme (this time it is "Anything Goes") 

and 

use at least one die cut 

from the 40+ brands 

that Scrapy Land sells! 

Scrapy Land sells dies manufactured 

all over the world, 

so there is a great variety, 

and most prices are discounted 

to help enable you to add to 

your stash. 

The dies used in my card are shown on the left.

Gosh! No stamping on my card! It was a challenge to completely use die cuts in my creation, but fun to think outside my box! The Tattered Lace "Couple" (dancing) die is beautiful! Delicate and VERY easy to cut! It passed through my Grand Calibur the first time on thick white card stock. I brushed on glue and sprinkled the Celebration Velvet Microfine Glitter. (the card is not black, it is NAVY BLUE)

The easel card is 6" x 6" on white 8.5" X 11" cardstsock. But I wanted to use a punch which required a 6.75" square. Do you ever have the wrong-size card stock for the size card you want? We can still make 6" or 6.5" square easel cards, even with the small cardstock sizes. Because the Silver Glossy base is larger than 6", the "folds" for the easel card are at 6" and 9", leaving only 2" for the final portion.

How Sparkly and Pretty! The white roses and white leaves are distressed with Sea Wood Distress Ink, then I brushed on glue and added Transparent Starfire Glitter. The Sea Wood Distress  Ink shows through the glitter. 

Below, I've lightened this a little so you can see the navy cardstock details in the roses and leaves.

Sentiment is computer generated using Garineldo01 and Garineldo Plain fonts. They were free here.

My teamies and I are looking foreward to seeing your creations.
Just use a die cut from one of the brands Scrapy Land carries on ANY type project and

click on the logo below to enter!

Products used:

Scrapyland's Spellbinders Borderabilities Scalloped Borders One
Scrapyland's Tattered Lace Couple Dancing
Scrapyland's Spellbinders Bitty Blossoms
Scrapyland's Cheery Lynn Fanciful Flourish
MS Lace Flowers PAP
Aileen's Quick Dry Tacky Glue
Paper: White, Silver Glossy, Navy
Computer-generated sentiment
Sea Wood Distress Ink

Sparkle N Sprinkle: Starfire Glitter G1017, Celebration Velvet Microfine Glitter G2010, Brushable Glue #540


Challenges Entered:

1. Crafts 4 Eternity - #191 - Bingo Middle Row - Use a Punch (MS Lace Flowers), the color BLUE (NAVY here), use some die cuts (several shown above) 9/5
2. Creative Corner Challenges - Anything Goes - 9/5
3. Through the Purple Haze - #57 Anything Goes - 9/6
4. Sparkle N Sprinkle - September - Anything Goes With Loose Glitter 10/1
5. Ladybug Crafts - September - Anything Goes 10/1
6. Clear It Out Challenge - Sept 2 - Anything Goes 9/9 (used Celebration Glitter and Spellbinders Scalloped Borders One which have been in my stash for a long time without being used)
7. Fan-Tastic Tuesdays - #51 Anything Goes 9/9
8. Through the Craft Room Door - Sept 2-8 - Anything Goes
9. SplitCoastStampers #IC454 - Design Seeds (denim color inspiration)

Thanks for dropping by!
hugs,