Hello,

My daughter was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome in late October 2011. At the time I had never heard of this disorder nor did I realize how it would change our lives. MDS is very rare in children, it is failure of a persons bone marrow. Bone marrow make cells that turn into red and white blood cells or platelets. As her bone marrow fails it brings her closer to acute myelogenous leukemia or AML. Not much is known about MDS, usually men in their 50′s get this and research is ongoing to understand the disorder in children. The only treatment is a bone marrow transplant, it is not a cure as the MDS could reoccur. There are many risks associated with the transplant and all who under go this do not survive. Finding a donor can also be very difficult. We have been blessed in that her brother is a match and he agreed to be a hero and save his sister’s life.

February 6 my daughter was admitted for the bone marrow transplant. She turned 15 on the first day she received chemo. This process means she will be in strict isolation for 6-8 weeks. She is not allowed out of her hospital room and a limited amount of people are allowed to visit. She will receive high doses of chemo to kill off all the cells in her bone marrow. As most people know, she will lose her hair, and can get mouth sores, experience pain in her bones, be nauseated and vomit. After the transplant many new risks will present themselves, such as possible rejection and all the side effects that go along with the medication required to help prevent the rejection of her brothers bone marrow.

Once she gets home she will be in isolation for 6 – 8 months. As you can imagine that isolation can be devastating for a teenager. Rach has been very brave throughout discovering her diagnosis along with the beginning of her chemotherapy. She is optimistic and plans on turning all of this into something positive.

My daughter has only asked for a few things after learning what challenges and treatments lay ahead for her. The first was to survive the transplant, and go on to live a long life. The second is that she wants to educate people about MDS and all that goes along with the diagnosis. She feels the more people hear about it, discuss it among others then perhaps more research could be done.

The last thing she requested was to see if she could get a 1,000 cards from people and teenagers like herself from around the world. Our hope is that this email gets forwarded to people from their contact list. She is hoping this could even reach ELLEN so someday she would have the opportunity to go on her show and educate people about MDS and bone marrow transplants. If this were to reach Justin Bieber, Racal Flatts or Taylor Swift that would be awesome too.

If you are willing please forward this email and send her a card or letter to:

Rachel K.
P.O. Box 1583
Hilliard, Ohio 43206

Thanks for taking the time to read it and I hope you can send a card.

To start this one, you need four 1-7/8″ squares. 

You want to flip one of the squares over so the white side is up.  Fold the square in half horizontally, then unfold it.  You will take the top half and fold that in half to the first fold line.

Now you want to fold it in half vertically, then unfold it.

Place it so the folded over section is at the top and the square is face up, white side down.

Take the top right corner and fold it down along the center fold line.  Do the same with the left top corner.

Now, fold the top point down so it is half way between the corners that have been folded down and the bottom edge.  Then unfold and flip the folded part to the other side.

After that, you want to squash the top colored (front) sections so the fold line from the center is along the top edge of the folded back piece.

Do that for each side.

Fold the side sections in to the center fold.

Now, fold the top point (from the squash you did above) down along the fold.  Do this for both sides.

The next step is to fold the very top points over, so it isn’t pointed.  You don’t have to fold much towards you, just the point on each side.

Flip your piece over and you should see the heart on the other side.  The heart will be colored over white bottom section.

To adhere, you can put a bit of adhesive on the white section and slide the next heart piece along that one.  The last piece is the most difficult to get in, but it will slide in.  You may have to fold the bottom corners of the white section in a bit.

What you wind up with should look like this.  You can use this as it is, or as a flower head and draw in a stem and some leaves.  If you just want the heart, you can slide the white section behind something and have the heart over the top.

Thanks for spending some time with me today!

Don’t forget the Winter Warm Up Crop is going on over at CardMaker Magazine’s CardSwap this weekend.  Go check it out and play along!  It is a lot of fun and is being sponsored by Elmers and Spellbinders, so there will be some fantastic prizes!

The blog hop “theme” goes with the crop title of “Winter Warm Up”.  The only requirement was that the completed item had to make you smile and bring some warm, fuzzy feelings to the cold, cold Winter months.  If you live in an area where your winter doesn’t get cold…. well… enjoy your warmth and everyone’s warm ideas.

I live in Phoenix, AZ, so it doesn’t get really cold here during winter.  (I was born and raised here, so our winter is cold to me.)  However, when I think of ways to warm up in winter, I think of getting out and exercising.  My wonderful husband and I, as well as our kids, love to play tennis, so that is one way we warm up.

So… the game for hoppers… You will be unscrambling a word once you will collect a letter at each blog you visit.  We hostesses can play along, because we don’t know any of the letters but our own.  Once you collect ALL the letters, Ana, our last hostess in the blog hop will direct you to the thread in the forum where you can find all the details you need to enter the drawing.  All hoppers collecting all the letters, unscrambling the word or phrase, entering the game by following the directions in the forum, and leaving feedback on EVERY blog they visit WILL be entered into a random drawing held on February 15, 2012.  ONE lucky hopper will have their name drawn and will win a prize!!  So, make sure you visit every blog and find the letters. Your only hints are… it’s a phrase and it’s a way paper crafters warm up.

OK… You should have arrived here from Jane’s.  If not, start at the beginning and collect your letters.  Then collect my letter and hop on, friend.

My letter is… O

In case you get lost, here is the list of blogs:

• CardMaker
• Lora
• SusieQ
• Laura
• Marlene
• Jane
• Golda  <– You are here.
• Angelina
• Tina
• Judy (PrairieWildflower)
• Ivanka
• Teresa (WingsNThings)
• Ana

The next stop on your hop today is Angelina’s blog.  Check out her amazing project, then keep on hopping!

Thanks for spending some time with me today!  Enjoy the hop and then the crop!

Got this cute paper in an issue of Cardmaking & Papercraft.  Had fun with the colors and the idea.

The challenge on this one was to use some patterned paper.  I made a sign out of it using Spellbinders Labels 18 and a Making Memories rub-on.  I love the paper, which came in the Winter Wonderland set from Gina K.  The dragonfly was an adhesive sticker by Art Accentz that I put glitter on.  The glitter didn’t want to stay, so I sprayed it with some hairspray, which worked.  The cute little mouse is from the Spring Mix set by Gina K.

This was another paper I got in an issue of Cardmaking & Papercraft.  Thought it was really cute and would go well accented with the dark pink in the paper.  The tag says, “Your not getting older, you’ve just enjoyed more life!”

Had fun making all of these and just wanted to share them with you. Can you tell it was a turquoise kind of day?

Thanks for spending some time with me today!

ROASTED RED BELL PEPPER HUMUS (Food.com)

Ingredients:

• 3 red bell peppers
• 3 cups chickpeas (garbanzo beans) canned, cooked and rinsed
• 1 Tablespoon garlic, fresh minced
• 1 cup tahini
• ½ cup lemon juice, fresh
• 1 Tablespoon paprika (we skip this as I hate it)
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin, ground
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 Tablespoons virgin olive oil (optional, we never use)
• ¼ cup parsley, fresh minced (optional, we never use)

Directions:

1.  Place the whole peppers in an oven-proof skillet and set them to cook in a preheated 450°F oven.  Turn the peppers every 10 minutes.  Roast them for approximately 30 minutes or until the skins have blackened.  Place the roasted peppers directly from the oven into a paper bag and seal it closed.
2. Allow the peppers to rest for 10 minutes in the bag, this will loosen their skins.  Remove the peppers from the bag and while holding them under cool running water, peel away the black skins and remove the stems and seeds; all that should remain is the flesh of the roast peppers.
3. Combine the roast peppers, chickpeas and garlic in a food processor and puree until smooth.  Add the tahini, lemon, paprika, chili powder, cumin, salt and cayenne pepper; puree another minute until the mixture is very smooth.
4. Refrigerate for best flavor.
5. To serve: place the humus on a large plate that has been lined with lettuce leaves.  Make an indentation in the center of the humus and pour in the olive oil.  Sprinkle the parsley across the humus and serve with flat bread or pita.

Here is the pita bread we make to go with it.  It is really good with tortilla chips, too.

PITA BREAD (Food.com)

Ingredients:

• 3-1/2 cups all purpose flour, bread flour, or combination of one or both with wheat flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil, plus a bit for greasing the bowl
• 1 cup water, plus more as needed (usually takes more)

Directions:

1.  Place flour in a food processor with steel blade.  Add salt and yeast and process for 5 seconds.
2. While processor is running, add olive oil and water through the feed tube.
3. Process about 30 seconds and remove cover.
4. Dough should be barely sticky and in a ball, add water 1 Tablespoon at a time if too dry and process for 5-10 seconds.  If dough is too wet, add a Tablespoon of flour and process for a couple of seconds.
5. Place dough on lightly floured surface and knead by hand for about 1 minute.
6. Lightly oil a large bowl and put the dough in it.  Cover and let it rise until doubled, about 2 hours.
7. Punch dough and divide it into 6-12 pieces.  Keep lightly floured and covered.
8. Preheat oven to 500°F, use baking stones, or place a baking sheet on each rack.
9. Flatten each ball on a lightly floured surface and roll into a 6-8 inch circle.  Lightly flour each circle as finished, cover, but do not stack.
10. Starting with the first circles rolled, place each circle on the sheet or stone and bake until lightly puffed (about 2-3 minutes).  Should NOT be browned.
11. If bread does not puff up, still remove it at 2-3 minutes, creases in dough may cause it not to puff.

Hope you try this and enjoy it as much as we do!  Thanks for spending some time with me today.

This uses:

• Linen Closet paper from DCWV
• Natural Astroparche paper by Wausau
• Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 8
• Spellbinders Ribbon Tag Trio 2
• Gina K Designs Hope Grows Set
• Memento Bamboo Leaves Ink
• Memento Cottage Ivy Ink
• Koh-i-Noor Woodless Colour Pencils
• Cuttlebug
• Scotch 3D Mounting Tape
• Scotch Advanced Tape Glider
• Green Organza Ribbon

It all started with this paper, which reminds me of a quilt.

The background paper is cut with the Nestabilities Labels 8 largest die.  The flowers were stamped with the Cottage Ivy ink on the Natural Astroparche paper, colored with the pencils, then cut out and embossed with the 2nd largest Beaded Circles die.  I then used the ink pad to go around the edge to make it stand out a bit.  The sentiment is from the same stamp set as the flowers and stamped with the Bamboo Leaves ink and cut out with the ribbon tag.  I was trying to use all blues, browns and greens, so I found some green organza ribbon to attach the label.  As I was going with the paper reminding me of a quilt, the flower piece was a throw pillow, so I used Scotch 3D mounting tape to pop it up.  I didn’t think 1 layer was enough pop, so I used 2 layers of the tape.  Before attaching the background piece, I threaded the ribbon through the tag and attached it to the back of the background piece.  Then I went around the edges with the Advanced Tape Glider and attached that piece.  The “pillow” was added last.

Like I said, quick and easy, and a cute look.

Thanks for spending some time with me today!  Have a wonderful rest of the week.

Don’t forget, the CardSwap Winter Warm Up Crop starts next Wednesday!

To start, you will need 4 squares.  For this one I used 2″ squares.  Now, cut each square in half diagonally, so you will wind up with 8 triangles.

You want to lay each triangle with the long side straight across the top.  Then, fold it in half from left to right, so the long side has a fold in the center.  Then, open it back up.  Make sure the right side is up.

Take one side and fold the side point down to the center point.  Repeat on the other side.

Now, the open point with the two folded over points should be at the bottom with the fold at the top.  Take one of those points and fold it to the side, lining up the edges.  Repeat on the opposite side.

Then, flip the piece over so the back side is up.

The single point should be at the bottom with the fold at the top.  (See the top right image.)  Now, fold the edge on the right up along the center fold line.  Then, do the same on the left side.  Flip your piece over and turn it so the folded edges are at the bottom with the long point at the top.

Do the same for all 8 pieces.  To adhere the pieces, put a bit of adhesive on the right side, towards the bottom.  Line the left folded edge along the center line.  Attach each piece in the same manner.  Before attaching the last piece, put a bit of adhesive in the same place on it, so the first piece will adhere to the top of it.

Here is your final piece:  The back is pretty impressive, too: The fun part about this star is that instead of adhering the pieces in this manner, you can flip the pieces and put the long points together in the center.  As you don’t have anything to adhere them to on the next piece, you will have to have a small circle or something to adhere the points to.  It makes for another interesting looking fold.

Try it and see what you think!

Thanks for spending some time with me today!

Take the time to check out the challenge and read about the red envelopes.

Another new thing I tried this week was stamping on a candle.  This came from the challenge on CardSwap.

This was a cheap paraffin candle I purchased, but when I did this on a palm wax candle, you can feel the image, but can’t see it.

Heating the candle made the finish lose its glossiness, but I like how it turned out.  Unfortunately, the rubber stamp got blue colorant on it which just will NOT come off.  (The butterfly stamp came from a Gina K. stamp set called Hope Grows designed by Theresa Momber.)

So, go check out that challenge, too.  Who knows, you might enter and win something.

Thanks for spending some time with me today!

I used:

• Silver Shimmer Sheet from Lasting Impressions
• Scuffer from Lasting Impressions
• Stencil L9577 from Lasting Impressions
• Patterned paper from the Me & My Big Ideas Value Paper Pack
• Ribbon from Michael’s
• Card stock from Recollections
• Sentiment stamp from Stampin Up Have a Heart set
• Fleur De Lis Accents from Spellbinders
• Braid punch from EK Success
• 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue from Beacon’s
• Scotch Advanced Tape Glider
• 3D Mounting Tape from Scotch
• Blue Sakura Glaze pen
• Memento Summer Sky ink
• Memento Bahama Blue ink

To start, I found the silver shimmer sheet was the closest to gray I had, so I embossed the elephant on that, then scuffed it before cutting it out.  I also found the fun patterned paper that I thought would be cute with the elephant.  The ribbon was the closest I had to the blues in the paper.  I had my card base, then cut the patterned paper 1/8 inch smaller for the first layer.  Then I cut out the blue card to be a layer on top with another piece of the patterned paper 1/2 inch smaller in height and 1/4 inch smaller in width.  Used the braid punch across the top and then wanted some corner pieces for the inside, so I used a scrap of the patterned paper to cut out the corner piece.  However, I liked the scrap with the hole in it so much, I cut another piece of paper the same size to cut out the other corner piece.

After going around the edge of my card base with the Summer Sky ink, I put the whole thing together.  It was a lot of fun.  However, there wasn’t a lot of room on the front for the sentiment, so I put that on the inside.

Thanks for spending some time with me today!

Unfortunately, these are not the actual frogs that inspired me, but here’s a picture of the type of frog that inspired me.

This has a lot more green on it than the ones I saw at the zoo.

The color on the ones I saw was a bright turquoise/teal rather than this more green color, too.

Anyway, to start I took some Black Licorice paper (Lasting Impressions) and dry embossed a frog (Lasting Impressions S807) on it twice.

The one on the left I used TomBow Mono Multi Liquid Glue with the pen tip and the one on the right I used the Martha Stewart fine-tip glue pen to highlight the spots, eyes and lips.  I let that dry overnight (until I got home from work the next day), though it usually only takes an hour or so.  Then on the one on the left I used some Tonertex Foil sheets in a teal color on top of the glue, rubbed and lifted it off.  The frog on the right, I used Tonertex glitter and just rubbed it on.  I was much more impressed with the way the foil came out than the glitter.  However, it may have been that the glue was a bit neater on the left one than the right.

After that, I used some leaf stamps from the Gina K. Designs Hope Grows set by Theresa Momber and stamped around my card base.  As they are tree frogs, I figured the leaves were appropriate.

Then, I cut out very closely around my frogs and used some Scotch 3D tape to pop them up a bit.  Before I adhered the frogs, I laid them out where I wanted them and wrote in my sentiment.

And there you have my inspiration and what comes of it.  Not always, but you never know when something will catch your eye and get you to stop and think about a fun way to make something.

Thanks for spending some time with me today!

I have to tell you, my daughter kept saying, “Can’t you be inspired by zebras?”  Insert every animal we came to after the frogs weren’t there the first time.  It was rather annoying, and I just wasn’t inspired like I was by the frogs.  However, I took several pictures, so you may see some more zoo inspired cards in the future.

Enjoy your day!