Blog Candy Winner Announced!

The winner of my personal blog candy for

the Labor of Love Halloween Hop is:

TISHA of

www.tishascraftcove.blogspot.com

Among my very favorite things:
Spellbinder dies, Copic markers and a
Hero Stamps Playful Monkey stamps

Congratulations, Tisha!

See me as Guest Designer this week!

This week, I am Guest Designer on Jennifer Restivo's "Crafty Card Gallery".  

I've made a slew of cards -- my favorite thing to do -- which I'll be featuring in no particular order here and on Jennifer's blog this week.  I'll post them here too, and perhaps offer a few more tidbits of information here that I might not be able to, over there.  

So sit back, grab a cuppa'Joe, and read on:

 

Today, let me show you a quick and cute get well card that I made for one of Madison's (at Funky Cards) "I Feel The Love" kids. Every month, Madison features heartbreaking stories of kids who are hospitalized and can use some of our cheer.


The latest is for Kate. To make it, I used my favorite Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker (NSS) papers (from the Get Well collection) for the background, a digi-image that I colored using Prisma pencils and Copic markers. I embellished with banner stickers, Kate's name, more NSS stickers, two yellow brads and a stitched-on piece of twine to serve as a banner rope. Cute, ehh?

Right now, I'm loving doing the coloring. I feel like I'm back in grade school, relaxing as a child without a care in the world. Hubs likes it when I sit and watch the Phillies baseball games with him at night, but I like to keep busy. So last night, I must've colored (no joke) at least a dozen images while watching the Phils shut out their divisional rivals, next-closest in the standings Braves (booooo!), 9-0. YAY!!

Labor of Love Halloween Hop - Sharing the ♥ with special needs kids

I am so pleased that you are visiting us today, as we bring you Day 4 of the four-day Labor of Love Halloween Hop.

This special cause Blog Hop has been co-hosted by myself and Madison at Funky Cards.

Each of nearly 40 fantastic women from all corners of the world -- each of them with amazing ♥s -- have come together here to create about four dozen (!!) Halloween-themed banners for special needs children.  

They have agreed to mail their banners to me  so that I can donate them on their behalf to be hung in the rooms of children at Pediatric Specialty Care (PSC) in Bucks County, PA.  PSC is a home-like skilled nursing facility where children receive long-term, short-term, and transitional care. I work as Admissions Coordinator at PSC/Bucks County. 

The children we admit to PSC range in age from newborn to 21 years.

Some of the children we see have been born too early -- preemies born so small they'd fit in the palm of your hand -- and before their lungs have had a chance to mature. As they age, many of these babies must continue to breathe with the assistance of mechanical ventilators.

Other newborns may have been born addicted to alcohol or prescription or illicit drugs taken by their Mom while she was pregnant.

Other children have shorter stays to receive sub-acute care including a month-long course of antibiotics, or while their family's home can be modified with ramps etc. that enable a wheelchair-bound child to live with some independence there, at home.  

 
Some children at PSC have genetic diseases such as sickle cell anemia, or have birth injuries (e.g., cerebral palsy) that leave them less than able. Other children suffer injuries later in their young lives that forever change their future -- those who have traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injuries from accidents (car, bicycle, struck by a car), or choking injuries that have caused permanent brain injuries, and a lifetime of dependency on medical technology in order to survive, and the love of their families to thrive.

These children and their families -- and our staff -- will be thrilled to receive the Halloween banners, to help brighten the season when their friends and siblings will be out trick-or-treating. 

THANK YOU to the women who made banners so lovingly!  

Here is the line-up to visit today, Monday (9/5). Please leave some love for:

1. Ellen~ http://www.cardmonkey-business.blogspot.com
   (This is me ... you are HERE!)
2. Madison ~ http://www.funkycards.blogspot.com
3. Michelle ~ http://www.peanutbutterandjellydesigns.blogspot.com/
4. Dorcas ~ http://www.craftycardangel.com/
5. Jenny ~ http://www.crazyaboutcricut.blogspot.com
6. Berenice ~ http://www.karbers.blogspot.com
7. Lisa ~ http://www.handmadewithlove-lisa.blogspot.com/
8. Donnalee ~ http://ottersln.blogspot.com/
9. Tami ~ http://tamboscreations.blogspot.com
10. Nancy ~ http://www.fancywithnancy.com/
11. Carol ~ http://www.cardstockscissorsandglue.blogspot.com
12. Pam ~ http://www.pammejo-scrapbookflair.com/
13. Gina ~ http://californiascrappin-gcinderella21.blogspot.com/
14. Shannon ~ http://www.purplelionpaper.com/blog
15. Sandie ~ http://www.sandieshores.blogspot.com/
16. Rachelle ~ http://www.creationsbyrachelle.blogspot.com/
17. Linda Jover ~ http://www.lindaspinkcraftroom.com
18. Linda Simpson ~ http://lindasimpsoncraftypieceofheaven.blogspot.com/
19. Liz ~ http://www.mywhichcraft.blogspot.com/

In case you missed the first half of the Labor of Love Halloween Hop (Days 1 and 2, Friday and Saturday), here are links to each of the bloggers from those days:

Jess

Nicolette

Nikki

Jennifer

Dee

Sue

Amy

Lori

Bobbie Jo

Jessica

Shawnee

Jamie

Robyn

Lisa

Sandra

Tonya

Debbie

And we have blog candy

thanks to these sponsors!

To be eligible for a prize:

1. Leave a comment on any blogger's posting  during Day 1 or Day 2 (Fri./Sat.) of the hop.

and/or

2. Leave a comment on any blogger's posting  during Day 3 or Day 4. (Sun./Mon.) of the hop.

and/or

3. Thank our sponsor(s) for sponsoring our hop by clicking on the badge(s) listed above and leaving a message on our sponsor/s blog saying something fun, like: "What a good GHOUL you are for sponsoring the Labor of Love Halloween Hop, happening today."

and/or

4. Link a Halloween card to Funky Cards and donate it to the children at Pediatric Specialty Care.

How winners will be picked:  Random drawing by http://www.random.org/, from all of the comments received.  You may enter as often as you wish -- in one category (#1 through 4, above), or all of them. There are multiple prizes in each category, and so there will be multiple winners in each!!  The more comments you leave, the better your chances to win one or more prizes!! Anyone may enter -- bloggers, those without blogs, blog hop participants, etc.  Remember: the real winners are the children at Pediatric Specialty Care, who will be receiving the love of those of us who papercraft!

Special news: Each blog stop

may be offering her own blog candy.

Please stop by each, to learn what is required

to win that individual candy.

In addition to the joy I had in coordinating this Hop with Madison, I also created two banners for the kids at Pediatric Specialty Care:



To make this banner, I made six rosettes out of heavy Halloween-themed cardstock and glued on circles cut with my Spellbinders die-cut. (YES, I have the same set I'm giving away in for my blog candy -- it's a MUST HAVE!!) I joined all the rosettes using cereal box cardboard, and wrapped the joints with organza ribbon. Next, I added the paper chain because ... well, I just thought it looked cool. I decorated the fronts of the rosettes using pop-outs, stickers, letters, fussy cuts ...whatever made me smile. I hope it does you, too!!

And in case you missed my banner from Days 1 and 2, here it is as well:

To make this banner, I cut 6" squares from cereal box cardboard, then used the 3" center point at the bottom to trim at the angle so the top is 6" wide, to the center point at 3". I punched 1.5" paper circles from various Halloween papers, and glued them around each of the two sides, making the scallop. I trimmed the top edge with a fold-over of a piece of coordinating plain cardstock that I punched using Martha Stewart's double-loop punch. I covered the front of each pennant with Halloween papers, and the backs with alternating plain orange and black papers, and embellished the fronts using My Minds Eye cardboard Halloween-themed punchouts.

Because each of the pennants has a cardboard core, they were sturdy enough just to be hole-punched to join them with ribbon. I used alternating black-with-white-dots, and white-with-black-dots, ribbons to tie into bows. The banner is long -- 5.5' -- and will bring a lot of joy to the kids at PSC!

Here are some close-up views:

Thank you for your interest!

And as your reward for reading this far,
I do have my own blog candy!!

It's a super special CardMonkey

"My favorite things" package!

ONE lucky winner picked from those

who leave a comment

on this CardMonkey blog site

and is a CardMonkey follower

will win this NEW/never used gift pack
purchased and assembled just by me:

Spellbinders Nestabilities Die-Cuts:
"Standard Circles Large"

(this contains 7 sizes ... it's a favorite because

we all know Cricut can't cut perfect circles!)

TWO Copic markers:
E21 (Baby Skin Pink) and E33 (Sand)

(Some of my favorites for skin tones
-- both human and monkey)

and of course, there has to be a Monkey
if it's coming from me:

HERO STAMPS' "Playful Monkey" rubber stamp

OK now, on to your next stop

on this fantastic

LABOR OF LOVE HALLOWEEN HOP:

Madison at

FUNKY CARDS!!

Please indulge me for one more minute while I tell you a bit about my friend, Madison. At just 16 years young, Madison has a heart that's bigger than California, where she lives. She is enthusiastic, energetic, kind, gracious, arty, smart and wiser well beyond her years. She's a high school student and she also works at Michael's (I'm jealous!) where none of her co-workers believes she is just 16. This is the first blog hop Madison has sponsored, and she's been fantastic!! Thank you, Madison.  I ♥ you!!

Thank you for stopping by!

Special Kids

This weekend, I have the privilege of co-hosting the "Labor of Love Halloween Blog Hop."  My co-host is an incredible young woman, Madison, whose blog "Funky Cards" (www.funkycards.blogspot.com) is super-sweet.

Forty amazingly talented women have each made at least one halloween-themed banner that will be donated to hang in the rooms of special needs children at Pediatric Specialty Care in Bucks County.  I work there as Admissions Coordinator, and know how much this will brighten the days of special needs kids, their families, and staff. 

So while I'm putting the final touches on my banner(s) and the Hop, I just want to share two pictures that have made me smile today.

The first is of Olivia (see earlier post), receiving a batch of YOUR cards made to brighten her days while she's in an Iowa hospital following brain cancer surgery.

The next is of the cutest little girl in the world, my granddaughter Charlotte (age 8.5 months) ... just because she always makes me smile.

Hugs from the PaperJungle,

cardmonkey@comcast.net
http://www.cardmonkey-business.blogspot.com

Get Well, Olivia!

For those who visited the blog of Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker this weekend, in addition to seeing my cards featured, you might have also seen the story of adorable Olivia (pictured here).

Olivia is the 5-year old niece of scrapbooker Stacy Rodriguez, whose blog is one of the many I follow.  Earlier this month, Olivia complained of a headache and started randomly vomiting; a trip to the ER confirmed a parent's worse nightmare: brain tumor, in a critical area of the brain.

Stacy asked her many friends to pray for Olivia, and our prayers were answered. Prompt surgery went better than expected. And so while Olivia still needs some chemo and radiation, and won't be able to start kindergarten as planned just yet, hopes are raised. Praise God.

Special praise goes out to Nikki too, for helping to collect special GET WELL CARDS for Olivia. And as a special incentive (as if we needed any more than a child and her family is in need!), Nikki is offering a grand prize including her fabulous papers to a card maker selected by Nikki and Stacy.

Here is my card, that's going in the mail tomorrow to Stacy, to be given to Olivia:

For instructions on how you too can make Cards For Olivia,
please go to http://www.nikkisdoghouse.blogspot.com/.

For this easel card, I used Nikki's newly released line of "Get Well" paper kit for the majority of the card. This includes the adorable stickers, cut-outs, border trim, and Red Cross paper.  The tan and crimson is Bazzill cardstock.

The sweet image of the nurse is a "Pure Innocence" digi-stamp from Pollycraft, which I colored using Copic markers, Prisma pencils and a white gel pen.  Ribbon, button and baker's twine is from my stash.

Olivia is a strong girl, who needs a little extra love and strength from those of us in the cardmaking community. You can get more information on this sweet girl and the card project by visiting Nikki's blog (Click HERE) or Stacy's blog (Click HERE).

Thank you again, Nikki, for the opportunity to send wishes to this young girl and her family!  AND thank you for your sweet papers, that make my cardmaking such a pleasure!!

See My Cards Featured on Nikki's Blog!

It's my honor to have three of my cards featured in today's post by paper designer/manufacturer, Nikki Sivils.  Please hop on over there to see my cards, as well as the other fantastic projects made by crafters using Nikki's fun papers:

www.nikkisdoghouse.blogspot.com

Blog Candy Winner!

TAH-DAHHHH.... Randy (Random.Org) helped me pick the winner of my blog candy from last week's Hawaiian Themed Blog Hop.  

The candy is this issue of Scrapbooks, Etc.:

And the winner is ..... (drum roll, please!) 

Emily of Cool Cricut Creations, who said...

"Fun lo! I love the banner! Precious pictures :)"

Emily, please send me an e-mail at cardmonkey @ comcast dot net and provide your USPS mail address, and I'll send this magazine out to you promptly!  

If you'd like, pick up my blog candy winner blinkie above to boast about your win on your own blog site.  

Thank you to everyone who commented.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!