Still lovin' after all these years!

Happy 60th Anniversary to my parents, Dot and Ed Sager!

Christmas Countdown: 100 Days 'til the Big Guy!

RECIPE:

Sentiment cut from Cricut's "Joys of the Season" cartridge.

Candy cane cut from Users' gallery in "Make the Cut".

Candy cane wrapped in red/white baker's twine.

Green ribbon bow from stash.

Triple mounted on red, green, white cardstock.

In case you (like me) almost missed the date, I'd just like to point out for the planners among you (not me!) that today marks the start of the 100-day countdown until Christmas!!

Egads, where does the time go?

I hope it won't be too intrusive, but I'm planning (eeek, there's that word again!!) to post a picture of a Christmas card I've made for mailing this 2011 season.

I'll endeavor to list the recipe for the card in the photo caption. From time to time, the card will simply pop up randomly in a non-Christmas posting. This means that not only do we have other occasions to celebrate throughout the year, we all should endeavor to keep Christmas in our hearts all year long.

Here is my 100th day card, an oldie but a goodie.

Yes, I admit that I pulled this from my stash of cards I made last year.

Because, no, I haven't even begun to think about Christmas!!!!

Gorgeous -- the Monster.

Sometimes I just totally amuse myself ...

This card was one such time. I made it for my brother. In my family, my bro, "Freddy" (his real name is Ed. I call him Fred; he calls me Nellie. Long story.) is the only boy of the four kids in my family. Oh my, how we took advantage of that fact ...

I used a Pollycraft digi-image called "Gorgeous" for this one-eyed monster; colored him with my Copics. You may not be able to tell in this image, but I put a piece of acetate for the eyeglass, and dimensionally popped all of Gorgeous using foam tape. 

Here's "me", inside. The image was fussy-cut from paper, and I hand-drew the leg.

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