Dannie's Designs

Raising Money for Breast Cancer Research

Sorry to disappear on you like that.  My kids were on Spring Break and I had the opportunity to go on vacation, so I did!  I had planned on having blog posts all ready to go each day I was gone, but there just weren't enough hours in the day.  Being a single mom can be exhausting and I simply needed a break.  Now that I'm back I feel so refreshed and I'm ready to dive back into life again.

One project I completed before I left was the Control Freak Summer Mini Catalog swap.  I chose to use the Strength & Hope Stamp set.

I sponged Chocolate Chip ink around both of the Pink Pirouette cardstock layers as well as around the Whisper White layer.  I also used my Janome Sew Mini to sew around the edges of the largest pink layer.  I had to make 30 of these cards so that was quite a bit of sewing, but I love the way the sewing adds to the card.

This stamp set was designed to help raise money for Breast Cancer research, so I had to add a pink Breast Cancer ribbon to the card.

I kept the inside of the card very simple with some sponging and a stamped butterfly.

As I said before, this stamp set was designed to raise money for Breast Cancer research.  Stampin' Up! will donate $2 from the sale of each Strength & Hope set and Strength & Hope digital kit to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.  This is a cause that is very near and dear to my heart as my mother is a Breast Cancer survivor.  If you would like to purchase this stamp set to help a worthy cause, please visit my website (click shop now in the upper right corner) and order your set today. You can also click here to read more details.

Here are the images that come in the stamp set.

I hope you'll join me in raising money for this great cause.  Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Strength & Hope
Paper:  Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip
Ink:  Chocolate Chip
Accessories:  Pretty in Pink Ribbon, Sponge, Dimensionals, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder
Punches:  Scallop Edge

Breast Cancer Victory

I'm still here!  Sorry for the long break in posting.  I was knee deep in taxes, kids with pink eye and life in general.  I'm caught up on life and it feels wonderful getting back to stamping again.  I decided to start with this wonderful Mojo Monday sketch from last week.

The sentiment says, "Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting.  -Hill"  It comes from Verve's "Believe" stamp set that was designed specifically for Breast Cancer.  I made this card for my mother who is a breast cancer survivor.  She was diagnosed five years ago this month.  I'm so grateful that she has survived and that she's been cancer free for almost five years now.

I was going to add more to the card so that it looked just like the sketch challenge, but I didn't want to take away from the beautiful sentiment.  I used this tutorial on SplitCoast for the ribbon around the sentiment. 

The inside of the card has pretty much the same layout as the front.   It has plenty of room for me to let my mom know how much I love her and how much she inspired me as she battled her cancer.  Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Believe (Verve)
Paper:  Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red, Bella Rose DSP
Ink:  Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink
Accessories:  Riding Hood Red Ribbon, Pretty in Pink Brads, Dimensionals, Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon, Sticky Strip, Nestabilities, Sponge
Punches:  Flower Border (Martha Stewart)

Pink, Pink, Pink!

While blog browsing, I came across the idea of using our Scallop Circle Punch to decorate peppermint patties.   I thought the idea looked fun and I put it on my list of ideas to try sometime.   Then I went to Safeway and found bags of pink "support breast cancer research" peppermint patties.  How could I pass up the chance to try something fun while supporting such a great cause?

Covering the patties was simple. 

I found the perfect size ribbon stamp to use in the retired set "Godspeed."  I stamped the ribbon in Regal Rose ink on Pretty in Pink card stock and punched it out with my 1 3/8" circle punch.  I finished off the design by using my paper piercing tool to pierce each of the scallops.

The box came together quickly as well.  I used an 8" x 8" piece of Flowers for You DSP to make the box.  The handle is a piece of Regal Rose card stock cut to 3/4" x 8".  I then layered another piece of matching DSP on top that measures 5/8" x 8".  The handle is held on by silver brads which I covered with ribbon.

Stamps: Godspeed
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Flowers for You DSP
Ink: Regal Rose
Accessories: Silver Brads, Regal Rose Wide Grosgrain, Scalloped Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Crafters' Tool Kit

Breast Cancer

Life has a way of throwing curve balls at you right when things are going perfectly.  Sometimes these curve balls are minor and sometimes they throw you clear off course.  One of my major curve balls came on April 25, 2006.  I had 3 children and was expecting my 4th.  I had never had any pregnancy complications, so imagine my surprise when I landed myself on bed rest at only 11 1/2 weeks pregnant.  The icing on the cake was when my mom called me that same night to let me know she had just been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Those six weeks on bed rest were the longest six weeks of my life.  I was worried about my baby and worried about my mom.  Once I was cleared to get off bed rest, I was hit by complication after complication with my pregnancy. 

While I was going through all of that, my mom started chemo.  To say my mom is an amazing woman is an understatement.  Her hair fell out and she shaved her head.  Instead of wearing a wig or a hat, she went around bald.  She didn't mind if people looked or stared.  I think she even amazed herself at how much she didn't mind not having hair. 

Here we are together in August 2006.

Her strength through all of it gave me strength to keep going.  She was in a fight for her life against cancer and I was in a fight to stay pregnant and have a healthy baby.  I am happy to say that we both won!  On November 1st, I gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby.  On November 3rd my mom went through surgery and was finally cancer free.   It was an amazing journey.

My mom is scheduled to have her final surgery this Thursday.  It marks the end of a scary chapter in our lives.  I can't imagine my life without my mom.  She means the world to me.

In an attempt to tell her how much she means to me, I made her this card.  I love you mom!

Stamps: Hope
Paper: White, Regal Rose, Flowers for You DSP
Ink: Regal Rose
Accessories: Three for You Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, Pink Brads, Regal Rose Wide Grosgrain