Good Timber

Now that the official day to celebrate Fathers has passed, I wanted to share the card I made for my husband.  As many of you know, he is a very talented wood crafter so this creation was intended to honor his deep respect for trees.  I created the grain background by embossing a green piece of card stock that had a white core and then sanding off some of the color to emphasize the grain. The wood style oval trim was made by stamping a wood pattern on white card stock and then coloring with Copic markers to bring out the browns.  For the tree, I used Memento markers to color the leaves and trunk directly on the stamp using the huffing technique to reactivate the ink before stamping onto white cardstock. The sky background was done with Distress Ink and a sponge applicator.  Added a sentiment and some pearls to finish it off.

Speaking of trees, I am on a quest to obtain a Mimosa tree for my yard.  When I was a child we had a Mimosa tree and I spent many hours either in it or under it reading and dreaming.  Sometimes during treatment to distract myself,  I would think about the sweet scent and beautiful puffy pink "powder puff" flowers and relax. As I was thinking of new ways to "destress", it finally dawned on me to get a Mimosa tree  for myself. Seemed like an easy thing to do right? Wrong.  I tried all my local nurseries...nope.  In fact, people were quite rude letting me know that the tree was considered an invasive species. One even called it a scrub tree. Then I ordered and paid for 2 saplings over the Internet from a nursery in GA.  What a disaster! They took my money and 6 months later I received two sticks with roots. One never made it and the other turned out to be an Ash tree.  After that, someone suggested I visit a local lake where they were all over the place and dig up a shoot..no luck there. I even stopped by a house where one was growing to see if they would give me a sapling but no one was home. Finally, I contacted the landscaper for Berea College and he said he would see if they could get me something but indicated that I needed to wait until fall.  So keep your fingers crossed and if you have any other ideas, please post a comment so I can follow up.  Truly must be some "good timber" to be so difficult to obtain. :).


Have a great week. Jeannette

Honoring Fathers

Greeting Bloggers!

As Father's Day fast approaches, I wanted to send out a HUGE wave of love to all those men who take on the role of "Dad".  I intended to share a card I made for my husband (a GREAT father indeed), but then realized he would see this blog and the card before the big day.  Since we gave him his presents already (I am really horrible about waiting...I just get too excited), showing him his card early meant nothing to open on Sunday.  Therefore, I decided to dedicate this post to the memory of my father and the blessing of my father-in-law. 

Without getting to emotional (which is hard)--I miss my dad everyday.  When I was diagnosed with cancer he was one of the strongest supporters on my team. He filled the role of the "inspirator" and never doubted I was strong enough to fight.  As he would say...."Your a Foultz, so quit complaining and fight back." He is my hero! I thank God for giving me to such a fine man.

Another fine man worthy of praise is my father-in-law.  He is so special with the largest heart I have ever seen. He still works his farms every day and never met a stranger. When I watch him work his magic, I know exactly why my husband is such a jewel! I made this card for Dad (he does not do technology so won't see his card early) to send a little love his way. The background paper was made by using distress stains and a chevron stamp blending in the colors for a masculine feel. The car was stamped with Versa Mark embossing ink and then heat embossed in black for texture. I added the bow at the last minute to add a little something shiny. 

Thank you Father's everywhere!  Enjoy your day!   

Jeannette

May Moments and Memorials

Greetings all,  

"Just a Note" to update everyone on Stamp to Cope (STC) activities as we wrap up the month of May for 2012. These last two weeks have been full of ups and downs but we remember our blessings through both. 

On May 19th, our dear friend, Michael Lee "Mike" Hix, lost his valiant 9 year battle with cancer. The following poem, shared at his services, says it all...

God Saw he was getting tired

and a cure was not to be. 

So He put His arms around Mike

and whispered "Come with Me."

With tear-filled eyes we watched him

suffer and fade away;

although we loved him deeply,

we could not make him stay.

A golden heart stopped beating,

hard-working hands put to rest.

God broke our hearts to prove to us,

He only takes the best!

STC sends love and prayers to the Hix family and friends.

During the end of May, we also took time to celebrate Memorial Day and honor those who gave all so we can be free. 

"When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say, 
For Their Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today" - (The Kohima Epitaph)

We ended the month with our annual board meeting on May 26 here in Berea, KY. A huge thank you to all the board members for their continued trust, support, and direction! We have a super talented board and I appreciate the time and talent they volunteer. Great things being planned for the rest of 2012 in the areas of outreach and funding so stay tuned to this blog for updates.

Looking forward to the adventures of June as we prep for the July Learnshops!!!  Jeannette