January Card RAK

Okay, I finished my card (sending it for Aidan, too). Here's a look... I made my own Star Wars cardstock for the card base. Then I found some fonts for different Star Wars languages (Aurek-Besh, Yavin, and Episode 1) and typed "Awarded for Bravery" around the circle. Turned that into the center for a blue ribbon for the front and cut some gold glittery stock for the center of the new Jedi Order symbol.



I am not normally a "lumpy" card maker (oh, foo-ey! I'm not really a card maker at all!), but I HAD to make this one thick. I recreated the Medal of Yavin (SW Episode 1) and a medal with the Jedi symbol and printed them on inkjet Shrink film. They came out awesome!

I inked the back of the Yavin medal with Brillance gold ink to show through the lines I had created and give it some sparkle. I found lanyard hooks at Michael's in the jewelry section and put the shrunken pieces at the bottom. I want him to be able to use the "medals" as pulls on his jacket zipper.




Since the pulls were thicker, I created some cushioning (and the "ribbon" part of the medal) with a piece of foam board wrapped in blue paper to cover the raw edges and them a piece of blue fun foam to give it some extra space. I made a slit up the middle of each so the jacket pull could fit up inside it.

I printed a silk "pillow" to present the medals on.



Lastly, my man Aidan loves his Knock-Knock jokes and is always making up his own (they don't always make sense...but, oh well!). I made up one to be the verse inside my card...



To use the jacket pulls all he has to do is gently pull the medal piece out of the ribbon.

Just a quick note...

Yes, I am alive! Things have just been a little hairy around here is all...I did make a promise to myself to try and blog a little more regularly. It seems to be the only way I can remember what I've been doing sometimes, ba-ha-ha-ha!

So, I've been working on some cards recently. I'll have more about the card I'm working on for Aidan in the next few days...I've got some experimenting to do before I share pics with you!

Here's a little look at the card I did today.



It's a bright and cheery card. I've used my other coloring of Santa Birgitta, this time using the Red Violet copic color scheme (recipe to come later, sorry I don't have the numbers with me right now...). I also used a yellow copic to add some color to the button that was beige in a previous life, LOL!

I broke open my little DYMO handheld label maker and made the sentiment using white-core cardstock fed through as a strip, then sanded. I really liked how it looked, but it was getting smooshed as I worked on the inside, so I used the DYMO font by Manfred Klein and recreated it using the "reverse" method of generating white text.

January RAK at Paperthreads

For those of you who aren't aware, some of the folks at Paperthreads have been sending cards as a RAK for those in need of a little pick me up! You may have heard about this one from Shirley already, but if not...

I'm so glad I get to share the person chosen for the January feature with you! I've known Aidan for many years, but have been separated by geography. I had the great opportunity to meet back up with him this fall.

I met Aidan when he was about 4 months old. Both his parents, Don & Darii, were in the Air Force with me in Alaska. Aidan had some "birthmarks" that became more noticable over time, and was finally diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1). NF-1 is a tumor disorder caused by a gene malfunction. It is associated with bone problems, cafe au lait spots (or "birthmarks"), and occassionally causes cancer.

Aidan started having problems using the bathroom when he was about 2 1/2 years old and was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma in February 2005. The bathroom problems were because his tumor was blocking his bladder. His family had to move urgently, as they didn't have the treatment centers needed for chemotherapy in Alaska. Don & Darii also found out that the baby they were carrying (Seth) had congenital heart disease and would need multiple surgeries shortly after birth, so the move needed to be somewhere with cardiothoracic surgical specialists as well. Aidan went through a year of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery and was tumor free for almost 3 years.

He had a local recurrence of the rhabdomyosarcoma in July 2008, again making it difficult to use the bathroom. This time the surgery involved removing his bladder and forming an ostomy, then he started another series of chemotherapy which ran from July 2008 to July 2009.



Through it all, Aidan, his brother and sister (Seth & Rachel), and Don & Darii have been troopers (I guess Aidan might say "Storm Troopers", since he is obsessed with Star Wars). Their faith has remained steadfast and they have served as an inspiration for others, sharing their experience (and struggles) on his Caring Bridge site.

I am told by Don & Darii that Aidan LOVES to get mail (don't all 7 year olds?), so I can't wait to hear about his reaction when he gets all these cards.

Shirley Clark has all the details on her blog HERE. You can also email her at shirley_clark@paperthreads.com to find out where to send your cards. She does ask that they be postmarked before January 29th!

If you have someone you would like featured for February, please send Shirley an email! A feature needs to be someone who needs cheering up. Maybe the person has lost a spouse, lost a loved pet, been in an accident, best friend moved away, found out they have a disease, etc.