Friday, December 3, 2010

I'm back!



Cute digi stamp from Whipper Snapper. The paper is from Reminisce, ribbon from Michaels, tag computer generated.

I have entered this in the following challenges:

Christmas Challenge's polar bears and penquins
http://christmasblogchallenge.blogspot.com

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Gone but never forgotten



Daddy passed away August 19th, 2010. Love you Daddy, miss you so much.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Daddy


Below is a letter my brother wrote about our dad. You'll understand why I am absent from the craft world for a while.



I am writing this email in hopes that I can give my dying father one last gift. In order for you to understand my request, I would like to take a brief moment to tell you about my father.

My father’s name is Glenn Monroe Smith, and he is dying from a rare and incurable disease known as amyloidosis. To briefly describe the disease, amyloidosis refers to a variety of conditions in which insoluble amyloid proteins are abnormally deposited in organs and/or tissues causing them to lose their elasticity. My father’s stomach has been affected, and he has lost almost 100 pounds. He no longer eats solid foods. His main source of nutrition was coming from Ensure brand supplements. However, he can no longer stomach them. It has been over two weeks since he has had any sort of nutrition. The disease makes him extremely nauseated and he is in a lot of pain. He was involved with a clinical trial at Duke Hospital, but the experimental treatments made his quality of life worse. Consequently, he was taken off of the trial. He spends his entire time in bed, getting up only to use the restroom and take an occasional shower every few days. Dad is a shell of the man he once was.

My father has been a Tar Heel since his high school years in Tabor City, NC. He was the son of a teacher whose father left three months prior to his birth. In order to receive an education, he knew it had to be on scholarship. Dad worked hard on his grades and was valedictorian of his class at Tabor City High. He was a finalist for the Morehead Scholarship, and received a full-academic scholarship to attend Carolina in the fall of 1961. His first year was Coach Smith’s first year at Carolina. He met Coach Smith on a number of occasions and always mentioned this to him. Dad graduated with a degree in Chemistry in 1965, and went on to start our family shortly after graduating.

My father has been a Ram’s Club donor for about 30 years and has made donations for the construction of the Smith Center as well as renovations to Kenan Stadium back in the 90’s. My Mom and Dad's name is even on the wall of donors at Kenan. As far back as I can remember, Carolina athletics have been my Dad’s passion. He took me to my first game in the mid 70’s, and we have been attending football and basketball games together ever since. Our last game together was the Duke football game on November 7, 2009. God shone bright on Dad that day and the Heels won 19-6.

My Dad kept his season football tickets this year hoping for a miracle. We all prayed that he would somehow recover and be able to attend more games and spend time with his grandchildren. Basketball and Football games in Chapel Hill have always been a bonding experience for our family. I was looking forward to sending my first born to his first football game with my Dad. Unfortunately, my son will never know the joy of attending a game in Chapel Hill with his grandfather.

My father’s passion for North Carolina athletics is undeniable, and his passion turned into my passion at an early age. Though I am not an alumnus (I graduated from Radford University), I am a Tar Heel for life. I will be attending games this fall as I have been doing since the 70’s, but this year I will be without my father. In his place, a family friend will attend until my son Evan is old enough to do so. After my father passes, I am joining the Rams Club so that I can give my family the same gift that my father bestowed upon our family. Those involved with Carolina athletics always speak of the “Carolina Family.” Carolina has always been a big part of the Smith family.

I had been thinking for the longest time about what I could do for my Dad before he left us. The only thought that came to mind for my mother, sister and I was Carolina.

My sister contacted the Make a Wish foundation last week and was informed that they cannot help us with such a request, which is why I am writing to each of you.

I realize that Coach Williams, Coach Smith, Coach Davis and Woody have very busy schedules and likely have very little time with families of their own. All we are asking for is for a few minutes of their time to visit my father. Just three to five minutes would suffice as Dad doesn’t have the energy to stay awake for any length of time. Their time would mean the world to him, and I cannot think of a gift that would bring a bigger smile to my Dad’s face. We only wish to return the favor that he gave to us so many years ago.

As of today, Dad is in hospice in Durham; however, we are transferring him to Hospice of Wake County in Raleigh, most likely by Monday, July 19th so that he will be closer to family. He may be allowed to go home (North Raleigh) if he so wishes, but the Hospice center has the ability to better manage his pain by administering morphine.

If you could please forward this message to the coaches and Woody, it would mean the world to my father, Glenn Smith…class of ’65…forever a Tar Heel.

Please contact me to let us know if anything can be done. I greatly appreciate your time in hearing my Dad's story.

Sincerely,

Warren Glenn Smith

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Chillin' little birthday penquin



Just a super quick birthday card I whipped up for my son's birthday. He loves penquins! Penquin sticker from Archiver's.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Cheri's Card




My first attempt at a tri shutter card. I am not entirely happy with it, but I think my friend will like it anyway. Her name is Cheri and she was recently dignosed with stage three breast cancer. Just a little something to cheer her. Papers used are Grahic 45, Bazill and Bobunny. Ovals are from Cutterbee. Sentiment from Rubber Soul. Cherry stamp from Hero Arts.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Did someone call a Doctor?



One of my best friends and I are huge Doctor Who fans. I found this pattern/template on Valita's gallery here at SCS. Boy was I excited!! Thank you Valita!! You can find the template on her blog:

http://valitasfreshfolds.blogspot.com

Becky's birthday isn't until August. I can't wait to give it to her!

Monday, May 24, 2010

It's Made Out of What?!





My entry for the Stamps R Us Challenge #6. I love these little paper wallets! They are so much fun to make! The solid paper is Bazill in Buttercream and the embossing folder used is Cuttlebug's Tiny Mosaics. I inked the Buttercream with distress ink in Antique Linen and embossed with heat gun and clear powder. The inside paper is so me! I LOVE animal prints. Found this one at Michael's. The ribbon trim and brad are from Archiver's.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Stressed spelled backwards...



I have had this SU set "Hanging in There" for a REALLY long time and never had the opportunity to use it. My dad is a chemo patient and my mom wanted to take the receptionists at the bone marrow clinic some cookies/brownies for being so kind to them every week. I thought this stamp would be perfect for a card to go with the goodies.

Sorry, my camera is not that good. You can't really see the details, like the colored pencils I used or the glossy accents or stickles. Maybe I can make another card in the day time and take a better picture, ha ha ha!

All cardstock is from Archiver's, ribbon from Michael's. The nestabilities are Spellbinder's Labels Two, large circles cut with Cutterbee, small circles punched.

Spoil Yourself




I have had this Penny Black stamp for a while and finally got around to using it. Don't feel I did it justice though.

I stamped the image with Memento black ink and colored with pencils. I added Stardust pen and Glossy Accents to the bubbles. The border punch is Martha Stewart. I used the technique of snipping the paper about 1/16 inch between each daisy in order to place it around the circle. The blue paper is Bazill Bling and the pink is shimmer from TPC.

As always, TFL and I appreciate your comments!!

Sunday, May 9, 2010


This is a photo I snapped of my Jack Russell, Bonnie, snoozing on the couch. The dp is from Crate Paper. The ribbon is from Archiver's as are the paw print buttons from the Hot Spot bin. Solid papers and flowers are Bazzil. I stamped a paw print on the tag and used ep and stardust pen. The bottom border is also Crate paper with matching gems added.

Mother's Day 2010


This is a total case of a card by Cheri Wenger. The background paper is a digital design by her and is a free download on her site. I used a different digital flower than she did. I am sorry, don't remember where I found it. It was a freebie also. Instead of the ribbon or paper she used, I embossed a strip of brown paper with the giraffe folder by Sissix and added more bling. I also used stardust pen on many of the open brown swirls and circles on the paper. I thought about adding more to it, but sometimes simple is best. My mom liked it and that is what counts!!

Cheri's card:
http://cwartz1.blogspot.com/search/label/In%20Full%20Bloom%20at%2080

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Coastal Breeze


This is another stamp from the Tattered Angels set Seaside Coastal Breeze. This is an A7 card, so as you can see, the stamped image took up the whole card. Kept it pretty simple. Stamped image with Sahara Sand and Tea Leaves Versa Magic Chalk Inks. Embossed with clear powder. Using the inkssentials blending tool, applied Tim Holtz Tumbled Glass distress ink directly to paper. Applied distress stickles in Shabby Shutters to palm fronds and heat set. A sentiment in Sahara Sand and a bit of green bling...done.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Marguerite Smith Cooper Smith



This is a picture I scanned of my grandmother. It was taken sometime in the 1920's. I just loved the green and browns together.

Tropical Leaves



I love this new Fiskars punch, Leaf it to Me! Cut out Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 2. Inked the inside cream cardstock with a script stamp. Inked edges of all papers with cat eye in chestnut. DP is from Safari paperpack by DCWV. Inked edges of leaves and pop-dotted. Finished off card with translucent amber domes.

Friday, April 30, 2010

Cynthia's Birthday



I absolutely loved Bar's polka dot birthday card on SCS, so had to create one myself. Couldn't find the black and pink papers, so went with the Ooo La La line from My Mind's Eye. Also, since I am not good with ribbon, I glued a strip of pink plaid coordinating paper between the polka dot and "solid" paper and added glitter domes. I used Glimmer Mist in coffee shop and starfish for my flower.

Warren's Birthday Card



My brother has been a drummer since he was 14 years old. This Jolee's sticker set was perfect for his card. The dp is from Sassafrass Lass. Ribbon is from Michael's.

Seahorse



Stamped seahorse on white paper with silver pigment ink. Embossed with clear EP. Used Inkssentails blending tool to blend Tim Holtz distress ink in Tumbled Glass over seahorse. Ran turquoise paper through Big Shot with cuttlebug folder. Punched small starfish and MS branch punch from white paper. Used stardust pen on starfish.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Close-up of Bumble Bee

Busy Little Bee!



I have been as busy as this darling little bumble bee, crafting up a storm! The bee is a Sissix die, cut from yellow paper. Inked the body and legs with a black sharpie. Used a blending nib to add a hint of ochre ink to the yellow paper and wings. Finished the wings and body with a hint of stardust pen. The stamp medallion is from Inkadinkado. The yellow background paper was embossed with the Swiss dot folder.