Caring for the Cox Family Winners

Hi friends!  My son randomly picked a number and we assigned that number (15) as the GoFundMe people.  Then I used random.org to pick a blog 1-16 and then pick a number from the comments left on that blog/list.

Here are the winners:

1. CAS-ual Fridays Stamps -
From Lisa Lara's blog:
Daria Z. said...

I love the colorful ferris wheel against the black and white skyline. Such a pretty card.

February 7, 2016 at 1:43 PM

2. Lawn Fawn-
From Lynnette Kauffman's blog:

Debbie Bonczek said...

Love your adorable card. It reminds me that spring is coming! 

February 5, 2016 at 9:44 PM

3. SugarPea Designs - 

From Sankari Wegman's blog:
Janet a.k.a. swanlady21 said...

Such a pretty card with all those layers and butterflies. Certainly hope good things are ahead for the Cox family.

February 4, 2016 at 7:03 AM

For the Scrap Happy Deals gift certificate from MY blog:  

Debbie BonczekFebruary 5, 2016 at 6:25 PM

I have this deal for 2016 where I want to give back to people need . . . one donation per month. I had already made my February donation, but I would not pass up this opportunity to give. Especially to such a giving family. To think you could donate a kidney, and then have trouble with the one you have left. So selfless. 

WINNERS!  Please email me (my email is in the right sidebar under my photo) OR leave a comment on this post with your email address and I will contact you back about your prize.  If prizes are not claimed within 7 days, new winners will be drawn.  Huge thank you to everyone who participated!  

Update On Caring for the Cox Family Blog Hop

Hi friends!  I hope that you are doing well!  We are ok.  We are fighting off a little cold in our house which is hard when all the kids are home ALL the time!  We'll make it through though.  The weather is GORGEOUS in California right now so I can't wait to get better and go outside to play!

I wanted to give you some updates on the Caring for the Cox Family Blog Hop:


First off, my sweet friend Kim from Scrap Happy Deals saw my post and decided to MATCH my gift certificate post for this hop!  Isn't she the BEST EVER??  If you donate (ANY AMOUNT) to the Cox Family Go Fund Me Page and leave a comment on my original post, then you will be entered to win a $20 gift certificate to Scrap Happy Deals where they have all the latest CHA release, an exclusive line of Dori style notebooks, and so much more!  I shop at this store at least once a month!  If you end up shopping here, please tell Kim I sent you!

Speaking of the Cox Family GoFundMe Page, this blog hop has raised around $500 for the Cox Family!  That is AMAZING!  However, the page is still $4535 away from reaching goal so if your heart tells you it's the right thing and you have a few dollars to spare, please consider donating to this amazing family!

ALSO, REMINDERS: The blog hop is still open!  All you need to do to win is leave comments on the blog hop.  There are over $150 in prizes to be won!  Also, if you want to make a card for the Cox Family there is a LINK-UP HERE so they can see your card online OR if you want to win a $30 gift certificate to Hero Arts please check out Amy's post for details.

Huge thank you to all the sponsors of our hop (CAS-ual Fridays Stamps. Lawn Fawn, SugarPea Designs,) all the designers who participated, and each blog reader for making this a successful event!  The outpouring of love is wonderful!!  

Caring for the Cox Family Blog Hop (and Giveaway)

Hi friends!  I hope you're doing well.  I have a very special post for you today.  I am joining with my new friend Karen Kelly to put on a blog hop for our dear friend Ann Cox and her family.  Please join us!  We have AMAZING sponsors, some awesome of our awesome bloggers are offering up giveaways on their blog, and there's going to be a whole lot of beautiful creations too.  I'm the FIRST stop on this hop so I have all the info for you!  

Ann Cox is a fellow card maker and a teacher.  She and her husband Kevin have been together for 20 years and have a little 2 year old boy named Liam.  Kevin is the primary caretaker for Liam while Ann teaches.  Recently, Kevin had to have triple bypass heart surgery and he's having trouble with his kidney (he donated the other to his father.)  This amazing family needs a little help to get through this hard time.  They have had to put Liam in childcare and they have medical expenses piling up.  The amazing Karen Kelly has set up a page to help raise funds for the family.  Please check out their GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/g81dn0.  

We have AMAZING sponsors for this hop!  Check out these awesome prizes!

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps $50 gift certificate 

Lawn Fawn Stamps $50 gift certificate 

SugarPea Designs $50 gift certificate 

To enter to win the prizes, please complete the hop and leave comments on each stop.  Bonus entries will be given to those who donate to the GoFundMe page (not required to win.)  Winners will be drawn on Feb 11 and posted right here.  

If you would like to show your support for the Cox Family by making a card and posting it to your blog, there will be a linkup at our last stop CAS-ual Fridays.

Here is my card for this hop.  I wanted to send the family something that would cheer them up so of course I'm sending a card that looks EXACTLY like my daughter.  (I know, I'm weird.)  The stamps are from Mama Elephant and the patterned paper is Doodlebug.  

I'm also offering an additional giveaway.  My friend Kim just opened up a new scrapbook store, Scrap Happy Deals.  I have purchased a $10 gift certificate for this blog hop.  If you make a donation to the Cox Family's GoFundMe page and would like to win, please leave me an additional comment letting me know!  ETA: Kim from Scrap Happy Deals read my post and has decided to match my purchase for this gift certificate!  That means if you donate and leave a comment here you will be entered to win a $20 gift certificate to Scrap Happy Deals!  Thank you Kim!!

Your next stop on this hop is the AMAZING Karen Kelly!   

Here is the full hop list, I've updated with all the permalinks that I could.  If you get lost along the blog hop, please come back here for reference.  

Ashley N Newell

Karen Kelly 

Tenia Nelson

Amy Tsuruta

JoLynn Plato

Rae Barthel

Susan Raihala

Lawn Fawn

Kim Hall

Sankari Wegman

Lisa Lara

Angie Tieman

Lynnette Kaufman

Heather Pulvirenti

CAS-ual Fridays

Seasons Giving Blog Hop 4

Hi Friends!  I hope you're having a WONDERFUL day!  We are doing great!  The kiddos are going to try to stay up until midnight to ring in the New Year, wish us luck!

This year, I finally got my act together to participate in my friend Latisha's amazing Seasons Givings Blog Hop.  This is the fourth year of this amazing hop.  The hop is just a bunch of crafters and crafting companies giving back to the crafting community.  A huge THANK YOU for the past year.  Each stop on this blog hop will have a giveaway.  It's a wonderful out pouring of generosity and I'm so glad I get to participate this year!  

I made a card for this hop.  :)  By the time this blog hop goes live, it will still be my birthday (Dec 31) so I made a birthday card.  Let's be 100% honest, I don't even really know how to make cards anymore.  I mostly do Pocket Scrapbooking and the cards I made this year usually had the elements provided by my amazing friend Rachel at her crops.  I figured I would just pull out some of my favorite items and let them speak to me.  I used an old collection from Dear Lizzy Daydreamer which I have used also every single bit of.  I've never used so much of a 6x6 pad before, I only have 3 whole sheets left in that pad.  The image is a sticker from the collection.  I added some Chickaniddy enamel hearts and a Paper Smooches sentiment.  I thought it would be cute to stamp the sentiment in pink but it's a little hard to see.  

 GIVEAWAY: Today, I'm giving away one (1) $15 gift certificate to 1 of my favorite online stores.  One winner will be able to pick a gift certificate from either: Butterfly Reflections Ink, Ellen Hutson, or Paper Issues.  Just leave a comment and I will pick a winner and post on Jan 7.

Please follow my blog to see my new posts in the new year.  You can also follow my Heart Hugs Designs Facebook Page.

The next stop on the hop is my DEAR DEAR friend Nicole Maki.  Please check out the rest of the hop:

Lawn Fawn

Lawnfawn.blogspot.com

Scrapbook Cards & Today Magazine

http://www.scrapbookandcardstodaymag.typepad.com

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L

http://www.scrapbook-adhesives.com/blog

Reverse Confetti

https://reverseconfetti.com/blog/

Technique Tuesday

http://techniquetuesday.typepad.com

CAS-ual Friday Stamps

http://cas-ualfridaysstamps.blogspot.com

Verve Stamps

http://www.vervestamps.blogspot.com

Donna Salazar

http://donnasalazardesigns.blogspot.com

Richard Garay

http://www.richardgaray.com/blog/

AdTech

https://makesomethingreat.wordpress.com

Stamp Simply Ribbon Store

http://notimetostamp.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com

Inchie Arts

http://www.inchiearts.typepad.com

Avocado Arts

http://www.avocadoarts.blogspot.com

OHscrap (Bossy Joscie)

http://www.cutchens.com

Rubermoon Stamps

http://www.rubbermoonarts.blogspot.com

Latina Crafter

http://latinacrafter.blogspot.com

A Jillian Vance Design

http://blog.ajillianvancedesign.com

JustNick

http://justnick.myshopify.com/blogs/justnick

Your Everyday Stamps

http://youreverydaystamps.blogspot.com

Latisha Yoast

http://www.crafteebee.blogspot.com

AJ Otto

http://thewillowgarden.blogspot.com

Kimberly Crawford

http://kimberly-crawford.blogspot.com

Julia Stainton

http://juliastainton.com/blog/

Laurie Willison

http://www.soapboxcreations.blogspot.com

Teri Anderson

https://terisplace.wordpress.com

Jennifer Gallacher

http://jengallacher.blogspot.com

Vera Yates

http://www.lingshappyplace.blogspot.com

Wanda Guess

http://www.ablogcalledwanda.com

Nichol Magouirk

http://www.nicholmagouirk.typepad.com

Kelly Klapstein

http://www.kellycreates.ca

Anabelle O’Malley

http://www.anabelleom.blogspot.com

Kim Watson

http://kj-starre.blogspot.com

Chari Moss

http://www.mossymade.com

Laura Bassen

https://laurafadora.wordpress.com

Lydia Fiedler

http://understandblue.blogspot.com

Lisa Adametz

http://www.papergrace.com

Alice Wertz

http://aliceslittlewonderland.blogspot.com

Daniela Dobson

http://danieladobson.blogspot.com

Jenn Shurkus

Shurkus.com

Lori Craig

http://loricraig.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com

Amy Tsuruta

http://tsurutadesigns.blogspot.com

Lisa Henke

http://www.mylittlecreativeescape.blogspot.com

Margie Higuchi

http://margieh.blogspot.com

Lee Murphy

http://luvleestamper.blogspot.com

Lori Tecler

http://inkingaloud.blogspot.com

Dina Kowal

http://mamadinis.blogspot.com

Loretta Lock

http://lovetocreate.blogspot.ca

Darsie Bruno

http://craftingwithdarsie.blogspot.com

Marcie Sharp

http://www.cardmakinchaos.blogspot.com

Veronica Zalis

http://lk2thestarz.blogspot.com/?m=1

Barbara Anders

http://barspaperpursuits.blogspot.com

Maria Levine

http://riacreations.blogspot.com

Dana Joy

http://www.gotjoycreations.blogspot.com

Melody Rupple

http://apapermelody.blogspot.com

Keri Sereika

http://www.pinklemonade.typepad.com

Asia King

http://underacreativespell.blogspot.com

Jennifer Ingle

http://justjingle.blogspot.com

Yvonne Van de Grijp

http://phoebeez.blogspot.nl

Beth Pingry

http://bethpingry.com

Erica Houghton

http://ericahoughton.blogspot.com

Mary-Ann Maldonado

http://lumpbumpandclump.blogspot.com

Piali Biswas

http://touchofcreation.blogspot.com

Ashley Newell

http://www.hearthugsdesigns.com

Nicole Maki

http://madebynicole.blogspot.com

Julee Tilman

http://www.poeticartistry.blogspot.com

Leigh Penner

http://www.leighpenner.blogspot.com

Christina Griffiths

http://flowersribbonsandpearls.blogspot.co.uk

Lindsay Amrhein

http://lindsayamrhein.blogspot.com

Laura Williams

http://www.lauralooloo.blogspot.com

Debbie Seyer

http://www.debbieseyer.com/my_weblog/

Christine Emberson

http://creativity-continues.blogspot.co.uk

Kerry Urbatch

http://www.thestampingbugsjourney.blogspot.com

Linda Lucas

http://lovelylindascraftcentral.blogspot.com.au

Tosha Leyendekker

http://www.stamptalkwithtosh.blogspot.com

Giovana Smith

http://giovana-believe.blogspot.com

Bunny Vance

http://www.bunnyrunswithscissors.com

Stacey Schafer

http://stampinwithstacey.blogspot.com

Lee Ann Barrett

http://greytpapercrafts.blogspot.com

Ruby Naz

http://www.arareruby.com

Julie Dinn

http://www.kreativejewels2.com

Jill Hawkins

https://fastestturtle.wordpress.com

Christiana Reulling

http://christygetscrafty.blogspot.com

Jodi Collins

http://stampingalatte.blogspot.com

Gracie Chavez

http://gracielliedesign.blogspot.com

Michelle Woerner

http://stopandstamptheroses.blogspot.com

Tania Willis

http://www.throughtrialsiambeingpurified.blogspot.com

Karisse Schilling

http://karissejoy.com

Lori McAree

http://smilingwhilestamping.blogspot.com

Ashley Harris

http://www.ashleyharris.typepad.com

Emily Leiphart

http://www.leiphartonart.blogspot.ca

Heidi Blankenship

http://embellished-dreams.blogspot.com

Coralynn Murray

http://sunrisestamper1.blogspot.ca

Tenia Nelson

http://jazzypaper.blogspot.com

Pretty Philosophie

http://www.prettyphilosophie.org

Jillian Vance

http://www.princessandthepaper.com

Misti Oblander

http://misti-acardaday.blogspot.com

Ceal Pritchett

http://simplybeautifulcreations.blogspot.com

Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

Hi friends!  I hope you all are doing well!  We are pretty good.  We are wrapping up our busiest month of volunteering for the year and I'm excited to go to a more relaxed schedule.  My boys will be "going off track" which means having a break in their year round schooling next week for 4 weeks.  We will be doing lots of kicking back and relaxing!  If you'd like to check out what we are doing for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, check it out here: http://fluttering.org/newellfamily.

Today, I'm excited to be joining the Fall Coffee Lovers Bloghop!  I hope my card is "fall" enough for their liking.  Maybe I should have tried to change the sentiment to I like you a PUMPKIN SPICE latte.  Teehee!  The papers are from Webster's Pages Our Travels.  I love love love that glitter printed paper!  It's so pretty!  The stamps are from Close to My Heart Treats of Friendship which my friend Rachel let me borrow.  They are so cute!  I think I need to buy these.

Have a great day, friends!  

Happy Birthday Danni! (Flutter By Blog Hop)

Hi friends!  I hope you are doing well!  We are doing pretty good.  I'm glad it's Friday and we have a low key weekend ahead of us.  The only thing I have planned for this weekend is bang cookies to raise money for our Unravel page.  

Today, I'm participating in a Flutter By Blog Hop in honor of my friend Danni (you can start the hop on her blog.)  It's her BIRTHDAY! YAY!  Danni used to run a challenge called Flutter By Wednesday where the challenge was to use a butterfly or fairy on your project (aka things that flutter.)  I was on her design team for a while and had a lot of fun.  In honor of her birthday, Danni is GIVING AWAY TWO GIFT CERTIFICATES to people who do the hop and leave comments!  Just leave a comment on all the posts by Monday Sept 7 to be entered to win!  You should be coming here from Brenda's blog, if not go back to Danni's blog to start the hop.  

Here's my card for the hop.  I used Pebbles and Jen Hadfield's Home+Made line for this card.  The colors in this paper collection are GORGEOUS and of course I LOVE the gold glitter!  I added a little glitter heart from the Heidi Swapp marquee items at Target.  I don't make greeting cards a lot anymore so I hope this is ok.

I'm the LAST stop on the hop!  YAY!  You made it to the end!

Speaking of Fluttering, September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.  Our family is trying to raise $1000 to help cure pediatric cancer.  Be GO HERE if you'd like to make a donation.  Have a great weekend, friends!  

Light It Up Blue for Autism Awareness Blog Hop

***There's a GIVEAWAY at the end of this post!***

Hi friends!  I hope you are well!  By the time this post goes live, I will hopefully be on a cruise to Mexico!  YAY!  Let's hope this publishes!  

Today's post is very near and dear to my heart.  My friends Veronica and Tenia have teamed up to create an amazing event for World Autism Awareness Day.  Today is the day we LIGHT IT UP BLUE!  I invite you to wear some blue today in support of Autism Awareness.  The blog hop is hosted on Veronica's post HERE.  Please go to her blog and check out all the links, become more aware, and enter to win in the HUGE amounts of AMAZING prizes!  I'm offering up a prize for the hop and TONS of great companies are offering up all sorts of amazing things!

April is Autism Awareness month.  I will be donating 10% of my Just Jewelry by Ashley commission to Autism Speaks for the entire month of April.  I will also donate 100% of the commission I make from any of the Autism Awareness jewelry on my Just Jewelry site, the BRACELET, EARRINGS, or CHARM.

My backstory:
Before I had Brady, I was a therapist for children with Autism.  I mostly worked with kids 5 and under.  I've always loved working with children.  I started babysitting from a young age.  I was at one point nanny and a preschool teacher.  But I found my real passion in working with children on the Autism spectrum.  I loved teaching them life skills, academics, social skills, and getting to be there for them!  I loved being able to make a positive difference in the lives of these children that held such a special place in my heart!  These kids are so special.  Life is hard when you cannot think, function, or process like other people.  Once you are able to understand that their behaviors come from an inability to cope, you can see people with Autism in such a different light.

To do this, society must become more aware.  I'm so proud of Veronica and Tenia for putting together this blog hop to spread awareness!  I'm so happy for the over 200 bloggers and crafters who are joining together to light the blogging world up blue!  Here's my card for today.  I might have maybe borrowed (ahem stole) some puzzle pieces from the kids to make this card.  I colored them with Copics then added TONS of Stickles.  The paper is from Echo Park and I used several different kinds of tiny alpha stickers to make the sentiment.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post!  Today, I'd like to giveaway 3 of Just Jewelry Autism Awareness Charms to 3 people who leave comments!  Just tell me how Autism has touched your life or how you heard about this hop.  Giveaway will end Friday April 10 at 11:59pm.  Winners will be announced on my blog and will need to contact me to claim their prize.

Have a great day, friends!  Don't forget to go to Veronica's Post and check out all the fabulous creations and enter for the prizes!