Hope For Audra

Hello, friends!  I wanted to share this picture and story with you all.  This is my (favorite) sister-in-law, Audra Padilla, and her beautiful family; her loving husband, Rob, and her beautiful children Tomas, Andres, Isaias, and Audranna.  Audra lost the sight in her left eye about a year ago with no real explanation or diagnosis.  About three months ago, Audra noticed the sight in her good eye (right eye) diminishing quickly.  She saw her physician immediately, and after extensive testing, and to make a long story short, Audra was diagnosed with brain cancer.  They removed Audra's left eye and tumor last month.  She is now undergoing radiation treatment and chemotherapy at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.  Her husband has been with her every day along every step of the way.  God has provided a home for them to stay in free of charge while in Rochester Monday - Friday for the next six weeks during Audra's treatment.  God has shown Himself to be faithful, gracious, and worthy of praise at every turn!  We PRAISE HIM for all He has done, and all He continues to do in helping save our dear sister, wife, mother, etc.

Needless to say, with Rob off work to care for his wife, they are encountering great financial strain.  Audra MUST have Rob with her (or someone with her, it just happens to be Rob) because she can't see.  She can't drive, she can't make her way through a hospital, parking lot, she can't see to care for herself completely.  Rob has been Audra's guiding light so to speak.  Together, they must travel from Duluth to Rochester and back every week.  That means lots of gas money is needed.  And, they must keep up with all their normal household bills, provide for the children (who are being watched by Grandma and my husband, Audra's brother, Darren), and they must also cover the ever-mounting medical bills associated with Audra's on-going care.  With Rob not working, he has no income.  Your help would be GREATLY appreciated.  Even if you can give $5 or $10, that small amount REALLY adds up and makes a difference.  They need our help, and if we all work together with even a small amount, we can help them reach their goal.  Little is much when God is in it!

Luke 6:38 says, "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom.  For with the same measure that ye mete withal shall be measured to you again."

If you are able, please give by clicking on the following link - here:

Audra's Cancer Fund

If you're a mom, here is one thing Audra would share with you all.  "Take a good long look at your kids, and appreciate how beautiful they are.  Etch their faces on your heart.  For some day, you may not see their faces with your eyes, but instead with your heart."  Audra's faith has been unwavering, and she asks you to praise God along with her.  She has already seen some improvement in the sight in her right eye.  She can hardly wait to get home after this week's treatments to SEE her children's faces again.

Your help means SO much, and your prayers are appreciated as well.  God is doing great things.  Praise His name!

The Lord bless you and keep you!  The Lord make His face to shine upon you and give you peace,

Karen

Sketch Challenge Fun at The Kraft Journal

Karen Letchworth for The Kraft Journal

For this week's fun Sketch Challenge at The Kraft Journal, I decided to keep my card very simple, and to use some of my most favorite Kraft Outlet supplies.  I started with a Small Lunch Bag Kraft Note Card and covered it with a Dictionary Page.  Next, I cut the shapes of the sketch from pieces of Lunch Bag Kraft Cover-weight Card Stock, and to them, I attached pieces of Vintage Sheet Music.  Once I had all the elements of the sketch in place, I embellished my simple card with a length of Ruler Twill Ribbon and a Jenni Bowlin Icon Flatback.  The final touch was the sentiment which I added by stamping "Praying For You" onto a small scrap of Buff Ivory Cover-wight Card Stock and mounting it on a scrap of Lunch Bag Kraft Cover-weight Card Stock.  ALL the basic Cardstocks available at the Kraft Outlet are very useful, and perfect to purchase and use when playing along in our challenges each week!  We look forward to having you join this week's Sketch Challenge.

I'm sharing my card in the following challenges:

Little Scrap Pieces - Show It Off Saturday Linky Party

Have a blessed week, and thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Sip, Talk and Enjoy With Top Dog Dies

Happy Friday, everyone!  And welcome to my post for Top Dog Dies today.  There are SO MANY gorgeous new dies each month at Top Dog Dies, and you won't want to miss out on all the excitement, so be sure to stop by the Top Dog Dies Blog regularly for lots of inspiration.  Today, I'm sharing a sweet little card I created using the new Top Dog Dies Tea Time Decorative Set.  As you can see, I also added the gorgeous Top Dog Dies Alaina Lace Border Die to the top of my card, and I made a "pocket" out of it to tuck in a tea bag.

I used a sweet floral print from Crate Paper's Oh Darling line, and the Top Dog Dies Alaina Lace Border Die is cut from vintage sheet music.  I added a simple little stamped sentiment (Sip, Talk, Enjoy) and then I tucked in a tea bag for gift-giving.  Top Dog Dies makes it SO easy to create something fun and beautiful.  Be sure to stop by the Top Dog Dies Blog for more inspiration and lots of great ideas and special savings offers.

I'm entering my Top Dog Dies DIE CUT card in the following challenge:
Virginia's View - Demystifying Die-Cuts - LOTS of them!


Thanks for visiting, and please stop by again soon.

Blessings,

Karen

Word Art Wednesday Blessings

It's Wednesday again already, and time for another one of Word Art Wednesday's AWESOME challenges.  Each week, we have at least two (sometimes more) FABULOUS sponsors giving away prizes to lucky entrants of our Anything Goes Challenges.  This week, we have Mark's Finest Papers giving away a stamp set, and Yours or Mine Paper Crafts giving away a $10 gift certificate.  You are allowed to enter up to five times, and we would LOVE to see the projects you create this week, so be sure to share them all!

I made my card for this week using "my stash".  I've gone to this collection several times as it's one of those that I have A LOT of, and I need to use it all.  It's called Chloe by Making Memories, and I used two of the patterned papers, paper flowers, and a brad from this lovely set.  Unfortunately, it didn't even put a dent in this collection.  But then again, there are always LOTS of cards yet to be made.  I simply printed the word art/scripture onto the patterned paper, and the card easily came together on its own.  Be sure to stop by Word Art Wednesday if you'd like to save the free scripture/word art file for your personal use.

I can't really even tell you how much I appreciate you stopping by my blog to say hello.  I am truly grateful for your visit, and for all the encouragement you've given me during this difficult time.

Be blessed,

Karen

Let The Sun Shine!

This week at The Kraft Journal, we're having a SUPER FUN challenge inspired by the "SUN".  There's SO MUCH awesome inspiration on our blog, and I hope you all will stop by to play along with us.

As we all know, "challenges" inspire us to create, so when I saw this week's "Sun Challenge" theme, it inspired me in an unexpected way.  I immediately thought about the color "sunshine yellow", and I wanted to create something bright and fun.  Since I love spending time (especially in the Summer) journalling and writing, I decided to make a fun Summer Journal based on this theme, and using the "sunshine yellow" to inspire me.  I grabbed an adorable Natural Smooth Journal (this is the larger of the two sizes available, and both journals are lined - to make writing/journalling easy).  Journals make a WONDERFUL gift idea for young girls - all the way up to grandmothers.  I embellished my journal with all sorts of Kraft Outlet "krafty" goodies including some Natural Hemp Cord and Brown Kraft Coverweight Cardstock.

I also decorated the inside cover of my journal using one of the Kraft Outlet's darling little White Library Cards and Library Card Pocket.  They're just SO sweet, and they make journaling fun - the more pockets and places for journaling.....the better!   I'm sure you know someone who would just LOVE to receive a new journal, and YOU can pick one up this week at The Kraft Outlet and decorate it especially for someone special.  We'd LOVE to have you play along in this week's "Sun Challenge", and we look forward to seeing how YOU interpret the theme in your own unique way.  If your interpretation of the challenge is different (like mine), just share with us how you were inspired by the challenge.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Karen

A Sweet Sketch and a Relaxing Weekend

What a wonderful weekend I've had.  I've been able to spend lots of time at my craft table, and I was able to create several cards.  This particular card was made using the very sweet Sew Lovely line by Carta Bella, and I actually purchased the entire kit at Hobby Lobby using a 40% off coupon.  I used several of the patterned papers from this collection to create the background layers, as well as the flags/strips.  I also incorporated some vellum (my "clear" element) into my card in two places - first, I used it to create one of the flags/strips at the top right of my card, and the other place I used the vellum was near the bottom on the left under my wooden (lovely) sentiment.  I machine stitched my patterned papers, added a wooden sentiment (lovely) with a small pink pearl on that, and also added a coordinating button with some pink baker's twine tied through it and tied in a bow.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog - Simon Says....."Let's Be Clear" - I added my "clear" element (as described in detail above) by using vellum...both in my flags/strips, as well as underneath my wooden sentiment (lovely).  This photo (below) shows my CLEAR element much closer.

Sketch Saturday Challenge Blog - Week #318 - I am SO in love with this sweet sketch, and have been having so much fun creating with it.  Thanks for the inspiration, Sketch Saturday!  Your Design Team really got me motivated to be creative this week.  And with a sketch this cute, you can't go wrong.

Crafty Hazelnut's Challenge Blog - July Challenge - Patterned Papers.  I can't resist using patterned papers.  They'e just TOO cute!  Bless you, Hazel.

Since you're here, I'd like to invite you all to visit us at Word Art Wednesday for a fabulous challenge beginning each and every Wednesday.  Every week, we have at least two (sometimes more) fabulous prizes up for grabs.  Our challenges are always Anything Goes, and you can enter up to 5 (five) times per week.  We'd LOVE to have you play along with us, and YOU could be one of our lucky winners this week.

Have a blessed week, and thanks so much for stopping by to say hello.

Karen

...Feeling SO Very Blessed

Despite the circumstances of the last few weeks, I am constantly reminded of all my blessings. I have so much to be thankful for, and I just want to focus on God's goodness and His love for me rather than being sad.  My Dad wouldn't want it that way either.  He's happier than ever, up there in the presence of the Almighty God; hearing angels sing and hosts praising the precious Savior, Jesus Christ.  He wouldn't want me sad.  He would want me to be FILLED with gratefulness and thanks; and so I am.  I had another fun day doing what I absolutely LOVE to do........card making.  I made this sweet little card based on the most adorable sketch I found over at Sketch Saturday Challenge Blog, and used up more of the Crate Paper Oh Darling line to create it.

I used papers and accent pieces from the Oh Darling line by Crate Paper (which, by the way is OH, SO DARLING!), as well as a wool felt flower, May Arts ribbon, machine stitching, and underneath it all.....a small vellum envelope (something clear) onto which I rubbed the sweet Melissa Frances birthday sentiment.  I also sprinkled a few sweet little sequins into the vellum envelope.

I'm entering this little Birthday card for consideration in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Simon Says...."Let's Be Clear" - My "clear" element is the vellum envelope I placed under the frame.  You can see it a little better in the second photo (close-up above).  I applied my rub-on over part of the clear vellum envelope.

Sketch Saturday Challenge Blog - Week #318 - This sketch caught my eye immediately!  Thanks for the AWESOME inspiration on this one, Sketch Saturday!

Thank you all for stopping by to say hello.  I'm humbled that others enjoy some of my art.  Bless you all for being SO much fun!

Karen