A site for my handmade cards, accompanied by my photos and written meanderings which are occasionally witty, often tongue-in-cheek, and rarely profound. Beginning in June 2013, you'll also see lots of NBUS, which is an acronym I coined for Never-Before-Used-Schtuff. Note: my Privacy Policy can be found at a tab below and you can find my NBUS Challenge online. I hope you'll join in the fun there! Thanks for coming by! Have a beverage and enjoy!

January 6, 2013

CTD223; FMS67; Pixie's 54 ~ I'm Thinking of You

How's everyone in the Funny Papers this Sunday?
 
I'm thoughtful today and full of positive energy forces pulsing through cyber space for my friends who are in need.  I wanted to also make cards and I used these recipe guidelines:
 
Here are the colors for this week's Color Throwdown (CTD223):
 
 
Perfect colors for a Mask U. Lynn card.  Also, perfect colors for a thoughtful card.
 
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I used snippets from my, duh, Drawers of Snippets, so I get to go over and play on the swings with my friends at Pixie's Crafty Snippets Week 54.  I hope you'll use some of your snippets and come play!
~~~
 
And over at Freshly Made Sketches (FMS67), we have a wonderful sketch by the very talented Jennifer Timko:
I added a sediment to my card, but I think that's okay, so until I hear otherwise, here you go:
 
 
 

The little thingie on the right is supposed to be a new little flower bud coming up, but this morning, on my monitor it looks like a little green fire hydrant.  Which is fine.  Our take on the sketch can be any shape.  What does it look like from your monitor?

I used the Memory Box die "Crisp Bows."  I used one bow for the flower, and I used the other bow for the leaves, cutting off the bow tails.  For the bud, I use the same die as I did for the flower, but I trimmed the sides and backed the opening.  Here is what the die packaging looks like, so you can see what I mean:
~~~

Another of our blog friends is in need of your prayers and your positive thoughts flowing her way.  She is Bernie of Bernie's Craft Closet.  She has been a long-time friend of mine through this blog and I know a lot of you have had the same blessing.  Bernie has been her husband Jim's caregiver this past year, following his serious health issues.  Now Bernie has cancer and Jim is trying to care for her.

Bernie particularly loved a long-ago post I wrote where I commented that, while I love and applaud the philosophy that when one is given lemons, one should make lemonade, I felt that more often than not, life doesn't give us lemons.  It gives us onions.  Onions because our problems or troubles are usually multi-layered; they don't just affect us, they affect our families, our friends, our jobs.  And they don't always get resolved by a single action, rather one peels a layer of the problem, only to find another layer under that, and another layer under that.

And peeling onions often makes us cry, just like life can make us cry.  Our friend Bernie has been handed more big stinking onions to peel and she could use your positive thoughts to help her keep peeling.  It's what we do.  We keep on peeling.  And when others are thinking about us, we can feel their hands peeling, too, right alongside us.  Thank you.

~~~
 
Enjoy your day!   No, seriously, enjoy your day.

As always, thank you for stopping by to visit.  Special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower or leave a comment!

 

Paper:  SU! very vanilla, kiwi kiss,
  crumb cake, and soft suede
Stamps:  SU! unknown set
Ink:  SU! kiwi kiss
Ribbon:  SU! very vanilla
Punches:  SU! scallop and
  Corner Chomper
Die:  Memory Box
Bee:  K&Company

25 comments:

Ustvarjalni utrinki Tamara P. said...

Hi,
at first lovely card and good idea how to use memory box dies.
For your friend I am going to pray. Life is a hard journey-we must to be strong-but sometimes we don't find the power to go on and fight.
I wish her to win this battle, and another,...then she must to win the war with her cancer.
My neighbor is survivor-she is now 87 but she said to me this animal is not going to eat me. And she had a 6 cancers from age 25 to now.
Hugs to all Tamara

Jen Timko said...

This is a beautiful card, Darnell, and a wonderful post. Thank you for sharing Bernie's story so that we can pray for her and her husband. The sentiment is a lovely addition to the sketch (the DT changes things all the time) and I love your clean lines here. So glad to see you this week...glad you like the sketch! Happy new year!

Di said...

Oh Darnell - am crying here - which does NOT help. But what Tamara says is also so true - we do NOT give into this evil thing - more so when we are such a special and caring person like Bernie - life cannot be that cruel. Am with you ALL the way for Bernie, as you must know.

Hey, did you make a card? Sorry I got carried away :((

Love and hugs, Di xx

Di said...

I cried and then I came back - lovely card Darnell. Right, boxing gloves on now for Bernie!! Who's first?!? Jump,leap, stumble and stagger.....I'm yer man (or woman if you like!!). Hugs, Di xx

Ardyth said...

Love how you made that flower (and the hydrant, which looks just like a flower bud to me!)So clever!

Unknown said...

I really like how you used that die and your take on this sketch. I truly appreciate the opportunity to pray for your sweet friend and her husband, and I am so glad you shared her story so we can all lift her family in prayer. And I love your onion analogy...so true!

Unknown said...

Your friend is lucky to have someone to show they care which you obviously do - I will think of her and Jim as they go through the unfortunate layers of their life.

Beautiful card. x

Hettie said...

Hi Darnell, fire hydrants in the UK are usually red or yellow (cannot remember when I last saw one) so it doesn't look like a fire hydrant to me. Lovely simples card.
Been to visit Bernie earlier today. I too have a friend who is suffering from Cancer and is going through chemo. She has 3 young girls and is determined to fight the B....!
On the other hand, my Mum's chemo has been stopped as her leukemia has backed off! Life is really a series of rollercoasters!
Can you email me Bernie's addy so I can send her a card please?
Hugs
xx

Bonnie said...

Your onion theory is right on, Darnell! When are going to write that book??? We'll all pray for Bernie and it's bound to make her load lighter. Thanks for making sure we knew. Now on to the card. I have these bows and never thought of making a flower with them. Thanks for the idea! Wow! I think that bud looks like a tiny rocket ship full of pollen, poised to explode on impact and causing all kinds of havoc with those of us allergy sufferers. I love it!

Carol L said...

Great use of dies for this card, and I can see the flower bud clearly :)
So sorry about your friend Bernie, but there is strength in numbers, so maybe with so many readers pulling for her and her husband, our prayers will see her back on the road to good health again!

Mrs A. said...

Great card using those colours. Would have stumped me in me tracks so to speak. Is it maybe a triffid waiting to take over the World?
Been over to Bernies blog already and left some love. hugs Mrs A.

Jen Brum said...

Great card Darnell! Love all that white space! So clean! Love that flower - now I'm longing for spring instead of that white stuff that's covering the ground here! Thank you for sharing Bernie's story. I will be praying for her and her husband in their battle. Thanks for joining us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!

Tracey McNeely said...

Extra extra pretty Darnell, you colours and embellie selection are fantastic.

Joyce said...

Oh, goodness. I came for the card and got some philosophy for free, too. So sorry to hear about your friend, and I love your attitude. Your flower card is just darling. I have never seen those dies before, and now I'm thinking they need to go on my wish list. So versatile.

lostinpaper said...

Super beautiful card, and what a thoughtful post. Your friend is lucky to have someone like you, I hope all goes well!

Kylie said...

As a fire fighter, I LOVE your "fire hydrant"!!!! Perfectly CAS and just stunning Darnell xx

Redanne said...

Hi Darnell, so much happiness and then so much sadness in your post. I am so very sorry to hear about Bernie, life has really dealt her the most cruel of blows. With the strength of her lovely friends I hope she fights and wins over that dreadful disease.

Your card is beautiful, it looks like a bud from here, not a fire hydrant. Love the colours you have chosen too. Hugs, Anne x

Tui Nathan said...

Your card is just lovely Darnell ... not only in your design but also in the thoughts behind it! Your post is lovely and so well written .... my thoughts and prayers go out to your friend and also to you for your supoort and kindness in times such as this!

Thank you too for your lovely comment on my blog and for being my 200th follower! I am now following you too!

Emily Keaton said...

A lovely card, Darnell, and a lovely thoughtful story. I have never thought of life as giving us onions before but it really makes sense when you explain it that way. I'm wishing Bernie strength in peeling her onion.

Suze Bain said...

Hi Darnell, here's me doing a big catch up after being AWOL for so long. What a lovely card and post - you are certainly one of life's sweet onions! Xx

Linda Callahan said...

Sweet card in every way. Praying for your wonderful friend....

Denise Marzec said...

So pretty! Thanks for joining us at the CTD!

Juls said...

fabulous, stylish card!! Hugs Juls

MaryH said...

Hey Darnell, a darling card! Those dies looked wonderful, no hydrant did I see there! Bernie will love it. Thanks for this post. I kept the one I just did, low key and then I read yours. You did a lovely job describing this particular onion for our good friend and I love that all these prayers & the positive energy is going her way. She's a fighter, and I pray this will all buoy her up so she comes out with big boxing gloves on...ready to Kick Axx with that nasty beast. Hugs & prayers to you as well.

Sarn said...

That's one very pretty card.

xxx