Fun & Funky Flamingo Note Card

Hello!

I have been busy playing with all my Stamps of Life Card Kits! When I feel creatively challenged I take a break from scrapbooking and love making cards. It's easier to experiment with new techniques, colors, and patterns when working on a smaller scale. I also love pulling out stamps and inks that I haven't used in a while.

That was the case with this card. I had the flamingos2stamp and dies that were collecting dust. I die cut the palm trees and used a flamingo I had previously stamped and cut. I also had an ocean colored A2 size card base that had been sitting in my stash. When I was trying to arrange them my card front, I couldn't get the placement "just right". 

I pulled out the border dies I had just ordered and used them to die cut the front panel of my card. I adhered the palm trees on the "inside" of the card, letting them hang off the base a little, and then used a pop dot to adhere the flamingo on the front to add dimension. I stamped "Sending Sunny Smiles" and added some epoxy dots - and my card was finished. I loved the simplicity and the 5 minutes it took to put this together. Not a masterpiece, but a fun way to send a note to a friend. 

Cool Dude

Today's featured layout is short and sweet - but one of my favorite photos of Caleb!

This photo of Caleb was from 2009, and I thought it was adorable and deserved its own page. I think he looks even more like his Daddy with certain expressions and I could see Dave's eyes staring back at me. 

I used scraps of cardstock to frame my photo and then traced three circles on my page. I used colorful brads to outline the circles and then erased any pencil lines. I used epoxy letter stickers to create my title. 

Not a fantastic layout, but simple and colorful. I like to create fancy elaborate pages, but also want to have the freedom to put a page together in just a few minutes. And sometimes those quick and easy pages become some of my favorite layouts.

Do you have any quick and easy layouts you'd like to share? Post a picture in the comments!

Play Ball!

Since Caleb's diagnosis, I have definitely learned not to take the little things for granted. Playing t-ball in the living room is more than a little thing when you battle a neromuscular disease.

This layout showcases some photos of Caleb hitting a wiffle ball. Before having kids I just always assumed if I had boys, we'd sign them up for sports - little league, soccer, taekwondo, or whatever they chose. SMA brought all those dreams to a halt. New dreams slowly take shape and the perspective you gain is priceless.

We bought a wiffle ball set just to see if Caleb could swing the bat and we were so pleasantly surprised to see him take multiple swings. He seemed to enjoy it, and repeatedly hit the ball. He was so focused and motivated, and he worked harder than he typically did in any physical therapy session. 

Evey picture showing Caleb engaging in a physical activity is absolutely priceless to me! SMA can slowly steal an individual's muscles. No one knows what the future holds, and none of us are promised tomorrow, but battling a serious disease gives you a new perspective. And seeing a little boy hit a wiffle ball is a big deal - and that is definitely a "scrap worthy" moment.

I love the "action shot" of the ball actually flying in the air!

Smile - Priceless!

Journaling Closeup

Scrapbooking Tips:

I used a sketch from Scrapbook Generation that incorporated lots of pattern paper squares, and here's the reason why - I loved the paper with the sports balls, but did not have a lot of it left. So using the sports paper scraps and other scraps I was able to piece together the colorful background. 

Card Kit Club Time!

My time has been pretty limited since Caleb had major surgery, but that doesn't mean I haven't spent some time being creative. Nothing makes me relax as much as spending time in my craft room, playing with paper, stickers, scissors, ink and stamps. The week after Christmas, I got some time to play with the latest installment of my Stamps of Life Card Kit Club, and this is what I created:

If you like making cards, you should go to The Stamps of Life website (thestampsoflife.com) and check out their kits. They are a great deal and are so much fun! 

What cards have you made? Post photos of your favorite card creations in the comments by February 28, 2018 and one lucky person will win a Stamps of Life stamp /die set. 

Vikings Fan

In the Cunniff home we've been faithful Vikings fans. That was Dave's team and the boys and I have continuted to root for them, even though we've taken some slack for it. Shortly after Dave died, his sergeant stopped by the house and saw me wearing Dave's Vikings sweatshirt. He teasingly said that Dave would tell me I had suffered enough and could take off the sweatshirt!

After their win last Sunday, we're proud to have been unwavering Minnesota Viking fans - and I've got multiple scrapbook layouts to prove it! These photos were taken in 2012. Dave had four Vikings hats that he rotated wearing. The boys knew they were Vikings hats and that they were Daddy's. But that did not stop Zach from stealing this particular colorful cap (hence the grin) and wearing it the same way he saw Daddy wear it.

When the boys went through Waveriders, our local Hospice's grief counseling program for children, they made up memory boxes. Both boys chose one of the four Vikings hat to put in their box and Zach picked this one. The sight of anything Viking related brings back happy memories of Sunday afternoons and Daddy watching football while cheering / yelling at the television. We'll always be Vikings fans.

Scrapbooking Tips:

Focus on the photos - I absolutely loved these pictures of Zach and did not want the layout to distract from his face, so the photos are the visual focus of the page,  and the page design was deliberately kept simple.

Raid your Scraps - I made this page usuing paper scraps I had. Every now and then I will challenge myself to make a layout just using scraps. I'm (almost) always pleased with the end result and I like the creative process of mixing and matching and making something eye catching out of piles headed for the waste basket. Try it sometime - you might surprise yourself!

I'd love to see any layouts you make from scraps - please post a picture in the comments!

It's All Behind Us . . .

Caleb and his surgeon, Dr. James Sanders

Well another Christmas season has come and gone but more importantly, Caleb's spinal fusion surgery is behind us. It's been five weeks and Caleb is doing amazing! The first couple of weeks were difficult. It was so hard to see Caleb in so much pain, but after the two week mark his recovery got so much easier.  

The first mornig Caleb was in ICU, his surgeon came and asked him how he was doing. Caleb's reply was, "This is worse than common core math." That gave everyone a good laugh! If you know Caleb, you know that math is the "bane of his existence" as he fourth grade teacher so eloquently said. So for something to be worse than math says a lot.

I did take some pictures of this journey. I want to be able to show Caleb how far he's come. They are not scrapbooked yet, but eventually they will make it into the albums because they tell the story

of his life and this has been a pretty major chapter.

I thought I'd share some of the photos with you. The last blog post I wrote had over 2,000 views - the most any has ever gotten, and I was so touched. I know many of you have been faithfully praying for Caleb and his doctors and medical team. I am so grateful for you and all the prayers! We certainly felt God's presence in this trial. There were hard days and some tears, but God was faithful through everything . . . and tomorrow Caleb goes back to school with a new appreciation for math!

Pre-Op - "Just a little scared, but not too much."

Getting a good report after surgery

First time sitting in a chair - no easy task transferring him from the bed to the chair!

Mustering up a small smile - even if his heart wasn't in it!

Giving the thumbs up . . . 

After three nights in ICU, they moved him to a regular room.
Zach was always happy to see his brother to make sure he was ok!

Headed Home!!
Surgery was Monday and we came home Friday.

A Season of Peace & Hope

Chief of the Medical Staff
Versacare Corporation

Today I do not have a layout to share but this powerful painting. I have a copy of  this painting on a postcard that my grandmother gave me back in 2008. I thought I had lost it, but two weeks ago I found it while I was sorting old photos. The irony of finding this now is that Caleb is scheduled for surgery this coming Monday, December 4th.

Caleb is having spinal fusion surgery to correct a severe scoliosis curve in his spine. When he was diagnosed with SMA back in 2009, the neurologist told Dave and I so many scary things that would happen, one of them being scoliosis. Children who battle neuromuscular diseases and live in wheelchairs are more likely to develop scoliosis, and once it hits a certain degree curve, surgery is the only option. I spent the past year getting second and third opinions, talking to specialists and fighting the insurance company to get the best possible surgeon and medical team to care for Caleb, which means we leave tomorrow for Rochester. 

This is a major surgery with potentially life altering risks, but the only option is to move forward with the fusion. They will be inserting titanium rods and cadaver bones along Caleb's spine to fuse it and straighten it. At the end of the surgery he will be a few inches taller!

I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous or scared. I wish more than anything I could trade places with Caleb and spare him this trial. But I can't. Caleb is amazing. After his numerous lumbar punctures for Spinraza this past summer, he feels he's up for the challenge because at least he'll be asleep for this procedure. He knows he'll be uncomfortable and there will be a 4-5 day hospital stay,  but he's a real trooper. I'm so incredibly proud of him. 

This experience is teaching me more about trust and hope. While I have done everything in my power as his mother to put the best team in place, ultimately the outcome rests in God's hands. He knows every detail of this surgery, every move the surgeon and team will make, and he loves Caleb more than all of his family put together! I've worried, cried, and stressed myself, but it doesn't help Caleb, and ultimately disappoints God. Of all the trials I've been through, Jesus has never let me down. He has provided, comforted, encouraged when I've needed it, but only when I have made the choice to focus on him and his promises. If I focus on the negative, that is what I see. When I focus on Christ he fills me with his perfect peace. I love Isaiah 26:3, "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you." The peace only comes after I trust in Christ.

The Christmas decorations all around remind me of the hope I have in Christ. Although this season has some painful memories for my family, ultimately I remind myself that because of Christmas, the time when we celebrate God's gift of his son, we have hope. We do not grieve without hope, we do not go through trials without hope. Even when the bad things happen and life knocks me down, I have the hope of Heaven. One day, life here will end, and there will be no more pain or tears. What a glorious wonderful day that will be! 

Until that day comes though, there will be trials and pain, BUT in the midst of life's storms there will be peace and hope.

I'm taking this picture to Rochester with me. During the hours Caleb is in surgery, I will keep this close to remind me who is in control. Jesus is going to be right there with Caleb. He created Caleb's spine and he can certainly straighten it! We covet your prayers for our little trooper this coming week.  Jim, Zach and I will be going along with my parents and Dave's parents. Alexis and Alyssia will be coming out to visit after the surgery. I'm believing for great things this week - a peace that passes all understanding and only good reports! Thank you for your prayers, love and support!