Wrangler Ethan & Ava: PCS for a Cause

Hi friends,
These super cute images are available through Pink Cat Studio to commemorate the sweet but short life of Ethan who passed away from Neuroblastoma. I just couldn't imagine what it must be like for his parents & my heart goes out to them. Pink Cat Studio is offering this as digi stamps for immediate download to purchase. All proceeds will go to the Make -A-Wish Foundation of Illinois. Please read their post here.

Upon seeing this on Lauren's blog here, I didn't hesitate to buy it. Yes, the images are so super cute, but more importantly- it's for a good cause that is close to my heart. A few years ago, I had a 1st grader with leukemia in my class. I was so humbled and in awe to see what he had to go through in his fight with his disease. He had to go once a month for painful bone marrow transplants & lots of doctor visits. Everyday before every recess I put sunscreen on his sweet little face & arms because the sun would make him sick (meds). Yet, this little boy was so happy, go-lucky-- a total rough n' tough boy! He was a foster student and after the year I had him, he was moved to another foster home so I don't know how he's doing anymore. So I'm here to ask you to PLEASE be part of the many people who have purchased this set and contribute to the wish of a child.

Here are the projects I made with the Ethan image.
One of the advantages to digi images is that you can size them to whatever you'd like. I wanted to showcase just that in my projects. You can see that, very easily, you can make the same image different sizes. Unlike clip art, when you stretch the corner to enlarge the image, it doesn't skew, pixilate, or warp the image. It stays the same crisp image at any size. Print it on to cardstock & color away.

Here is a closer look at the card:
I did several techniques that I normally don't do. I used my distressing tool around the edges of the denim & bandana paper so it looks like those frayed, comfy jeans you've had forever & love. I really luuuuuv that look! (I so must do that again!) I faux stitched around the sides of the papers & stars (I have a trick to do that quick & easy which I'll share later). Another thing I don't normally do is use Kraft cardstock, but it looked awesome on these two projects- another thing I need to dust off & use more often! A third thing I rarely do is use fun flock. I flocked the entire horse! It feels so fun to rub my finger across it. It reminds me of those "Touch & Feel" books I got for my boys when they were little wee ones- where the sheep feels wooly, and the dog feels hairy (KWIM?) I cut out the nose part out & put a dimmensional behind it- which looks cool! I punched out the balloon with my Martha Stewart balloon punch & backed it with a dimmensional as well. I paper pieced the little scarf around his neck & added a star brad for his belt buckle. I ran the big star through my swirly crimper tool & added that swirly paper clip that reminded me of a lasso. I really like the way it turned out.

Next is a closer look at the matching bag:
I did all the same things I did with the card- except bigger, of course. I chalked the background to look like a desert sunset. Can you believe I bought this ribbon spool for 1 cent! Yeah, I know! That's what it rang up for & I got it from the "clearance" bin. I've held on to it for so long, but knew one day it would be perfect for something. And I think today's the day!

I hope I have inspired you to visit Pink Cat Studio & get your own digi images. If not, maybe Lauren, Heather, & Vicki can convince you to as they're all offering some blog candy for participating.

Thank you so much for letting me share my personal story & my projects with you today. I'm hoping to participate in PTI's Blog Hop tomorrow, but we'll see if I make it! --Gotta Go!