Merry Christmas!

 

From our family to yours, we wish you a most blessed Christmas and a hope-filled new year.

{NEW!} Fall and Winter Paper Goods Pack + Quick Cards by Nancy

WARNING: This is a photo-heavy post.

Hello once again, STAMPfriends! Two posts in one week -- gotta be a new record ;o)  (You'll find the other post here.)

Popping in today to share that there's a new product in the store: the Fall and Winter Paper Goods Pack -- and it's on sale at 50% off. Each pack contains 52 non-repeating designs/images: sixteen (16) A2 card fronts, fourteen (14) 3x4 journaling cards, and twenty-two (22) ephemera or die-cut images. With this pack, you can create 30-40 (52 if you use the designs separately) fall- and winter-themed cards and other projects.

This pack is versatile, and even more so when combined with hand-picked sets of sentiment thin metal dies.

Take a look at what's in each pack:

8 fall-inspired A2 card fronts

8 Christmas-inspired A2 card fronts

16 fall- and winter-inspired journaling cards

22 holiday and fall/coffee-themed die-cut ephemera

STAMPgirl Nancy went to town with this pack, and you'll see 24 beautiful cards she created. She made more, which she is/will be sharing on her blog.

Cards using paper goods + Everyday Sentiments phrase dies:

Cards using paper goods + Christmas Sentiments phrase dies:

Cards using paper goods + Skinny Sentiments phrase dies:

Beautiful cards, right? You can grab a pack or a pack + any of the 3 sentiment phrase dies here at 50% off.

STAMPlorations and Fall | Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop + Comment to Win

Hey, STAMPfriends! SURPRISE! Yes, this blog and STAMPlorations are still around. I know it seems like it's been forever since I've posted -- and it sort of took me a long time to prepare this post. (Anyone interested in my journey can read about it here {clicking the link will open a new browser window} -- as you'll get a better picture and I'll save you all time from having to read about it in this post.)

Anyway...welcome to the STAMPlorations stop on the Coffee Lovers Fall | Winter Blog Hop! I just love this event run by the awesome Amy T. and I'm so happy to be back as one of the super sponsors again. And as ever, we have a few extra prizes you can win over here at STAMPlorations.

Play along by creating any fall or winter coffee-themed project. Post it on your blog and then link it up at the linky found on the Coffee Loving Cardmakers blog. The linky is open until Friday, November 18. Winners of sponsor prizes will be randomly drawn! (Psst! Keep scrolling for a free digi stamp you can use in your projects + two extra prizes you can win by leaving a comment on this post!)

Link up your coffee, tea, and/or cocoa card(s) here

Well, right around the beginning of May I packed away my craft supplies and basically stopped working to focus on my treatments. They are still pretty much packed away, but around mid-August I was able to put together a new product before I had surgery + create quick fall and winter themed cards several weeks later when I felt well enough.

Oh and by quick, I mean real simple, no stamping and no manual die-cutting at all. I'm now pretty dependent on my electronic cutter, because I have limited use of my right arm, and fatigue and nausea have been my regular buddies the last 5 1/2 months. I left the cards blank in the way of sentiments; I figure it's better that way so I can tailor each one for whenever I am sending a card to someone.

For this hop, I'm sharing the coffee-themed ones using the new Fall and Winter Paper Goods Pack. By the way, there are 52 pieces in the pack: 16 A2 card fronts, 14 3x4 journaling cards, and 22 die-cut elements. You can literally make 30-45 cards with this pack, especially when you combine them with what you already have in your stash.

I'm also sharing a couple of cards that Nancy made using the pack but come back next week because I have a post that features a bunch of beautiful cards she made using our new product -- her cards are a feast for the eyes, I promise :o)

And here are two beautiful cards from Nancy:

***BLOG CANDY ALERT!***

Aside from the prizes I'm offering on the Coffee Lovers Hop event itself, I'm throwing in extra prizes. ONE (1) US/Canada-based coffee- (or tea- or chocolate-) loving crafter who leaves a comment on this post will win a pack of Fall for Coffee ATC or Holiday Latte Colorables -- winner's choice. I will also pick ONE (1) international-based commenter to win $10 worth of digital stamps. Comment on this post by November 18. Easy peasy! Winners will be announced on November 21.

  

In addition to all the prizes, I have a free gift as a thank you for supporting our company and the blog hop all these years - it's the free digi over at the STAMPlorations digital store. It's a versatile coffee digi stamp -- one you can use no matter the season!

Framed Coffee Cup Digital Stamp

Download for free until December 31, 2022. Use code FRAMEDCOFFEE on checkout.

If you download and use the above image in your projects, you must give credit to STAMPlorations (Designed by Shery Russ) with a link back to this page or our digital store.

Terms of use: The free digi stamp is for your personal use only. You may not redistribute it or claim it as your own. Please respect the artist's intellectual property and copyright.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed day!

*****

Before you go, check out a couple of special offers I have running on the store just for those of you who are participating in this event -- whether you're linking up projects or hopping and commenting.

Special Offer #1

Offer good from November 11 to 18 only

Buy any 1 of the 6 bundles in the store

(don't forget to use the respective codes to get

50% to 55% off) and receive a mystery grab bag

($25 worth of products).

Important: please mention COFFEE HOP in your note

during checkout so I know to include your free mystery grab bag.

SHOP BUNDLES HERE

****

Special Offer #2

Offer good until November 30

Buy 2 Mystery Grab Bags at 64% off

(code FULLMYSTERY) and receive a

coffee-themed paper goods grab bag free!

Grab bag contains at least 75 pieces of

randomly picked coffee-themed paper goods.

Important: please mention COFFEE PAPER GOODS in your note

during checkout so I know to include your free coffee-themed grab bag.

GET YOUR 2 MYSTERY GRAB BAGS HERE

An Update...and the Future

Hey there, STAMPfriends. Since my last post back in June, a lot has happened. Some of you have been able to follow my journey these last few months because we're friends on Facebook. However, I've also been sharing updates on this page for those who don't do social media.

After I finished my chemo on July 5, I was on my way to Colorado 3 1/2 weeks later. Thanks to my church family, I was able to spend 2 weeks at the Eden Valley Institute of Wellness and participate in a lifestyle program that was tailored for me as a cancer patient. There I learned natural ways to address my cancer, as well as received lifestyle natural treatments including fever baths, hyperbaric oxygen chamber therapy, massage and hydrotherapy, sauna baths, herbal remedies, juice fasting, and more. For two whole weeks, I was able to eat healthy and exercise, and attend science-based health lectures, all with a focus on God. 

I documented my experience via photos and videos that I shared on Facebook and here. I am thankful for those 2 weeks -- even though I missed my husband and two girls very much. It's reassuring to me that they did alright without me for two weeks :o)

(The photo of me on the right was taken when we were harvesting onions.)

A week after I got back from Colorado, I underwent a mastectomy. My right breast and much of the lymph nodes on my right side were removed. I'm now 3 weeks post-op and things have gotten so much better. Next week I am seeing my oncologist, as the next step is another round of chemo -- this time it's 12 weekly treatments of Taxol (Paclitaxel). My surgeon has recommended radiation therapy as well, so that will follow when I am done with the chemo. Yep, my treatments are going to continue well into the new year...

...which means this blog will continue to be on a break, and the store will continue to be partially open with product bundles available as opposed to individual products for sale. I am hoping, however, to have some inspirational project posts published, albeit irregularly, as well as new products added to the store as I'm able. I'm a planner by nature but over the last 5 months, I've learned to let go of the reins, take things one day at a time, let Jesus be in control, and trust in His plan for me.

So many of you have been praying, and continue to pray, for me and my family. I continue to receive encouraging cards from you, and last July, there was even an Instagram hop dedicated to me, led by the awesome Sadia Ashraf. She and 33 incredibly amazing and kind crafters got together and shared their beautiful cards and encouraging words for me on their respective Instagram accounts. I was humbled and I went through the hop with tears of joy, gratitude, and hope. I am also so very grateful to those who donated directly and through our Meal Train page to help us out financially. I am ever so grateful that Jesus put each and every one of you in my path. Please know that you are in my nightly prayers!

Wishing you all good health.

With love,

Gratitude...and an update

Hello, my friends. It's been a while since my last post bearing news about my breast cancer diagnosis. So much has happened since then. It's been rough -- still is -- but I can say so many good things have happened too...things I am thankful and grateful for. Because when I found myself in a truly dark place, I held on to the belief that I'd eventually see light and happiness again. And that when I was faced with my mortality, I learned to give up all control and be completely dependent on Jesus, the only one I truly believe can heal me. Every day continues to be a struggle but in the weeks after my diagnosis, I have been waking up thankful to God that I am alive and given another chance to be in the moment with my children and my husband, to make memories with them.

The photo collage of my girls and me...we took those photos last June 24, on the fourth day after my third chemotherapy. They took me out on a walk down our long driveway...we call our walks "mommy and daughters time". My oncologist put me on a dose-dense chemo treatment -- every 2 weeks beginning May 23. My hair started falling off on day 12 and I just went ahead and shaved it all off on a few days later. I didn't tolerate the first two chemo treatments well. I was fine the first two days and then I was pretty much useless starting on the third day. I had severe nausea, was barely able to get up and function and take care of my children, and I mainly subsisted on water and fruit juice. I barely ate that between my first chemo and third chemo, I had lost over 20 pounds. Then on my third chemo treatment last June 21, my oncologist lowered my dose by 20% (without reducing the efficacy of the drugs) to see if it would help manage the side effects and it seemed to do the trick. I have been able to eat full meals, spend more time with my girls, and go out on more walks with them like in the photos. I have gained a bit of weight as well. My fourth chemo will be on July 5 (on my birthday), followed by a mastectomy within 6-8 weeks, followed by 12 more weekly chemo treatments, and then hormone therapy for the long term.

My breast cancer was initially staged at Stage IIB, but a PET scan indicated it metastasized to my right pelvis. And so my cancer was upstaged to Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. I had a bone biopsy done but it was inconclusive and my oncologist thinks another bone biopsy will simply yield the same result and so even without definitive result, he is continuing to treat my cancer as Stage 4...unless somewhere down the line we are able to determine if the lesion in my pelvis is not cancer. My treatment plan is palliative at this point -- the goal is to slow down the cancer's growth and keep it from spreading so I can focus on my quality of life.

And so it looks like things are not going to be back to normal around here for a while. I do wish to keep the store open, and continue to be part of the crafting community, no matter how small a part that is -- so I can still feel some sense of normalcy. The store is a source of income for my family; the bills don't stop coming just because I have cancer, and any kind of sale, no matter how small, helps.

The last couple of months we have been blessed so much with family, friends, and church family coming together to help us -- whether it's taking me to my appointments, watching and taking care of my girls for a few hours, bringing us food, donating gift cards and/or money to help ease our financial burdens, and so on. My family and I are not able to weather this time without the kindness and generosity of others.

Thank you to those of you who prayed, continue to pray, sent words of encouragements, mailed cards, and continued to support STAMPlorations up until the time I temporarily closed the store for orders. I have partially re-opened it, albeit it's set up in a way that orders can go out within a reasonable length of time and so that my husband can take over shipping when I'm unable to. If you have the time, please do check out our store. There are a few things in there that are available on sale, and I'll keep adding as I have the energy to do so. Please know that however way you support us -- through prayers, by helping spread the word about our small company, through our Meal Train page, by placing an order, or by donating directly I am eternally grateful for your help and generosity.

Faith has sustained me, and I continue to hope that the Lord will see me and my family through our cancer journey.

Thank you so much for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers.

With love,