Breast Cancer Awareness Line ACTIVE!

Good morning Campers!

I am so pleased, happy, and extremely excited to announce that the Breast Cancer Awareness Line is now ACTIVE! That means all the pins you got a sneak peak of last week are now available for purchase. And remember, a portion of that purchase will go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, so you can look cute, show support AND give back all for under $5-yes!

For those Campers a bit late to the party-or who just adored certain pins-here’s a recap of the pins (complete with links to the store, to make shopping that much easier!):

The pins which started it all, “Hope Awareness Pin” and “Mom Awareness Pin.” I created them as a way to honor D’s aunt JoAnn, who just won her battle against breast cancer last winter! They had such a great impact on so many people, they inspired the entire line!

The “Cross Awareness Pin” and “Star of David Awareness Pin” I made for those who lean on their religion to help them through difficult times. It doesn’t matter which religion you practice or culture you are part of, Breast Cancer can strike anyone at any time!

I made the “Faith Awareness Pin” and the “Fairy Awareness Pin” in honor of my late Uncle David who lost his battle with lung cancer years ago. What helped him (and myself) through his battle was his intense faith in what he called the “Great Spirit of the Land.” I still feel his presence when I visit the Pacific Northwest and a warm breeze floats by unexpectedly. He would have loved the fairy pin-he always had a soft sport for cute things!

The Simple Pins with a clear, simple message in mind-Keep Battling! Many days, battlers wish they could take a day off from treatments and doctor appointments, but they can’t because cancer never takes a personal day. “Simple Awareness Pin” features two silver and one pink rose under a rhinestoned awareness ribbon, while “Butterfly and Pearls Awareness Pin” shows a crystal butterfly and multicolored pearled beads. Both simply beautiful!

Brand new for the line activation, I present “Buttons Awareness Pin” and “Candy Corn Awareness Pin.” Natural wood finish buttons give a cool, crafty vibe to the pin. And with the Candy Corn pin, you can show your love of Halloween and support the fight against Breast Cancer, all in one cute pin!

Fan Favorites: Little Helper Awareness Pins! “Little Helper Bear Awareness Pin” features a happy teddy bear with pink roses and a dangling pink rhinestoned ribbon charm. “Little Helper Mouse Awareness Pin” also has a rhinestoned ribbon charm, and a shy little mouse peeking out from behind a pink rose. Both little guys want to tag along to errands, doctor appointments and treatments! I created them in honor of JoAnn’s four kids, because every battler needs, and deserves, support and help!

Awareness Pins are a great way to show your support of the fight in general, or to honor those in your life battling every day! You can wear them on your fall jacket, fashion hat, bag, seat belts, dog leash…anywhere you can imagine!! New items will continue to be added to this line, so keep an eye out!

Please remember, I am more than willing-ecstatic even!-to create special orders. If the pin you love is sold out, or you want a special pin or wreath to honor those in your life (or just yourself!) simply email me at: Marelladesigns@gmail.com

Organization Level: 1

Much to D’s chagrin, I have always been a bit behind the times. I don’t have an iPhone, I play video games on my PlayStation2, and I refuse to get a Kindle. (Yes, I know they are more convenient and  blah blah, but you’ll never convince me to give up the smell of the ink and the feel of the pages! Plus I’ve always dreamt of building my own library ala Beauty and the Beast…*sigh* someday!)

So it was kicking and screaming that D forced me to upgrade my craft organization. I had a system-boxes. Lots and lots of old, falling apart cardboard boxes that swallowed up my supplies and were a pain in the @ss to move. But it was functional enough.

Then Target had a back-to-college sale, featuring all sorts of drawers, cubbies, bags, shelves, pillows, blankets, movies, 60″ TVs, Xboxes, ATV’s, etc etc. You know, the typical essentials for all American college students. On the front page of the circular, down in the right hand corner, was a picture of a rolling 3-drawer organizer on sale for $10. I had to have it-according to D.

“Nah, I got my boxes! They work,” I said.

“…” he replied.

“They work enough…” I countered.

“We’re going.”

So with that, we headed to Target where we proceeded to intellectually argue how many were required. I opened with,“oh, probably just one. I don’t have that much stuff. Won’t even fill it!”

“You’ll need at least two, maybe three. You have stuff everywhere,” was his rebuttal.

“Not EVERYwhere…just, you know, the corner of the apartment!”

“Marella, work with me!”

“Well…do you think they’d let us purchase one and a half?”

“…? What?”

So we settled on two; 50% more than I thought I needed, 33% less than D voted for. It was less a compromise and more a thats-all-Target-has-left-in-stock situation, but it seemed fair at the time.

So we trucked them home and I set to work reorganizing all of my supplies. A drawer for Christmas stuff, another for fall things, then beads and charms and whatnot…oh, that’s the first one filled. Ok, well on to number two! A drawer for essential supplies, and one for birds and bells and buttons, and one for small flowers and another for…uh-oh.

Yes, he was right, I have a LOT of supplies. I still have bags of large flowers and the wreaths themselves are still in a cardboard box. But the bulk of the supplies are organized!And what’s more, I LOVE them! Its so nice to have all of my supplies right there, easy to see and access whenever I wish. And they roll!! Don’t feel like crafting in the living room? Okidoki, roll into the bedroom! No more lugging heavy boxes back and forth. Lately I’ve simply been rolling them around the apartment for no reason, just because I can!

Someday, I hope, I will have an entire room-or at least a large corner-where I can spread out my supplies. Tons of shelves and drawers and cubbies to put things in, and an entire wall of finished wreaths waiting to be sent to their new homes! And one corner with great light that I can stage for photo shoots. Knowing me, though, I’ll still roll and lug all my supplies into the living room and craft there while D plays his Xbox on his 40″ TV!

A Few of My Favorite Things

While I do enjoy rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens, wet flowers don’t rank high on my list of favorites. And D is highly allergic to cats, so kittens with or without whiskers are out of the question.
I must be completely honest with you-the following list doesn’t comprise my entire area of interests. I enjoy things outside of crafting such as baseball, movies, classic literature, puppies, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. Nevertheless, these ARE some of my favorite things for one of my favorite activities. And since this is my blog, I will tell you why!

1. Birds
Craft birds add an element of realistic nature without the creepy aspect of taxidermy. In my opinion, dead animals are not art. They are food for omnivores. Craft birds are brightly colored, come in different sizes and if you listen really carefully after hitting your head against the freezer door, they sing! It’s like having a tiny feathered friend, right on your wall! Essentially, they make me happy and I like to put happy things in my designs.

2. Bells

Jingle bells. Jangle bells. Liberty bells. Silver bells. School bells. Glockenspiels! The tingly sound of all sorts of bells are like the sweet sound of laughing angels, usually warning of some sort of impending disaster or alerting people of your demands. Tingle sounds, angels, disasters, demands-all wonderful things for life and wreaths!

3. Sea Shells

I must tell you a secret-I do not really enjoy the beach. To be fair, the only beaches I have been to are the Oregon beach (very cold, buggy and sandy) and Coney Island (very cold, buggy and sandy). In all, one could say they are not my favorite places on Earth. But I DO enjoy sea shells-the natural colors and patterns are gorgeous, and playing with natural elements is a fun challenge, all for the low price of $3.99 at my local craft store. So, I can have the beauty of shells and avoid the cold, buggy and sandy mess all together!

4. Holiday Ornaments
Who isn’t tired of the holiday pine wreaths with just pine cones and a big holiday red bow? Holiday ornaments add a festive touch to the holiday wreath, making the holiday so much more fun! Not quite as fun as Christmas or Chanukah or Kwanza. But holiday is very fun in a generic sense, too!
 
5. Charms
Charms are for more than just bracelets and necklaces. They are tiny, pretty things that enhance the beauty of whatever surrounds them. Which is why women enjoy them-tiny, pretty beauty enhancers rate above flowers and right below expensive champagne. Seeings how I am a woman by conventional definitions, I very much enjoy using them in my wreaths! And perhaps they make me a tiny bit prettier. They’d make you prettier, but I don’t think you could look any better!
When dogs bite and bees sting…well, my wreaths probably won’t help with either of those situations. But they will be beautiful on your walls, and hopefully bring you some happiness and become something you will love!! Get one with a bird, it will sing its love to you for years to come!

(And, you know, if you want to find something you will love, you should check out my store http://marelladesigns.storenvy.com/ Take a look, adopt a wreath, share the love!)