She's Gone...

My beloved, big sister, Linda "Linny" went on to be with our Lord, early Tuesday morning.linda had just won her battle with leukemia when she suddenly contracted pneumonia as a complication from chemotherapy she had been receiving. (In other words, the chemo wiped out all of her immune system in order to get all of the cancer and therefore she had no defense against any infections or diseases). Our mother and Linda's two kiddos, Shelby (my niece) age 16, and Casey, (my nephew) age 11 were by her side.

Visitation will be held Fri April first at Faith Lutheran Church in Valders, WI from 6-8:30pm. On Sat, April 2 there will be a Celebration of Life ceremony from 1-3pm. We encourage all to bring photos and memories of laughter and love of time spent with Linda.
Immediately following the Celebration of Life ceremony will be a memorial service in her honor.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent ("College Fund") to:

Shelby and Casey Gunderson at:
Lake Shore Farm Management
401 S. Calumet Drive
PO Box 280
Valders, WI 54245-0280

Thank you to all who have expressed their love and support both here on my blog and elsewhere. We feel your love and prayers.

Hope to be back soon with a more uplifting post.
Hugs to all,
Suz

Please, PLEASE pray for my sister

My sister, Linda, acquired pneumonia this morning and is now in critical condition on life support. The next few hours are extremely critical...

Please, please pray for her to be healed. We just received word Fri. that her blood was cancer free.
Thank you beyond measure for your prayers and support!
Suz

April's FreeHand Scraps Sneak Peeks!

Here ya go!

Here ya go! :) Hope these will tide you over until the full reveal tomorrow! ;-)

I Never Thought I'd See the Day...

...our basement eating area would be used for this...

...entering the Realm of Sparfest! Onlookers beware! LOL

Coming up really soon...SNEAKS of Freehand Scraps April kit. After I completed my guestwork for March, Miss Elaine asked if  wouldn't i "stay on and design for April and May too?"
{ Darn...do I have to?}
;-)

Tis the Allergy Season

...and I am sooo not liking it! I am so very bummed that I have grown a severe allergy to the out of doors. It is a beautiful, gorgeous day and yet I have to spend it inside despite longing to be outdoors. Trying to keep it all in perspective though, as I know there are many individuals out there struggling with so much more...
So, on the bright side, I thought I'd post a few pics i took from this past week. A little bit of happy, a little bit of crazy (as in the weather!) and a little bit of every day life here in our little part of the world.

 Ethan had his big piano festival last Sat. He had been practicing his pieces since last November. All of his hard work paid off as he earned a "Superior" rating on both pieces! Way to go Boo! :)

 Here's the craziness to the weather. So typical of life in the Ozarks-- One day beautifully sunny, perfect day for flying a kite--The next day= Hail/Ice Pellets come crashing down from the sky! Sheesh!

 Ouch!

Misting/Spray Ink Color Guide Tutorial

So, I don't know about you, but as my stash of spray inks has grown, I realized I needed a way to visually help me know what each color  of mist looked like on paper. So, here's what I did to help me keep my colors straight:

1. Punched out several squares of white card stock.

2. Spray misted each square using my trusty "Misting Box."

       

3. Adhered each colored square in a column by manufacturer to an 8.5 x 11 piece of card stock. I labeled each color by the manufacturer's name listed on each bottle of mist. 

*I made sure to leave room for new additions to my color chart in the future. (One never knows when the misting stash might grow!) ;-)

4. I slipped my color chart into an 8.5 x 11 sheet protector and placed it in a three ring binder I have for sketches, etc. and now it's ready to go for easy reference! 

Another idea:  Cut up your 8.5 x 11 paper into strips and make "paint sample" strips of the square color samples. Punch a hole in the top end of each strip. Align each strip of color samples with each punched hole and place a metal binding ring (you can purchase at Hobby Lobby or Michael's) through the stacked strips. Flip to the manufacturer or color you are looking for, and you are good to go!

Here's a pic of how I organize and store my mists. This organizer/tool caddy is a little something I picked up a few years back from Hobby Lobby. It has a handle and sits just inside the door of my walk-in closet where most of my scrapbook supplies are. I like that they are near-by and easily accessible. 

Oh, I almost forgot! One other thing! Some mists do not show up well on white card stock. (One of the reasons I wanted to make up a color chart to begin with). For example, the Marshmallow Mist Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist is difficult to see on white card stock (no contrast). So, I punched out a black square and misted the Marshmallow Mist onto it for better visibility of the color.  Silver mist was  also difficult to see on both black and white. So, it ended up being sprayed on a light blue piece of card stock.

Hope you found this helpful! Happy misting!

Flip that Design!

Here are two recent layouts I created. I just turned the layout 90 degrees and created a completely different page. No need to reinvent the wheel. 

Happy Birthday To My Big Sis Linda! (aka Linny!)

Happy birthday to my Big Sis, Linny!!! (I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!)

So, so wish she didn't have to spend it in the hospital fighting leukemia!!! I can't change the situation other than praying to God that he will heal her. I realize that. But I just want her to know how much she is loved and how many people care for her. She already got her birthday gift a week or so ago. Mick and I went in with my mom and dad and got her an iPad for those times when she may not have visitors, but I still wanted to try to make her day special anyways. She's not really been feeling up for visitors as she has been losing her hair and has been fighting off a bad infection with ulcers in her throat that make it extremely difficult to talk, to swallow, to eat. Basic everyday tasks that all of us (myself included) take for granted.
I was thinking, it would be special for her to know there are "Cyberfriends" and family out there who are thinking of her,  wishing her well, and praying for her. If you would like to send a little "Cyberlove" her way, please post a comment here on my blog. I'll be sure she reads it. I think it would really make her day to know that there are all kinds of caring people out there, thinking of her and praying for her today.



Here are a few pics for our awesome family trip to Colorado in December. It was the first time in 10 years we three sisters had been together for Christmas. Special times indeed! We had just a little bit of fun! (And a whole lot of laughs!!) Most of these pics were with my point and shoot, so they are definitely lacking in quality!

Catching snowflakes!

Hanging out with the Blues Brothers!

"Charlie's Angels" Silly Pose

Thanks in advance for putting a little J.O.Y. in my sister's birthday! 

Have a J.O.Y.-filled day!

{Hugs}

Suz