Post 195: I AM BACK!

So, my part in Aidan's Monsters has finally come to an end. Again I have to thanks all of the wonderfully snarky and entertaining folks from Regretsy for their big hearts and loud mouths (hehe) for spreading the word. (and of course my lovely BFF Leanne for contacting April Winchell) We were able to sell over 7500 prints for Aidan's family in two short months! And it took me about 4 months to fill them all. You can see a clip of the Aidan's Monsters story on World News here: (be sure to watch the video!)

It is sad that it is over but I am more than ready to spend some more time with my beautiful baby Lucas...and sewing of course!

Speaking of sewing, I hope to have a giveaway soon to celebrate re-entering the blog world! Keep your eyes open for it!

Post 193: My life belongs to MONSTERS!

I can say that this last month has been completely OVERWHELMING! The word overwhelming doesn't even begin to paint the picture...

As I had mentioned last month, with Regretsy's help, we started a fundraiser for my nephew and his family.

(Aidan and Little Brother Amry)

My nephew, Aidan, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia September 13th. You can read about it here. Since the fundraiser kicked off October 19th, we have raised over $50,000. How you might ask?? By selling his adorable monster drawings on Etsy. I have no idea what happend but the stars aligned and the world fell in love with Aidan and NOW I have a garage full of thousands of picture mailers, photo paper, printer ink, and lables. We are nearing the sale of 5,000 drawings in a little less than a month. THAT IS NUTS!

His art has gone to Austrailia, UK, Russia...just about anywhere you could think of and it completely blows my mind and still seems completely unreal. It doesent make Aidan well again but it makes us feel like we all have the world in our corner. And that, my friends, is an amazing and uplifting feeling.

So that explains the lack of crafting and blogging these days. :)

Post 189: Heartbreaking News

Earlier this month my family and I recieved some terrible, heartbreaking news. We were told that my 5 year old nephew, Aidan, has Leukemia. You may remember me mentioning him here a while back. Aidan will be facing two to three years of chemo. The doctors say it is 97% cureable which is great, we are just heartbroken at what Aidan will have to go through to get better.

Along with dealing with this terrible news my brother and his wife also had a baby this weekend and Wylie, my brother, is out of work for a month. Times are definitely tough for them. Instead of crafting I have been filling my time with ways to help out Aidan and his family. You can learn more about it at AidforAidan.wordpress.com

Post 38: The Greatest Show On Earth!

Hehe....I didn't get to go (since I'm 600 miles away), but I think this little guy had the best Birthday EVER, so I had to share....

This is Aidan with his Momma Katie. I loved his face in this one...it cracks me up!

The family photo. My brother Wylie, Katie, and of course Aidan! If you cant tell Wylie's shirt says "this is what cool looks like" hahaha....
How many parents do you know who would sport clown make up all day? I cant say I know many. I love my family they crack me up. Oh I am so disappointed I had to miss out!

Post 37: Watercolor and Weird Guy

So my nephew's 4th Birthday is this weekend and I put a couple of things together yesterday. I feel so accomplished!!!

His Birthday will be a Circus party full of clowns I am sure. This little boy LOVES "scary clowns" (which in my opinion any clown) and dressing up. He is such a character!

So, first, is a watercolor of a picture of Aidan in his clown makeup.

I am soooo pleased with the way this turned out. I haven't done anything great with watercolors in ages so I am excited about this. haha.

And this is a stuffed Weird Guy Frankenstein sporting a crazy hat...designed from one of Aidan's drawings I shared with you all in Post 20.

I love the bright colors and he is so soft! Not to mention extra scary!!! ERRRRRRRRRR!

I just thought I would come back and add this, I used it as a tag and it shows his original drawing.

Ohhh and don't forget to enter my Garden Clutch GIVEAWAY! (link is at the top of this page!)

Post 20: Featured Artist!

Several months ago I was wasting time, as I usually do, and I came across a website that made plush toys. These weren't just ANY plush toys, but they were custom toys designed from children's drawings. For somewhere around $200.00 you could send your child's drawing in and have a custom plush made from it....Sooo I thought this was a GENIUS idea, and since I have many lovely kiddos in my life I have decided to give it a try.

The "artist" I have chosen for my first project is my totally awesome nephew Aidan!

Aidan loves scary clowns, snowmen, monsters, dressing up and being scary. He is quite the character! And lately he has apparently been on a Frankenstein kick!

Frankenstein!:

Frank with Freckles and Stitches:

And last but not least my personal favorite (and the one I think I will use for this project)

Weird guy with chin hair and a crazy hat!:

I was so excited I had to share. I think any of you who sew and have little artists in your life should give it a shot, I am sure it will be loved no matter how it turns out :).

(Thanks to my sister-in-law Katie for the pics!)