Stampin' Mama: A mama that stamps

Love you to Pieces Card and more on autism...

Thank you to all that sent wonderful birthday wishes to Zach on the BIG GIVE-AWAY POST that I put up yesterday (you can still enter the give-away through Monday, the 18th at 11 am EST).

He's been tickled pink that so many people know about his birthday. He's more aware of his birthday this year than any other year.

I truly do love that kid to pieces! (the picture below is from this past October when we went apple picking)

I wanted to share a card with you that I created a while ago, but was never shared on my blog. I created this card as a friend-to-friend swap with Sarah Moore and it was shown on her blog, while I showed the card that she swapped with me on my blog.

I created this card using GinaK's set - Love you to Pieces. This set was created for autism awareness and to date, this set has raised over $5000 towards autism research. 

This set has a special place in my heart, as Gina created this set in honor of my son. I hadn't been on GinaK's design team when I pitched the idea to her about creating a set that would help raise funds for autism research. Gina never hesitated. It was a "yes" right from the start. No questions asked. That was only a small glimpse into how generous Gina really is. As I've gotten to know her over the past 16 months, I realize that God brought an angel into my life in the form of Gina. Not only has Gina touched those of us that live with autism on a daily basis, but she's also reached out and touched those with diabetes and children with terminal illnesses through the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

When Gina took my idea and turned it into reality, it did something more than give a way to raise funds for autism research. It gave me the courage to use my voice to speak out for something that I'm passionate about and that has affected my son's life, as well as those around us. It made me realize that I can't expect things to happen, I have to MAKE them happen.

I am amazed at how many people in our small world of stamping and scrapbooking live with autism in their families or that know of friends that live with autism. This really is a worldwide epidemic. More and more of our children are diagnosed every day. 20 years ago, in 1987, 1 in every 10,000 children was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In 2007, new studies showed that 1 in every 150 children are now being diagnosed. That 1 in every 150 is ONE TOO MANY.

Many experts think that number is even higher because there are children that go undiagnosed, simply because parents aren't aware of the signs of autism and just assume that their child will "catch up as they get older." Many parents have only heard of autism while watching the movie, "Rainman." They are not aware of the different types of autism and the range that this disorder manifests itself in. These are the children that fall between the cracks. Children that have a future so far beyond what they end up having if it were only for proper intervention and treatment. But in order for this to happen, people NEED TO KNOW. People need to use their voices and speak up. Many of our children can't be a voice. We need to be that voice for them.

I have always been a voice for my own child since I first suspected what was going on at 13 months of age and the regression his development was taking. But it was the creation of the Love you to Pieces set that GinaK created and her reception to the idea, as well as the courage to put this idea into motion, that made me see that I could be (and NEEDED to be) a voice for all children (and adults) with autism.

It's time to speak. It's time to listen. It's time to learn. It's time to share!

-Erika

A HUGE Groovy Give-Away!

I am SO excited about this Give-Away today because today is a SPECIAL day!

This Give-Away is in honor my son, Zach. It's his 9th birthday today! And this Give-Away is also in honor of Autism Awareness.

You all know that raising awareness for autism is a passion of mine. During the duration of this give-away, I'll be sharing links and information about autism, while showing you how I've interspersed my passion for autism awareness into my art.

For starters, the guys over at MockUTV.com have created a page dedicated to my son and his story, along with some fantastic links to learn more about autism and different organizations than can help you find services for yourself or to pass on to someone you know that might need them. Knowledge is definitely power and one of the ways that we can help children and adults that deal with autism on a daily basis is to become aware of what this disorder is. You can CLICK HERE to explore these sites.

I'm so blessed to be working with some wonderful people that have hearts of gold and have pitched in to help with spreading the word and giving me some awesome prizes to give away.

I have 5 wonderful prizes to give away and that means 5 WINNERS!

The first prize is:

The Love you to Pieces set from GinaK Designs.

This set was created to benefit autism awareness and $8.00 from each set sold goes directly to Autism Speaks, an organization that funds research into the causes, prevention, treatments and cure for autism.

Gina created this set in honor of my son and this is a set that is truly dear to my heart.

Because autism itself and its causes are so puzzling, the international symbol for autism is a puzzle piece. In order to begin to solve the autism puzzle, public awareness of the disorder is crucial.

The second prize is:

The Love & Luck set from Kitchen Sink Stamps.

This set is perfect for making cards and gifts for those you hold closest to your heart.

And it's also great for the upcoming St. Patrick's Day holiday next month.

These two sets above tie into my next prize.......

The third prize is:

20 handmade gift cards.

10 cards are made with the Love you to Pieces set and 10 cards are made with the Love & Luck set. These little cards are 3 x 3 inches square and come with matching envelopes. They're perfect for putting on gifts, tucking into your child's or partner's lunch box, adding to a bouquet of flowers and so much more.

The fourth prize is:

The amazingly hilarious "mockumentary" DVD: "Inside Scrapbooking" from MockUTV

The guys from MockUTV (Russ and Kevin) have been so generous with helping raise funds for Autism Support Daily through the sales of this DVD.

Originally, this fund raiser ran through November and December, but Russ and Kevin believe in the cause of autism so much that they've decided to make this an ongoing fund raiser. Every time a DVD is purchased, $1.00 will be donated to Autism Support Daily. If you haven't yet gotten a chance to watch the preview for this movie, you can check it out ---> HERE. And to purchase your own copy of the DVD for yourself or a friend, you can click ---> HERE.

The fifth prize is:

The Stampin' Mama Artwork Inspiration CD

This CD has over 300 pictures of papercrafts that I've designed over the past 18 months.

It's an instant picture library right at the click of your mouse.

It's full of amazing samples for you to glean fresh inspiration from when you're looking for innovative ideas for your paper crafts.

*** This Give-Away is NOT limited to where you live.....so even if you are outside of the US or Canada, you can still participate.***

So......what do you need to do to enter this Groovy Give-Away?

Simply leave a comment on this blog to be entered. And if you want to go the extra mile, help spread the word and send people over. You never know who might need to be exposed to autism and learn more about it. If it weren't for someone sharing in a "Good Housekeeping Magazine," who knows how much time we would have lost in getting Zach the intervention that has helped him so much over the last 7 1/2 years.

I'll pick 5 winners with the random number generator on Thursday (2/21) at 11 am Eastern Time and announce the winners here!

And make sure to check back each day to learn more about this disorder that affects 1 in every 150 children.....and to see how it touches my life of art.

Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Birthday to my Zachy Boy!

-Erika

In honor of Autism Awareness

I had totally planned to have a post up for you today with two new cards (and they are super-super-uber-uber cute), but my computer and my card reader don't seem to want to cooperate. I was just walking out the door to head 5 1/2 hours south on a road trip with my grandfather to stay a couple days with my parents before my dad heads in for surgery on Friday morning (he has 2 hernias that need to be taken care of) so my computer is going to have to sit there for a few days and so will the cards. We're thinking I need an external hard drive to give me more room for all the pictures I take, all the tutorials I create, the kits and such that I do.....that all takes up room and I think I've reached capacity on my current system.

So......I'm here in beautiful Newport while my little family is at home missing me and I'm missing them. But there's good food here and good company and I miss my parents, too, so it's nice to spend the time with them and it's always nice to have a ride buddy along. My grandfather is a lot of fun to chat with and it's always great to hear stories from his past.

In the meantime, without having pictures of my cards and the give-away that I planned to put up, I've decided to be very flexible and come up with some other things to post.

You all know how passionate I am about Autism awareness. Being that my son, Zach, is autistic, I have a desire to see autism treated as a real and prevalent disorder that affects our kids in a big way. The numbers are staggering. 1 out of every 150 children right now are being diagnosed. In Vermont, where we live, the numbers are one in every 133 children. Many children fall between the cracks when it comes to intervention because either their insurance won't cover the services they need or because parents aren't aware of what's going on and don't get their kids diagnosed until later in childhood, while precious time is lost to make a huge difference in those early developmental years.

We were very fortunate to get Zach started in intervention when he was 18 months old. While each day there are still struggles while Zach's world and our world tend to clash, each day is also a miracle, as we see more and more improvement and as we learn more about what Zach's world is like.

Just recently, many of you have emailed me to tell me about the "Five for Fighting" video that has been circulating around the internet to help raise awareness.

You can view the video here:

What Kind of World Do You Want?

I wanted to pass that on here and encourage you all to watch the video. It's truly touching and makes you aware of how much families and children are affected by this disorder. This is no known cure, but early intervention CAN help to give these kids ways to live lives that are both active and productive.

The cool thing about simply watching this video is that, not only will  you learn more about what autism is and how if affects kids, but the band, "Five for Fighting," will donate $0.40 cents to Autism Speaks for *each time* this video is viewed. The funding goes toward research studies to find a cure.

Please take just 4 minutes out of your day today to watch this, to be educated, to be aware to be touched.....and then pass it on to others so they can experience the same and others can be helped.

Thanks!

-Erika

One of the BIGGEST Give-Aways EVER!

This is one of the BIGGEST Give-Aways you'll EVER see!!!

**NOTE*** This post is stickied to the top of my blog until the give-away is over....please scroll down to see my newest posts.

You all know I have a passion to see strides in the area of autism research and to see families with autistic children get help NOW! This Give-away has EVERYTHING to do with that!

From today through midnight on Wednesday (12/19), a bunch of us have teamed up to help promote one of my favorite Autism charities - Autism Support Daily

If you're looking for a great way to help out the cause of Autism, MockUTV.com has put out a hilarious mockumentary DVD following the crazy and zany antics of Molly McGann, on her way to "Scrapapalooza." My sides are in stitches every time I watch this! Through January 1st, $1.00 from every DVD sold is being donated to Autism Support Daily. It's a great way to help out the cause, laugh at ourselves and also a great gift to other crazy papercrafters! (the DVD is only $9.95 and there's FREE shipping!!) And..........each DVD comes with a coupon for a free bottle of Stickles from GinaK Designs!

If there are those of you that already have the DVD or just want to make a donation to Autism Support Daily, there's a nifty little banner over on my sidebar (scroll down just a tad) with my son's picture on it. You can click through this banner to donate directly to ASD. Autism Support Daily is approved by the IRS as a 501(C)3 charitable organization.

We want to thank everyone for all the support they've shown by spreading the word and purchasing from those of us that have been supporting this cause.....so we've come up with a BIG BANG Give-Away to show our appreciation!

There will be 3 WINNERS from this Give-Away!

One grand prize winner will receive:

* "Inside Scrapbooking" DVD - Molly's adventure to Scrapapalooza! (a $9.95 value)

* "Love you to Pieces" stamp set by GinaK Designs (see picture at left - this set was created in honor of my son, Zach, to promote Autism Awareness and to date, GinaK has donated over $5000 to autism research from the sale of this set) (a $21.95 value)

NOTE: GinaK just announced that from now through Wednesday (12/19), she will be donating $8 from each "Love you to Pieces" stamp set sold directly to Autism Support Daily!

* The "Paper Bag Book Tutorial CD" from the Stampin' Mama Store (a $17.95 value)

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** Another addition to our give-away is this awesome Autism Puzzle Themed Scrub Cap from Ying Lai. You can find these amazing caps over at "Cute Things Only." (a value of $12.95) Ying JUST received her cap and has generously donated it as a prize in our give-away (THANKS, Ying.....it's amazing how caring and compassionate paper crafters are! They're always willing to jump on board to help a great cause!)

The puzzle piece is the symbol for autism, since this disorder is such a puzzle to figure out.

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*  The "Thanks with Style" set from Kitchen Sink Stamps (a $15.00 value)

* The "Playful Alphabet" set from Kitchen Sink Stamps (a $29.95 value)

* One month of the Stampin' Mama Tutorial Program (4 tutorials total - a value of $13.95)

* An original handmade book by me, Erika Martin *wink*. This book measures 4 x 4 and is great to use as a small brag book. (click HERE for pictures of the inside of the book. (a $15.00 value)

And finally, but certainly not least, one of my favorite parts of this Give-Away!

Zach has created an amazing piece of artwork to gift to the lucky winner! He has titled this piece, "Fireflies in the Field at Night."

Zach has a fondness (aka: obsession) with bugs and fireflies are his favorite. Many of our spring, summer and early fall nights are spent in the massive field behind our house, looking for bugs. The firefly season is his favorite.

When Zach sat down to create this work of art, it was only natural for him to draw and paint one of his favorite things.

The night blue sky is done with a metallic acrylic paint, so it shimmers in the light. The stars and fireflies have glitter accents on them, as Zach was insistent that they "sparkle."

This is a 9 x 12 inch work on a canvas wrapped frame. It was done with acrylics and is signed on the back by Zach himself.

Along with this piece of artwork is a picture of Zach creating his art.

The Grand Prize is worth a total of $136.70 and a PRICELESS piece of Zach's artwork!!! 


And because giving away more than one prize is ALWAYS fun....there will be two runner-up winners chosen!

The two Runner-Up winners will each receive:

* One month of the Stampin' Mama Tutorial Program (4 tutorials total - a value of $13.95)

* The "Paper Bag Book Tutorial CD" from the Stampin' Mama Store  (a $17.95 value)

So......what do you need to do to enter this Give-Away?

Simply leave a comment on this post and you'll be entered!

*** This Give-Away is NOT limited to where you live.....so even if you are outside of the US or Canada, you can still participate.***

Help up spread the word!

Holiday Card......simplicity personified

This is one of the cards that I designed for my Stamp-a-Stack that happened last weekend (and for the "Holiday Stamp-a-Stack by Mail").

I had 4 designs and everyone did 5 each of those designs. The other 3 designs were done with colored cardstock as the base. I wanted to do one design that used vanilla cardstock as the base, as I find it really personifies simplicity and elegance.

I wanted to create a design that didn't take away from the simplicity and still retained a classic elegance. This is what I came up with.

Very simple, but very elegant.

It's truly simplicity personified. But it's also elegance personified.

A little bit of patterned paper can go a long way......just a quick strip across the center of the card adds a little bit of contrast and color. Again....very simple, but striking.

It's hard to tell from the photo but the snowflake shines and sparkles with, yup, you guessed it....Dazzling Diamonds Glitter. That glitter works on so many levels. It can be used to make a bright balloon on a child's card come to life....but it can also turn a simple snowflake into a sparkling wonder.

Speaking of sparkling wonders.....I recently updated my son's blog with a post and pictures from the trip we took last month to Florida. I keep meaning to share it with all of you and I keep forgetting. If you'd like to check it out, you can click here: Zach's World  That little boy of mine (though he's getting to be not-so-little these days.....hard to believe he's almost 9 years old soon!) always keeps us guessing, but he's always full of sparkle and wonder.

Have a lovely evening.....and make sure to check back tomorrow for my 400th post give-away! :)

Happy Creating!

-Stampin' Mama

Help Autism and get a GREAT Deal this weekend!

The great guys over at MockUTV are offering a FANTASTIC special on the "Inside Scrapbooking" mockumentary DVD.....the tribute to all of us die-hard papercrafters!

And don't forget that they're donating $1.00 from every DVD sold to Autism Support Daily!

If you're doing your holiday shopping, you can get some awesome gifts (plus there's a free coupon in each DVD to the GinaK Designs Online Store) and you can help out a great cause!

Plus........there's FREE shipping on the DVD. Talk about a win-win for EVERYONE!

If you haven't checked out the preview yet, CLICK HERE! It's a RIOT!

It's time for Groovy Give-Away Friday!

It's Friday again!

That means it's time for another Groovy Give-Away!

Even being sick this week, it's actually gone by quite quickly for me. My husband mentioned the same thing.....funny how that happens sometimes.

So......for this give-away, I found some really cute holiday embellishments and knew they would be perfect as a give-away. The stickers are all really cute epoxy finished embellishments. They have a nice shine and some have gold or silver finishes to the outlines. There's also a pack of square brads that spell out the words, "Winter" and "Joyful." These would be awesome to add to cards or to scrapbook pages.

I wanted to add some extra laughs into this give-away. Remember that great video clip I shared with you a couple weeks ago? The "Inside Scrapbooking" video over at MockUTV.com ? If you haven't seen it yet, make sure you click on over to watch it! It's absolutely hilarious and pokes good fun at us die-hard paper crafters and scrapbookers.

Many of you know that Autism is close to my heart, as my son, Zach, is autistic. The great guys over at MockUTV.com are donating $1.00 from every DVD sold through January 1st towards Autism Support Daily, which is a FANTASTIC organization! Our numbers are climbing, but we'd love to see them get even HIGHER! Let's help out a great cause! You can use these DVDs as stocking stuffers or gifts for the scrapbookers and paper crafters on your holiday wish list. And make sure to treat yourself to one, as well!

*** This Give-Away is NOT limited to where you live.....so even if you are outside of the US or Canada, you can still participate.***

 

So......what do you need to do to enter this Groovy Give-Away?

Click on over to ---> MockUTV.com and watch the preview video of this awesome mockumentary. Then leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite line from the preview is.

***BONUS ENTRIES***

* If you purchased this DVD already, tell me about it and I'll put an extra entry into the drawing for you!
* Spread the word on your blog or website about this fantastic cause, let us know about it (leave a link to it in your comment) and you'll get a bonus entry in the drawing!

I'll pick a winner on Monday (11/19) at 11 am (EST) and announce it here.

And make sure to stop on over to MockUTV to get your copy of "Inside Scrapbooking!" (There's a coupon inside for a freebie from GinaK Designs, too!) Share the news with your crafting groups, on any forums you're a part of, with your friends, relatives......help spread the word and let's make a difference TOGETHER!

Thanks!!!

-Erika

And the winner is.............of the Scrapbooking Totebag!

Thank you all SO much for the great comments and the support for autism awareness and MockUTV.com's great scrapbooking mockumentary, "Inside Scrapbooking."

And thank you to all of you that have spread the word on your blogs and that have bought DVDs. Every purchase brings the total higher to help this awesome cause!

The winner of the scrapbooking tote is:

Lisa Courter

Erika, That is great! I hope you raise huge amounts of money!!!! I have posted this on my website also and will spread the news to my friends and family. Now, my favorite tool! That's a tough one but I would have to say my ink pads. I use them for everything stamping and scraping! Good Luck!
www.crazy4stampin.com

Posted by: Lisa Courter

Lisa, make sure to email me with your mailing address so we can get your prize sent off to you!

Please keep passing the word on and be on the lookout for more great news, more great giveaways and fun stuff!

If you missed the first post with all the information about this great cause, you can go here: How can YOU make a difference?

How can YOU make a difference? How can YOU win a scrapbooking totebag?

***This post has been made STICKY and will stay at the top of my blog until the winner of the give-away is chosen on Thursday (11/8). Make sure to scroll down to see my newest posts....you don't want to miss anything! :) ***

I've had some big news brewing that I've been ITCHING to share with you all! Today is the day! It's finally here and I can FINALLY share it with you! Everything is up and running and ready to go! A while back, I shared a really funny clip that I found on YouTube that showed a hilarious peek at the die-hard world of scrapbooking. From that YouTube clip, I found out that an entire mockumentary had been made and put on DVD called, "Inside Scrapbooking" (put out by the twisted and genius minds at MockUTV). I was hooked and when I got my copy, I couldn't stop watching it and couldn't stop laughing at it!

Well......just recently, I was contacted by Russ Jones, the producer of the mockumentary. What he proposed to do amazed and shocked me and showed me, once again, that there are wonderful people out there that truly want to make a difference in this world.

Here's the clip, in case you missed it the first time.....and after you're done watching the clip, make sure to keep reading because I've got LOTS more to share.....AND give-away!

Starting NOW through January 1st, 2008, MockUTV is donating $1 from each copy of this awesome DVD sold towards a charity that is near and dear to my heart: Autism Support Daily

Did you know that one in every 150 children are diagnosed with some form of autism? That's ONE TOO MANY! And did you know that's only the number of children that are actually diagnosed? And did you know that many of these children "fall the through the cracks"? There ARE things that can be done about this and YOU can help!

And get this......you even get FREE shipping on the DVD! Talk about a win-win for everyone! This is the perfect gift for any papercrafter and scrapbooker on your Holiday wish list or even as a treat for yourself....and the best thing is, you're supporting a VERY worthwhile cause!

You can check out a bunch of great links on the MockUTV site:

• Inside Scrapbooking's home site
• Zach's Page - Zach's bio and lots of great links to sites on autism
• Purchase a DVD and help support Autism Support Daily
• Preview "Inside Scrapbooking"
• Learn about MockUTV
• More fun free videos

Molly, the crazy and zany star of "Inside Scrapbooking," has graciously offered up a fantastic give-away in honor of the announcement of this great cause! She's giving away an awesome scrapbooking tote bag! How generous of her!

So, what can you do to enter in this give-away?

Just leave a comment here telling me what your favorite scrapbooking tool is!

BONUS: Spread the word on your blog or website, let us know about it (leave a link to it in your comment) and you'll get a bonus entry in the drawing! Spread the word!

We'll pick a winner on Thursday at 11 am (EST) and announce it here.

And this isn't the only give-away......we'll be celebrating and creating awareness all the way through, so make sure to keep checking back!

And make sure to stop on over to MockUTV to get your copy of "Inside Scrapbooking!" Share the news with your crafting groups, on any forums you're a part of, with your friends, relatives......help spread the word and let's make a difference TOGETHER!

Thanks!!!

-Erika

Bringing back the "Love you to Pieces" set....

I know I've already put up a post today, but I wanted to share the super cute card I made this afternoon with the Love you to Pieces set. For those of you that are new to my blog, my son, Zach, is autistic. Back at the beginning of the year, GinaK and I came up with a brilliant idea (see the full story here). The Love you to Pieces set was born from that idea and $8 from each set sold gets sent to Autism Speaks. If you want to check out some of the past cards that I've done with this set, as well as check out the check that was sent to Autism Speaks with the donation from the awesome amount we raised through this set.

I wanted to bring this set back because I LOVE LOVE LOVE it and it is very special to me because of the history behind it and the cause that it supports.

I did this card using the emboss resist technique. This technique was done with a little bit of a twist, though. I stamped the smaller puzzle pieces onto Very Vanilla cardstock first and then stamped the heart images over the puzzle pieces using VersaMark ink. I then embossed them with Clear embossing powder. Once they dried, I sponged over them with ink. The clear embossed images preserved the small puzzle pieces underneath. I really love this technique because you can create so many spins on it.

I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to line up the heart images. I stamped the Stamp-a-ma-jig image sheet with colored ink first so that I could see where my image was. It took a little bit of work to see where I had stamped the Versamark images, but with the overhead light on, it was much easier.

Have a great night!

Happy Creating!

-Stampin' Mama

Supplies:
Stamps: Love you to Pieces set (GinaK Designs); Cardstock: Cranberry Crisp, Regal Rose, Very Vanilla; Ink: Regal Rose, Basic Black, Cranberry Crisp, Versamark; gold brads; Crystal Clear Embossing powder; 1/16 inch hole punch; stamping sponge; embossing gun