Wednesday, December 3, 2008

JDRF Hand Print's

This is the creative mess that has surrounded me for the past two nights. This mess of ribbons, papers, do dads and scissors have kept me so busy. So busy that I haven't had a lot of time to moan and groan about how much I miss my sweetheart (just to close friends on the phone). I haven't gotten enough sleep to miss not having Dean to snuggle up into when I go to bed at night. I am so tired when I went to bed the last two mornings that I had a hard time finding energy to brush my teeth let alone wash my face. Don't worry guys I did brush and wash, but it was like I was a 10 year old again, quickly brushing and washing so I was out of the bathroom faster than is humanly possible. I am sure the sugar bugs that I missed had a nice party in my mouth last night. Yeah guys, I was that tired.
 
There are 4 others that I didn't get to take a picture of. The large framed quilt had a runaway square. I think I forgot to put tape on the back of it. Opps! Just click the picture to enlarge and see the details.

Here is what I lost all that sleep over. I know, I know, total cheesiness. However this cheesiness holds a very special place in my heart. It is all for a very good cause. JDRF. A couple times a year I volunteer to make the thank you gifts for our local JDRF chapter. The children who have been diagnosed have their hand print traced and I use it in the final thank you plaque. I like to call them paper quilt blocks. The hand is symbolic of all the daily tests that diabetic children do to test their sugar. A little tag is attached on the hand with the child's name and the age they were diagnosed with diabetes. The inscription under the hand reads::

"Thank you for being our Hero
 in the search to find a Cure 
With Love & Gratitude from the Children & Families of
 JDRF"

So many wonderful people in our community come together every year to donate time and resources to raise money to help and find a cure for this wonderful cause. These will go to those special people who work tirelessly on all that goes into the different fundraisers. Because Dean and I are not wealthy, understatement, I feel very good about donating my time and talents to help out any way I can. It's the least I can do. I wait for the day they find a cure. For a day my little Sloan won't have to test her sugar or feel "shaky". For the day I don't have to worry if my daughter will live longer than me, loose her eyesight, or if she will be able to have kids. These are the extremes, however they can become the realities if we don't do all that we can to keep her healthy. 

In the spring we always have a huge live and silent auction for JDRF. I will mention it closer to time, but we are always looking for donations of hand crafted items. If you are interested let me know and I will contact you closer to time with all the details. Did I mention the donation is tax deductible? It's also a lot of fun to participate. Promise to keep you all posted on this upcoming event.

*Just a little note to let everyone know that I will be offering custom paper handprint quilts in my ETSY shop starting this Friday. There will be several different sizes offered. I have made these over the years for many different events. They make a great gift for grandparents, teachers or just to have a memento of your little one's hand for your home. They are always a huge hit. 

6 comments:

Art Nest said...

These hands are precious, not cheezy~

noodle and lou said...

What a wonderful job you did! So much meaning and love for some very special people. hooray for you!

Anonymous said...

My daughter too loves painting & other creative work too. I used to encourage her lot for it.

Elissa said...

this is SO cool that you do this. they are really neat and what a fabulous gift idea! handprints are PERFECT. please do keep us posted about the auction. i would love to do something for it. i am not sure what my humble offerings would bring in, but i would absolutely make something....

Unknown said...

Those hands are great. What a fabulous idea!

Unknown said...

Love these Summer! You are so creative :) And what a great cause!