Etsy Project Embrace

Laura Slocum

I became aware of Laura Slocum and her story from another seller on Etsy. Laura was diagnosed with stage 3 Ovarian Cancer in June. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy.

Etsy Project Embrace was created by her friends to support Laura, increase awareness, and raise funding for cancer research. Other Etsy sellers have joined and are donating a portion of the proceeds of the sales from some of their listings. Here is the link to the American Cancer Society and the Etsy Project Embrace page. You can join the team or make a direct donation.

Check out her Etsy shop, lauraslocumpainted, and click her profile page to keep up with her progress. She also had a new blog. Here is a portion of one of her entries:

Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Etsy Project Embrace
I believe that you must play the hand you’re dealt. Six weeks ago, I was diagnosed with stage 3 Ovarian Cancer. My mom died from the same. I am a huge believer in eating right, exercising, and getting regular checkups. I’ve done all those things, yet, I have cancer. WOW. That’s a life-changing situation, for sure. I just turned 46 …. (a very very young 46!) Strangely, I feel blessed. Most everyday of these 6 weeks, I’ve had a smile on my face. I’m going to play the hand I’ve been dealt in the best and most positive way I know how. I’m so fortunate my boys are older, they drive, they can do laundry and help around the house. There will always be some people in this world who have it better and some who have it worse. That’s just life.

There are 4 things I know for sure:
1. I am a Christian and I believe God has a plan for me.
2. I believe in myself to do the very best I can do and try to help others in the process by getting my story out there.
3. I have the most wonderful and supportive husband, family and friends.
4. Logging onto Etsy everyday and hearing from my friends will keep this smile on my face, not matter what I am going through.

If you would like to be a part of etsyprojectembrace you can donate the profits or percentage of profits from one or more listings to the American Cancer Society. Add the tag 'etsyprojectembrace' to the listing (or listings) and mention the project and reason for it in your listing description/s. If you have any questions, or any ideas as to how you could help further then please feel free to convo kim at slinkymalinkicat, or Amy at ThePeachTree.

My thoughts and prayers are with Laura and her family. She is an amazing person.

Below are a few of the listings from Etsy Project Embrace:


thegardenshed

Sigmosaics

vadjutka

Red and a rabbit

This summer I become special friends with a weathered cardinal. He has me trained to feed him and his mate whenever I'm on the screened-in porch for meals. He chirps and circles the porch till I give in and throw out some seed. I feel a little like Snow White with all of the wildlife that comes to dine with me:) I've named him "Red" for obvious reasons and after my grandpa's nickname. Since I am the 17th of 21 grandchildren, I was too young to see his red hair. I had to take everyone's word for it.

The other day I was working on a photography class assignment when Red landed a little over a foot away from me. I couldn't believe that he was so close. Then a rabbit hopped by and stopped about 5 feet away. He sat for over a minute while I finished my assignment. I needed one image that was taken on 7 different settings for our study on white balance. He was a great subject. Only his nose and whiskers moved!

life's surprises

Saturday morning my husband and I were making our to-do list for the day. It was gorgeous weather and I didn't want to do work. I wanted to play. Life is too short. So we decided to sketch and shoot photos.

I needed to take an action shot for my photography class, so we went to The Legends in Kansas City, Kansas. It is an outdoor shopping mall and has a beautiful fountain that I could shoot. My husband was going to sketch while I was busy with my assignment.

When we got there, it was crazy busy with a sidewalk sale. I wasn't sure I would be able to get any shots because of all the people. I almost turned around because my husband isn't fond of crowds, but then I heard live music and knew he would like listening to them. I decided to see if I could get some photos of the band and use them for my assignment. The band, "90 Minutes", is awesome. Very tight music. All the musicians are great. I didn't want to leave. I kept taking photos of the bass player, Tyson, and was hoping to capture a good shot. Warren decided to do a sketch of him as well. Warren showed him the sketch during a break and Tyson wanted a copy. After we got home, Warren decided to use my photos to make a mixed-media collage/digital painting. That is the first image in this posting. I love it! He did an amazing job. Hope Tyson likes it as well. Here is a link to Warren's blog.


Warren's original sketch.




Here is my action shot photo for class. I was told to be creative with a stop motion photo. This is so much better than a fountain shot!



On the way home we saw 4 hot air balloons and decided to follow them. Here is my favorite one, a few minutes before it landed. What a great day it turned out to be.

vacation

botanical garden


water lily


old market


west african crowned crane

My husband and I had a quick 2 day vacation in Omaha, Nebraska last week. Here are a few photos from our trip. We had a great time at the old market, zoo, and botanical garden. My favorite was the garden. It was an overcast day, so I didn't get too many workable photos. His favorite was the zoo. Two silverback gorillas had a knock-down-drag-out fight in front of us. Here is his blog to get a guys perspective on our trip!

A transformation has happened...

.....I'm addicted to reading! I was a self proclaimed non-reader. Once I graduated from Nursing School, I promised myself that I wouldn't read a book for a year. It was over five years before I finally picked up a book. Since May, I have read 6 books! It is crazy. I'll finish my 7th book tonight. Here is what I am currently reading.



This is my second Nicholas Sparks book. I've already bought another one. I love his writing style and stories. I am able to vacation in North Carolina without leaving my home state of Kansas!

I would love to hear what others are reading. Do you have a list of suggestions? Can't wait to start another adventure!

POE Summer Road Trip Week 2

Plaza Fountain

I found myself on the Photographers of Etsy blog. It is a summer series of road trips. My "Plaza Fountain" photo was featured in their second week. They have a wonderful selection of photos from Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Lousiana.

A morning in the garden and a blog feature!

summer garden

purple coneflower

I've been spending lots of time in local gardens playing with my new Canon. Here are a two of my new favorite photos.

I'm so touched that Karon from Wild Woman Jewelry has featured my shop in her blog. She is a jewelry designer and photographer. Sounds familiar:) She just opened her new shop, The Garden Shed, a few days ago. She is so very creative. Thanks so much Karon!