Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Hearts, and Hope for Amanda

I love hearts!  I love making hearts! Even my Craftster username is Leslieshappyheart!

Last month I showed you the hearts I made for a personal swap on Craftster (Box of Hearts), and I am currently in the Jar of Hearts swap.  I sent out my hearts on Friday, and they are all going to be delivered today, so I don't think I will spoil any surprizes by posting pictures here!  They will all show up in the gallery this week, so you, my readers, will get this sneak preview!

The pink-and-white heart on the upper right was made from a piece of an old cut-up quilt that my friend Susan gave me.  The red button-y heart on the bottom right is my favorite!

I have 5 official partners, and one unofficial (she only asked for one partner, but then wished for more, so I am doing a personal swap with her).  Each partner gets 5 hearts.

Some of the hearts are the same, and some are unique to the recipient.  This partner requested some black hearts, and I love how they came out!

One of the heart swappers, Amanda, is also in the Journal Cover Swap  that I organized; that's how I came to find out that her husband has just been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.  Amanda commented on one of the hearts in the gallery:  "I like the hope one because that word has recent significance for me..."

I've talked with her a bit about the diagnosis through private message on Craftster, because I know exactly what she's going through--two years ago, my husband was also diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.  The treatment was long and difficult, and it was a very bad time in the life of our family, but he is now healthy again!  Thank God!

 So, my crafty readers, I have an idea:  I want to send Amanda a package of hearts for her jar of hearts. Would you be able to help me?  My thought is that everyone who wants to contribute would make one or two hearts, out of anything you want (fabric, felt, clay, paper, yarn, wood...whatever), and incorporate the word "hope" on one (or both) of them.  You could write it, stamp it, attach it as a label, embroider it...I know you will think of a way to do it.

Then send the hearts to me, and I will package them and send them to Amanda. Before I send them, I will take pictures and post them here.  Here's a summary:

1.  Make one or two hearts, one or both of which have the word "hope" on it. (I don't know her religious beliefs, so let's avoid any mention of anything religious).  The heart can be any size, up to 4" in diameter.
2.  E-mail me (click my name at the right, you will see the link to my email on the next page) to tell me you have hearts for Amanda, and I will e-mail you my mailing address.  You can do that before you make the hearts if you wish.
3.  Please send your hearts no later than November 15th.  That's two weeks from today.  If you would like to add a little note for Amanda, please do.  I will package the hearts so the maker will be identified by your first name and state (or country), and/or Craftster username.
4.  If some hearts are slow to arrive, I will send a second package to Amanda, so don't worry if you live in Outer Mongolia!  Cancer treatment takes quite a while, so she will be needing regular reminders that people are supporting her.
5.  I plan to send the first package right after Thanksgiving, so check back here for an update!  And thank you in advance for your help.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what you create!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

oh how cutie!!!love your hearts!

Lauren said...

Leslie that is a wonderful idea :) I would love to make some hearts for Amanda, and just this moment I received a WONDERFUL envelope stuffed with red fabric scraps from you :D Thank you so much for your generosity, I adore ALL the fabrics and I think this is the perfect project to get started on them with.
xoxo

Unknown said...

this is a nice nice thing--I am looking forward to making hopeful hearts for her and sending them through you, Leslie. It's a God thing that she and you have crossed paths like this.