Blog Giveaway --> February 2010!

OK MY LOVELY READERS!!! The time has come for the second blog giveaway of the year.....wooooohooooooo!!! :D I'm so excited! This time around, I'm giving away prizes for two lucky winners. I gave it a lot of thought and decided, why not I give prizes according to the number of the month of the year. For example, for January (First month) --> 1 winner, for February (Second month) ---> 2 winners, for March (3rd month) ---> 3 winners....and so on and so forth.....how's that???? So as we go along, there will be more winners from each month. Cool huh?! hehehehe! That way....more people will be getting prizes here in months to come. :)

*Click on the photo to get a better view of the prizes! *

I am going to give away to 2 lucky winners ----- > 2 Handmade greeting cards (From my Valentines Day and Chinese New Year card collection) and some embellishments.

Here are the rules of this giveaway:

You can earn 1 or 2 entries by following the simple steps below....

To earn 1 entry:

1. You must "FOLLOW" this blog / "BE A FOLLOWER" and leave a comment on this post. You can comment anything you wish regards to my card blog. Be sure to also write your name and your valid email address at your comment.

To earn 2 entries:

1.You must "FOLLOW" this blog / "BE A FOLLOWER" and leave a comment on this post. You can comment anything you wish regards to my card blog. Be sure to also write your name and your valid email address at your comment. Then you must blog about this giveaway in your own blog and link my blog to yours.

*If you find yourself unable to sign in as a follower due to problems with the internet connection or for whatever reasons.....then no worries, write a comment on this post anyways, and you will be given 1 entry to participate in this blog giveaway. :)

Best of luck to all participants! This giveaway ends on the 9th of February 2010 at 11.59pm. A winner will be chosen by a lucky draw. The name of the winner will be announced on the 10th of February 2010. Thank you!!! :)))))

p.s. I'm hoping I can give more cards this time around.....but only if I can actually make them in time before the giveaway ends on the 9th! LOL! If I can....I'll update about it! ;) Thank you all!

XOXO
Lin

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Ribbon inspired.....

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At last....I get to post these two Chinese New Year cards tonight......I had problems doing so this morning. My PC is acting up again!! Urrrrgggghhh!! I hate it when that happens. But what can I do, I just have to be patient and wait till the time is right for me to get me a new one. In the mean time, I am grateful for this PC, for it has helped me a lot with my small online business :)

Ok, now......lets talk about the CNY cards. :) I made two.....one with stripes and the other without. Somehow I kinda like the one without. Why? Because for me it's already pretty without the stripes. I thought to myself, the cherry blossoms ribbon itself is enough. I bought the ribbon a few weeks ago, just so that I can use it for this occasion. It has cherry blossom flowers on it. Lovely! Quite big too! I bought a few types including a couple for Valentines Day. I hope I can show you the Valentines Day cards soon. If all is good with this PC, hopefully I can do that. LOL!

I have not decided on the pop up yet for these cards. I have no idea what to do. Perhaps a seven pop up flower would be suitable too. Like the one I did last year. It does match with the designs of these cards. Well.....what do you guys think? :)

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They Are Alive & Well.

I have gotten word from 2 generous souls who have been serving Petit Goave, Haiti --- that Isaac's biological family is alive and well. I received this news earlier in the week, but could not bring myself to fully believe it until Thursday eve --- when Dr. Steve Edmondson sent me photographs he had taken of our family (post earthquake). These pictures had me overjoyed, as our loved ones look so very healthy ... and actually managed some smiles. It was absolutely wonderful to see ... BUT it is also very bittersweet. As Dr. Steve wrote in his e-mail, "Your family is very fortunate, Jodi. Petit Goave was pretty messed up by the earthquake. Many people died there." I am incredibly thankful that our family is well, but also incredibly sad for Haiti and for the millions of lives that have been upended by this disaster.

Another amazing man, and his lovely wife, helped us to locate our Haitian family as well. They live right here in Winterport, Maine. This man, Sheldon, spoke to Isaac's biofamily, and told us that their home is in ruins. He came home from Haiti yesterday and wishes to speak to us after he settles in. I am very much looking forward to what he has to say. We are hoping to learn of their needs, and any other needs we can help to meet in their village ... as Halis is still planning his trip there for February.

Now that we have 100% confirmation that the Metellus family is alive and well, we have removed their information and pictures from this site in an effort to try to keep Isaac's adoption story as private as possible. Thank goodness we took a chance and put their info out into the world as that is how we were able to locate them.

Thank you all ... for your love, prayers, thoughts ... and for your continued support of Haiti.

xoxo
Jodi

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Cherry blossoms...

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Thought of something really really simple for this year's Chinese New Year card last night. But I also thought of something complicated heheheh. The complicated ones I will post later on. For now, lets talk about this easy one. :) This easy one was made using a small note size card. About 10.4cm x 14.7cm in size. I used to love making cards using cards this size but nowadays when I look at it I realize how small the card is hehehe! Maybe because I've been so used to designing cards that are bigger in size lately.

I bought this new flower craft punch last year. I think it's a Unicorn brand craft punch. Anyways, it's super fun to use as it's really sharp. I love the cherry blossom pattern a lot. It's really pretty. All I did was just scatter the flowers on the cards, nothing challenging about it at all. Added some leaves next to the flowers and walla!! It's done! hehehe! I only added some glitter glue to add that special touch to it. I also made a simple pop up inside the card. It's a simple pop up that I cut so that I could weave the stalks of cherry blossoms in between it. :)

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Fundraiser for Haiti : The Press Release : Feel Free to Share

January 27, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Studio 36
128 Hammond Street
Bangor, Maine 04401
Contact: Jodi Renshaw (207)385-3940
jrenshaw@hotmail.com

Silent Auction Fundraiser has Local Ties to Haitian Victims

Saturday, February 6th, 2010, Bangor, Maine – Studio 36 announces a Silent Auction Fundraiser to help support the victims of the devastating Haitian earthquake. The public is invited to gather at 128 Hammond Street in downtown Bangor to view a wide array of interesting and artistic items donated by local artisans and businesses. The Silent Auction includes photography, paintings, hand sewn items and handcrafted Native American jewelry, sculpture and basketry. You will also have a chance to bid on a digital camera donated by Bangor Photo, gift certificates from local businesses, and a variety of celebrity signed items highlighted by a signed copy of a Stephen King novel. Bidding will start at 4:00 and close at 8:00pm and 100 percent of the proceeds will go to Haitian Roots, Hearts with Haiti and Yele, which are all Haitian run organizations.

For event coordinator Jodi Renshaw, the events in Haiti have hit very close to home. Her son Issac was born in Haiti. Jodi and her Husband Halis adopted Issac in 2006 at which time they made a vow to help support Issac’s birth family and to maintain a relationship with them in every way they could. Jodi owns and operates Studio 36 and recognized the opportunity to leverage her business and connections to the local art community to help raise much needed relief funds for the Haitian victims. Bring your loose change to the auction as Issac, who is four years old, has started his own fundraising effort by collection coins. So far he has raise about $200 and has a goal to reach $1,000.

During the Silent Auction Fundraiser the Ipanema Bar & Grill on 10 Broad Street in Downtown Bangor will host an authentic Haitian Dinner. Proceeds from the dinner will be added to the funds raised by the Silent Auction. Diners are encouraged to take their evening meal at Ipanema Bar & Grill which is within walking distance of Studio 36 and the Silent Auction.

For more information on this event please contact Jodi Renshaw at 207-385-3940 or jrenshaw@hotmail.com.

###
Attached Photos:


Leaky Faucet: An example of some of the artwork that has been submitted to the silent auction. Photograph by JLR Photography.


Isaac: Isaac Renshaw-Sirimoglu of Bangor, was born in Haiti and is holding a coin drive to support Haitian relief efforts.


Isaac and Daddy: Isaac Renshaw-Sirimoglu and his Dad, Halis Sirimoglu of Bangor. Isaac was born in Haiti and is holding a coin drive to support Haitian earthquake relief efforts. Halis will be flying to Haiti in February in order to assist loved ones in the rebuilding of their homes.

--------------------------------------------

This press release was written and donated by Jason Brown ... a friend to us and to the people of Haiti. Thank you Jason. xo

Love,

Jodi

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Something old + something new....

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OK!!! This design is not new....it's the same old design like HB014. But the difference is that it's bigger in size. This one is half the size of an A4 paper and the old one is 13cm x 18cm. HB014 has a different pop up inside it....it's a pop up lip and this one is a pop up cake. This is a request from my customer. She wanted me to combine both designs in one card. :)

The old design was made using a different type of paper and the color was slightly different too, it was cream in color. But since that paper is now out of stock, I replaced it with this beige color paper. I think the beige color suits the design too don't you think?? :)

As for the pop up cake.....it's the same design as the pop up cake in HB048 except that she requested that I change the color of the cake to match the design of the card. :)

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The Invitation.

These are the invitations we are passing out in the Bangor area for our benefit auction at Studio 36. Please join us!

Love,

Jodi

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Arsenal Fan!!

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Just finished designing and making this card today! Yay! I did it finally! Phew! I was really worried with this one because this design is actually a combination of so many different design I made in the past all mixed into one. My customer was interested in so many of my card designs and she couldn't really fix which one she loves best hehehe. This card is for her hubby and her hubby is a big Arsenal fan! So I had to figure out how to do a combination of heart shapes, football, pop up cake, big red lips, just to name a few of the subjects she wanted in the card...hehehe...

I love this new black paper I am using for this design. It's metallic black....looks shiny when it hits the light...love it! So it doesn't really look pitch black....because it has some silver touch to it. :) I always have problems deciding what color I should use....but since my customer wanted the card to be black, that's when I knew what color to combine with black. As usual black always looks good with white, red, silver and gold.....and it seems to mix well for this design. I had to add a little blue here and there because of the Arsenal logo. :)

I made a really really big pop up cake this time......it's so big that it almost fills up the top of the card. It's really tall right??? A bit too tall I suppose. Should have made it a little shorter but I wanted it to have a big impact in the card! hehehe! I love the small football prints I did too....it's SO CUTE! Never printed it as small as that before. It would be difficult to draw it from scratch so I thought why not just print it! Easier that way....and then cut and paste them on the card, and arrange them as part of the design. The most crucial part to do in this design, for me would be the part where I had to write the wordings on the front of the card. The wordings "Happy Birthday Abang Sayang"....that was so nerve wrecking because, if I suddenly start shaking, my hands, it would spoil everything!!! Yikes! So I had to make sure I had a steady hand before writing it down! hahaha! Thank God it went well and it looked good! Phew!!! :)

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Pop up hubby and wife.... ;)

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Gosh! I'm not sure how many times I shot photos of this card design. Perhaps more than 50 times just to get the right color of the card. Phew! Luckily nowadays we have digital camera....so grateful for the invention of that! hahaha!

OK! Now back to the design....my customer was interested in the V011 design but wanted a different pop up for the card. She wanted a pop up couple (of her and her hubby). I've never done a pop up couple before. Pretty challenging I'm telling ya!! Yup! I'm OK when it comes to drawing figures of ladies but when it comes to men, I'm just not that good at it. It always looks weird hahaha. I asked her to send me a copy of their photo together so that I have an idea of how she and her hubby really looks like in real life. I wouldn't want to make them look like someone else hehehe. So I tried my best to draw the couple and make it look as similar to them as possible. Inspired by the V011 card, I made the front design for this birthday card to have some similarities to the V011 but looks more organized rather than having the heart shapes scattered all over the card without any borders. :)

Her hubby loves photography very much.....so she requested that I put a photo of a DSLR anywhere inside the card or outside it. So I thought why not have him hold the DSLR himself....that would be cool I thought to myself. So, I printed the photo of the DSLR as small as I could and made a strap for it too. So it looks like it's dangling from his neck and he's ready to take photos! hehehe! I love that part! :))))

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Bridal theme....

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I received an order to design 5 congratulations cards from a fellow blogger who had recently done a blog award at her wedding theme blog. It's a very interesting blog that is dedicated to future brides. They provide all the information a bride would need to know and prepare them with all the great tips too on how to plan for that perfect wedding. All the information that a bride could ever need at just a click away :). Cool huh?? :) You can view it HERE.

She requested the cards to have a simple design with a bridal theme since the blog awards are for wedding theme bloggers. As I have designed cards for her before and I know that she loves pastel colors, so that's why I designed all the cards using soft pastel colors. Soft and sweet! :) The wedding dress, I designed using a combination of doily paper and soft pastel colored paper which I then decorated with sequin and ribbon as the belt. Then I added the silver dots to make it look like it has bling bling on it ehehehe.....

I used a lot of silver ribbons on the designs because that silver ribbons never fail to make it look fancy :). It just adds that special touch to it without having to do much decoration to the card. As you can see, it's a very simple design. Clean and simple and sweet. :)

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Ashly Dort.

Back in August, we held a fundraiser on this blog to help send as many Haitian children to school as possible. See here for details. Together, we (blog readers & Facebook friends) raised enough funds for one child to attend school - little Miss Ashly Dort. Isn't she absolutely adorable!?

Thank you to all who helped this little girl to attend school ... and to ease some of her Mama's burden.

Here is the info we received once this blog (the collective of all who helped) signed on to sponsor her:

"Ashly is 7 years old. Her DOB is 2 April 2002. She is one of five children. Her mother, Aude, is unmarried and works selling goods on the roadside. She earns between $500-$600/year. Ode struggles every day to keep her family fed, clothed, and sheltered. Some days she loses the battle. For her, providing an education for Ashly was just not a possibility—that is until you stepped in and decided to sponsor her through Haitian Roots. Aude is now full of hope and Ashly is extremely happy to be attending school. Thank you!!! "

However, though I am hopeful that Ashly is alive and well after Haiti's recent earthquakes ... I honestly do not know her fate. Nor does Haitian Roots at this point --- though I absolutely know that they are working feverishly to find all the children that are sponsored by their organization.

Here is yet another way in which the tragedy in Haiti hits home. So many of you helped to sponsor this sweet little girl ... now I also ask you to pray for her and her family ... along with prayers for all the children of Haiti.

And please - help us to help Haitian Roots to continue their amazing work in Haiti. Please consider contributing an item to our upcoming silent auction ... to be held from 4pm - 8pm on Sat, February 6th at Studio 36 in downtown Bangor. We have collected some amazing artwork, local gift certificates, fun items, etc. for the event. And the The Ipanema Bar & Grill will be serving a Haitian dinner at the same time as our event ... with all proceeds from both events to benefit various Haitian relief organizations (Haitian Roots, Hearts with Haiti & Yele).

And perhaps more importantly - please attend! And tell all your friends to attend! Not only will you be able to bid on some gorgeous artwork and handiwork from various local artists (as well as signed books, cameras, services, etc) ... but you can also enjoy a wonderful Haitian meal ... and support fundraising that will go straight to Haiti (100%). That will be a Saturday well spent!

We hope to see you there. This - as I have stated before - is personal. We are ONE. Just look at little Miss Ashly. She went to school because of some of YOU. Now please help her people to rebuild those schools, among so many other things that need to be done.

Love,

Jodi

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An Apology.

Hindsight and good friends can be amazing teachers.

I need to make an apology here, and hope that I do it justice. I received an e-mail from a woman the other day that struck a very tender nerve in me. She was questioning my adoption story ... and to my mind was seriously overstepping her bounds. Her questioning suggested that Halis and I are not Isaac's "real" family ... among other things. When I "googled" her name, I found that she writes some very anti-adoption blog posts and poetry. So, I lashed out at her - in what I thought was a well-reasoned and fairly respectful response. However, good friends ... and my own aversion to conflict ... has me rethinking the delivery of my response.

I posted my response, and her name, on this blog. Not for long ... as I thought better of it very quickly ... but for long enough. It was a classless move that stemmed from a "Mother-Bear" reaction. I will not make excuses for it, but I will share what was my intent.

As many blog readers know, I have recently put some very sensitive information regarding our son's adoption out into the Universe in the hopes of finding his Haitian biofamily in the aftermath of their terrible earthquake. It was a gut-wrenching decision for me, because I believe that adoption stories should only be shared by the children involved - at their own will & in their own time. I made the decision to share some of his story - here on this blog & by speaking to a Bangor Daily News reporter in hopes that it would help us to find his biofamily. And it all did bear fruit ... as through sharing our story, we have found two leads in Petit-Goave who believe they know our family and believe them to be alright. (This is VERY exciting news to be sure and would not have happened were it not for this blog & for the newspaper article). So, I do not regret my decision to do so. But I honestly did not expect the backlash of negative and ignorant comments and questions I would receive by making our story public (however, please note that the positive help and comments have far outweighed the negative). Most people completely understood the sensitivity of our story ... but some seemingly did not. My response to the aforementioned woman was a gut reaction to protecting our family from further questioning ... that is why I made it public.

I apologize for posting my response here. I apologize for sharing her name. And I apologize for turning anyone off with my anger. To know me is to know that I am not at all quick to anger. But in this incredibly sensitive time for our family, I spoke out in anger before I thought deeply on how to respond to the questioner. When I first clicked the "Publish Post" button, I truly thought I was acting reasonably. I now know I was acting in anger & fear. And anything done in fear and anger is not good. Period.

It appears that several people do have some questions about our story now that it has been made public ... as there are many parts of it that they don't understand ... yet would like to. So, in a future post, I will take the time to address those questions that are respectful and within the boundaries that I have set for our family.

Many of you sent me e-mails in encouragement of my response to that woman. And I don't negate your feelings on the subject at all. The content and intention of the e-mail is not what I am apologizing for. I think it is very important to protect adoption, share info on it, and enlighten some folks regarding their false ideas of adoption, etc. But I could have done it better. And I cetainly should not have called her out publicly. I would be mortified if the roles were reversed.

I ask anyone who read that post to please forgive me for it. I also seek forgiveness from the woman involved. Perhaps a better dialogue on the subject would help her to understand the beauty of adoption. I would be open for such a dialogue.

Also - once our Haitian family is found, I will be deleting all of Isaac's adoption info from this blog - as was always my intention.

NOW - Let us ALL PLEASE move on to doing EVERYTHING we can to HELP THE HAITIAN PEOPLE IN THEIR GREATEST TIME OF NEED.

So much GOOD is happening ... and I would like to focus on that from here on ...

We have some new & exciting contributions to our charity fundraiser for our favorite Haitian charities. I look forward to posting about them asap. Meanwhile, thank you for all your support, love and understanding.

In Peace,
Jodi

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Thank You For Your Interest!

Hello to all who are stopping by this blog because they read about our family's story in the Bangor Daily News.

If you are interested in learning more about the family that we are searching for in Haiti, please click here. If you can help us locate them or have any information at all regarding Petit Goave, please e-mail me at jrenshaw@hotmail.com.

If you are interested in learning more about our upcoming fundraisers for Haitian relief, please click here.

Thank you so very much to all of you who are doing what you can for Haiti at this time. This earthquake ... and all the subsequent aftershocks are causing unimaginable suffering in the lives of people who already were struggling to survive.

If you are looking for reputable places to donate to, please consider the following:

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.com/

http://www.haitianroots.com/

http://www.yele.org/

http://www.heartswithhaiti.org/

http://www.lambifund.org/

Thank you so very much. May your thoughts and prayers include the people of Haiti.

Love,

Jodi

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Heartfelt Thanks!

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:)))) I am currently in love with this card! hehehehe! Why? It's the colors.....it's just because of the colors, mainly.....and maybe because of the laces and bows of ribbons idea. I made this card for my Mom's friend. She wanted a thank you card.

She didn't request for a pop up but my Mom wanted me to make one anyways because she loves pop ups hehehe......at first I couldn't decide on what kind of pop up to make....then after some serious thought, I came up with this one. It's something I've never done before....and have never seen anyone doing so. What I did was, I weaved the stems of the flowers to the pop up. It's so much fun doing this way rather than gluing them the usual way behind the pop up vase of basket. This way, I get to arrange the flowers easily and it sort of forms a basket like pattern on the pop up. Then I colored it a bit on the edges with colored pencil. Loving this technique and hopefully can use it for other pop ups in future. :)

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The Fundraiser is on a Roll!

(Children in the Haitian Roots program)

I am so very happy and humbled by the outpouring of support for our upcoming charity auction to benefit various Haitian relief organizations. Here are a list of contributions made thus far (in no particular order):

* Signed copy of Small Worlds: Adopted Sons, Pet Piranhas, And Other Mortal Concerns donated by the author.

* $25 Gift Certificate to Pro Libris Bookstore donated by Eric Furry.

* Handmade Waldorf doll featured in Meg McElwee's upcoming book created and donated by Meg McElwee of Sew Liberated.

* Signed photographs of "Crazy James" and other Big Brother 10 stars donated by James Zinkand.

* An Elephant Sanctuary t-shirt donated by The Elephant Sanctuary.

* A handmade necklace by nationally renowned native artist Jason Brown donated by Jason himself.

* A handmade sweet grass sewing basket created by Donna Brown (an amazing native artist in her own right / also the wife of Jason Brown) donated by Donna herself.

* A photographic art piece by Liz Grandmaison donated by Liz herself.

* A photographic art piece by Jessie Fields donated by Jessie herself.

* A portrait session for one by JLR Photography of Studio 36 donated by me.

* 2 full Preschool curriculum guides on CD-Rom by Itty Bitty Bookworms donated by Tara Rison.

* A gift certificate to Eat More Kale.com donated by Bo - the Eat More Kale guy.

* A handmade "Party in a Bag" created and donated by Kelly of Wood Sprite Hollow.

* The Ipanema Bar & Grill is going to be hosting an event for our fundrasier on Feb 7th. Details to follow.

And oh so much more is in the works. Our friends at Bangor Photo are going to help ... as well as some amazing local artists who are making pieces specifically for this effort. I have also put in word with some Maine "celebs" and am awaiting confirmation of some interesting goodies to add to our auction. In the words of Liz Grandmaison, "Let's Rock This Thing!".

I have yet to go knocking on the doors of area businesses --- but that will happen asap. If you have offered an item/service and do not see it on this list, please let me know. AND/OR if you know of anyone who may be interested in donating an item, please let me know asap.

All items can be sent to:

Jodi Renshaw / 1746 Stillwater Ave / Bangor ME 04401

Questions?

jrenshaw@hotmail.com

Details?

Auction will be held at Studio 36, 128 Hammond Street, Bangor on Feb 6th. Time as yet to be decided. Absentee bids will be accepted via this blog (details to follow).

Thank you all so very much for your support of this country that is in such dire need.

In Love & Peace,
Jodi

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Bill Nathan.

Here stands an amazing man, Bill Nathan, --- holding my son Isaac --- nearly 4 years ago --- while he was visiting Massachusetts. We love this man. Who doesn't? I'll tell you who doesn't --- those who haven't met him yet. Believe me, the world is a better place because this man is in it. And Haiti has more hope with this man as one of its own.

There is so much to say about this man, but I feel at a loss for words. I ask you to please watch this short video to get an idea of who he is --- and to see the amazing rescue he received by one of his friends --- as Bill was severely hurt in the recent earthquake in Haiti.

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=9589175

Friends tell me that he is doing very well now in the U.S. We are so very thankful. Our upcoming fundraising event will benefit Bill's organization as well as Haitian Roots. If you would like to make a donation straight to Bill's orphanage, please go to www.heartswithhaiti.org.

We are still hoping and praying to find our loved ones in Haiti. Every day without word is more and more heart breaking. Please say a prayer (again). Thank you all.

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Yellow card with orange laces...

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I rarely make cards using yellow paper. I have done some before but I rarely use them in my designs......perhaps because it's not the kind of color that most customers would like to request for their custom made cards. But since I have lots of the paper available, I started playing with that particular idea I had with the previous birthday card I made. Yup, the one where I combined the laces and bows of ribbons.

I have not even made the envelope yet.....nor have I decorated anything inside it......no pop ups or anything.......I'm still searching for ideas for this one. Just wanted to share with everyone what I made. I'll be updating this card again once I've completed the design. :))))

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Photo of St. Joseph's Home for Boys: Post Earthquake 2009.

I wrote you all yesterday --- telling you of our latest fundraising effort for Haiti. I included a picture in that post of our friends who survived the earthquake. Well, after seeing the picture of what happened to their 7 story building ... I have no idea how they survived ...

... but I am SO very thankful they did.

If you would like to help them rebuild and/or learn of the wonderful things that have happened within those walls, please visit http://www.heartswithhaiti.org/.

To all the St Joseph's family ... we love you so very much. And we are so very thankful that you are alive and well. Help is on the way.

xoxo,

Jodi

UPDATE: Sadly, I just learned that an American guest who was staying at the St Josephs Home for Boys (pictured above) was killed during the quake. I am very sorry to report this and will update as I can.

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Let's Make an Impact!

Our friends at St. Joseph's Home for Boys

Petionville, Haiti, 2006

Building destroyed in earthquake 2009

In light of the tragic earthquake in Haiti ... and of our personal connection to that country ... Studio 36 will be hosting a fundraising event to raise money to aid in the search, rescue and recovery efforts of Haitian Roots, Hearts With Haiti, and Yele. We hope this fundraising event will break records for the Bangor area ... not because we mean to be competitive ... but because we want to make a massive impact on the devastation in Haiti ... and we KNOW Bangor can do it!

More details will follow. For now, we are asking anyone and everyone to consider donating an item of significant value to the cause. Artists, businesses, photographers, people with treasures in their attics, and maybe a bestselling author or two (hmmm... perhaps our own Stephen King?) ... all are invited to contribute to the effort in any way possible.

We are hoping to host the event on Saturday, February 6, 2009 (tentative date), so please keep that in mind if you are wanting to contribute and/or attend.

I (JLR Photography) will be contributing some fine art photography prints. I have also received word that one of my favorite local photographers, Liz Grandmaison, will be contributing some of her prints as well (gorgeous to be sure!). Another friend, Rebekkah Martin, will be contributing some handmade goods. And Samuel Kuykudall will contribute a piece of artwork he is making specifically for this event. Oh .... and so much more is already in the works! Whether you are contributing or not, you will want to attend this event!

I will keep you posted on all efforts for this event here on this blog and on Facebook. Please contact me with any suggestions, ideas, offerings, etc. at jrenshaw@hotmail.com.

All donation items can be mailed to:

Jodi Renshaw, 1746 Stillwater Ave, Bangor, ME 04401 USA

Let's Make a REALLY BIG Impact on the lives of our Caribbean neighbors. Let's make it personal --- because it truly is.

Thank you!

~ Jodi

UPDATE: If you have rec'd a link to this post - in request of your help with this project - please note that all monies are going directly to HeartsWithHaiti (see here), Yele Haiti, and Haitian Roots. These are all organizations that my husband and I have personal connection to as well as direct contact with.

Also - all contributors will receive publicity for their contributions via local media. I KNOW this is not why you are assisting, but please accept is as our way of saying THANKS. When sending us a package, please include any promotional materials you wish for us to display.

Thanks again!

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Lady in pant suit ;)

HB050

Lady in blue pant suit :) How I wish I have a figure like that hahahaha...... LOL! :D. I kinda like that pant suit a lot, but wonder where I would wear it to if I had one. Being at home most of the time and not having to go to functions that actually would give me the chance to wear something like that. Oh well! ;) Well, I made the dress from scratch....piece by piece, starting with the jacket, then the pants and lastly the hijab/skarf that looks like "tudung ekin" ehehehe!

I like to experiment when it comes to making cards.....and most of the time I try to make them look different from the ones I've done before. Sometimes I only do minor changes like the one I did with this pop up. Only minor changes like only putting the candles at the top of the cake instead of putting them on all the layers like I did before, just to see how it would look like. I think perhaps I should have done it on all the layers but, I just simply wanted to see how it turned out. I did patterns on the cake with pen and also silver glitter glue. That was different...never done that before.

Another thing that I like is the ribbon and laces that I combined at the front of the card. The black lace is actually a small type of lace which I glued on the card side by side each other only to be separated by a really small silver ribbon in between them. Then I made 3 bows using a dark blue ribbon that has silver linings on the edges. I like this idea......would probably do more like this in future. :)

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