Think Pink Crop for a Cure Post-Crop

Hey there Crafty Neighbors!  I think I'm finally recovered from our Think Pink crop this weekend.  We had such a great time and we raised a lot of money to help in the fight against breast cancer.  You can see more pictures from the event on our Facebook page.  Now we're busy getting ready to head down to Houston for the Creating Keepsakes Convention there.  I'm really looking forward to networking with a new bunch of crafters from that area and making some cute projects at the crops.  It's going to be so much fun -- if the hurricane doesn't drown us! Looks like Harvey is set to make landfall in Corpus Christi, but we'll still be getting lots of rain in The Woodlands.  So say a little prayer that we stay high and dry!

One of the reasons we are heading to Houston is to promote our Crafty Neighbor cruises.  Sadly, we've had to cancel the September cruise for lack of interest, but we are still working on our February Brush Strokes in the Bahamas painting cruise (think "paint and wine parties"!) and our May Scrapbooking cruise to Jamaica and Grand Cayman.  Both of these are 7-night cruises and they are going to be so much fun!  We'd love to have you join us!  Just send us an email.

So now that I've gotten all that out of the way, how about some cut projects?  I have two for you today, to make up for my absenteeism of the last few months (did I mention I had a few surgeries?).

This first one is a card we made in our 3rd Wednesday Stamp Club meeting.  Denise is our Stampin' Up! demonstrator and she always has the cutest projects!  This one uses the new In Colors and the Eastern Beauty stamp set.  I just love the Lemon-Lime Twist, and I'm so happy they finally have my favorite color!

This second project is a page I did in my Bible after watching the video from Tracey Pounds of The Little Blue House.  You can watch the video here.  After she made the video, Tracey hosted a napkin swap, and this was one of the napkin I received.  In case you wonder about the verse or the prayer on the left page, my sister has been very ill since late June after she had open-heart surgery to repair her mitral heart valve, which was damaged by Rheumatic Fever when she was a child.  

That's it for today.  I'm working on some fun videos to show you very soon!  Until then, keep crafting!

Think Pink Crop for a Cure!

If you’ve been reading this blog, you probably know that my name is Cindy Murray, and most people know me as the owner and organizer of Crafty Neighbor, a Texas-based scrap and craft events company.  We are best known for our craft cruises, retreats, scrapbook garage sales, and, of course, our annual “Think Pink Crop for the Cure.”  What most people don’t know about me is that I am now a 1-year breast cancer survivor, and I would like to share my story with you.

In 2008, my company hosted our first ever fundraiser crop to help Pam Wilemon, a local scrapbook instructor who had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer.  Pam had lost her job, had no insurance, and had a lot of medical bills to pay.  So we hosted “Pam’s Pals Crop” to help her out.  The response was tremendous, so we did it again in 2009 while she was still undergoing treatment.  Eventually, Pam got better, so we decided to focus our giving to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure in which Pam and several of our Crafty Neighbor instructors and organizers were walking.  We hosted a 3-Day walk team every year, sometimes walking, sometimes volunteering for the 3-Day Crew, but always involved in some way.  We have continued this tradition year after year because we feel the cause is so very important and our message of hope needs to be shared with all women. 

Then, last year, it happened to me – I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

The American Cancer Society estimates that about 1 in every 8 women will develop invasive breast cancer of some type.  About 1 in 35 women will die from it – that's one every 69 seconds. 

Friends and family have commented on how ironic it is that I had breast cancer after I’ve been such a staunch supporter of this cause, but I look at those statistics and I know that it was bound to happen to me or to someone I love.  This disease is pervasive, and it’s not going to go away until we MAKE it go away.  We must fund the research to find better treatment that doesn’t involve disfiguring our bodies, and hopefully some day we will be able to prevent it entirely.  We must continue to encourage women to get annual mammograms, and we must insist that insurance companies pay for screening.

This is where you come in.  I can’t do this alone.

On August 19, 2017, Crafty Neighbor will be hosting our annual Think Pink Crop for the Cure at the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas Council, JoAnn Fogg Service Center, at 6001 Summerside Drive, Dallas, Texas 75252. All proceeds from this event will be donated to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization.

We would love to have you join us!  Registration will remain open through Monday, August 14.  You can sign up online at CraftyNeighbor.com.  The event costs $50, but includes lunch, dinner, and lots of prizes and surprises throughout the day. 

If you’d like more information about the 3-Day or simply want to make a cash donation, please visit our team page at:  http://www.the3day.org/goto/walkerstexasrangers

Everything's Coming Up Aggie!

You may have wondered why I haven’t been posting as much lately.  I blame my son.  He just had to go off to Texas A&M University, an institution that some may claim is a cult.  Well, sure enough, I drank that maroon Kool-aid right off the bat, so I am just as indoctrinated in that culture as he is, and I’ve been volunteering with the Denton County A&M Mothers Club ever since.

The Aggies have a funny saying, “From the outside looking in, you can’t understand it.  From the inside looking out, you can’t explain it.”  Texas A&M and the Aggie Spirit have a way of grabbing you and making you feel like you’re home…like this is the group you should have always belonged to.  You wonder why it took you so long to find it.  And if you’re lucky enough to be born into it, you can’t imagine ever belonging anywhere else.  The Aggie network is a brotherhood and sisterhood of all Aggies.  They recognize each other from across the room and they are drawn to each other to share their love for that little school on the Brazos.  It’s not so little now, boasting some 50,000 students, but it still feels like home.

One really unique feature of Texas A&M is the Aggie Moms clubs.  The first club was started in 1921 when the mother of one of the students decided there was no female influence on the young men attending what was then an all-male, all-military school.  The mom’s club started by bringing some welcome home-cooking to the cadets and staff, and has since evolved into a far-reaching organization that supports the school, provides thousands of dollars in scholarships every year, and so much more.  I’ve met so many wonderful ladies through this organization, many with children who graduated long ago.  That’s why I signed up to help with the Aggie Mom Boutique four years ago, and I’m still at it!

This past weekend was  Texas A&M’s annual Parents’ Weekend, where the school invites the Aggie families to spend a few days on campus touring classrooms, attending banquets and awards ceremonies, and, of course, spending money that helps this fine educational establishment.  One of the things parents spend money on is the Aggie Moms Boutique, a craft show to end all craft shows featuring none other than…you guessed it…everything “Aggie” that you can imagine.  Picture two huge ballrooms full of maroon – it’s hard to imagine!

As the Co-Chairs of this year’s Boutique for Denton County, my partner, Alisa, and I were responsible for filling up 5 tables with assorted products of our choice, which you can see below.  Alisa and I made some of these items, and some were purchased or were donated by other Aggie Moms from Denton county.  In our booth we had etched glassware (a huge hit!), decorated picture frames, some altered windows, hand knitted items, sterling silver charms and other jewelry, Christmas ornaments, and, of course, fliers for our Fundraiser Cruise.

So why did I share all of this with you today?  Well, for inspiration, of course!  Maybe you’ll be inspired to check out Texas A&M University for yourself.  Or maybe you can start one of these unique clubs for your school to raise money for scholarships.  You might even be inspired by some of the crafty things we’ve made – you don’t have to make them maroon!

To get an up-close peek at some of our crafty projects, visit our photo album here.

P.S.  If you or your organization is interested in participating in or organizing a fundraiser cruise, please contact me at Crafty Neighbor Travel!  I would love to help you with a cruise, or you are welcome to join ours!

May Day

Here it is May already, and I just wanted to post a quick update to talk about LOAD 512.  The theme this time around is "Scrapbooking Outside the Box".  I don't know about you, but that makes me think that we are going to be put to the test on a daily basis.  I sure hope I'm up to it!  Today was the first challenge and I really did challenge myself on this one.  Rather than take an easy way out, I tried some new things, and I have to say I'm quite pleased with myself.  The prompt for today was "Self Portrait".  It would have been so easy to just find a photo of myself, slap it onto some paper and call it done, but I really wanted to explore the whole concept of a self-portrait.  In the truest sense, a self-portrait is an artist's interpretation of himself, so I thought about the way that we interpret and present ourselves to the public through social media and the use of avatars and profile pictures.  This lead me to create a digital page, which I seldom do.  I  really do like the results.  I think it totally captures what I was trying to get across.  What do you think?

Our big event this month is the National Scrapbook Day community crop party.  We are really working hard to bring the most awesome event to the Carrollton area.  We would love to have you join us!  You can get more info at CraftyNeighbor.com

And don't forget that we still have space in our awesome scrapbooking cruise to the Western Caribbean!  Prices start at just $455 per person for an inside cabin!  Get more info at CraftyNeighbor.com

Yes, registration is still open!

Just jotting down a quick reminder that registration is still open for our National Scrapbook Day Crop and for the 7-Night Caribbean Cruise in October.  If you are interested in learning more about the cruise or the crop, please visit our website at:

http://www.CraftyNeighbor.com

And now, so that this post isn't entirely advertising and self-promotion, here are some recent cards and some holiday magnets I made, as well as a few paint cans I did for our 3-Day Walk Team fundraising.

A couple of my cans:

These are some magnets I made for a customer for her magnetic calendar.  I thought they turned out pretty cute!  Creating something that conveys a message in such a small space can be a real challenge!

Crop for a Cause

Here is the official flyer for the Richland Rebels community crop.  The deadline has passed, but they assure me they are still taking reservations!

Cropping for a Cause

It's always fun to do something you love and turn it to a good cause.  Just this past weekend, we had an all-day crop to benefit the Susan G. Komen 3-Day and our walk team, Ta-Ta Sisterhood.  Another scrapbooker found my email and sent me this information about another all-day, crop-for-a-cause opportunity:

Crop til you Drop Fundraiser

When:  Saturday, March 26, 2011

            10 AM – 9 PM

Where: North Ridge Middle School (Cafeteria)

          7332 Douglas Lane

          North Richland Hills

Cost: $25.00 per person for ½ day (until 5:00 PM)

          Includes lunch, snacks, drinks

      $30.00 per person for full day

          Includes lunch, dinner, snacks, drinks

Each person will have their own table to use for the day.  We will have Make-and-Takes, raffles, vendor tables, etc.

SPACE IS LIMITED SO RESERVE TODAY!

RSVP and payment made by Sunday, March 20, 2011

Contact:  Amy Ashkinazy 817 846-5922 amy.ashkinazy@aa.com   or

         Angela Maine 817 992-5634 baseballmommy1995@yahoo.com

We will accept cash or credit card.

I don't know anything else about this event, but it sounds like fun!

3rd Annual Pam's Pals Benefit Crop

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Thanks to everyone who has helped make our 2008 and  2009 Pam's Pals Benefit Crops such a SMASHING SUCCESS!  Together, we have raised thousands of dollars to help Pam, and it doesn't stop there! We had such a great time and breast cancer is such an important cause that we've decided to do it again and again and again!

What is Pam's Pals? 

Pam's Pals started as a group of friends getting together to help our good friend and fellow scrapbooker, Pam Wilemon.  Pam was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007.  Shortly after that, a group of her friends got together in Conroe, Texas to raise money to help pay some of her medical bills.  Crafty Neighbor wanted to help, too, so we organized our first ever Pam's Pals Benefit Crop.  The event was a huge success and helped to raise several thousand dollars to help pay Pam's medical bills.  We repeated the event again in 2009. 

We had to skip 2010 because of the timing of our cruise, and Pam is doing much better, but this cause is so important to us that we think it's worth doing every year!  So for 2011, we're hosting the Pam's Pals event in March and we're donating the proceeds to a charity that is very close to Pam's heart -- the Susan G. Komen Foundation. 

So put on your pink and join us for our

3rd Annual Pam's Pals Benefit Crop!
March 12, 2011

10:00 AM - Midnight

Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas
Joann Fogg Service Center
6001 Summerside Drive
Dallas, Texas 75252

Profits to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure

If you would like more information about Pam's Pals or our benefit crop, please send us an email at:

PamsPals@CraftyNeighbor.com

For more information about the Susan G. Komen Foundation, visit:

Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Your registration includes your crop fees, lunch and dinner.
Don't wait!  Space is limited!  Register early to secure your spot!  $ 50.00Click here to Register Now!