CRAFTING WITH COMPASSION + INTRODUCING CELEBRATE YOU

Hi Everyone,

I am so honored to part of this blog hop!

Today, a bunch of us are helping to promote a new stamp set and die set available at Neat & Tangled that was designed for a very special reason.

We are showcasing the new Celebrate You Stamp Set and Celebrate You dies and they are now available for purchase HERE in the Neat & Tangled Shop. All profits from the sale of both products will go towards helping families in need receive financial assistance at The Neurologic Relief Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The donations will be made to The Burning Limb Foundation, who works with The Neurologic Relief Center directly. 

Another way to help is to just make a direct donation HERE. 

My friend Danielle owns Neat & Tangled and here is a little bit about why we are doing this blog hop and fundraiser today. (I made a card featuring these items and you can see it at the bottom of this post.)

Neat and Tangled owner Danielle Walls  father, Dan, became unexpectedly ill after a routine knee surgery.  He had a series of complications following the procedure and then developed and was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) in March of 2017. CRPS is a complex, progressive disease of the nervous system. The pain is characterized as constant and extremely intense. The pain is often accompanied by swelling, skin changes, extreme sensitivity, and in most cases is debilitating. You can read much more about his journey HERE. 

It is difficult to put into words how much of a nightmare CRPS is, so please take a few minutes to watch this short video to get a better understanding of how life altering this disease can be.

  

After several failed attempts to heal through traditional medicine, at the end of their ropes, Danielle and her family discovered Dr. Katinka van der Merwe and The Neurologic Relief Center. Dr. Katinka specializes in revolutionary, non-invasive, non-pharcaeutical therapies to treat patients suffering from CRPS. THIS is a great article written by Dr. Katinka outlining what it is they do. Treatment at this center is costly, as insurance will not cover most of the therapies they provide. It is also 10-12 weeks  of treatment, and requires living in Arkansas near the clinic for the duration of the the treatment. 

Because of the kindness and compassion of friends, family, and the crafting community, enough funds were raised so that Danielle's father was able to receive care at the Center. He arrived in Arkansas in August of 2017, and at the end of October 2017, with Danielle by his side, Dan was able to ring the bell at the completion of his treatment.  You can view the video of his bell ringing ceremony HERE, please keep in mind that when Dan had first arrived in Arkansas he had lost significant weight, was depressed and anxious, was unable to hold conversation and was easily confused, and was almost completely immobile. To see him smiling, standing and speaking just 11 short weeks later is nothing short of a miracle. In December of 2017 he was able to return to work full time, and he is just enjoying life each day now! I  encourage you to take a look at the rest of the The Neurologic Relief Center's Facebook page to see interviews with patients, and question and answer videos from Dr. K and her staff.

Most patients with CRPS have exhausted their funds trying any and all other treatments some causing more harm than good, most have put themselves into great debt seeking healing. Many are just unable to afford the cost of care at The Neurologic Relief Center to begin with.  If it were not for the help of fundraising, Dan would have left the center in extreme debt which is such a burden to overcome. 

It has been on Danielle's heart ever since then to pay it forward to others who are in a similar situation.  The biggest help in Dan's fundraising, was when Simon Says Stamp donated all the sales of Neat and Tangled's 2017 STAMPtember set to Dan's GoFundMe, you can see more about that HERE. So many of you bought that set, and had a hand in Dan's healing whether you knew it or not! Using the same idea, Danielle has started the Crafting With Compassion campaign, and designed the Celebrate You stamp set and Celebrate You dies to help this cause.  All profits from the sales of these sets will go directly towards CRPS patients in financial need at The Neurologic Relief Center, and also those who are still waiting to get to the center due to financial limitations. If you wish, you can also just make a straight donation with no purchase necessary on the Neat and Tangled website. All funds raised will be donated to The Burning Limb Foundation, who in turn will work with Dr. Katinka to distribute the funds. The purpose of Crafting With Compassion is to remind us that not only should we feel empathy for those suffering, but we should also take action and do something about it. 

Please realize the power we have when we all come together. Even if everyone just does a little, it can add up to a lot. Because of the compassion of others, Dan's life was truly changed. Now, let's help change some more! 

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I had a lot of fun using these sets! I mixed them with the Rose Lace Background stamp by Gina K. Designs and did a little emboss resist to add the color. Then, I embossed the smaller greeting and die cut the large Celebrate You to great the focal image of the card.

Thanks for joining in on today's hop! Here is the complete list of bloggers so you can see all of their beautiful projects too!

Jennifer McGuire
Kathy Racoosin
Chari Moss
Jenn Shurkus
Kelly Marie Alvarez
Kristina Werner
Lydia Fiedler

Make it a great day and Happy Stamping!
Hugs,
Gina K.