Fe-Fe's World Of Craft, Creations and Kids.

This blog was started mainly for my crafting, however I also find myself writing about my family life too and in particular about my son Josh. Josh is just Josh to us and we're used to his quirky behaviour. As I don't want to have to mention Josh's autism every time I post about him, I thought I'd mention it here. Hopefully you will bear this in mind as you read and it may give you a little insight into the wonderful world of the autisic child in a very gentle way!

Sunday, 5 October 2008

Penny Black Saturday Challenge

This is my card for this weeks Penny Black Saturday Challenge. Just in case you can't spot the Penny Black Stamp because there's so much going on on it - I've taken a close up photo which I've posted underneath the photo of the card! :-)

The papers are by Dovecraft, the circles and squares were cut with Nestibilites and my Cuttlebug. The little hedgehog is of course Penny Black. The little flowers are Primas with punched snowflakes in the middle. I've added little pink star gems in the middle of each snowflake to add a bit of sparkle.

See he is there! Lol!

16 comments:

Dawn said...: Morning Fe!
Well I love it - it's got a real Xmassy feel to it! and I love the way you've cut out and placed your Hedgie!
Have a nice Sunday!

Hugs
Dawn
x; 5 October 2008 at 09:42
Anonymous said...: great Xmas card, wonderful.; 5 October 2008 at 10:24
tracie said...: fab card Fe, love the xmas papers and embellishments - great work. Thanks for joining us this week at PBSC :)x; 5 October 2008 at 13:47
Unknown said...: A fabulous card - I love what you have done with those papers; 5 October 2008 at 16:03
carolann said...: Wow what a gorgeous card well done hun xxxx; 5 October 2008 at 16:54
ScrapAddict said...: Lovely card!; 5 October 2008 at 16:58
Mrs. Nancy G said...: Lovely details!!! Awesome card!!!

:-); 6 October 2008 at 00:19
ScrapMomOf2 said...: Wow! CUTE! Your detail cutting is fantastic! Excellent job!; 6 October 2008 at 00:38
Anonymous said...: LOVE THE CARDS FE !! YOU ALWAYS DO SUCH NICE WORK :) MISS CHATTIN' WITH YA, WE NEED TO GET ON ANOTHER BOARD TOGETHER, MY FRIEND JUST RELAUNCHED A SCRAPPY CHAT AND INSPIRATION SITE :)

HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT WEEKEND :)
HUGS
JENN; 6 October 2008 at 09:34
jenny said...: Wonderful card, love all the detail and the cute little hedgie!; 6 October 2008 at 11:36
Wendi said...: Gorgeous card and a wonderful blog with even more beautiful cards on it
Wendi x; 7 October 2008 at 08:23
debby4000 said...: Fabulous card, wonderful details.; 8 October 2008 at 11:21
Beth said...: Wow, great use of the sketch! I love all the elements and papers you've used! Thanks for joining in this week! xx; 8 October 2008 at 23:29
Anonymous said...: Fabulous card!!!; 9 October 2008 at 13:09
Deborah said...: You have been a busy elf! Love your Hedgie card! Deb; 10 October 2008 at 06:19
Lyn S said...: Great card....love all your little details!; 10 October 2008 at 22:32

Ode to Special Mums

Ode to Special Moms(by Erma Bombeck)

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures and a couple by habit. This year, nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children. Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen?

Somehow I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger.
"Armstrong, Beth, son, patron saint, Matthew.
Forrest, Marjorie, daughter, patron saint, Cecilia.
"Rudledge, Carrie, twins, patron saint, give her Gerard. He's used to profanity."
Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a handicapped child."

The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."

"Exactly," says God. "Could I give a handicapped child to a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."

"But has she patience?" asks the angel.

"I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it.
"I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has his own world. She has to make it live in her world, and that's not going to be easy."

"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."

God smiles. "No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness."

The angel gasps, "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"

God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a 'spoken word.' She will never consider a 'step' ordinary. When her child says 'Momma' for the first time, she will be present at a miracle and know it! When she describes a tree or a sunset to her child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations."I will permit her to see clearly the things I see...ignorance, cruelty, prejudice...and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life, because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."

"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, pen poised midair.

God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."

"Welcome to Holland"

"Welcome to Holland" By Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away...because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss. But...if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.