Boosting the signal

image from etsy

Just passing on the message...

As some of you already know, one of our cousin's sons has been battling a brain stem tumor for nearly 9 months (DIPG--Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma; long term survival rates are dismal). Unfortunately, Mason (age 9) is starting to lose his battle. He very much enjoys geography, so his mom had an idea--to try to get Valentine's from all over the country/world for him.

Because the postmarks are somtimes impossible to read, his mom is asking that if you send one, to please either write the city/state/country it's coming from or to write that information on the inside (maybe 'Happy Valentine's Day from ______, in _City_, _State_').

If you want to help, here's the address:

Mason Kempf
7700 W 96 Ter.
Overland Park, Kansas 66212

If anyone wants to pass along this info to family and friends that might be able to help, I think they would love that. Please be aware, though, that time is of the essence.

Mason already got to have an excellent Christmas... let's make his Valentine's Day even better!

Etsy Tuesday

Lately I've been kind of obsessed with Etsy. I love the idea of buying something that was handmade, that someone put all of their heart and creative talent into, or a really cool vintage item that someone scored after possible hours and days of searching. I like to imagine these enterprising entrepreneurs scouring dusty junk shops, picking through piles of things at a thrift store, scouring estate sales until they find that one amazing item. Or the artisans sitting at their craft tables, folding and sewing, beading and cutting, gluing and soldering and enjoying every minute of it.

And then the items arrive, and I get the excitement of opening a package! Some things are prettily wrapped, like gifts. Sometimes they include bonus items, like a bookmark, a pin or even candy.

Every so often, these wonderful artists and artisans and vintage hounds team up to sell items for a good cause. This time, Etsians are helping clean up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

So here are a few of my favorite items from the "HelpTheGulfCoast" shop.



This beautiful hammered sterling silver cuff, by cgwhitfield.



Adorable earrings made from coffee beans, by baublesbanglesbeans.


This very cute whale clip, by marmaladecreations.


A very dapper heron, by fullfrogmoon.

The proceeds from the sale of each item will go to help the Gulf Coast recovery efforts. How sweet is that?