Meet My Cousin, Kerry

My cousin Kerry was born with Cystic Fibrosis. Cystic Fibrosis is a disease that many people have heard of, but few could probably define. I know I couldn't before starting this post. CF is a common disease, which affects the whole body, and causes progressive disabilities, and often, early death.

Kerry is 33, she has a husband, a 13 year old son, and a 4 year old son. Kerry spent the past 3 years on a waiting list for a double lung transplant. She has spent the past 4 months living in the hospital, as she was too sick to be able to live outside of it.

She spent just 4 days alive after her doctors found she was no longer strong enough to handle the transplant. On Saturday, Kerry died after a long, brave, scary, and painful battle with her disease.

Kerry's wishes before she died, were that more people would register with Gift of Life to become organ donors when they pass on.

Some facts about organ donation:

•  1 person can save up to 8 lives if they are able to donate all of their donatable organs.
• 1 person can enhance the lives of up to 75 others with tissue donation.
• Checking the box on your license will not make you a certified organ donor- unless papers are filed with Gift of Life, or LifeGift, or another donor program, the end decision is left to your surviving family.
• Some organ donations can be done while you are alive, such as kidneys, pancreas, and the liver.
• As of 8/25/10, there are over 100,000 people waiting for an organ donation in the United States.
• As of May, 2010, there were under 6,000 organ donors in 2010.
• As of May, 2010, there were over 11,000 organ donations from under 6,000 donors.
• Organ donation will not mutilate the body before burial. 
• Because of Kerry's decision, several people received new organs this week after her passing.

Kerry's one wish was for more people to sign up for organ donation, and for more people to consent to the organ donation of their loved ones when they pass.

If you have never  considered organ donation before, consider it now. Discuss your choice with your family. Make sure others are aware of what your wishes are. Find your state's donor registration website, and fill out the paperwork needed to make it official.

You'll be saving lives, like Kerry.

Waiting To Exhale

Talented Tuesday- Yes, Really!

All right, with summer winding down, and school starting up, I thought maybe it was time to get back to Talented Tuesday. I figure the first few weeks will be slow- many of you have long since given up on me, but I do still see a slight surge in views on Tuesday, so I figured I should try it out, right?

For today, I have no new crafts ready. But how about a FREEBIE instead? Or, rather, a WIN instead?

First though, post the code below to your page, should you be linking up today. That way, others will know I'm BACK!

<a href="http://theherberfamily.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="200" src="http://i695.photobucket.com/albums/vv318/princessspanky/tt1.png" width="195" /></a>

Next, the give away details.


It's simple, really. Go to Novica's Jewelry section. Pick your favorite piece, come back, and post a direct link to it, with the name of the item.

**IMPORTANT** Leave an email address in your post. If I can not email you, I can't give you the gift code!!!

1 lucky winner will be drawn during next Tuesday's Talented Tuesday to win a $50 gift certificate to Novica, to use as you see fit. The certificate expires November 30, 2010, so it needs to be used up soon. Treat yourself, or use it for some Christmas shopping, but enjoy it- my gift to you!

You can read all about my site & product review here! I got a gorgeous necklace, and love it!

Also- I am looking for Guest Blogger Tutorials!! If you would be interested in posting a tutorial to my page, email me: herberkids3(at)yahoo(dot)com! Don't leave a message, that'll be cluttered already!

Novica Jewelry Review

About two weeks ago, I was contacted by a representative for Novica, a website associated with National Geographic. The site sells items hand made by artisans around the world. Jewelry is just one of the many items they sell, along with home decor, apparel, and paintings.

I was asked to give a review on Jewelry, and given a gift certificate to place an order with. I love jewelry, but I'm a pretty casual person. I don't wear any rings aside from my engagement ring (we never found a wrap or wedding ring that fit against it, so while I have been married for over 12 years now, I only wear my engagement band), and my ears have never coped with earrings. That leaves me with bracelets and necklaces- and I love necklaces!

In talking with Caitlin, I had my gift code in hand not even an hour after she first contacted me to do the review- I would consider that great customer service, given that it was later in the evening. Several places would have waited until the next business day to complete the request, but Caitlin was friendly, and quick in her replies.

The biggest problem I experienced with the site wasn't even what most would consider a problem- trying to find exactly what I wanted. I'm a frugal girl, so when I look at buying new things, I look at several things.

• Cost
• Quality
• How often I'll use the item
• Reviews

 So the issues I had were more along the lines of narrowing down my choices, and deciding just how much I should spend. My gift certificate was good for $50.00, and I wanted to stay under that as much as possible before shipping costs.

I skipped bracelets all together- I wear them, just not often. I wear necklaces far more often, and love them. When you go to the necklace area, I was impressed with just how far they break the list down. You have the main headings of:

• Pendant
• Choker
• Y Necklace
  Beaded
• Floral
• Modern & Abstract
• Strand
• Animal Themed
• Heart Shaped
• Pearl Strands

Additionally, each of the first four are sorted further down by the style of the band, and the stones on them, such as Garnte, Peridot, Citrine, Onyx, and even Glass.

I started my search under Strand, and while I found many necklaces I loved, 1 stood out to me- Party Balloons, by Anusara.

Party Balloons is a mulit-strand, bright colored necklace using both stones and small beads. The lines intertwine with one another, and it has an adjustable chain on the end for lengthening or shortening the necklace.

I opted to purchase this necklace, which was $47.95. There were two options for shipping, one taking 2-14 days, and the other taking anywhere from 2-3 weeks. Many of the items on the site are made by world wide artisans, and mine specifically was made in Thailand. I was not sure if the necklace would be shipping from Thailand or from somewhere more local, so I opted to pay a bit extra and go with the 2-14 day shipping.

The shipping charges were reasonable, too. I paid $5.95 to have it come faster. I don't recall the price for the longer shipping service, but it was less than $5.95. Both were reasonable, and they allowed the left over gift certificate to cover part of the shipping costs.

I purchased my necklace on Wed, August 18th. Confirmation of the order arrived that evening, and on Friday, august 20th, I got notification that my item was shipped already.

I was pleasantly surprised- my necklace arrived on Tuesday, August 24th- not even a full week after placing the order.

My necklace was brought to my door via UPS, and I did have to sign for delivery- insuring that the item made it into my hands.

My necklace arrived with it's own jewelry box- a small square box with fiber paper covering it, and a leaf pressed into the center. It's a lovely little keepsake box. Inside the box was a natural colored pillow with the necklace wound carefully around it to hold it into place.

Also inside the box was a slip of card stock talking about the box, which is made of natural sea paaper and a handmade mulberry bark paper, which is made in a renewable way in Thailand. Also included was a small booklet that talked about both the necklace, and the artist who created it.

The necklace itself is just as lovely as depicted in the photos online. The lines used on the necklace are finely woven gossamer.

The necklace isn't too formal looking, and could be worn with a nice dress out, or with a more casual work outfit. It's definitely my style, and a total keeper.

Overall, I give the site, the necklace, and the artisan Anusara all positive, glowing reviews.

Check back tomorrow for a week long giveaway! The prize? A $50 gift certificate to Novica!

Looking For.... Bottle Cap Tutorial

Do any of my a-maze-ing crafty friends out there have, or know of, a tutorial on how to make bottlecap images?

The basic idea is sound- use clip art, put 12 to a sheet, get em printed on photo paper, use 1" round paper punch, punch em out, glue em, coat em.

But, since I've never seen an -actual- sheet, I don't know what size I should design in. Or, what the best top coat is for once the images are on the bottle cap. Would Mod Podge be enough, or should I use Epoxy?

Point me to your directions, I'm desperate!

Skeleton Hand Hair "Bows"

As I've mentioned before, I'm doing hair items now. I sell them through Facebook (it's the new etsy- without fees!), and have had some fun making new things.

A few weeks back, Dollarstorecrafts.com posted some fun Halloween ideas from last year- including a picture frame with a skeleton hand. I saw that hand, and just knew it would be great in a gothic inspiried hair "bow". You never know what people will like, want, or hate.

I was in a DT last week and found the packs of skeleton hands- 10/$1. I only grabbed one. I was quite a ways from home, and figured that I would be able to find them easily at any of the 4 other DT's between that one and our home. Lived to regret that, let me tell you!

These bows are fun and funky, without being cutesy for kids. Within the first day, I had an order for 3. I've so far sold 10 of them.

This post is linked up at many great parties! Check them all out here!