Happy New Year Gift!! =)

Hello Crafty Friends!! 

Larissa here today to share a FUN New Year's Gift Tag!!

 Here's what I've created!!  

 There are SO MANY options for Tags!! 

 I KNOW if you're like me Gift Tags are always something I need for those Last Minute Gifts or Hostess Gifts!! I LOVE to give Gift Cards to Surprise the Special People in our lives!!! I Started by Die Cutting the Tag from the Tag Buddies Fri-Dies Set!! Then I Stamped and Embossed the Sentiments from the Love Notes, Calling all Sistahs and Puffy Heart Love Stamp Sets to create my Sentiment!! I Stamped and Embossed the Heart with some WoW Red Glitter Embossing Powder and I LOVE the addition of the Sparkle!! I adhered it to a Red Glitter Cardstock Tag and Added it to a Gift Bag with a Mini Clothespin and a Gina K Designs Bow!! 

THANKS SO MUCH for stopping by and I hope you have a FABULOUS WEEKEND!!  

If you just can't wait to go shopping, please visit the Store RIGHT NOW, PLUS there's several Sets that are RETIRING and some Holiday Sets that are on SALE too!! So you can stock up on some of those Products that you might have had on your WISH LIST before they're GONE for Good and at a SALE Price!! You can also use my discount code LARISSASENTME, to save 15% off on all of the goodies in the CFS Shop!!

Larissa Heskett

      

Never Give Up border

This wonderful card from Maureen uses our Hope Fri-Die, Ruffled Ribbon Fri-Die and Hope Ribbon stamps from our Calling All Sistahs Collection. 

This month I am donating 75% of the profits from this special collection to NBCF.org to support their breast cancer awareness programs.

I like how she stamped the never give up hope sentiment several times at an angel to create a designer border. She double cut the ribbon die in 2 colors and layered them to give a shadowy look. Looks great with the black stamped flowery ribbon! 

I hope you find some time to get your ink on today :)

Never give up hope

Today I have a wonderful card from Kimberly using stamps and dies from our special Calling All Sistahs Collection that I designed specifically to support breast cancer awareness,

"I stamped and heat embossed the back side of the Hope Ribbon Fri-Die and then stamped the front side over top and heat embossed that with an ombre of glitter embossing powders. I stacked a few layers of the Hope Fri-Die for color and dimension."

For the entire month of October, I will be donating 75% of the profits from my Calling All Sistahs collection to nationalbreastcancer.org to support their early detection, education and support services.

I hope you'll help us spread awareness this month. Please pin our projects or feel free to share them in social media. Early detection is critical and it all starts with awareness! Remind the women in your life to schedule their mammograms this month if they are due.

You matter!

Pass it on.

I hope you find some time to get your ink on today :)

Hope is stronger than fear

Happy Monday!

We have turned our blog pink this month to honor everyone who has ever been affected by breast cancer. We will be sharing lots of inspiration to inspire you to create and also to remind you to schedule your mammogram if you are due!

Jeanne created this wonderful card using our Calling All Sistahs and Hope Ribbon stamps with the Ruffled Ribbon Fri-Die. I really like the cool shadowed affect she created by cutting the ribbon twice in 2 colors and layering them in an offset way. 

For the entire month of October, I will be donating 75% of the profits from my Calling All Sistahs collection to nationalbreastcancer.org to support their early detection, education and support services.

I hope you'll help us spread awareness this month. Please pin our projects or feel free to share them in social media. Early detection is critical and it all starts with awareness!

I hope you find some time to get your ink on today :)

November 22

Happy Sunday!

It's a very happy Sunday indeed as I have lots of happy news to share.

 If you followed along last week, 

then you got to see the wonderful new collection of stamps and dies 

I released in my Calling All Sistahs post 

that I designed with the specific intent of supporting breast cancer awareness and research programs 

by donating 50% of the profits.

I can't wait to write the first check in honor of all who've been affected by breast cancer!

Girl Friday Angie has an awesome card for you today using Hope Ribbon and Calling All Sistahs stamps, and Sistahs Fri-Dies from this awesome new collection. 

I love that she stamped the big pretty ribbon right over a pattern paper.

This is one awesome card and would be excellent to send to someone who is currently enduring this disease. It would also be fabulous to send to one of your sistahs to remind her to check herself.

When I launched the collection on the 17th I offered the Hope Fri-Die for free to all purchases that day. 

That very evening I received the most excellent news and for that reason I've decided to extend that offer through the Thanksgiving weekend.

It's true, no code needed, you don't need to do a thing, I'll happily tuck this sweet die into every order I package through November 30th. 

A little hope from me to you :)

So just what was this excellent news?

Ironically, 3 months to the day that I first discovered the little terrorist, 

I got the results of my Onco-Type test which determined 

I do NOT need chemo!!

I win!!!!!!!

One last thing, for all the free Hope Fri-Dies I have already sent as well as those waiting to be sent, 

I will still donate the amount the charity would receive if they were purchased :)

November 17th Calling All Sistahs

Hello my sistahs!! It's the 17th!

I created 

Calling All Sistahs 

in an effort to support breast cancer awareness all year long because 

YOU matter to me, You are my Sistahs!

 This is your reminder to do your breast self-exam!

and remind your sistahs too!

 I need to thank you.

Your comments, emails and private messages from last month's post

 lifted me up like I can't even begin to tell you. 

You made me feel strong and ferocious as I prepared for battle (surgery) 

and at the same time so very humbled as I read many of your personal stories.

I was sharing some of them with my nurse when I was waiting in pre-op 

and we were both tearing up.

Nearly all of us have been affected by cancer.

This idea, this series is super important to me 

and it has sincerely touched my heart to hear that it's important to you too.

I heard from quite a few of you that 

you weren't exactly sure how to do your self exam.

I strongly encourage you to speak with your doctor about this at your next appointment 

(do not be embarrassed...BE empowered!!)

but in the meantime, 

National Breast Cancer Foundation has a great tutorial to get you started.

You can see that here

(and then do follow up with your doc to fine tune and answer any questions)

NBCF is a wonderful organization devoted to Early Detection, Breast Health Education and Breast Cancer Research. It was founded by Janelle Hail who was diagnosed with breast cancer more than 30 years ago when she was just 34 years old.

(this disease does not follow age rules!)

It's my hope that my small little Calling All Sistahs campaign can help. 

I want it to help you and all the wonderful women in your lives and their lives and so on.

I also want it to help beyond my monthly reminders to support some of the amazing organizations like National Breast Cancer Foundation 

that are making a profound difference in treatment options.

This month I'm taking this campaign of mine a step further by launching

The Calling All Sistahs collection of stamps and dies, 

designed by me during the time I was living through all the confusion and uncertainty that cancer could throw at me.

I hope you will use them to make awesome cards to remind and support all your sistahs, as well as cards to support those you know who are currently enduring this awful disease.

I'm grateful for all the awareness campaigns and research that has resulted in better treatment for us, and I want to give back.

A wise man said

"It is far worse to do nothing because you thought you could only do a little" 

so this is my little.

But I know that together my sistahs, WE can use this little to make a difference that will help each other and more!! 

50% of the profits from this collection will be donated to breast cancer awareness and research programs.

I designed this collection specifically for this purpose so I want you to know that 

this 50% donation is not for a limited time only, it's forever.

       

         

This amazing collection from my heart is available NOW only at 

www.cas-ualfridaysstamps.com 

I've coordinated a fun little blog hop to get you excited and give you design ideas from 

a few of the Girl Fridays, 

my dear friend Catherine Pooler, 

and my cancer crushing sistah AJ Otto 

Before I send you off to hop and then shop, 

I want to share a moment with you.

My 16 year old son did all the packaging of the stamps and dies for this collection 

while I've been recovering from my lumpectomy and radiation. 

He said to me "Mom, you're a month too late with this stuff, you should have done it in October" 

I said, "Why? Because of Breast Cancer Awareness Month?"

He nodded.

I said "I didn't miss anything. I didn't find my cancer in October, I found it in August and that's exactly my point...we need to be aware every single month, not just in October, and I think this collection can help with that."

Now off you hop to see the Calling All Sistahs collection in action!

Here is the hop order 

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps ***You are here!

Jingle

AJ Otto

Joanna Harty

Kelly Griglione

Catherine Pooler

and when you land back here, click THIS LINK to go straight to the store :)

One last thing...

As I continue to wait for the Onco Type results that will determine if I need chemo,

 I'm all to aware just how much we all need hope.

So every single purchase that happens today will receive a free Hope Fri-Die in their order. 

You don't have to do a thing, it will automatically be included. 

A little hope from me to you:)

***edited to add***

I'm extending the free die offer!!

If you're lucky enough to end up with more than 1 of these little dies, 

then you too can spread a little hope by gifting it to someone who might need a little hope in their life :)

Calling All Sistahs

Thank you so much for coming for my 2nd day of super important posts.

Calling All Sistahs!

Cancer 

is not contagious.

but 

you can catch it

 through early detection.

I did.

***Just 2 months ago today***

Let me tell you how I caught it.

Here in Colorado, 

our channel 9 News has an 

early breast cancer detection program called 

Buddy Check 9.

The idea is to remind you, and for you to remind your buddies, to do your self checks on the 9th of each month.

*This is the part where I become quite emotional because this is so meaningful to me, 

so just know that I'll be crying through most of the rest of this post as I write it*

August 9th was my youngest son's 14th birthday 

so I was BUSY that day.

I didn't do my Buddy Check 9 self check, I didn't even think to do it, I was in birthday mode and it wasn't even remotely on my mind.

I don't know why it suddenly popped into my mind on August 17th 

but it did.

***thankfully*** 

The awareness that 9 News has created made a difference

for me

because I'd heard it every month for the last 8 years,

 because it made me remember!

I realized I had forgotten Buddy Check 9 so I did my check on that August 17th morning 

and I found a lump.

It's SUPER important to note that MOST lumps turn out to be NOTHING 

but mine wasn't nothing.

You can read all about that portion of my story HERE

if you missed it yesterday.

Catching cancer in its early stages is critical.

It saves lives.

It preserves choices.

It makes it curable!

I don't necessarily believe that things happen for a reason because to me, that somehow leaves too much room to think that bad things might be deserved or allowed to define you. 

I DO believe that it doesn't matter what happens in life, 

But what absolutely DOES matter is how you choose to handle it. 

I got breast cancer. 

*I don't deserve it*

But I get to CHOOSE how to handle this.

I'm choosing to treat it as a blessing. 

I have to deal with this so I want to do it well.

I've had to learn a lot very quickly so I could make smart decisions about how I want to be cured.

Did you hear what I said??

I Got To Decide How I Want To Be Cured!

How awesome is that?!

That my friends is a blessing!

I'm choosing to share my story to make a positive difference.

This isn't about getting attention for me. 

This is about getting attention for Breast Cancer Awareness beyond just the month of October.

This is about generating that absolutely necessary awareness that needs to exist every single month,

the same kind of awareness that allowed me to find my cancer early...to save my life.

I want this for you, and your friends and loved ones, and their friends and loved ones and so on!

1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in her lifetime...

*she deserves the chance to choose how she will be cured*

Unless you live in Colorado, you don't have access to my 9 News and its Buddy Check 9, 

a program I will forever be grateful for.

It made a difference in my life, in my treatment choices, and I want to pay that forward.

I'm starting a monthly blog series called

Calling All Sistahs!

We need to spread the word that early detection of breast cancer saves lives.

Your yearly mammogram is certainly a very important detection tool, 

but so much can happen in between so every. month. counts.

Monthly self breast exams help make early detection possible.

2 months ago, on August 17th 2015, I became 1 in 8.

In the spirit of the buddy system,

each month I will remind you

to check yourself

on the 17th.

This comes from my most grateful heart.

Most of us have never met but

YOU all matter to me!

I want YOU to be safe.

I want YOU to have choices.

I want YOU to know that cancer is not contagious 

but YOU can catch it...early!

And if YOU do...YOU my sistah will be ok!

***Calling All Sistahs! This is your reminder...

YOU better check yourself***

*****Now please tell YOUR sistahs to do it too!*****

It's that easy.

 Please place this graphic on your blog sidebar

or your facebook page 

or tweet it 

or pin it

or whatever you need to do

 to share

so all of your sistah's can see it.

Please link it back to this post 

so all of your sistahs can be part of it. 

Here is the link to this post:

http://cas-ualfridaysstamps.blogspot.com/2015/10/calling-all-sistahs.html

Then join me here on the 17th of each month.

It's a serious subject but I want it to be easy, inspiring, uplifting.

  We will have some fun too :)

7 out of 8 women have nothing to worry about. 

*****But what about that 1?*****

She doesn't even know it yet.

She needs to be ok.

She is our sistah.

XOXO

Michele

1 in 8

Thank you for coming.

This is a very important post for me to write...

 a difficult post to share.

Today is National Mammography Day.

Make your appointment today if you haven't had one yet this year.

***********No excuses***********

1 in 8 women in the U.S. will develop 

invasive breast cancer 

in her lifetime. 

****************************************************************************

Cancer 

is not contagious.

but 

you can catch it

 through early detection.

****************************************************************************

I did.

I'm 47 years old.

I'm a wife, a mom, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a friend, the owner of this happy little company and

I am 1 in 8.

On August 17, just 2 months ago, 

I did a self check at home and I found a lump in my left breast.

 (and then I felt all of the blood in my body drain into my feet.)

I got in to see my doctor that afternoon and was told I needed a diagnostic mammogram

and ultrasound to determine what "the mass" was. 

When I called from my doctor's office to get my appointment, they were scheduling in 

mid September

but the scheduler told me I could call each day to see if there were any cancellations.

no way could I wait that long

I called 4-5 times a day every day.

On August 21st, I had the mammogram and ultrasound.

(Thank you from the bottom of my heart to whoever it was that cancelled that day!)

It was determined that I would need to have a biopsy to determine what this "mass" was,

 and I'd also need a second biopsy on a "suspicious looking" lymph node the radiologist saw in my armpit during the ultrasound.

We scheduled the procedure 

right then,

and then I went home and waited.

On August 28th, I had 2 needle biopsies,

one on the mass and one on the suspicious looking lymph node.

Then I went home 

and waited 

and tried not to think about it.

On September 1st my doctor called to inform me 

my lymph node was clear (phew!)

but 

the 1.5 cm (1/2 inch) peanut-sized mass was 

grade 1 invasive ductal carcinoma.

cancer.

My very first thought was 

I don't want to do this!

and I cried for a minute because the words really stung 

and

they confirmed a truth that I didn't want, 

but then they sank in and I pulled myself together...

grade 1- you caught this really early

*I am lucky. So very lucky* 

"You have cancer."

Certainly they are frightening words to hear, 

but I didn't feel fear. 

I honestly felt really pissed off and super inconvenienced 

and truthfully it hurt my feelings.

Yes, it was really crappy news to get, 

but of all the crappy news I could have received, 

this was the BEST possible crappy news!

I caught cancer...early.

grade 1- let's do this

On September 3rd, I met my surgeon.

I told her I didn't have cancer but my breast did. 

I told her I was mad and inconvenienced, but grateful that this is only grade 1 because this is fixable.

 She looked me in the eyes and said, 

"This is curable"

Her correction didn't truly resonate with me until almost a week later...

"This is curable"

She doesn't always get to say that. 

Telling a cancer patient you can cure them is probably the second most awesome thing a surgeon gets to say!

I can't wait for her to say she got it and it's over!

Because of my young age 

(oh, you have no idea how much I like to say that *wink*)

and the fact that my mom had breast cancer 9 years ago

(which was discovered in a mammogram that at the time she was told she didn't need,

but thankfully she scheduled it anyway because it revealed 3 masses that no one knew existed)

it was strongly recommended I have genetic testing 

to determine if I was BRCA gene positive. 

It's a simple blood test 

that takes 3-4 weeks to get the results.

So I did it.

and then I waited.

Initially, the type of surgery I will have was totally my choice. 

I could have a lumpectomy 

or mastectomy 

or a double mastectomy.

It's up to me-it's completely my choice.

But if I tested positive for the gene mutation, 

my choices would be erased

 There would be no question...I'd have a double mastectomy.

But there was more to it than just that:

If I tested positive for the gene mutation,

it would mean my family was at risk too...

my kids, my brother, my nieces.

(yes, men CAN get breast cancer too!)

While I waited, I assembled my team. 

(Yes, I need a "team" of doctors who I now refer to as my Special Forces.)

I have a brilliant cutting-edge surgeon who is one of the top in the country, 

and who is doing amazing things that will make early treatment so much better and faster and easier! 

Truly amazing things are coming soon!

I have an awesome radiation oncologist who I think looks like Mike Meyers, and is the perfect blend of science nerd, math genius and cool doctor,

and

 I have a medical oncologist who is just plain amazing, appreciates my spirit and sense of humor, and makes me laugh.

I am in excellent hands.

I'm not afraid of cancer, 

but cancer should be very, very afraid of me and my Special Forces.

Together we WILL kick cancer's butt.

On September 25th, I got my genetic test results.

Surrounded by my girlfriends, 

on a spectacular fall day in a beautiful place,

I got the call I'd been waiting for...

my genetic test came back negative!

I do not have the BRCA gene mutation 

which is HUGE!

for everyone!

***all the waiting for answers has been the worst part of this for me***

I can handle the 'what is', 

it's the 'what if's' 

that can make my head spin,

that make it so darn difficult to know which decisions to make,

that make it hard to make any definite plans.

and anyone who knows me even a little bit, knows I am a planner.

I still feel inconvenienced because let's face it, 

cancer IS inconvenient. 

I'm still a little bit mad too.

I don't deserve this but I have this to deal with.

But instead of hurt feelings, I now feel blessed.

I caught this early!

I will be o.k!

 And honestly, it could be something sooo much worse.

For me it's about perspective...

My children are safe and healthy and happy. Thank you God

My family is not in harm's way. Thank you God

My awesome husband has been by my side every step of the way. Thank you God  

I have an amazing team of doctors who are going to take care of me and cure me. Thank you God

And that's all that really matters to me.

There are a lot of things I don't think I'd be able to do, 

but I can do this. 

I've got this.

On October 28th I will have my lumpectomy surgery.

more waiting, but it's almost over.

My story is still unfolding.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Promise :)

Please join me right here tomorrow

for another very special post. 

It's super important to me that you be here for it.

It comes from my most grateful heart.

Until then, 

let's finish today the same we started it...

1 in 8 women in the U.S. will develop 

invasive breast cancer 

in her lifetime. 

Today is National Mammography Day.

Make your appointment today if you haven't had one yet this year.

***********No excuses***********