June 1, 2009

An ATC Challenge In Memory of Alisa

This past month, we lost a friend here at Studio Calico. Alisa Henry was taken far too young, leaving two little daughters, a husband, and parents and family. I didn't know Alisa very well, I'm sorry to admit, so when I heard the sad news, I started going through Alisa's comments on the message board, hoping to catch a glimpse of who she was. While reading her comments, the following thought came to me:

Alisa's girls need to know this side of their mom.

Alisa made so many positive and encouraging comments on the boards, she had a lot of wisdom to share with us. I thought if we passed even a small portion of what she said, her family would be blessed to have access to this part of her life. But how to do that led to my next thought.

Here's the challenge:

Make an ATC card, they are small (2.5 x 3.5 inches), they can hold little nuggets of information, they incorporate the hobby she loved, they are a great way to share the bits of Alisa that we knew to her family. If you are anything like me, you'll get inspired by this art form and want to make more. There are only a few steps that must be followed to make this work:

1. Go to the SEARCH tool on the Message Board page and type in Alisa's screen name "lagsforlisa." This will allow you to see all the comments she made on the message boards, there are 31 pages to be exact.



2. Read through the comments, find something that speaks to you. There are a lot of ones that won't work, but there are many that will work perfectly for this challenge.

3. Pick ONE quote to use and before you start working on your ATC, come post which one you've chosen, so we don't have overlaps. For example, I went to page 30 and found a comment on gardening that she made.


Posted: Fri, Mar 28 2008 at 10:07PM on True Life Stories > Gardening?

I love gardening, too. We are doing our backyard this spring with beds, veggie garden, and little pond. [1.]Don’t forget to plant some things for hummingbirds. These little jewels are awesome, they love things with long tubular flower shapes, especially red. I like to grow Salvia greggii, comes in lots of colors. [2.]Also, I order plants online from Bluestone Perennials, they have a search function you can put in your criteria and gives you a whole list that might fit the bill for you situation. And a one year plant guarantee. Also, call your local master gardeners at the county extension office. They can usually provide a plant list, and planting dates for veggies. [3.]And stop by a plant sale at your local arboretum, talk about get the fever (think reveal night!) And stroll around any yard tours, or just around your neighborhood and see what grows. I like to try what I see, that is why scraplifting came so easily to me! lol.

-
Alisa


From that one comment, I was able to create 3 cards. You only have to make one, but once I got started, I was hooked and kept going. But you should only work on ONE at a time.

4. I'll have a thread going on the message board that you can post your choice to. Give me the date, the board it was posted on, and the thread title. Mine would have been this:

Fri, Mar 28 2008 at 10:07PM on True Life Stories > Gardening?


I'll keep a master list running as to which quotes are being worked on and when they are completed. If you want to do more than one, feel free, but please only after you've finished your current one.

5. When you're done, post them to the gallery and link them to the thread so we can see your beautiful work created for Alisa's family.

6. Send your finished cards to:

Studio Calico
513 East 10th Ave
Bowling Green, KY 42101

7. We'd like to have all cards sent by the 30th of June. This should be more than enough time to put one (or two) together. I'll be encouraging you along the way!

8. If you need examples, back in October of 2008, Jenn Olson and Nik Harper did a week's worth of blogging on this very subject. They had some great links to get you going on ideas. I did mine just a bit different because it's not really a trading card, it's more of a memory card. I think it's OK to bend the rules on this one... Don't forget to read the comments on this post as well, there's a lot of information there as well.

Here are the cards that I made. This concept coincides nicely with my newfound interest in using up what you have. Two of the three cards were made mainly with things I had on my bulletin board or sitting out on my desk. I tried one digitally to see how quickly that would go.





credits: cardstock, Cosmo Cricket, Sassafras Lass, and Studio Calico; tag, Tim Holtz; patterned paper, Studio Calico; rub ons, Chatterbox (wing to wing) and Jenni Bowlin (alpha); paper tape, Anna Griffin; felt flower, American Crafts; gem brad, Making Memories; other, image of hummingbird from the web and Starbucks Pick of the Week iTunes card.

For this one, I created it all digitally and then printed it out. It took me less than an hour to put together.

Digital version created in CS3:



Paper version:


credits: paper, Katie Pertiet Spot Dots; floss heart, Katie Pertiet Flossy Hearts; tag, Katie Pertiet Lil' Bit Tags; stitched X, Katie Pertiet Li'l Bit Tags; (all from Designer Digitals) flower brush, hawksmont Flowers (free from the internet); font, Prissy Frat Boys (free from the internet).







credits: cardstock, Chatterbox; flower, Making Memories; buttons, Foofala; stamp, Catseye Press; ink, Tsukineko; frame, American Crafts; ribbon, Piggy Tales; exopy tag, EK Success; font, Rough Typewriter (from the internet); other, thread and string.

After our first tragic loss of Aleida Franklin, and seeing the outpouring of love for her, it broke my heart to lose yet another friend of our community. An album was created for Aleida's family, organized by a member of our community, judi. I made a page that focused on an interaction I'd had with Aleida that really impressed me. Her desire to make sure she hadn't offended me really stuck with me. I didn't have an interaction like that with Alisa, but I hope that by doing this, you'll be able to share something that stuck with you about Alisa. Please join us in this challenge to give Alisa's family a memory only we can share.

25 comments:

lisa truesdell said...

such a beautiful idea, emily. i definitely want to participate!

Ally said...

This is a beautiful idea. I'm not sure I'll be able to participate, but it's such a thoughtful way to handle a loss like this and do some good as well.

lisa truesdell said...

here's my quote :

Posted: Wed, Jun 04 2008 at 06:45PM on True Life Stories > Tuesday Recipe Thread: Delish Desserts
This one is so easy, Southern Living.

Take a aluminum loaf pan and have your helper unwrap mini ice cream sandwiches. Put a layer in the bottom, drizzle with caramel sauce, whipped cream, another layer of sandwiches, more caramel and or chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Top with your favorites, cherries, nuts, sprinkles, etc. My kids are crazy about this, especially when company comes over and they can show off their cooking skills.



-
Alisa

isabel said...

Very good idea, i'll create one this week end
so sad for her and her family ;-(

Kimber-Leigh said...

this is a fabulous idea! i'll try to get it done this week!

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful sentiment! I am off to search the message board. (I had no idea we could search)

Kimberly said...

This is wonderful! I will go searching for a quote or two or three! Another reason to love SC...you all care about your members so much.

Karen said...

great idea...love making atc's and these will be so special! off to pick out a quote!

mom2ee said...

this is wonderful. will seach to find a quote and post on the MB

JennO said...

This is a wonderful idea, Em...I'm definitely in--just too overwhelmed to pick the perfect quote just yet.

Deana said...

I don't know you, Emily, nor do I know Alisa. But I do know how it feels to lose someone suddenly & I can say without a doubt that this act of kindness will mean more to her family than words can say.

You must be an angel in disguise... :-)

Denise said...

Posted: Thu, Jul 17 2008 at 02:50PM on True Life Stories > Happiness is...


My daughters grooving in their room, dancing to 70's funk, Brick House, anyone?

new water lily blooming, and a resident green frog!

Rachael said...

This seriously breaks my heart. I didnt know her but i feel compelled to try this out, for her kids and family... really this takes me back and makes me think about how short could be :(

Kirsty Wiseman said...

posted 9/11 2008 - recalling 9/11 and how we remember what we were doing that day:

Alisa wrote: My husband was overseas in Algeria. Eating dinner in a cafeteria, and the gendarme swept in and plucked out all the Americans, the locals were celebrating in that ululating way some have and shooting guns into the air. I was out walking the dog in a 'country' subdivision and all of a sudden people were outside of their house, talking. Men put shotguns in the racks in the rear window of their trucks, and the bars were jammed full. You know, not the bars that you go to have fun, but the ones to drink a lot. But, I did learn a lot. Life is not peachy keen, and NPR really opened my eyes to the fact that not everyone has the same values as my family. Years later I opted to not deliver my daughter on 9/11, but to wait until 9/12. And now I cry when I recite the pledge of allegience, and have a flag in a case right inside my foyer.

A poignant and sgnificant piece of history, I think.
Thanks Emily x

Sandy said...

What a precious gift to her family! We'll get started right away - first off to check the message board for Alisa's gems.
Thank you for doing this...you are a sweetheart Emily! =)

Christie Wildes said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Christie Wildes said...

and

Posted: Wed, Dec 17 2008 at 03:40PM on True Life Stories > Tuesday Recipe Thread: Virtual Cookie Exchange!!!

I just made 6 dzn Ultimate Maple Snickerdoodles. they are not over poweringly mapley. I can't believe spell check did not like those last two words. sigh.



2 c all purpose flour

1.5 tsp baking POWDER

1/4 tsp baking SODA

1.5 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup margarine, softened

1 cup white sugar

3 tbsp real maple syrup

1 egg

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup maple sugar



pre heat oven 350, stir together flour, baking powder and soda, cinnamon. set aside.

in a large bowl cream together margarine and 1 cup white sugar. Beat in egg and maple syrup. gradually blend in dry ingredients. in small dish, combing 1/2 cup white sugar and maple sugar. (((((I have no idea what maple sugar is, I used a tsp cinnamon)))))). roll dough into 1 inch balls and roll in sugar. Bake 8-10 min on ungreased sheets ((((( i used parchment paper)))) Cookies will puff up slightly and crack on top and look wet in middle. cool on wire racks.

Yummy. Some of my neighbors and I are getting together tomorrow, we are bringing 'pickies' to snack on while we exchange, haha. I'm making spinach artichoke dip, we are having egg nog, queso, and whatever else shows up! Fun stuff.

Christie Wildes said...

and

Posted: Fri, Jan 02 2009 at 09:26AM on Studio Chat > Daily Chat - 2nd Jan

We usually play Mardi Gras music when we take down our tree, guess I'l have to find the CD. And I need to 'fake' some Christmas shots, I think I'll fix the girls up on thier party dresses and stand them by the cedars....anywho, I drug out a 'kit' for myself of B&W, cream and smokey blue, and hope to play with that. I scrapped yesterday with some of the first BG paper I ever bought (5 years ago), and was really happy how it turned out. And I can't stop pop dotting MS butterflies !!!!

Kimberly said...

I really enjoyed this. Here are my 4 ATC's as quoted by Alisa Henry.

http://www.studiocalico.com/forums/galleries/show/11390

Teribyte said...

Wow... I've just been glancing through this challenge, comments and posts.... what a terrible loss. This is a really beautiful way to celebrate such a lovely woman. I haven't picked a quote yet, but I will be sure to. How special for her family to receive such a gift. Thank-you, Emily, for coming up with this.

ConnieC said...

This quote on the first page jumped out at me.



Posted: Thu, May 07 2009 at 10:59PM on True Life Stories> evidence of a bad neighbor

We have a super friendly neighborhood, but most of the wives are SAHM or empty-nesters and that makes a huge difference. We walk in the morning, grab each other's kids off the bus, swim at the pool houses, and have bunco once a month. We bum eggs, grab things from Target or Walmart, call when someone's garage door is up after dark, and bring in each other's trash cans if we are doing ours. I love it here, best place I have ever lived.

michele said...

has anyone done this quote yet? if not, i would be honored to:

Posted: Fri, Mar 21 2008 at 08:15AM on Studio Chat > Running out of photo's

Oh, I know about heritage. I have been thinking (read a prompt somewhere) about why I scrap, and I recently found a box of pictures from a deceased Great Aunt without any family left, one of the pics was a soldier in Europe looking quite tough, and the hand written note said "This is your Dad." How can that be pitched? Old wedding photos (early 1900’s), a sailor kissing a long legged woman with killer high heels on a pier, random couples leaning on gorgeous curvy cars. Oh, and baby pictures of people long dead. Mommies know the pride when your baby can sit up for their portrait. I just get weepy thinking about it all. I have to DO SOMETHING about it all. But I have no idea who these people are, but I think I can still tell some of their story.

liz mataraza said...

what an amazing idea.

Lorraine said...

I am new and didn't know her, but this is a truly wonderful idea! Very thoughtful!

Denise said...

Here's mine: http://www.studiocalico.com/forums/galleries/show/11602