Can Do Canines

"Tub of Pups" - Sydne & her litter of 2 day old pups

As many of you know, we have been Puppy Raisers for Hearing & Service Dogs of MN for the last 8 years. We got our 1st puppy the summer of 2002 and she became a Hearing Dog the next year. Going to the Graduation Ceremony was such an eye opening experience. These dogs make such a difference in people's lives! It is amazing what they can do! We have continued as puppy raisers, having 1 puppy at a time until they are old enough for their final training and then get matched with their person, helping with short term fostering, and eventually whelping 3 litters of puppies for the program, including 2 from our Yellow Lab, Sydne. Last November we watched 3 of "our" puppies graduate!

Hearing & Service Dogs just celebrated their 20 year Anniversary and recently changed their name to Can Do Canines to better reflect the dogs abilities. There are now dogs who are providing assistance to children with autism, people with diabetes, and returning disabled veterans. Unfortunately, the need for service dogs is much greater than the number of dogs available. All of the dogs are given to clients at no charge. Can Do Canines relies on volunteers and donations to keep the program going. Their biggest fundraiser is the annual Heel & Wheel Walk. Last year they raised over $45,000!

This year's walk is on Sunday September 19th in Plymouth, MN. John, Chase, Sydne, and I are going to do the walk and we need your help! Our goal is raise $1000. Would you make a donation to help the dogs? Any amount is appreciated! You can make your check payable to Can Do Canines and mail it to me:

Dena Lenneman

24341 State Hwy. 15

St. Cloud, MN 56301

If you are interested in doing the walk or would like more information, check out Can Do Canines website: http://www.can-do-canines.com/.

Thank you so much!

Cards From the August 21st Stamp-A-Stack!

My new favorite stamp set- Just Believe! Did you notice the vase? It's the ornament punch with the bottom tip cut off! The Cherry Cobbler piece is embossed with the vintage Wallpaper folder, then punched with the Modern Label punch to show the Basic Black card base. The image and greeting (Word Window punch)are stamped in Basic Black on Sahara Sand and on the Cherry Cobbler "vase".

Here's the Just Believe set again! I love it! Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, and Old Olive are sponged in an oval, then the image and greeting are stamped in Early Espresso. The 5 1/4 x 8" piece of Whisper White cardstock is mounted on a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" piece of Early Espresso, then add ribbon in the sponged colors.

Awash With Flowers stamp set and Elegant Soiree DSP. Colors are Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze, Soft Suede, and Very Vanilla. Modern Label and Word Window Punches. And for a little bling, self-adhesive Basic Rhinestone Jewels (page 188 in the Idea Book & Catalog)

Flight of the Butterfly stamp set, Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder, and the Butterfly punch. Colors on this card are Bashful Blue and Chocolate Chip- everyone also made the same card using Pretty In Pink with Chocolate Chip and Certainly Celery with Chocolate Chip. The Butterflies are the stamped image with a Chocoalte Chip layer behind, wrapped with Linen Thread and tied so the ends become the antennae. The Chocolate Chip layer is attached to the card with dimensionals and the stamped layer is bent slightly so the wings come up. Here's a close-up of the wings:

Thank you to my awesome upline Betty who had us make cards similar to these at our last Stamp Share! If you would like to be part of this fun group, contact me to find out how to be a Stampin' Up! demonstrator!

The last card we did is a great one for using up all those little pieces of cardstock you end up with! The greeting is from On Your Birthday and stamped in Basic Black, the butterfly is from the Beautiful Wings Embosslit, 1 1/4" Circle punch for the Tempting Turquoise and Basic Black circles, 1" Circle punch for the Whisper White circle. We also did Real Red and Basic Black and Old Olive and Basic Black. I rec'd a swap like this at Stampin' Up!'s Leadership Conference, but there was no name on it so I can't tell you who made it.

The next Stamp-A-Stack will be in September!

Operation Write Home Cards- Box #2!

A big THANK YOU to everyone who donated cards to send to the troops! We sent just over 300 cards in our 2nd box to Operation Write Home (http://www.operationwritehome.org/)! Here's what they said about our cards:

17. Dena L, St Cloud MN.....these cards are gorgeous! Thanks to you and your customers for making them for us.

If you have cards you would like to donate, just let me know! Check out the OWH website for guidelines (NO glitter!). Here is the current list of deadlines:

 CARD DEADLINES

Postmark by these dates at the LATEST:

Halloween Sept 20

Thanksgiving: Oct 1

Christmas: Oct 30

All other cards: anytime!

 

As soon as we fill a large priority box, we'll send it on it's way. Please help out by donating a dollar or two to go towards the cost of postage to send the cards in. Thank you!

Dog Sympathy Card For A Friend

I ran into a friend's Mom at the grocery store yesterday and found out she had to put her 14 year old dog to sleep last week. I wanted to make her a card, and this is what I came up with. I used the D is For Dog set. Colors are Blushing Bride and Early Espresso. The brads are actually Pretty In Pink.

The inside of the card has a sentiment from Thoughts & Prayers as well as a paw print.