Metamorphosis

Please join us for a very special Open House Fundraiser & Online Auction Kickoff benefiting Elizabeth Chalker.  We are raising money to help her get the life-saving medical treatment that she desperately needs!

Elizabeth is extremely ill after years of being misdiagnosed...now barely hanging on by a thread. She recently lost her dog & companion, Symon, whom she considered her son. It has been devastating to her, on top of the constant torment & pain that she is in 24/7. I could go on and on and on about her & how she has impacted me, but here is a website that has been put together for her and shares more of her story: 

http://helpelizabeth.net/

Time	Sunday, May 1 · 12:00pm - 4:00pm
Location	8252 Regency St. La Palma, CA 90623 AND Online for  1.) Auction

We are asking vendors of our Open House to donate a percentage of their sales to Elizabeth.  We are collecting donations to be auctioned off ...it kicks off at the Open House & continues online!

*wine tasting
*massage
*auction
*shopping
*buy her book
*more in the works!

Tickets are given to those who donate to the Victorious For Elizabeth event and can be used for wine, sweets, entries, massage, & other goodies!

Options

Option 10 $10.00 Option 25 $20.00 Option 50 $40.00 Option 75 $60.00 Option 100 $80.00 Option 125 $100.00

Your message to Elizabeth

Use this link to donate any amount not listed above.

Your message to Elizabeth

Hosted by Arbonne consultant, Shawnna Gwinn Gomez.  20% of all retail Arbonne orders will be donated to Elizabeth Chalker!  To place an online order, visit: www.Shawnna.MyArbonne.com

Victorious Vixen quilted wallets, bags & other sewn items will be donating 50% of all sales to Elizabeth Chalker & 100% of select items at the Open House.  www.VictoriousVixen.Etsy.com

Nicole Presti will be donating 20-50% of her sales to Elizabeth. www.celebratinghome.com/sites/nicolepresti

Kelly A. Godlewski from Stampin' Up!  Donating a portion of her sales to Elizabeth.  http://kellygodlewski.stampinup.net

Joy Toal of Joy’s Creations.  Donating 20% of her sales to Elizabeth.

Megan Self Hernandez – hair stylist.  Donating a portion of her sales to Elizabeth.

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Crafters/business owners...would you like to donate something for our auction &/or host a table at the open house?  Please contact Nani Lauriano Luculescu for more information: Nani@VictoriousVixen.com

Do you know someone who would like to participate in the open house or have a unique item for the auction?  We are looking for others who would like to join us!

Donations can be mailed to:

Victorious Vixen
P.O. Box 2404
Cypress, CA 90630

You can find the Facebook event invite here with all the details: 

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=206606866024564

She has really inspired me...

I want to see her condition improve & her pain stripped away.  As I read her book, I see her in a lonely pit of darkness and deep in my soul I feel such compassion for her... 

I keep asking myself...what else can I do to help her???

I'm making several special creations to benefit Elizabeth Chalker's life-saving treatment...stop by the
Open House & come see me & what I've been working on!!!  =) 

Buy her book and be blessed by it!

Elizabeth's Book! 

Hanging On by the Scratch Marks My Nails Left Behind

                                                 (Raw Faith) 

Elizabeth has written a powerful, God inspired book that will encourage and help strengthen anyone who reads it.  If you are in the midst of suffering, or struggling through intense hardships, then this book will provide solice and hope to pull you out of the darkness and into the light!

Elizabeth is still courageously fighting for her life and to get the resources necessary to receive life-saving medical treatment.

Offer exclusive to this site:  

http://www.helpelizabeth.net/Bookpage.html
For those who make a contribution of $35.00 or more to help Elizabeth, you can request a personalized,
signed copy of her book (shipping included within the US, add $5 if international)!
To contribute online now and receive your copy of Elizabeth's God inspired book, click on the link below! 

http://www.helpelizabeth.net/Bookpage.html

Looking Upward

Seeking...

 contemplating...

 looking upward...

 wondering...

 hoping...

 dreaming...

 wishing...

 admiring...

 reaching...

 feeling...

 looking...

searching...

 finding inspiration...

 

by looking upward.

All the best,

Lyme Inspired Creations

Being a craftivist feels really good...I've known in my heart for a very long time that helping others was a calling for me.  I remember watching those "adopt-a-child" TV programs in elementary school....wanting to sponsor a child of my own.  

I enjoy sewing and making things with my hands, taking pictures with my trusty point and shoot, seeing the beauty in ordinary things and incorporating them into my work.  Adding a spin of Lyme awareness has been a new challenge of mine.

Here are some of my latest creations with Lyme in mind...

This is a Lyme Inspired clutch that was donated to benefit the recent Elizabeth Chalker fundraising event in Florida.  She is well short of her goal & is still in need of help to get her life-saving treatment.

Here are some clutches that I recently made, sporting the same wild zig zag free motion stitching.

 

I sent this one off to New York to help fellow Lymenaide team member & creator of LymeBites.com, Eric Rutulante, raise money for his costly Lyme treatment.  

If you are lucky enough to know Eric, they you are probably familiar with his uplifting sense of humor & steadfast dedication to spreading Lyme awareness.  He was featured recently in the news for an interview with his local station & was instrumental in the success of the "Paint May Lyme Green" campaign..  Click here to watch his news interview.

(below is a detail shot of the free motion stitching on the back of the clutch pictured above)

I recently received an order from someone who had a friend who has been battling Lyme Disease.  They wanted to get her something that was special & personal which carried our message of awareness on it.  With some help from my Lyme friends (thanks Abbie!), we simply came up with "Chronic Lyme is Real."                                                                                                                                             Contrary to how the current IDSA guidelines are written, Chronic Lyme disease IS real, does exist & can be a persistant infection that has been known to illude the savviest of medical professionals, especially those who are not Lyme Literate Medical Doctors (LLMD's).  Sadly, most Lyme patients are faced with the unique challenge of having to PROVE THEIR ILLNESS to the medical community...usually with strong resistance.  

It is my hope that through my craftivism efforts, more people will come to know the truths about Lyme disease to help prevent new infections from happening & create positive change that will help those already suffering from Lyme.  They need access to knowledgeable LLMD's, the treatment of their choice, and for their insurance to cover it.  They need support from their family, friends, community & government.  

I know I am just one person & that I alone won't be able to accomplish all these things...but I do believe in the power of a dream, a vision, a goal, a calling...whatever you want to call it.  I'm putting it out there & looking for others who share my dream, who have the same vision & want to come along on this journey with me and the rest of the Lymenaide team.

 This Lyme Inspired Clutch is now listed in my Etsy shop at:  http://www.VictoriousVixen.Etsy.com

You can check out more pictures of my Lyme Inspired creations here.

Letting Go...For a Good Cause!

I just love creating art and sewing my heart out...I really do put the LOVE into my work and hope that when people receive my creations they enjoy them as much as I did when I made them.  It's hard for me to let them go sometimes, but I totally believe in the causes & people that I am able to contribute to from the sale of my goodies.

This year, I have really enjoyed a whole new world of crafting...mixed media!  I love it because ANYTHING goes...no rules!  =)  Inspired by Traci Bautista, mixed media guru and author of the best selling book, "Collage Unleashed," I ventured into the world of painting in a free and spontaneous manner.  Then comes the layers of texture, collage and free motion sewing...so much fun and totally addicting!  One of my favorite things about it is recycling & UPcycling paper & other things that would otherwise end up in a landfill as trash!

These 5 mini books are for a swap that I am participating in for the "Collage Unleashed" yahoo group.  Each of the participants are to create 5 mini books & send them off to the host...we get a return package of 5 assorted books from other artists!  What fun!

So here are the mini books I created...

hand painted papers...

I UPcycled an old dress that I got from my sewing class to create the red hearts!!!

UPcycled papers, various stencils and free motion sewing...

all tied together with string...have I told you how much I just love this stuff??!!

Here is my table with plenty of things going on!  Victorious for Elizabeth & Lymenaide mini books in the works...


...as well as the Victorious for Lyme Wrist Cuffs in the back...




...and some new things to help in the Gulf Rescue & Clean-Up efforts...

I have a show planned for Saturday, July 24th at the Cypress Community Festival & will be featuring several projects I'm working on for one charity or another.

I hope you'll stop by my booth, learn about Lyme disease & pick up some unique handmade creations, all made with love for a good cause. =)


If you are interested in contributing something on behalf of these or other charities, please let me know & I will make them available at my booth.  You can email me at: Nani@VictoriousVixen.com, or leave me a comment below.

Happy Creating!
--Nani

Simple Pleasures & Gratitude

I'm grateful to have so many blessings...things that I have often taken for granted.

Yesterday was filled with simple pleasures, fun and lots of gratitude...

My girls were like "pigs in mud!"  It was so great to see them so filled with happiness and joy...the simplest things can be so meaningful.  I didn't mind that we were not dressed for the occasion, but allowed them to just be kids and; have a good time playing.  =)  I managed to splash around a bit too...

my toes in the water...

So for me, yesterday was a bit of therapy and reflection on what the important things in my life are.  Enjoying the moment with the ones you love, letting go of the things that hold you back and spreading sunshine wherever you go.

I have had a "mission statement" for myself for over 10 years now...(wow, it's been that long!) and one of the things I had written down was to "spread sunshine wherever I go."  I used to say that some people light up the room when they leave, because they are so negative!  It's true and you have to "protect" yourself from their bad energy...I usually try to kill them with kindness!  Doesn't always work, but you move on and focus your thoughts on the good things you want for your life.  Holding a grudge is like a cancer...it eats away at your very core and doesn't allow you to grow.

When I look at my life and start to feel sorry for myself, all I need to do is look at the circumstances of another to find my gratitude.  I've been looking a lot at Elizabeth Chalker and the torturous suffering she is facing alone.  Her story has moved me..moved me to the core and into action.  I contacted her and asked if I could do a special project for her using her clothing...she sent me a box full of things & I cried taking each item out as I read her letter to me.


Here is Elizabeth, before Lyme...                                     and here she is after years of misdiagnosis...

http://helpElizabeth.net

Here is some of my recent work for the Victorious For Elizabeth project.  

Please share with those you know and find out how you can help here:  http://networkedblogs.com/53wHQ