Decorative Packaging

February is national wear red day to raise awareness for heart disease.  Heart disease kills more women each year than all cancers combined. February 3 is the national Wear Red Day.  Wearing a red awareness ribbon is one way you can be sure you have red on this day.

I think that the only red clothing I have all have a Christmas scene on them.  Unless I manage to buy something new to wear for this day, I will be using red ribbon to participate.  I could crochet a red scarf and hat from yarn or red knitting ribbon too.

The whole purpose is to bring awareness to heart disease. You can raise money for medical research and to help promote the education of communities.  This money can help fund programs to teach school children how eat healthy and live healthier lives so they can live longer with heart healthy lives.

Contact the American Heart Association to find out where you can help locally.  You can click this link and get free resources to print flyer’s and posters to help you get started on your fundraising event.  http://goredforwomen.org/wearredday/resources/

Making awareness ribbon is easy; all you need is red ribbon and mini gold safety pins.  You can make ribbons and sell them for an agreed amount then donate all the money to a local division of the American Heart Association.

There are countless reasons to wear an Awareness Ribbon and each one is very important! 
Whether you wear a patriotic ribbon today to honor all those
amazing selfless people who volunteered to risk their life for our safety is up to you.
There are tributes all over the United States
from large cities to rural veteran cemeteries.  If you are unable to attend any of these
events, take the very next opportunity to thank
one of our service men currently serving and retired.  They are every where,
you see them in a restaurant, a store, or in your own church
and community.  Take time now to make greeting cards to veterans.  You don't have to
know their name, just a thank you card and your signature
will bless one of these brave men and women.  IF you don't know any, you can take a
stack of cards to any Veterans Hospital.
They can distribute them for you. 

IN MEMORY OF DEPARTED COMRADES

          Do not stand at my grave and weep;
          I am not there. I do not sleep.

          I am a thousand winds that blow;
          I am the diamond glints on snow.
          I am the sunlight on ripened grain;

          I am the gentle autumn's rain.
          When you awaken in the morning's hush,

          I am the swift uplifting rush
          Of quiet birds in circled flight.

          I am the soft star that shines at night.
          Do not stand at my grave and cry.

          I am not there; I did not die in vain as
              long as my sacrifice is not forgotten.

(Author Unknown)

Isn’t it fun getting a gift that has been wrapped with creativeness?  Anything can be used to enhance a package. 

This country style of wrapping is attractive.  The red and white gingham checked ribbon looks charming on the natural brown wrapping.

And what enhances it even more in a unique and festive way is the blue spruce evergreen twig  or holly leaf tucked under the bow.  Complete the look with a coordinating green gift tag, or red and it will look fantastic under your country Christmas tree.

Sometimes it’s fun to have themed holiday. One year you can have a rocky mountain country Christmas. Deck your halls with popcorn garland, and paper chains, homemade ornaments and simple wrapping like this.

One year it would be fun to have a tropical Christmas. 

You could have palm trees and coconut decorations, with flamingo ornaments and traditional tropical island food and beverages.

I have a cousin who sets up a Christmas tree in each room of her home.  Each tree will have a different theme.  That would be fun, I think I have enough ornaments to do that but it sure would take a much larger home to have a tree in each room of this house.

October is officially National Breast Cancer Awareness Month however; the www.NBCAM.org Web site is an excellent resource for breast cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, and the general public to access all year long.  When you visit the website, you will find the most up-to-date breast cancer information and links for many helpful resources.

Breast cancer is one of the most widely recognized cancer foundations.  We carry the trademark Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon that you can use in numerous ways.  Many will simply use a pink satin ribbon folded into an awareness loop and pin it to their garment.

Obviously pink is the awareness color for breast cancer.  You can make hair bows with a combination of pink satin ribbon and the awareness ribbon.   If you are interested in doing a fundraiser, you can make up hair bows, or awareness ribbons to wear, braided bracelets with a combination of the pink satin and the awareness ribbon for ladies to wear, or accessorize hats, or almost any fashion accessory and sell them to raise money towards breast cancer that you donate to the foundation in memory of a survivor or someone who lost the battle.  You could sell items at bazaar booths and donate the money collected to a person actively fighting breast cancer.  It is very costly to travel back and forth for treatment, even if the person has insurance; there are always many expenses that occur when a person is sick.

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.  Gold ribbon is used to represent this awareness cause.

Childhood cancer has to be the most frightening thing a parent can hear.  I can’t think of anything scarier for the child and parent than learning that your child has cancer.  Children are diagnosed every day with cancer and the journey has just begun for the family.

A young girl in our community has been in the hospital all summer with cancer, and the family and friends in the community have really rallied around them in prayer and support.

Wearing a gold awareness ribbon is a great way to bring awareness for childhood cancer and the need for more research.

Fast Facts About Childhood Cancer

• This year, over 9,000 children will be diagnosed with cancer.
• Cancer is the leading cause of death among children.
• Over 1500 children died of cancer in 2005.
• Children tend to develop different types of cancer than adults.

• · Types of Childhood Cancer

Children can suffer from several types of cancer, such as

• Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia
• Bone cancer
• brain and spinal cord cancer
• Ewing’s Sarcoma
• Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
• Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma
• Neuroblastoma
• Osteosracoma
• Retinoblastoma
• Rhabdomyosarcoma
• Wilm’s Tumor

Have you ever watched or helped with the Special Olympics? I had the privilege of helping with the Special Olympics when I was in high school.  I can’t describe how much I was blessed to see these amazing kids working so hard to finish their race.  They did it with joy and without angry competitiveness.  They encouraged one another to all do their best.  There are always ways to help with these activities.  Find your local community group and see how you can volunteer.

2012 Special Olympic colors have been released.  Many have made scarfs and other things for the kids to wear.  They have summer and winter games.  You can start now and crochet or knit scarfs for the kids and donate them to the group.  In the winter you will want to use a wool or poly blend yarn.  For summer accessories you can use thin ribbon or sheer ribbon to crochet decorative scarfs for the kids.

Navy blue and Cherry red are the colors for the 2012 games.  Why not start now and make as many as you can to donate for kids in your area?   These are the official colors by red heart yarn.  You can buy wholesale ribbon in these same colors. There are guidelines to follow.

2012 Official Colors

Red Heart Super Saver
387 Soft Navy

Red Heart Super Saver
319 Cherry Red

Red Heart Soft
4604 Navy

Red Heart Soft
9925 Really Red

PLEASE NOTE: You can choose to work with the Red Heart Super Saver or Red Heart Soft Yarns – or a combination of both – please just use both a red and a blue in your scarf design!

Size Guidelines

Your scarf should be between 54″ and 60″ long, and approximately 6″ wide.

Please include fringe or other adornments within these measurements.

Pattern Guidelines

You are welcome to knit or crochet any pattern that you choose or want to create on your own.

We encourage you to get creative! We have posted many photos in the 2011 Photo Gallery on our website here where you can get ideas from your fellow knitters and crocheters.

There are also Free Patterns available for download here on our website under Stitcher Resources, courtesy of the Red Heart Yarns Creative Team.

Specific Program Deadlines & Delivery Details

July is Juvenile Arthritis (JA) Month.

Blue is the Awareness Ribbon color associated with JA.  There are many types of arthritis and it usually develops in the elderly unless there had been an injury previously.  Seeing a child crippled or in pain from this terrible illness is so sad.  It hurts them to do the simplest things that other children take for granted.  Imagine sitting in the park and seeing all the other children run, jump and play but your child is in too much pain from simply walking.

Juvenile arthritis (JA) refers to any form of arthritis or arthritis-related condition that develops in children or teenagers who are less than 18 years of age. Approximately 294,000 children under the age of 18 are affected by pediatric arthritis and rheumatologic conditions. Read below to see how the Arthritis Foundation is reaching out to these children and their families.

Help bring awareness to this crippling disease.  Become educated and support fundraisers for research.

June begins fireworks safety month. The 4^th of July is soon approaching and every neighborhood will have kids playing with fireworks.  Everyone loves fireworks but they can be very dangerous.  Please take extra precaution when using any fireworks.  There is an age limit to buy them for a reason.  Countless children and adults are seriously injured every year from using them improperly.  Many have lost their eye sight and even lost fingers or have been seriously burnt.

Below are many other Awareness ribbon causes for June. Wearing an awareness ribbon is a great way to start a conversation about a cause that is important to you

.

June 1 – July 4

Fireworks Safety Month info@preventblindness.org
www.preventblindness.org
Prevent Blindness America

1 – 30
National Aphasia Awareness Monthnaa@aphasia.org
www.aphasia.org
National Aphasia Association

1 – 30
National Scleroderma Awareness Monthsfinfo@scleroderma.org
www.scleroderma.org
Scleroderma Foundation

1 – 30
National Scoliosis Awareness Monthnsf@scoliosis.org
www.scoliosis.org
National Scoliosis Foundation

1 – 30
Vision Research Monthinfo@preventblindness.org
www.preventblindness.org
Prevent Blindness America

6 – 12
National Headache Awareness Weekinfo@headaches.org
www.headaches.org/NHF_Programs/National_
Headache_Awareness_Week
National Headache Foundation

6 – 12
Sun Safety Weekinfo@sunsafetyalliance.org
www.sunsafetyalliance.org
Sun Safety Alliance

6
National Cancer Survivors Dayinfo@ncsdf.org
www.ncsdf.org/Pages/AboutNCSD.html
National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation

8
Caribbean American HIV/AIDS Awareness Dayinfo@cpicincny.org
www.caribbeanhealthaidsday.com/index.php
Caribbean People International Collective, Inc.

14 – 22
National Men’s Health Weekinfo@menshealthweek.org
www.menshealthmonth.org/week/
Men’s Health Network

20 – 26
Lightning Safety Weekronald.c.jones@noaa.gov
www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/index.htm
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Weather Service

21
National ASK Dayask@paxusa.org
www.paxusa.org/ask/index.html
PAX/Real Solutions to Gun Violence

27 – July 5
Eye Safety Awareness Weekloretta@useironline.org
www.useironline.org
United States Eye Injury Registry
American Society of Ocular Trauma

27
National HIV Testing Dayinfo@napwa.org
www.napwa.org
National Association of People with AIDS

There are many ways to honor our fallen troops who died to protect this freedom that we all take for granted today.  Some go all out with festivities; some volunteer to help decorate at cemeteries, some place flags all over their yard or just buy a new flag for their flag pole.  Some prepare gift boxes to send to the troops serving today, others write thank you letters to soldiers and veterans. Some even prepare gift boxes for the families of an active service member away at war.

Maybe the only thing you are able to do is to pray for those serving today, and for the families too.  There is no tribute too small.  We can wear awareness ribbons for all the various cancers, and other terrible diseases that plague countless people.

Why not for just today at least wear a red, white, and blue Awareness Ribbon to honor all the military this Memorial day?  If only to help you remember to pray for those serving today and thank God for those who gave their all.

May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month

Although some would say this is a very controversial illness, it is becoming more prevalent. Please help increase awareness and prevention. Some places sell magnets, rubber wrist bands, and lapel pins.

You can also wear a green Awareness Ribbon and make some to give others when you explain the cause for concern about this disease.

We came at family reunions in the summer and it seems there is one of the group each year will contact this illness.  It is very often miss-diagnosed.  Some states don’t even recognize the disease as real.  Family members had to take one of their children out of state to be treated and within a very short time they started improving, after years of various mystery illnesses.

I realize that many that read this live in the city and suburbs and this may seem like an impossible issue for them. However, the weather finally is getting nicer and many have been in the woods mushroom hunting. Many others will be planning camping trips and fishing trips that will involve getting in or near wooded areas.  But if you live in a rural area, you are at risk by just going outside in coming into contact with these ticks.  Please educate yourself and take precautions to prevent being bitten and if you do, then recognize the symptoms.

A record number became ill from tick-borne diseases in 2010. Lyme disease is spread by tick bites. Many began wearing rubber wristbands to remind you and your guests to check for ticks each day, the easiest way to prevent illness.

The deer tick goes through three life stages. Shown from left to right are the adult female, adult male, nymph and larva on a centimeter scale.