This month's challenge at Inchie INKlings is to create an inchie that uses a word (or words). Ellen created some lovely inchies with words that described different aspects of herself...
that kind of inspired me to find a word that I would use to describe someone: my oldest son, Ziggy, who is blind.
The one word that always comes in to my mind for him is "faith." He even has a shirt with this verse on it, which pretty much says what he feels:
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1)"
When Ziggy was younger, one of his favorite shapes was stars, so I thought I'd put them on his Inchie. He tells me his favorite color is blue, so I chose a dark blue, like a night sky, where the stars are placed.
We've talked about the sky and the stars and how, above all of that seemingly endless canopy of stars, is God. And He placed each star in its spot, and He made Ziggy exactly like He wanted, and He loves Ziggy...and Ziggy has faith in God. And it's not a faith like he needs something as a last resort to cling on to, or because there's nothing better out there to believe in...but faith because it's the truth, and he can depend on it, always...and I can't argue with that...
So I put the word "faith" in Braille on top of the Inchie, so Ziggy could see it first (now, I hate showing stuff that others can't produce themselves,
so I apologize for that, but if you ever need something brailled, let me know, and I'll see what I can do to get it to you).
I wanted the Braille to look like stars in the night sky, so I highlighted them with my stardust pen. Added a few stars, and the print word "faith." 
SUPPLIES:
Stamps.....Everyday Blessings (PTI), Special Occasions Mega Pack (Inkadinkado)
Ink....Noir (Palette), Night Sky (Versamagic chalk ink), Versamark
Paper...Inchie squares, Solid Indigo (DCWV)
Misc...stardust pen (Sakura), Braille writer, glue
So, it's kind of a simple Inchie, but that really is Ziggy: simple faith in the God who is above us all...Good night, my Sweet Prince...
My kids really enjoy having an Advent calendar every year. I like it because it's like they get to open a giftlet every day, and it helps relieve a little pre-holiday tension.
I remember having Advent calendars when I was younger...the kind where you open a little door, and there would be a cute little picture in the opening. Then, on Christmas Day, all the little doors would be opened!
I wanted to be able to have Ziggy share in this type of excitement, too. Over the years, we've used different kinds of calendars. For a few years, we used the Playmobil advent sets. These are cute: each day has a little figurine in a box, that you place on a cardboard base. On Christmas, the Christmas scene will be complete. Ziggy did okay with this (the other kids loved it!), but he got frustrated not knowing what the figures were, and we always had to explain it to him...
This year, I was in a time crunch and found this at World Market for $1.79!!!! Thought I'd give it a go...
Behind each little door is a holiday-shaped chocolate. Once the chocolate is removed (and eaten), the shape can still be felt (it's like the base is the candy mold), which is cool.
So, how does Ziggy know which door to open? Sighted kids just read the printed numbers on the little doors. So, for Ziggy, I just apply some clear Braille labels on each door.
It's really easy...I use some special paper (kind of like laminating sheets, only thicker and stiffer...like really thick Scotch tape); it's clear and also adhesive on one side. I emboss the Braille numbers on to the sheets with the Braille writer (or "brailler" for short). Then I cut out each number and stick them on to the appropriate door...
Here's what the paper and the brailler look like:
It only takes a few minutes to do this...
I love the way Braille looks, so had to show this close-up view of this year's calendar:
I think Ziggy likes this calendar better than previous years' because of the chocolate! I guess the bad thing is that since there are 4 kids, we have to rotate who is the door opener, so nobody gets candy every day...
Well, I was inspired to do another Inkadinkado card...I know, enough already, but I certainly am getting my money's worth with this stamp set! This time, I combined it with PTI's Everyday Blessings, to try to make a Thanksgiving card. I hope it will work. There are so many cute Thanksgiving sets out there, but I just don't have the funds right now to invest in them. But I'm thankful for the stamps I do have :)
Of course, the brads on this card form a Braille letter! This one is the letter "c," which has nothing to do with the theme of the card; it was more for balance. The photo makes the ribbon appear kind of gray, but it is actually a sage green IRL, and matches the green in the DP.
SUPPLIES: Stamps...Fall Season (Inkadinkado), Everyday Blessings (PTI); Ink...Brown (Palette); Paper...Mellow (Basic Grey), Summer Sunrise & Dark Chocolate (PTI); Misc...rectangle Nesties, silver sage twill (Martha Stewart), brads (Making Memories)
And here's a picture of one of the things I'm very thankful for: my oldest son, Ziggy! This was taken on Thursday evening, after we went to a bike event at the School for the Blind. Since it was dinnertime, we decided to go to McDonalds for a Big Mac Feast (can't beat 2 Macs for $3 on Thursdays)...yes, we ate a total of 8 Big Macs (although Peter opted for salad, of course).
Maybe it's because I'm in a Back-to-School mood, but decided to post another Braille Embellishment card. Again, with "B", because repetition leads to memorization (right, Anastasia?). The pearls on the lower right form a Braille '"b", and "bunny" starts with "b".
This is actually a card I made a few months ago, for my mom, who likes bunnies. She always wants black/gray cards that are serious...so I kind of made it formal on the outside, with no color: 
And not so formal on the inside:
SUPPLIES: Stamps...Bunny (Inkadinkado); Ink...Noir (Palette); Paper...Stamper's Select (PTI), others from my stash; Misc...prismacolors & OMS, Pearls (Martha Stewart), paper piercer, plastic canvas, Giddyup font (dafont.com).
And a quick picture of Pippin, waiting patiently for her first appointment with the Vet...
Whenever I see brads on cards that are arranged in groups of 2 or 3, I think of braille letters (my oldest son is blind, so I'm around Braille all the time). The brads on this card make the letter "b"...
There was a color challenge on the PTI forum using Aqua Mist, Pure Poppy, Dark Chocolate and Kraft.
I think I should have done something for the background, but I wanted the card to look simple, and I only have a polka dot backgrounder (I think burlap or rice paper would look cool).
I really like the Out On a Limb set. It gives a view of nature that please me. When I was a girl, I was outside all the time, and had a panoramic view of nature. Ever since my college days though, my view has been pretty much out of the window of my room. Sometimes I could see an entire tree from my window, but most of the time it was a portion of the tree, just like this branch. Even after college, this has been my view...especially when my kids were little; somedays I didn't get a chance to go outside, but I could look out a window at a tree. We actually had a house that had a view like this card in our bedroom; only it was a crabapple tree, but it was so nice to look at...
SUPPLIES: Stamps...Out On A Limb, Mixed Messages (PTI); Paper...Dark Chocolate, Aqua Mist, Kraft (PTI); Ink...Dark Chocolate (Palette), Scarlet & Cranberry (Colorbox); Misc...Nestabilities, brads (Making Memories)
[Okay, these are definitely "homemade" cards, but I have to put them in because, maybe I'll look back at them someday and get ideas for other cards.]
My oldest son turned 15 on Saturday, and we made b-day cards for him. He doesn't really "get" cards. Since he's blind, the cards are just folded pieces of paper and someone reads to him what's written on them and describes any pictures on them...
This year, the kids and I decided to make him cards that might appeal to him:
Anastasia wanted to make a card with an image of one of Ziggy's favorite pastimes: computers! Found this cute Jolee's dimensional sticker at Michael's, then she put braille "15" on the screen.
Peter made a stack-of-squares sculpture that appealed to Ziggy's love of math.( I am so glad I have a large supply of dimensionals at our house!). 
Sophia made a calculator card that appeals to Z's love of calculators. She did a fabulous job with layout and labeling.
I made a card that appeals to his love of 
radios. This one is tuned to 99.5, his favorite station. The words on it are from his favorite Kenny Chesney song, "Summertime":
Perfect song on the radio,
sing along cause it's one we know,
it's a smile, it's a kiss, it's a
"Happy Birthday, dear Ziggy,
happy birthday to you!"
Happy Birthday, Big Guy!!!
(You are So "The Man")...
So I put the word "faith" in Braille on top of the Inchie, so Ziggy could see it first (now, I hate showing stuff that others can't produce themselves, so I apologize for that, but if you ever need something brailled, let me know, and I'll see what I can do to get it to you).
SUPPLIES:
