CFC23 Operation Julie's Smile

Welcome back to CAS-ual Fridays, the Clean And Simple Challenge!
We're here a little later than usual but its all for a very good cause.
This week CAS-ual Fridays is participating in a very special benefit blog hop for my dear friend, and partner here at CAS-ual Fridays, Julie Ranae.  Since it just wouldn't be the same without her design team from The Play Date Cafe, we've invited them to join us in our inspiration parade this week. 

You can read more about Julie's story in her own words on her blog.
 Julie Ranae has had some pretty major dental surgeries in her lifetime. It's all due to medication she took as a child that left her teeth in an irreparable condition.  A few weeks ago, Julie Ranae had to have emergency oral surgery resulting in the removal of her front teeth.  The dentist at that time believed the best course of action would be to remove the rest of her teeth and replace them with permanents to avoid *years* of ongoing dental work that would just end in the same result.  Relieved at finding a solution, she visited the office for dental surgery that week.
 Unfortunately, it wasn't the visit she was expecting.  
After the consultation, and scheduling the surgery, the surgeon's office informed her that she would need to bring $4000 back to the appointment with her before they would proceed.  
This amount would not include the 'dentures' to follow.
There is no payment plan as she was initially led to believe, and insurance will not cover any of it.

Here Julie is today, sitting without front teeth that were pulled with the belief that they would be replaced immediately.  It has been painful both physically and emotionally for her. It is an overwhelming experience for our dear friend and one that I hope our creative community can help with.

 Hearing this and wanting to do something to help our dear friend, Nicole from Sweet Stamp Shop created this blog hop.  When Julie heard what was being planned, she was so touched that she insisted on "working for it"  and has help organize not only the hop but also the amazing prize donations from dozens of paper crafting companies now totaling over $2500.  These prizes will be distributed randomly to those of you who hop along and leave comments, as well as to those of you who choose to help by donating.

Any amount is appreciated and there is a PayPal donation button set up on our sidebar.


While this is a benefit hop, its also a hop about friendship and the importance of being there for one another especially when one of us really needs it.  Whether you are a personal friend, a blogger friend, a follower of her blog or just someone who can appreciate what its like to feel trapped within a personal struggle, I hope you will help if you can :)  Whether its $1, $5 or more, every little bit helps and I promise is truly appreciated .

Because it's a special week, we of course have a special challenge inspired by Julie Ranae.

CFC23: Inspiration challenge.  Create a Clean And Simple project using the quote as your inspiration OR use the quote as your sentiment.

Please say hello to our fantastic sponsor!

Hello and welcome to The Craft's Meow! My name is Lisa Hjulberg and I'm the owner of The Craft's Meow. Opening this store is a dream come true for me... I'm following Henry David Thoreau's advice toGo confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. I've imagined this for a very long time!

We offer an array of stamps, kits and bits & bobs that will make your paper crafting more fun!

This week's TGIF Club winner will receive a fabulous stamp set from 
The Craft's Meow

And now its time for our very special inspiration parade filled with Julie Ranae's friends and lots of fabulous stamps provided by The Craft's Meow!
Dana starts the parade as your next stop on the hop.  As you hop through, be sure to leave some love for each of these amazing designers to increase your chances of winning one of the many exciting blog hop prizes.

Dana Seymour

Julie Day

Jinny Newlin

Karen Baker

Virginia Lu

Stacy Rodriguez


Laurie Willison

Andrea Ewen

Laura Davis

Ruby McGuire


Jaclyn Miller

Michele Gross

Thank you for visiting each of our designers and we hope you enjoyed hopping through our inspiration parade.  Before you hop off to
The Craft's Meow
be sure to leave a comment to increase your chances at one of those amazing prizes and we're so grateful for your help in bringing Julie's smile back.

If you're ready to link your project for the challenge, keep on reading... :)
If you're looking for last week's winners, click HeRe

Ready to play?

*Create a new Clean And Simple project using this week's challenge theme*

*Link directly to CAS-ual Fridays in your post*

*No more than 4 total combined challenges or your project will be deleted*

**you can play as often as you like until 11:59 pm EST on Wednesday!**