This project came directly out of my heart.

It was for a very dear friend, Jessica, who at age 31 years old, was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Not knowing what else to do, and using my art therapy background, i bought a blank journal and filled it with all the love, sass, and glitter i could find – writing prompts, doodling prompts, get your anger out prompts, prompts to throw a crayon temper tantrum (on the page) – whatever would help her get through the battle of her life. She loved it, and often told me how much it helped her with all that she was going through day to day.

More than anything, I wanted her to feel covered in love and prayers every single minute. So I bought a beautiful cozy blanket, and made some fabric tags to write on and attached them to the blanket. I had friends, family, and our small group from church write notes of encouragement, prayers, bible verses, even funny memories on the tags, so when she was using the blanket, she would always feel wrapped in love even when I couldn’t be there in person.

We called it her BIG HUG®. While sitting in waiting rooms and therapy bays, other women asked where they could buy one. She would tell me of these conversations and I would make a few more for her to gift to these women. I was very busy! That is when I decided to pursue bringing both my creations to market so that others could feel comforted and loved like Jessica did. What happened next will always be such a blessing…

If your life has ever been touched by cancer then you can probably relate to my friend Jason’s comment summing up why something like my journal is so important: “I don’t know if it is a lack of comfort in discussing the topic of cancer or that people are just avoiding uncomfortable life situations.” The LOVE HEALS journal helps with just that. It gives us, the friends, something to gift to show that we care without having to have those awkward conversations (the ones that terrify us and we avoid). We can just give them the book, and then run away and hide if we need to, but still know - that they know - that we love them. The BIG HUG throw blanket is for that too! It gives us a way to love when we can't be close to give a real hug!