The CF Rainbow Tree is back for the 2023 Christmas season! It’s once again that time of the year that I ask for your help in making all things come together for the good of Cystic Fibrosis patients both young and old at University Hospitals in Cleveland Ohio.

I need your help and your polymer clay Christmas ornament donations.

If you can make polymer clay ornaments, I’d sure appreciate it. Last year we didn’t hit our goal. We need 500 ornaments per year for this project. What does that mean? It means that I need you to make ornaments and send them my way for the good of Cystic Fibrosis patients of all ages this Christmas season. Please see the information below for details on making your clay Christmas ornament donation.

Why is this Important to Me? Because I Have Cystic Fibrosis.

Occasionally I take a moment (just a quick one mind you) to write about my life story and living with Cystic Fibrosis (CF). I took my longest hiatus [almost four months to be exact] from polymer clay in 2011 when I had half of my lung removed as a direct result of my CF. My second longest was in 2023 for 8 weeks due to major surgery and complications from CF. If you’re sitting here wondering what CF is, your best explanation is to visit our foundation website.

I have about 4 hospitalizations a year. Five years ago I even got to spend a portion of Christmas hospitalized, being released the day before Christmas; and this wasn’t the first time it has happened to me. Being in the hospital is bad enough, being there over the Christmas season is worse.

Every year that we come together as artists, our Christmas trees and ornaments are a huge success! The patients love them and love receiving small gifts, and the staff that also receive ornaments from the trees are blessed by them as well.

This is our sixth year giving ornaments to CF patients, let’s continue to love!

---

CF Rainbow Tree – Polymer Clay Christmas Ornament Donation

What to Make:

Make as many ornaments as you would like to help me decorate our tree. You can make “cookie cutter” style ornaments, 3D ornaments, or whatever your heart desires. They can follow any theme you’d like: snowmen, llamas, sloths, Santas, reindeer, elves, seahorses, gnomes, lights, it doesn’t matter – but be creative! Make whatever your heart desires. We are making ornaments for both children and adults.

The most important: Make an ornament that YOU would like to receive.

If you don’t know what to make, choose either Christmas-themed ornaments or purple and red ornaments. Why purple and red? Every disease has a ribbon, ours is purple with a red rose in the middle. Why? Because CF is all about “65 Roses”. Read all about 65 Roses here.

Please Note: Due to the post-pandemic hospital restrictions, all ornaments must be received in a plastic baggie. Please send your ornaments in small ziplocks bags.

University Hospitals, Cystic Fibrosis Center Restrictions

When Are They Due: They need to be in the mail to me by Nov. 1st, 2023.

Mail ornaments to: KatersAcres, PO Box 296, Newton Falls, OH 44444

Other Information & FAQs:

What Will Be Done with the Ornaments? The ornaments will be used to decorate a tree in the outpatient CF center as CF patients as hospitalized all throughout the hospital. For every patient (child or adult) that comes through the doors for their check-ups during the season, they will be given an ornament via the staff at their appointments. Your heartfelt ornament will be a token of love they can treasure. After Christmas, nurses, doctors, respiratory & physical therapists, researchers, and other staff who treat patients with Cystic Fibrosis and have dedicated their lives to their care, will also be allowed to choose an ornament to take home from the remaining ornaments on the Christmas tree.

Overflow ornaments will be used the following year to decorate the food pantry tree at the church I work for and given to the people who come there for their food needs.

May I Send a Card with My Ornament? You may send a card with your ornament. If you send a card with your ornament, be sure to attach your ornament to your card in some way so the two remain together.

---

Use #CFRainbowTree across social media.

Will I Get to See the Finished Tree? Unfortunately, no. Due to hospital regulations, I no longer decorate the tree(s) myself. I will drop off all of the ornaments and the nursing staff will decorate for us.

From the bottom of my heart, from all of us in the CF community who battle CF on a daily basis, we thank you for your time, energy, & thought you have put into making an ornament to give to someone who will spend their Christmas holiday away from family and in the confines of a hospital. Bless you.

Please SHARE this CF Rainbow Tree post with your groups, pages, and social media to help spread the word to the polymer community about this endeavor. Thank you so much for your participation and ornaments made and sent to me.

---

Follow My Personal Journey with Cystic Fibrosis Here

---