will it get better , I hope so

                                          chinese style lantern- not sure what I will do with this.
 

Couture creations die cut baubles

I couldn't find any markings on this square die so I have no idea where it came from

.It does have lots of interesting items - mobile phone ,guitar, sunglasses  to name a few.

A few days after Bellas death I packed up all the wet food, biscuits and dental treats and dropped them off to a local cats rescue. I passed a small charity shop and whilst I never buy clothes ( cos I'm fat ) I do like to browse the crafty bits. A sealed bag with a $2 sticker, the only thing I could see was the large square die cut - as you can see from the pics I got a lot for my 2 bucks so used the word die to make this card. I need to keep busy.

I miss my furry little friend more each day. I did speak with the senior vet this week to go over the blood work etc for Bella and was assured that there was nothing they could have done to save her. A very aggressive cancer is the probable cause.

Goodnight sweet Bella

Bella - happy in the sun 

I don't normally mention personal stuff on here but I am just heartbroken at the loss of our sweet little pet.

 On Sunday evening we noticed Bella had some swelling on her front leg and paw -

 on Monday morning I arrived at the vets without an appointment and was happy to wait until they could see her. She had a high temp and lots of fluid on her leg - tablets and medicine for 5 days to be given with food - sadly Bella didn't want any food or water -I syringe feed her with both so that I could medicate her.

Things didn't get any better on Tuesday and she almost staggered about , her back legs wobbly. I tried again with the syringe feeding and on Wednesday morning she was unresponsive- her eyes almost closed and no strength in her back legs. So back to the vet who was very concerned- bloods tests showed concern on every level - kidneys- liver - low temp- blood count very bad - everything listed was very bad - Bella just laid there, she made no attempt to move or do anything as she was checked over- the vet tried to stand her up and she just collapsed in a heap on the floor. She was put to sleep as there was nothing the vet could do .I am devastated she has gone

Animals are very good at being quiet and not showing signs of illness- We were at the vets in April to get yearly vaccinations done - was she ill then or this something that has happened very quickly. There will be no pets for us ever again , I can not go through this heartbreak and sadness - the house seemed empty today, no little patter of feet coming into the bathroom with me and no hot water bottle to keep me snug at night.

birthday butterflies

 I used pretty papers from My Minds Eye 'meadow collection' which I picked up from the local op shop.

I don't know where the butterfly stamps came from - I have had them  a few years.

Let's Craft and Create challenge 224 - things with wings.

A little bird

 

I have been pulling my hair out with this one. I used a die cut for the banner at the top and was then interrupted by my cat who I tried to ignore - turns out she was hungry. When I went back to craft table said die was missing ( where do these things go). change of plan and I add the triangle - maybe 5 minutes later I found the die but it was too late , because of the embossed background I had stuck it down really well.

the bird stamp is really old from Inkadinkadoo and the last time I used it was 2018 so I am guessing it will be a least 10 years since I bought it.

Freshly made sketches challenge 706. Not quite what I had in mind and I'm not sure if it's  CAS enough

I made a second card using the bird stamp but instead of black I used green and blue  - does it work or should solid stamps always be black ?

hung out to dry

 I picked up the frame die as part of a 3 set from the op shop without any packaging- Do you know which company made this.

The image is a really old one from 'sassy cheryl ' coloured with marker pens.

Creative knockouts challenge 555- anything goes

orange- not my favourite colour

I'm not really an orange person so I originally chose soft peach colours for this image bit it really was too pale so I it with some strong orange and also stamped in an extra flower between the two on the left. This stamp is  big  but the flowers are only small so the card front looks a bit empty. I decided to make a focal point of part of the stamp which I think looks better. Next time I will stamp some script or a small background pattern before I actually stamp the flowers. The stamp came from Creative Stamping magazine  issue 43.
 

Passion for Markers week 807 - anything floral . 

flower panel

the flower stamp came from 'simply cards and papercraft ' magazine issue 256. the 'hello' was part of a set I picked up from the op shop and had no packaging.

Freshly Made Sketches   705. 

I have made quite a few cards using the sketches and have always been too late to post them.
 

cute koala from connie fong

This digi image from  connie fong has been sitting on my computer since September so I decided to print it out.

Critter Crazy challenge- 100 birthday bash - birthday cards with critters.
 

just playing around

 

managed to find a little time to craft- me time seems to be getting less and less. it's winter here in tasmania and whilst I'm not a fan of the rain it would be a good time to get some crafting done.

As you can see the above double z-fold still needs to be finished .  Do I add some green leaves poking out from the flowers or just leave it. I think once I add a sentiment to the front that might just be enough.

A new die 2

 This was another die from inlovearts . I also used their swiss dots embossing folder for the background. so you get the branch , the bow and the tiny dots in the set.

this die is Inlovearts Olive Branch Cutting Dies

A new die

 

If you have ever watched Lucy Patrick making cards with dies like this from Inlovearts feature a lot. .Lucy makes some lovely cards with their products.

I have recently got some of their dies and an embossing folder.

I made a couple of cards with this die above -  I'm not sure this is my thing- after I put all bits in place I really wasn't happy and put them both through embossing folders- liked them a bit more, but now I have made two cards that's it for me  not something I would keep making.Any ideas ?

The die is called Inlovearts Circle and Geometry Shapes Background Cutting Dies

paper ? not quite

I thought I had picked up some patterned papers from my local charity shop - turned out to be stickers. I know washi tape and pet stickers are very popular at the moment .

These two dark cards were transparent stickers, sadly only one sheet but it made two cards.

The other sheets all had white edges but I added them to white card so it's not so bad -  the sticker sheets cost $1 for the pack and will make about 12 cards so pretty cheap to create.

 

some bunny

It's only one little card but I hope I can get back to crafting after the floor upheaval. Things are taking shape in my little craft space, little being the operative word here. I will always be envious of you lucky people who have space to spare.

 I thought this might make a good valentines/ anniversary card cos we all need a little love. The cup is green but it was so sunny it's hard to see, inside the bunny ears are pink.

Critter Crazy challenge 97 - april 1- 21 

Passion for Markers week 782 - anything but a birthday-  

No floors

The  past few weeks have been a bit horrible. Our old house continues to throw problems are way. To be honest this latest problem was caused by shonky work done prior to our buying the house. We had floors which were uneven when we moved in and this got steadily worse until my foot went through the floor. Fearing the worst and a very large bill was about to come our way we were happy when the problem was the wrong boards put down before. It was actually very dry under the house and no rot present. On the downside one outside wall had no support and was sagging - lots of concrete- new supporting beams and jacking up to ger things a bit straighter.

So two bedrooms have had the new floors and it was a perfect opportunity to get in there with a paint brush and smarten things up. All the bedroom furniture, my craft table and supplies and carpets have been sitting in our lounge room , our dining table is in the garage so there has been no space or place to craft.  I have bought a few new crafty bits but I have no idea when I will find some me time to craft..