Sunday, October 31, 2010

Halloween Thank You

Happy Halloween!! We just finished giving out candy to the little goblins going door-to-door for Trick or Treating. I love watching the kids get dressed up and I really like that we live in a safe neighborhood where the kids can walk and be assured they are getting good candy.

Well my birthday falls around this scary time of year (no it's not actually today) and I needed a Thank You card for a good friend who helped to make my birthday something special this year.

My friend Cindy remembered my birthday and took time out of her busy schedule to make me a card and cupcakes! How sweet is she? I want to be sure she realizes just how much I appreciate her thoughtfulness. So I made her this card:

The base of the card is just white cardstock and all the other pieces come from PaperTrey Ink. The black is Smokey Shadow cardstock, the orange dotty paper is from Heather Nichols Halloween Paper pack, the white oval is more of the plain cardstock that I die cut and embossed with a Spellbinders Oval Nestability die, and the black ribbon started out as white grosgrain that I colored with a black Copic marker. The sentiment is from Dawn McVey's Signature Greeting stamp set. I used an orange Copic marker and their spray can to tone down the bright white of the oval. The inspiration for this layout came from Paper Crafts Go-To Sketches magazine, specifically Maren Benedict's sketch on page 33.

Well that's all I have to share for today. I do need to make another Thank You card for a different friend who also remembered my birthday. Hopefully I can get that made this week and I'll share it with you all next week.

Don't eat too much candy this week! LOL

Janice

Sunday, October 24, 2010

50th Birthday Card

Tonight I would like to share a birthday card I made for my brother-in-law's 50th birthday earlier this month. Normally when someone celebrates a milestone birthday (30, 40, 50, etc.) black is a common color. So I went with that theory and here is what I came up with!



I started with a white standard cardstock base and added Smokey Shadow cardstock by PaperTrey Ink. I then stamped the letters "The Big" using Color Box Frost White Ink and Trajan: Monogram Edition by PaperTrey Ink. The numbers "50" are from PaperTrey's Top Ten stamp set. The interior sentiment is from PaperTrey's Birthday Basics stamp set and the lines on the front and interior were made with a white gel pen and a ruler.

Over the last couple of weeks I have given away a couple of cards and I haven't remembered to get pictures before they are gone. Oh well, I'm trying to do better.

Things are definitely different around the homestead without Skeemo. The cats seem to be more active and we are seeing Lady and Sultan much more now. I guess the dynamic has shifted. John and I are adapting but we still have our moments when it's really hard. I know it will continue to get better.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your week.
-Janice

Sunday, October 17, 2010

In Memory Of Skeemo

Well as I have indicated over the last couple of posts, our beloved dog, Skeemo, crossed over the Rainbow Bridge on Friday, October 15th around 1pm. We took her to the vets office for an appointment and everyone agreed that it would be in her best interest to euthanize her. It is, by far, one of the hardest decision any pet owner needs to make. However I firmly believe that it is a responsible decision.

Skeemo came to live with my first husband and I in May of 1995, she was 8 weeks old. She has been a true companion to me for the last 15 and a half years. She moved with me 6 times, helped me thru a bitter divorce, 5 jobs, a new marriage, and the loss of two pets. I cannot begin to describe the emptiness I feel right now. It has been a truly difficult weekend for all of us.

Back in May she developed a small lump on the bridge of her nose, right between her eyes. At first I thought it was a mosquito bite but it didn't go away. We took her to the vet and they byopsied it but said it was nothing to worry about. Due to its location it could not be removed so we were told to keep an eye on it and let them know if it changed size or shape.

In June we went back to the vet because it had changed in both size and shape. Again we were told to keep an eye on it as there was nothing that could be done. The growth continued to change in size and shape over the summer. In September she developed nosebleeds which is very uncommon and dangerous for dogs. We immediately took her back to the vet. This was when we were told it was not just a growth but a tumor. The vet gave us some pain meds and told us to take her home and make her final days comfortable. I truly hope she was comfortable during the last four weeks.

Here are some photos I have of her on this computer:


This is a professional photo I had taken when we still had two dogs; Tasha (Keeshond) and Skeemo (American Eskimo).

This was Skeemo's favorite toy for a very long time. It got so bad (stinky) that we had to replace it several times!

Here she is just hanging out with the family!


She loved the water. We took her camping with us every year and here she is at Danforth Bay Camping and RV Resort. I think she liked this campground the most! Just like her mom! LOL


This is one of my favorite pictures. Camping just exhausts her!

Thank you for sharing my walk down memory lane. I need to get some pictures of her earlier years off the external hard drive. I'll share some of her puppy pictures when I find them.

Have a good week.

-Janice

Sunday, October 10, 2010

A Clean & Simple "Thank You"

Well it's been a fairly productive weekend around here. My dh worked on the cat enclosure and I'm pleased to say it's almost done! The cats will be so happy! :) I did some baking yesterday; apple pie and apple brown betty. We are in the heart of apple country here in souther New Hampshire. I also cleaned both the house and camper, which made me feel very good. Even the cats got in on the productivity by catching 3 mice! I can always tell when the seasons are changing as the outdoor animals try to find a warm place to spend the winter.

My card today was inspired by Nicole Heady of PaperTrey Ink. She is quite famous for creating clean and simple cards and I've always wanted to try my hand at one. I needed to make a card for my niece who bought some clothes while on vacation and then had buyers remorse. Since she couldn't return the clothes I offered to buy them from her but forgot to stop by the ATM on our way home. I offered to send the money to her but never did. So last weekend we saw her for a family birthday and I wanted to be sure I paid her the money. I so hate to owe people money!

The card is based on a piece of white cardstock and stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. The picinic basket, flowers and sentiment are from Vintage Picinic by PaperTrey Ink. The basket is paper pieced using the Recollections Autumn 5x7 stack that I picked up at Michael's last year.


I colored the flowers using the following Prismacolor pencil - Terra Cotta and the following Crayola pencils - Jade Green, Green, Yellow-Green, Red-Orange, Orange, and Mango. The frame is created with a Black Gel Pen.


I think it's going to be a fairly stressful week this week. I have a four-hour presentation I need to prepare for at work and, more importantly, I need to make another vet appt for the dog. The tumor is spreading quickly and I'm trying to prepare for the worst. If you have it in your heart please say a prayer for us.

I'll be back next week with another card.

-Janice

Sunday, October 3, 2010

World Card Making Day

Well I really thought I would be back into the swing of blogging a few weeks ago but then we spent a Sunday at the NASCAR race here in New Hampshire so I wasn't able to post that week. Then it just got easier not to post and one week led to the next and so forth. Today I'm wondering if I should try to post on another day of the week. I think I'll ponder that for a while and see where it takes me.

So our day at the races was fun. Normally my dh and I take my sister but this year it was just my sister and I. We recently found out that our dog has cancer and the vet has given her only a few weeks. So my dh couldn't bear the thought of leaving her along for a 12 - 16 hour day (we do have friends that come by to check on her and let her out) so he stayed home with her. We missed him but I'm glad he stayed behind this year. I don't think we would have had such a nice, relaxing time if we knew the dog needed us.

That brings me to the other reason I haven't posted. Our 15 and half year old American Eskimo developed a small bumb on her nose back in May. That bumb turned out to be a non-operable tumor which now covers most of her nose and forehead. The tumor has broken through her sinus cavity and caused some nosebleeds which is very uncommon in dogs. She doesn't seem to be in any pain, so we are just taking it one day at a time and hoping for the best.

This past weekend I was able to make a few cards and I even remembered to take photos of them before giving them away. Here is a card I made for my father-in-law for his 81st birthday. The white cardstock is just standard cardstock from Staples. The olive green layered paper is Bazzill cardstock and the pattern paper is from a booklet of paper I got a while back at Michael's called Sarapapers. The greeting and interior sentiment is from PaperTrey Ink's Birthday Basics and Masculine Motifs stamp sets. These were stamped with Memento's Rich Cocoa ink. The tag was hand cut from some scrap cardstock, the buttons were from my stash, and the frayed ribbon is a 'Special Value Ribbon' from Michael's.




You can click on any of the images for a closer look.

Thank you for dropping by tonight and spending some of your busy time with me!

Until next week ... may you have an enjoyable week!

-Janice