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

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

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

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

Happy Birthday Cathie

I can't believe it's Sunday evening again already! Where does the time go? I guess it also seems like a shorter weekend since last weekend was a 3-day weekend with the Labor Day holiday. Anyway last Monday was my sister Cathie's 35th birthday!

Many, many years ago I took a stamping Adult Education class with a couple of friends. A lady that I worked with knew a stamping/card making teacher who taught a class one night a week at the local school. She talked two of us into taking the class with her for a fun night out. I came across these cards recently and thought this one would make a nice birthday card.



I can't tell you any of the ingredients that went in to making this card but it made me think fun, sun and warm happiness so I thought it was perfect for my sister.

I hope you like it too! Thanks for stopping by tonight and I wish you a wonderful week ahead.

-Janice

Happy Labor Day

Happy Monday and to everyone here in the USA Happy Labor Day! Yes, it's a holiday here and I am happily sitting at home, surrounded by my animals enjoying some "me" time. It occurred to me while I was changing the calendar earlier this week that I haven't posted a picture of my scrap-calendar in several months.

So today I wanted to be sure and post the matted picture I used for the month of September. Here in New Hampshire we celebrate many things this month; apple picking, pumpkins, the changing of the leaves to the beautiful autumn colors and NASCAR! LOL Of course I had to choose a photo from last years NASCAR event. We've been attending the September race in Loudon NH for many years now.

I used the Apron Lace Fiskers Punch to add some pizzazz to the picture. The Grandstands at the track are quite full as the race is about to begin! I believe the stands hold around 150,000 people. Getting in and out of the track is quite an experience! We usually arrive early to shop and walk around and then stay late to allow some of the traffic to dissipate before heading out ourselves. In order to tailgate this year we will need to buy a new grill. I guess we better get on that, huh?!




The second photo has a bit of wash-out from the flash in the lower left-hand corner so I turned off the flash and took the photo that posted above it. Unfortunately that photo is a bit fuzzy if you try to look at it full size. I guess the camera didn't want to cooperate that day!

Well I certainly hope you all have a very relaxing day today. Be sure to spend it with family and friends as we celebrate the end of summer.

Hopefully this post is the start of my regular posting again!

Thanks for stopping by,
Janice

I'm Still Here!

Hello, hello, how is everyone? We've been enjoying the summer so much that I haven't had time to be very creative. We have been camping every other weekend and it has been just wonderful. We recently came back from an 8 day trip to Lake Ossippee in New Hampshire which is my absolute favorite trip each year. I have many pictures to scrap and am booked almost every weekend until October! How does this happen every year?

I managed to get into the Craft Room yesterday for the first time in over a month and I enjoyed every minute of it! I spent some time cleaning and then just had to get crafty. I altered a note paper holder, unfortunately I didn't think to take pictures before I started. However it has come out really nicely and I'm very excited to share it with you. Due to my busy schedule today I still have to take pictures of it before I can share. We are camping again next weekend so it will probably be a couple of weeks before I get to share anything.

Well I just wanted to check in and let you know that I'm still here, just enjoying a very busy summer. I hope you are also having a wonderful summer. I'll be back with projects to share soon!

Until then ...

-Janice