Rose Happy Birthday Card

Made Me Laugh

My oldest spent his first week away this summer, he went to scout camp. Friday was family night and we had fun going to see him. He showed us around a bit, and one of the places was a "trading post". I saw an Indian choker and started drooling, I've wanted one of these for a LONG time, and the price was better than perfect! (I wish I would have gotten both, there was a white one too). Anyway, I thought it was funny when I opened the package to slip the necklace out, the little tag (that I'd originally thought was a price tag) said my Indian choker was made in India... I don't know if this makes you laugh, but it made me chuckle.

Nesting Bird Card

This is another card I felt compelled to do...so I could you my pencils some more :D I designed the spiral frame in create and cut and used my wb to cut it out. The rest is just ink and paper. I don't know what I'll use it for, I just wanted to make it :D For now it will go in the surplus card holder until I find a use for it. Thanks for looking!

Congratulations Card

I played with my prismacolor pencils again :D This card is for my brother-in-law. He was baptized on Saturday, so I did this for him. I also tend to focus on detailed work when I'm stressed or upset, and with the passing of our dog, this was a great way to do it since it served two purposes :D I have some additional ideas for this card, but I tried to stay away from the more girly aspects of the card, so maybe next time :D

Thanks for looking!

Sad Evening...

Our oldest dog, Kenai, passed away peacefully tonight. We let him in from outside before we left to go get pizza and a movie to bring home. About an hour later we found him, so sometime, during that hour he moved on, across the rainbow bridge. There was no sign that he was in distress or upset before he passed, and that brings me great peace. There was also no sign today that he was doing or feeling any worse. The only unusual thing he did today was enjoy a little more time outside than normal, I'm glad he took the chance, it was within the next hour that he passed away. He was ours for 12.5 years, the last of our first babies (the animals we had before we had kids). He will be missed but not forgotten. I'll most likely post pictures of him in a day or two, but for now, here's the story of The Rainbow Bridge if yo haven't read it... He joins a ball python, two ferrets, and our Kodi, who he can now frolick and play with without pain. I don't know if getting a puppy at Christmas prolonged Kenai's life any, but it definitely made his last 6 months more enjoyable. He played with Sirius as much as an old arthritic dog could. He mentored him and helped teach him the ropes. Now Sirius will take over, as he steps into his role of transition puppy, and grows into his role as the family dog. And now, The Rainbow Bridge.... Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart. Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together.... Author unknown...

Father's Day Cards - You Want One?

I made some, and I have a few left over. I decided to make five of each since I usually get a request for one or two. Because they're hand made, hand colored they will not be completely identical, but I promise, they'll be really close to what you see here! I'm having a blast with my new prismacolor pencils, they blend SO well! So I chose stamps that I could color in :D I need two of these mice cards, and that leaves me with three left over, if you'd like one, please comment and let me know!

I also did this lighthouse stamp, I think they're pretty cool and it was on sale, so I got it. Again, looking for an excuse to use my pencils :D

I need one of these, leaving four extra, again, if you want one (or more) please just comment and let me know!

Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by! ***UPDATE*** I only have one lighthouse card left

***UPDATE 2*** These are gone now...Thank you! Still have some mouse ones though :D

**sorry, this is not a card give away. If you're interested in a card, we'll talk price via email :D

Our Library is so Cool! Pt. 1 - the People

Our library invited the crew from Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge to visit with us. You can find a link to their site in part two - the Cats. We took the kids and they got to see a video presentation that showed the facility, and let us see the types of animals they have there. Their main focus is big cats, but they do try to step in and help with wildlife when they can, regardless of species. We got to see some of the animals while they were being rescued, and then again after they'd been properly taken care of. There was a pair of tiger cubs that made their way into the movie that were adorable...and huge! They should be considering their father is a whopping 800 lbs - can you imagine? After watching the movie and talking to Tanya (who I didn't get any pictures of) we got to meet Scott, her husband, as well as the cats. The first pic is Scott, and a bunch of people we don't know... My crew, listening attentively, except of our imp... Who has the ability to look like an angel when he's snuggling daddy... For pics of the cats, check out part two :D

Our Library is so Cool! Pt. 2 - the Cats

They hosted people from the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Rescue (you can find them on the web here ). They're located in Arkansas, and although they try to help out wild life in general, their main focus is the big cats. Cats that looked cute and adorable, but quickly grew to unmanageable in every way. They brought two cats with them, a tiger named India Nichole who is beautiful. Her previous owner actually thought it was a good idea to turn her loose in a state park (or some such similar place). Tiger, being the brilliant creature she is, was waiting for him on his front step in the next day or so - she'd travelled 60 miles to go home. His next attempt at getting rid of her was to make some phone calls. TCWR got a call and new they had to take her. I tried to get some good pictures for scrapping, but I didn't have a very good vantage point, and later on I realized the settings on my camera had been changed, so my flash wasn't working how I thought it was...I'm pretty bummed about that.

The next cat is just a youngster, a black panther named Spyke - he's breath taking! His parents were rescued when a private zoo in NY shut down. They didn't know the female was even pregnant, so they got a wonderful suprise about a month after they picked up the cats. I'm so disappointed my flash and I weren't in sync, because I think this picture would have been cute! The following one turned out better, but you just can't see as much of him as you can in the first one. Check out his eyes though, aren't they gorgeous?

Helping the Animal Shelters, part two

Before I forget, here's the link to get you to the voting site! Last month I posted about a simple way to help your favorite animal shelter, and if you don't have one, you can use my favorite one :D Some great news, The Pet Connection is FIRST in Kansas! Yippee! They're 39th in the country - and that's a big deal! They started out 1000 something in the country. Some very wonderful people have put together a very simple way to help the animals. Using the link above, you can go to my favorite shelter's website. On the right hand side, they provide a link. At this new site, you can vote for your favorite animal shelter. The shelter with the most votes wins. The winner gets $$ for their shelter and animals, and these places are miracle workers when it comes to stretching money and making it go further. To find the animal shelter you want to vote for, you simply put in the name, and location, then vote, and verify your vote. Please, take some time every day to vote, it's such an easy way to help out some really great animals!

A Birthday Card - Make a Wish

My friend has a daughter turning one. I know this card is wasted on a one year old, but I think her mom will enjoy it! I used prismacolor pencils for the pixie and my wishblade for the oval cuts. And of course, no pixie creation is complete with out a little bit of sparkle, so I pulle out some purple stickles. Hope she likes it! I certainly had fun making it!

Graduation Card and Thank You Tag

I did these for the same friend I did the engagement card for. I used my wishblade for the lettering on the card.

Typically I make thank you cards for my friends when they ask me to make cards for them, this time I thought I'd make a thank you tag, it can be used as a book mark after it serves my purpose. The thank you note is on the back.

Went For a Bike Ride

on Saturday :D I didn't die, but I was in pain... We went about 11 miles. The first half was easy, I thought to myself, this cycling is kind of enjoyable, it's not that hard at all... On the way back to the car, it was HARD work! We were going against the wind then. Wind at your back makes the ride easy, wind against you not so easy. I think each mile back should be considered two miles because of the difficulty! I think we're going out riding tonight, but just around the neighborhood...

A friend of mine will be getting a new daughter in law soon and she wanted a card to congratulate the couple. She brought me a photo and requested a "sketch". Let me explain this sketch. I'm not good enough to get it this good so I use photoshop elements and click alot of options until the original picture looks similar to a sketch.

I wasn't happy with the results though, so I got my pencils out and embellished the sketch to make it look more genuine. Then, after cutting, layering, and stamping, she has a card to give to them, one specifically and uniquely theirs.