Tuesday 15 August 2017

RIP Holly

Today was tough, as always we feed Holly and Loki before bedtime in the utility where they have a nice warm basket and their own personal door to come, go and play in the dark of the night.  Friday was no different, only it was.  It would be the last time I saw Holly.  She's normally a dirty stop out unlike her brother so it wasn't really out of the ordinary for her to not be in utility so I got on with my day refusing to answer the greedy meows from her brother, I looked at him and told him as usual he had to wait for his sister.  By mid morning Holly wasn't back so my husband fed Loki.  As the day went by my concerns grew, my youngest son went on a walkabout but found nothing.  I consoled myself that she must still be alive because no body was found by the roads.  I'd convinced myself she must be up to mischief and wandered a little too far, she was a bugger for terrorizing the local wildlife.  So Sunday came and went but Holly didn't.  Before bed I made a note of the local vet numbers and placed them by the telephone as my first job of the day.

I rang the vets she is... was, registered with.  I gave a description and the receptionist asked me if she was wearing a collar.  I said yes it was a red one with her magnetic catflap key on it.  That's when it went quiet, well at least it felt like it when she said the words... I'm so sorry we have a cat of that description here, she was bought in on Saturday after being killed by a car.  

Both myself and my husband walked down and were shown her collar and at that moment my hope was gone replaced by tears.  We haven't had Holly and Loki long, they were five months old when they bounced into our lives at Christmas from a cat shelter but pets have a habit of snuggling into your heart, don't they? 

She was a beautiful cat as seen in the photo opposite, oh she could be a little monster at times, my utility has often looked like a crime scene from CSI!  She also had this really silly bit of hair that stuck up like a mohican on her head, didn't matter how many times we brushed or stroked it down it would pop back up, that was her little quirk, my sweet Holly.

I'm very sorry if you popped here to see a little bit of crafting but this is my way of remembering and saying goodbye to my furry friend.  

Sleep tight Holly, we loved your soft and loving company xxx 

Saturday 12 August 2017

Dandelions

A quick(ish) card for me to share today, I'd decided earlier in the week that the Hero Arts dandelion stamp was coming out again, this has to be one of my favourites and its years old.


I started by cutting 4 2" squares from with the idea of putting them on the card in a block of 2x2 but on a 7x5" card they looked cramped so I changed tack and went for 3 running vertical.  The white squares measure 1.5" and are raised off the patterned paper.


I added some orange and lime splatters to lift the card but still leaving white space.  I then stamped the image again using second generation ink and added the sentiment using graphite black dew drop ink to make it stand out.  Popped a glitter straight line around the edge of the mat in green and a sprinkling of pearls and gems to finish.

I shall pop along to Pixies Playground with this one as the patterned papers were left over bits from a scrapbooking page I did years ago using Dream Street Birdie Bits.

Supplies: Sheenas stamping card, white textured card, Dream Street Birdie Bits patterned papers, Inktense pencils, Hero Arts Dandelion and sentiment stamp, KaiserCraft pearls/gems, Brilliance Dew Drop inks in Graphite Black, Starlite Black, Pearlescent Rust and Pearlescent Ivy

Saturday 5 August 2017

Bunnies in a Stocking!

Just imagine if you found these cute little bunnies in your stocking Christmas morning, personally I prefer a chocolate reindeer but couldn't resist making a card with the cuties. 


The image is from Lili of the Valley coloured in using watercolours and then distressed and matted onto some gorgeous patterned papers from My Minds Eye - The Merry Days of Christmas.  Added a satin red ribbon behind the image (not sure I like that).  As the bunnies were hanging in a stocking - OK that sounds painful and wrong but its late and words are failing me - I wanted to create an embellishment that was dangling too and decided on jingly bells.  Now I'm normally quite a patient person but getting string through teeny bell loops pretty much turned the air blue around me, even with a needle it was a ridiculously fiddly job, not to be repeated anytime soon.


I punched a tag and added a sentiment and eyelet and attached them all underneath the bottom layer.  Die cut a few Holiday greens and added a few pearls for the holly and some red gems to finish.

I'm unsure about this card, I think I lost interest in it after the string and bells fiasco, who knows it may grow on me over time!

Challenges:-

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes, optional 3 (3 pearls,3 gems and 3 bloody bells lol)
Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge Extra - Anything Goes as long as its Christmas
Love to Craft Challenge - Anything Goes
Daisy Chain Challenge - Anything Goes

Supplies:  LOTV digi stamp, Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolours, My Minds Eye patterned papers, Sizzix mini Holiday greens & MB Country border dies, TH Distress Ink in tea dye, Hero Arts Gift for You sentiment stamp, Stickles stardust and Kaiser Craft gems and pearls.