Blessed :-)

I feel blessed. :-)

I have many reasons--one of them is how happy I am to be able to share my love of crafting with all of the amazing people I have met through blogs and forums. The forum at Papertrey Ink was the first that I joined, and I have met so many wonderful and supportive people there. They opened up a new world of creativity to me and at the same time became my biggest cheerleaders. I gained a confidence in my creations that allowed me to actually SEND my cards to people so they can be enjoyed rather than just sticking them in a shoe box. They also gave me the confidence to start a blog. (Even if I don't post regularly it is such a wonderful outlet and I'm glad to have it available.)

In a previous post I mentioned Beverly from Precious Scraps (blog link on sidebar)--she is a perfect example of someone I have never met face to face, but I consider her a friend. She always goes above and beyond to do or say something nice (all while juggling her family, her dream business that she built from the ground up literally, her day job, and daily life). Her thoughtfulness has touched my heart and she is such a great reminder that there are people out there who do nice things just because they are good people.

Another amazing woman I have never met in person, but have been so fortunate to call a friend is Claire from Waltzingmouse Stamps (links to blog and store on sidebar). Even though she lives in Ireland (across the "Big Water" as my relatives in Germany call it), she has become a source of encouragement and inspiration to me. Claire also has such kindness and generosity that can be hard to find these days, especially while everyone is so busy with life/work/family. She followed her dreams and now designs and sells her own stamps. I received such a sweet surprise from her yesterday and it more than made my day.

They are only two examples of the many fabulous friends I have been lucky enough to encounter during the last few years. I want to thank anyone who comes here to read/comment on my little blog and offer encouragement. I am so blessed to belong to such an amazing community of crafters who come together from all over to share ideas, inspiration, advice, friendship, and a pure love of creating.

I am excited to see what the new year holds for all of us. {{{hugs}}}

Another quick card

I had a little time tonight to make a quick card so I grabbed a PTI set that I love, but don't use quite as often as I should--Life.

I used a base of Kraft paper, then a layer of Vintage Cream with some slight distressing on the edges. Next I layered some pp from Crafty Secrets onto to some Raspberry Fizz that I used my new favorite EK Success punch on (yes, I used it again).

The sentiment is from Life and it's stamped in Raspberry Fizz and Dark Chocolate. The pink is showing up a little orange-y in this photo, but I promise you it's a beautiful bright pink.

I'm glad I was able to squeeze another card in tonight, and that my little monsters left me alone long enough to finish. :-)

I underestimated myself

I thought I was wrapping things up for the day, but instead I ate a piece of pie and then made a quick card. It was inspired by the fun ribbon I picked up at Hobby Lobby yesterday. The dots/stripes can match up with Sweet Blush, Hibiscus Burst, Ripe Avocado, and even Ocean Tides.

For this card I used Sweet Blush, Ripe Avocado, and Dark Chocolate. The stamps are from Floral Fusion, a limited edition Papertrey Ink set that was only available during the CHA show in Florida last year. I wasn't able to go, but my blogging friend Beverly (Precious Scraps) was generous enough to give it to me as a wedding gift.

I feel like I'm on a roll--I'm finally getting back into the groove of creating and I couldn't be happier about that. It feels good to be using all of the fabulous and fun supplies I have stockpiled. (Of course, the more I use the better my excuse for shopping. LOL)

No card today, but I did get caught up on the laundry, dishes, and some other things around the house that needed to get done. I also baked an apple pie. It still has to cool, but it looks (and smells) pretty yummy!

I also had some help putting up a new shower curtain liner. It's quite fitting that they help since the reason it was being replaced was because of the holes they had clawed and chewed in the old one. They are doing very well and they are growing like crazy, but they have definitely left their mark on our home (Yes, Clyde is chewing on it in this pic). Luckily they are the sweetest, cutest little things so we let them live. LOL



When we named them Bonnie & Clyde we knew they were close, but we had no idea just how close they really are. I have very few photos of them by themselves because usually they are together. They snuggle more than any two cats I've ever seen before, but I'm glad they have each other. It's hard to resist two snuggling little kitties. :-)

Here is one of the cards I entered into the GSS contest at Papertrey Ink. It was actually more of an excuse to use my new EK Success diamond lace border punch than anything else. LOL

I used the PTI stamp set Rustic Branches for all of the dots, leaves, and sentiments. The paper colors used were Kraft, Ripe Avocado, Pure Poppy, and Spring Moss with Dark chocolate and Ripe Avocado inks. I finished it off with a coordinating Prima Artistry flower. I felt that the flower packed enough of a punch that I could keep everything else a little more simple.

I really liked using these colors and stamps for something other than Christmas--I think they can be great all year long.

I was only able to make one more card over the weekend and it was pretty fast (and not quite up to GSS contest standards). All of the Valentine's Day inspiration that I've been seeing got me to ink up the My Punny Valentine set from Papertrey Ink. This set has not seen ink in a looooong time so it was more than due.

I used all PTI products on this--Sweet Blush, Hibiscus Burst, and Raspberry Fizz are the colors.

I also tried a trick that I've been seeing a lot of in blogland--redline tape and glitter to make an accent stripe. The photo didn't capture the glitter very well, but it is something that I will definitely be trying again in the future.

I'm learning that if I want to make a card it has to be a quick one since I have to repeatedly remove kittens from my workspace (hopefully without them taking my supplies with them). I'm enjoying their playfulness, but hopefully they'll let me work in peace one day. LOL

Has it really been 2 months?

I just realized that it's been 2 months since my last blog post. I guess with the Holidays and everything else time has just slipped away. Hopefully that is going to change. Part of my resolutions for the New Year is to get back into creating more regularly, and last night I made a card for the first time in months. It felt good and it came together rather quickly (to my surprise).

I don't have a photo yet, but I think I may enter it into Papertrey Ink's monthly GSS contest. I'm hoping this weekend to make a few other entries as well. I haven't entered in almost a year, but I think I'm ready to get back into the swing of things.

Since I don't have a card, I'll leave you with some new pics of our kitties. They are doing MUCH better and seem to be very healthy and happy now.

Bonnie has such a sweet and innocent face. She's really starting to get more of a personality compared to when we first got her.

Clyde has had a more "in your face" approach since day one, but deep down he's a big softie. Don't you just want to pet that belly? LOL (Notice the size of his paws--he's only 6 months old, but I think he's going to be a BIG boy once he grows into them.)

I am a married woman!

It seems like it took forever to plan and then the day itself went by so fast it was like a blur. But a good blur--we had perfect weather, great food, great music, beautiful flowers, and so many of our friends and family were there to share it all with us. It truly was a perfect day. :-)

We spent a few sunny, 91-degree days in FL and then came back home and the next day we made a stop at the the Humane Society. We were thinking of getting a kitty to fill the hole left by Lucy, but we ended up with:

Meet Bonnie and Clyde, the latest additions to the family. They are brother and sister and just turned 4 months old. Cuteness overload!!!!

The bad news is that we got them last Friday and over the weekend they both started having some problems--It turns out that they both have upper respiratory infections and parasites, and Clyde has an eye infection too. That's the only thing about shelter kitties is that they're like kids at daycare--they all share all of the germs and illnesses with each other. $300 and lots of medicine later these two are hopefully on the way to being happy, healthy little kitties.

Right now they live in my craft room since they have to kept away from our older kitty. There is no way I'm getting anything crafty done in there until they are free to roam the house. LOL

Thanks for stopping by and visiting. Within a week or so I should have a link to share with pics from the wedding. I can't wait!

Into the home stretch

I just finished tying bows on 100 programs for Saturday and couldn't be happier with how they turned out. The pictures don't really do them justice, but they are a really pretty ivory with a pearl border. The ribbon colors go perfectly with our Fall color scheme.

I can't believe the wedding is almost here. It seems like forever since I started planning and now all of that hard work is going to pay off. Come Saturday I will be a married woman!

Hopefully after that things will settle down and I can get back to being crafty for things other than wedding stuff. My blog has been pretty quiet lately, but I hope to get back to it soon. (After the honeymoon of course, LOL!)

Easy Peasy Bracelets

I got some necklace and earring sets from a local trading company for my bridesmaids to wear, but I was having a hard time finding bracelets that would go with them. I was feeling pretty confident that I could make some myself, so I headed to Hobby Lobby's bead sale and picked up some aurora borealis swarovski crystals, a few other pretty beads, and a package of memory wire. I couldn't be happier with the results.

As you can tell, the lighting is not the best in this shot, but they really catch the light and sparkle. And if you know me at all you know my favorite color is sparkly. :-)

I hope that my girls like them.

The invitations are going out by this weekend--I can't believe it's almost here.

Thanks for stopping by.

Yes, I'm still alive and kicking

We had a very nice vacation in Gulf Shores, AL a few weeks back. I love to walk the beach and look for shells and I found a bunch of really nice ones. We didn't have any activities planned, we just used the time to relax and not think about the wedding so much.

Then it was back to the reality that this wedding is happening in 2 months!!! This week I had my first dress fitting, we had a meeting at church, and then another with the caterer. Next major thing is to get our invitations addressed and mailed out.

The good news is that there hasn't been any more major family drama (knock on wood) so things seem to be going much smoother than expected. I'm sure there will be a few more bumps in the road, but hopefully they'll stay on the small side.

Bows

This week I've been working on bows for the church pews and have not been happy with the results. I think that if I had bought wired ribbon it would've been different, but since I already have 100 yards of the non-wired kind I'm making do with what I have.

Tonight I finally decided on my final bow design. I was trying to make them with flowers and I think it just got too busy--I decided to simplify and am happy with my results. I only got 3 of them made before I got distracted by the Cardinals vs. Brewers game, but it's a start.

I think they're going to look very nice--not too obnoxious. I have to thank Joe for buying me the Bowdabra last weekend when we went to Michaels. It really comes in handy for holding the ribbon in place.

In other more exciting news, I got a call Monday that my wedding dress was in--that was 2 1/2 weeks earlier than expected. I went up and tried it on and am VERY happy. The dress is going to be perfect--I can't wait to see it once it's altered for me. My first fitting is scheduled for next month.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope to keep updating as I get things accomplished. Have a good one.

Happy 4th of July!

It has been a pretty hard week for us, but it's getting a little easier each day. We received two sympathy cards signed by the vet staff at both locations of the humane society--the one where we adopted Lucy/took her the first time she was sick, and from the other location that treated/diagnosed her FIP. One of the girls there made a point of putting a nice personalized note to us--she had let me cry on her shoulder when I first found out, so she knew just how much we cared for our sweet girl.

I'm really looking forward to taking a few days to relax and spend time with my family. I hope everyone has a safe holiday weekend.

Trying to keep myself busy...

... so I don't think about how much I miss my sweet little friend. This weekend was really hard--especially while Joe was at work and I was home by myself. I'm used to having my little shadow with me and instead I just felt really alone without her. Being on the computer is very hard--I'm used to having her curled up next to the keyboard, sometimes "helping" me type-LOL.

I spent today looking for some crafty things to use for church/reception decorations and I found some great flowers at Michael's that are going to be perfect for my pew bows. I ordered the ribbon online today and once it comes in I plan on getting started. I will be sure to post a photo when I get a few done.

Today I did get one thing accomplished--a floral headband for my flower girl. I bought a very plain ivory one and added some flowers and ribbon to it so it coordinates with my colors. I think it is going to look adorable on my niece, but then again, pretty much everything looks adorable on her.

:-)

I really needed to get to work on some of this stuff anyway and it's a great way to keep my mind off of things. It almost doesn't seem real that I'm getting married in less than 4 months! Yikes--that's coming up fast!

Thanks for stopping by.

RIP Little One

I'm heartbroken to say that Lucy lost her battle with FIP just after 4:00 a.m. today. She was absolutely the sweetest, most affectionate and loving kitty I've ever known. She was very loved during her short time with us and will be missed more than she'll probably ever know.

RIP Little One. :-(

Still Fighting

Every time I think it's hopeless she surprises me again. Our little Lucy is definitely a fighter. The most important part to me is that she doesn't seem to be in any pain--if that changes we're going to have to make that hard decision, but so far she is getting around well and eating/drinking on her own.

She even jumped up to help me make some Father's Day cards tonight although this time she didn't try to eat them. LOL

Here's the card she "helped" me make for my Dad:

I'm not really sure what's going to happen, but I've been making sure to give Lucy lots of kisses and treats. I want her to be able to relax and be as comfortable as possible. We're still taking it day by day and as long as she keeps fighting I'm going to do whatever I can for her.

Hopefully a good sign for Lucy

Lucy still has not given up so I'm not giving up on her. She had almost completely stopped eating on her own, but I noticed she would lick canned food off of my fingers. So I've been mixing canned food or baby food (chicken+broth) with unflavored Pedialyte and feeding her with a syringe. I'm hoping that it's starting to help her (along with all of the medications she's on).

Last night while we were eating dinner she came in and started begging like she used to before she got sick. I gave her a small piece of chicken and she ate it so I gave her more until she ate almost half of my chicken breast. After dinner I decided to cook another one and a small piece of salmon to have on hand for her. Joe started giving her a few pieces of salmon and she ate them too. (This was even after I had fed her about a 1/2 cup of the cat food/pedialyte mixture before dinner.)

This morning she ate a little bit of chicken and salmon, but not a lot. I gave her some medicine and then fed her some baby food/pedialyte and then I had to leave for work. About 20 minutes later Joe called and said she threw up. I was a little upset as this is the first time that has happened, but then he said it had a fur ball in it so that made a little more sense. Hopefully that was the only reason.

We're going to separate her and the other cat while we're at work again and leave her some food and see what happens. She honestly is starting to look a little better and she's being a little more active so I'm staying positive. She's a little fighter she's got lots of people praying for her so we're still taking it day by day, but I'm feeling a small glimmer of hope that she's going to recover.

I'm going to keep praying for the best and I appreciate all of the prayers and positive thoughts we've been getting. I truly believe they are working.

Poor Sweet Lucy

My heart is breaking right now for my dear sweet Lucy. She is the cute fuzzy kitty I introduced back in October and now she is in a fight for her life at the young age of 14 months. I took her to the vet on Friday and they told me she looked healthy other than the weight loss that I brought her in for. They were going to send her off with some antibiotics and told me to give her 3 or 4 months to see if she improved.

I had a very bad feeling about it so I pushed them to some blood work. They called me yesterday and told me it was not good. She has multiple infections attacking her liver, stomach, etc. They gave me another antibiotic and a steroid and told me that if she doesn't respond to them there is nothing else they can do for her. They are not 100% sure, but they think it might be FIP which is always fatal as there is no cure for it. From what I've read about FIP she may only have days left. She is still eating a little bit and trying to be her snuggly self, but it is not looking good. At this point I hate that her last memories of me may be forcing medicine into her tired little body 5 times a day and constantly trying to make her to eat.

It is so strange that she seemed just a little skinny, but otherwise fine 2 days ago. She was even being very social with everyone at the vet's office and they all said they wanted to take her home because of how sweet she is. Now she's clinging to life and slowly slipping away.

She has been the sweetest, most loving cat that I have ever had and I can't even bear the thought that she's leaving us so soon. Without some sort of miracle I'm going to lose her and that has kept me crying for 2 days straight. I'm trying to be strong for her, but it is so hard.

I took this picture of her yesterday.

She barely looks sick then, but there is quite a change today. I don't want to take any pics of her now because I don't want to remember her like that. I like to think of her as the sweet beautiful little fuzz ball that would curl up and sleep on my chest with her head on my cheek.

If anyone who reads this could say a little prayer for Lucy I would really appreciate it. I pray that she'll get better, but if she can't that it will be quick and painless for her.

For now she's getting all of the treats that she will eat and lots of snuggles and kisses from her heartbroken "mommy and daddy".

Another day, another card

I made a quick wedding card tonight for my fiance's cousin who is getting married on Saturday. I used PTI's shimmer white paper with some black accent pieces and a little bling. (I know it looks pretty silver in the photo, but I don't have very good light right now.)

I think the swirl pattern from the Cuttlebug embossing folder coordinates very well with the wrapping paper I used.

I'm glad I had a little more time in my craft room tonight, even if it was quick. I had a very busy, but productive night after work. I got a tan, got my nails done, got 7 inches cut off of my hair, wrapped two wedding gifts, and made a card. Now I'm going to get ready to hit the hay--We've got a long weekend ahead of us.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a great weekend!

I'm still alive--and I made a card!

I finally made a card this past week for my cousin who graduated from high school. I remember my HS graduation like it was yesterday, but it was actually 17 years ago. Oh to be 17 again.

Anyway, on to the card. :-)

I used almost all Papertrey Ink products with the exception of a few misc. star stamps I've acquired over the years. I used kraft, vintage cream, ripe avocado, and spring rain cardstocks. The sentiment and the large and small polka dot stars are from PTI's second anniversary set--Everyday Classics.

I'm surprised I could remember where anything was in my craft room. It seems like ages since I've been in there. I need to get started soon on some thank you cards so that I have them ready when the showers/wedding come around.

Speaking of the wedding, the planning has been going well. I won a drawing at a bridal shop so I'm getting my hair done for free. (Let me tell you, free is sounding very good right about now.) I also found an online vendor who is going to custom make my veil for an unbelievable price, especially considering all of the beadwork she is doing by hand(http://www.weddingsbychar.com/). I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Next major step is to decide on a china pattern we BOTH like so we can register. I've set up an online registry with Pampered Chef, but that is as far as we've gotten.

Thanks for checking in with me today. I'm glad I finally had something to share. Take care!