The Perfect Snowman!

As promised, here is my next CAS card created with another cute LOTV stamp, this time 'the perfect snowman'. I've been choosing stamps with dogs so I can make a few more cards for St Francis Animal Shelter.  I've coloured with my Copic pens to match the scrap of Marianne Design Scandi print paper I had left in my bit box.  Also added the falling snow with a white pearl pen and some sparkle with Stardust Stickles.  Here's the card:

Sorry for the wonky picture.  Again, just the embossed stitches around the edge of the paper, some inking, a snowflake and little gems.

I'm scheduling this one so fingers crossed you get to see it .. .. .. not sure when I will be able to afford a new pc now that I have Izzy and some vet bills to pay, thankfully he's doing much better as long as I can keep him calm and relaxed. Sometimes that's easier said than done though and any upset shortly after he's eating will be disastrous .. .. ..

CCT Stars

At Cute Card Thursday this week our theme is stars and we have Whimsy Stamps sponsoring us for the challenge.  Do stop by the CCT blog to read all about it and catch up with the rest of the DT.

The picture on the CCT blog was taken last night so the colours are not quite right, I've managed to snap again this morning as it's a relatively bright day here in North Cornwall, makes a change from the torrential rain of yesterday and my little car incident .. .. more on my Facebook page about that.

Here is the close up shot of the LOTV Mary and Joseph stamped image I've coloured with my Copics. The shades are close, but from two different sets, one BV and the other a B with a touch of the violet in it.  The camera doesn't pick up the subtleties that the eye sees!  I've added a little touch of sparkle to my stars .. .. and here is the card:

I got the embossed stars folder back in the late summer when we had a craft fair in Bodmin, but then forgot about them in the drawer .. .. good job I remembered for this week's theme.  The card is CAS with just the faux stitch embossed edge and a dark blue mat that also has a hint of the lavender about it.  It's another C6 card so will either be for Mum to send to one of her church friends or I will add it to the pile for St Francis Dog Rescue.

Well my pc is still playing up, you wouldn't believe how long it took to get these pictures added .. .. but I do have another CAS card made to share so will try and get it organised for tomorrow.  Take care, and thanks for dropping by.

Red and Green at CCT

I do apologise for the dreadful photograph! This week on Cute Card Thursday our theme is red and green, so perfect for your festive creations.  Please stop by the blog to read about the sponsor and prizes .. .. I'm writing this a day early as it's taking an age to load any pictures with my iffy internet!

I'm not getting a lot of time to myself these days but have managed to do a little colouring and used up some old magazine freebie papers by Nitwits to create a collection of cards for the St Francis Rescue centre.  Fingers crossed you might be able to see better in the individual pictures.  The images are Penny Black, all except Santa holding the puppy, I think that one is from High Hopes but as it's just naked rubber in my Christmas stamp box, I couldn't swear to it!

I tried to get the two xmas treat designs side by side, but couldn't .. ..

So, this one has the Marianne Design bells and holly die cut added for decoration, they are from die set COL1363. The berries and hearts are from my bit jar and are waste or left over pieces from other MD dies I've cut in the past.









 On this one I've die cut the greeting text from LR0225 and added the waste stars with a couple of gems.  On all the cards I've added the faux embossed stitching and inked with chalk ink, mostly a brown but once I used green.

This stamp is called Xmas Pilgrims.  The cute puppies stamp only the outline so it's up to you to decide where the markings go, thankfully the wood block mount does give you an idea!

I've added glaze to the balloon and the little waste green stars along the top, and of course glitter to the hats and for the icy snow they are skitting along!

The text across the bottom is from a Viva Decor clear stamp set, available from Cuddly Buddly.

On this card I've used a cute little stamp from one of my clear Penny Black sets, cant remember which one and with a puppy asleep on my feet I can't go and find out!

For decoration I added the waste hearts and die cut a mini poinsettia and spray of holly using Marianne Design dies.

Finally, here is Santa! I fussy cut him out then added the Lace Stickles to the trims on his suit before 3d fixing him to the card.  The little stars are more waste (feels good to use up the bits from the jar) and the tree behind santa is die cut from Marianne Design LR0136.

Well that's it. The internet packed up on me yesterday so it's been a rush to load the individual pictures this morning.  I've not taken Izzy for a walk yet, the wind is blowing a gale here so I keep putting it off, thankfully he is happy to do his business in the garden! Unfortunately he sneaked a drink of water from the can in the garden just a while ago and now is coughing a lot, I live in constant fear of aspiration pneumonia which is a common side effect for dogs with ME (mega eosophagus).  We seem to be doing so much better on the food front with no regurgitation and not always necessary to feed him upright anymore either, just slowly so still by hand.  The drinking still scares me although I notice that when he laps a few sips from puddles on our walks and then carry on, he doesn't have the cough or water regurgitation.  I also noticed that he needs to be completely relaxed during feeding, any stress is disastrous but the problem is he's scared of his own shadow half the time!  We are getting better though, and I'm having to tell him off for barking at people when we are out. The first time he cowered as though expecting to be hit, my heart nearly broke and I had to be firm with myself not to pick him up and cuddle him there and then.  He learns quickly though so hopefully a few more sessions and he will understand that there's no need to bark at people we pass - he does it to try and scare them away as he expects to be hurt .. .. so sad.

Stripes at CCT

Well that didn't last long! Today is decidedly iffy so I'd better be quick sharing my DT card for this week's stripes challenge at Cute Card Thursday.  The stamped image is another of my new LOTV stamps from the Bodmin show and with his stripy hat and scarf was a great start for the challenge theme. Iv'e coloured with my Copic pens then added liquid pearls for the falling snow and glitter at the base.

Here's the card:

The papers are by Nitwits and the die cuts made with Marianne Design dies;

mini poinsettia LR0142
holly leaves, bells and snowflake COL1363

I have a demanding spaniel trying to jump on my lap as I type so guess he needs to go water the garden .. .. and it's tipping down with rain here! Catch up later, when and if internet is working again, hugs to all!

One Layer Card

ok then, I have internet .. .. but not sure how long it's going to last so I'll be quick sharing this simple little card with you.  It was made for the CCT blog one layer challenge back in October and I used one of the cute LOTV stamps that I got at the Bodmin craft fair.  I've not been crafting much recently, what with more decorating, family ups and downs and now a new member of the family taking up so much of my time - but more about him later!

I've coloured the image with my Copic pens then added a little touch of glitter for the snow - here's the card:

I have had to stamp and colour onto my favourite smooth card then fix it to my base card, so it is a version of the one layer idea! Colouring with Copics they bleed through and my stamping card isn't substantial enough to stand on it's own anyway.  I've simply embossed the faux stitches around the edge then stamped the text to try and hide a blob of ink that must have been on my hand .. .. maybe you wouldn't notice it if I'd kept quiet!

So, a quick introduction to Izzy my new cocker spaniel friend.  I have pictures on my facebook page now and then taken with my Hudl as I can at least use that to check my emails and get onto facebook. Izzy, short for Curtis (another aeroplane make as all my cockers have been named for aeroplanes) is now a year old and was gifted into the local re-homing shelter by his previous owners as they said he was scaring their children!  The poor fellow is scared of his own shadow and yes he does bark at strangers and will go for your ankles if you're not classed as a friend and move to fast! The poor lad was kept shut away when people came to the house so has never learnt to socialise and is fearful of just about every new situation.  He was also living with his litter brother, a rather more boisterous fellow by all accounts who would scare the living daylights out of him, consequently he's also scared of other dogs.  So all in all we have some behavioural issues to contend with, plus there is a question mark over his feeding/health as he has been regurgitating allot.  I've had some expensive blood tests done to rule out anything nasty, and until he gets a camera down his throat to see what's going on the jury is out.  Thankfully the blood tests were negative for anything nasty but he has been labelled as having a large oesophagus causing the regurgitation.  He previous owners when pressed for further information just shrugged and said they thought it was because he ate too fast being in competition with his brother.  There are lots of questions as to what might have caused it, a splinter from a stick getting lodged in his throat, an injury whilst playing .. .. I doubt I will ever know the truth.  Anyway, we have the feeding sussed now, it's just the drinking that scares me when he sounds like he's choking. He is a gentle lamb with both me and Mum and loves to be cuddled, and even brushed when in the mood! He sleeps all night, is house trained, travels well in the car and is all in all a joy to have in my life, so everything else we will tackle together one step at a time.

Anyway enough for now, as I'll try to add my card for this week's CCT challenge that I've managed to join in .. .. catch up as and when .. .. and if the internet holds I might even see if there are any challenges I can link up to as well.