Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Thanksgiving 2010

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! It has been forever since I posted a card I made (OMG over a year ago) so here are two! I have had the With Gratitude stamp set for a long time and finally got a chance to get it inky.


I took the big leaf stamp and inked it up in More Mustard and rolled its edges in Really Rust ink and stamped it on white cardstock. I trimmed around it and mounted it on a white circle cut with Nestability dies and matted it in Choco chip and Really rust (scallop circle). I love the look of the leaf hanging over the edges.


These two cards use this focal image but I changed up the design of the card for each one. I stamped the small leaf from the set in More Mustard on mustard cardstock for a background on each card, and matted them in Choco chip. For the first card I used the scallop lace border punch (how fun is this) on the choco chip mat. I am terrible at random background stamping, need to practice some more! I also used the Happy Thanksgiving stamp in Choco Chip from the All Holidays set. I really love these cards, and the focal image can be created using many sets like this one. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and eats all the turkey they want!

Monday, October 18, 2010

Some Sadness


Sorry I've been away again. Life has been up and down for the past few months, and three weeks ago today we had to put Dexter down. It was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life! He was diagnosed with cancer back in April, and the vet said that he could go through chemo but the odds were against him, and if he were to be cured, it would most likely return and be even harder to beat. I decided then to let him live out his last few months happy instead of constantly being sick from the treatments.

About two months ago he stopped eating very much and became very skinny. Almost like a skeleton with fur. He still acted normal, but as the weeks went by he became weaker and weaker until he could no longer jump up on anything and began to have trouble walking. I knew he would only suffer more and we took him to the vet who confirmed he was not well and that it would be the right time. I held him in my lap for about twenty minutes petting him and saying goodbye with tears streaming down my face. I have never loved an animal more than I loved my Dexter. Saying goodbye was the hardest thing.

I still think I hear his claws on the wood floor and every now and then think I see him coming around the corner. I forget and expect him to be waiting at the door when I come home. Every time it's like a knife in my heart. I miss him terribly, especially when my boyfriend is away and I'm all alone at the house. He was my furry companion. I will miss his "assistance" when I'm working on projects in the sewing room.

I don't expect I'll ever get another cat, at least anytime soon. Even if I did, there will never be another Dexter. He was the best. I miss you Boo, rest in peace. I loved you with all my heart!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

What have I been up to???

Hey guys, I'm still alive. I've been meaning to blog for a while but time just never presented itself. So I have a few things to show.

I finally finished my "O" quilt a few weeks ago! After a huge hiatus from it due to the biggest disaster in sewing room history (lol just kidding) I got back to work on it and once I got on a roll it only took a few weeks to finish (taking spare moments at night and on weekends). Here's a picture of it basted and ready for quilting:


After it was quilted and the binding attached I spent some hours out on my porch with Dexter stitching the binding to the back (boy that took time) but it was nice to look out at the pond and watch the ducks as I stitched. And of course he had to supervise (don't all cats?)


But after all that work, it was finally done. And I was very happy with it!
It was so late when I finished, but I wanted to take pictures and post on my Facebook. That's why the lighting is so terrible. Sorry bout that!


Also, my boyfriend and I went to Sarasota for the 4th of July weekend, to check out the beaches on the west coast of Florida (I grew up on the east coast in Satellite Beach, near Melbourne, FL). We had a great time, and they had free beach wheelchairs to use! JD pushed me all the way down near the water and set up our little area. The sky was overcast so it never got really hot, although we got sunburned. I am not used to going out in the sun and should have put more sunblock on. Oh well, live and learn. I've finally stopped peeling...yuk! Here's the two of us under our umbrella!


There were adorable terns with black heads everywhere, so I snapped a few pics of them, this one appeared to be posing just for me:


JD had a blast, and has been bugging me ever since to go back to the beach. So this weekend we are planning just a day trip to Daytona Beach, which is just an hour away.

By the way, on the way out of town, I saw this:


So I just HAD to stop in! And I finally got my Margo Pattern and some fabric to make my first Margo bag (Lazy Girl Designs).


I can't wait to get started. These are the fabrics I chose, all from the Cherish Nature line by Deb Strain for Moda Fabrics. I JUST LOVE THE BEES!!


So yeah, I know I've been gone a long time, but I spend more time thinking about quilting, blogging, etc. and less time actually doing them. LOL Hope everyone is having a fun summer, I feel like I need another vacation already... :)