Jolly, Jolly Snowman!

Hello, I hope everyone is keeping well.  Thank you for all the lovely comments on my last card, it's so nice to know that people are still will me despite my recent lack of cards.

I have made another card tonight to share with you all.  I was sat on my laptop when I suddenly told myself to get off my backside and make a card - so I did!!  I made it with this weeks Penny Black Saturday Challenge in mind.  When I saw it on Saturday, I knew I had to take part.  For those that haven't checked, it's Christmas + Red & Embossing..  You all know how I love my red and white Christmas cards which always have an embossed background.  Add that to my love of Penny Black stamps and you have a perfect combo!  What better stamp could I use other than trust old Snowy himself! I've only had him a year, but I LOVE him!!  He's such a joy to colour.

 I apologies about the poor photos.  The only decent time for me to photograph at the moment is the weekend as it's dark when I leave for work in the morning and virtually dark when I get home.  Oh for those long summer days again!

His bobble & fur trim have had the usual glamour dust treatment.  It wouldn't be a Christmas card without a bit of sparkle! He's been coloured with my trusty copics.  The embossing folders are snow dots and snowflakes.

I'm going to go and have a look at what you've all been up to now. Thank you for stopping by and for any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.

Sarah xx

Lottie Love at Christmas

I hope everyone has had an enjoyable Monday, if that's at all possible! I always feel much better once I'm home and I know that the day is over for another week.  I really don't like Mondays, I think I'm very much a Garfield person!

The card I have to show for you today was made a couple of weeks ago but, understandably, I've not felt like posting it until now. It's another card using my Humphrey stamps, but this one is Lottie.  I think my last card also featured Lottie too, but I said it was Humphrey.  This stamp is called Snow Fun and was a dream to colour in.The background has been embossed with the snow dots embossing folder and backed onto Real Red SU cardstock which I get from the lovely Jules.  I've then cut a smaller strip of red which has been punched with an old Fiskars punch and then a strip of white card has been embossed with swiss dots folder and finished off with a gorgeous piece of gingham ribbon from Sew Sweet. The finishing touches are a Martha Stewart punch and a gemstone

 The snow drops have been glittered with Glamour Dust but I don't think it shows up too well in the photos.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Hooked on Crafts - Winter Wonderland
Kaboodle Doodles - Bundle up for Winter
Stamps R Us - Emboss It
Addicted to Stamps - Christmas Card
Gingerloft Challenge - Christmas and Winter
Penny Black & more - All Creatures Great & Small
Stamptacular Sunday - Anything Christmas
Sweet Stampin' - Punches and Dies
Simply Create Too - All About Christmas
Totally Papercrafts - Christmas
Crafters Companion - Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it Snow

Thank you for stopping by and for any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.

Sarah xx

Thank You Christal

I would like to thank everyone that left a lovely message following the loss of Bozzy.  One week on and it still feels so painful. It's funny how you miss the smallest of things like hearing his meow or even just seeing his face looking back at you.  The mornings are difficult for me as I've lost my breakfast companion who had to be fed before I could do anything else and then wanted a cuddle when finished.  We'll get there slowly.

I have managed to make a card as I wanted to say a thank you to Bozzy's vet, Christal.  She is a wonderful lady who thought a lot of him and was so gentle and kind.  Even after he'd passed away, she was talking to him as she carried him out of the room.   I've wanted to do this since that day but haven't felt able to.  In the meantime, Christal took the time to send us a card with the following message:

"Boris was a super cat.  He was really lucky to have you look after him so well - allowing him to live for so long in comfort.  I know letting him go was not easy for you.  Thinking of you. Christel xx"

That meant so much to us.  I don't know many vets that would do that.  On the very same day, we also had a lovely card from a very good friend Michelle and one of my best friends, Sarah. 

This is the card that I have made and it obviously had to have a cat as the focal point.  The stamp is part of a Penny Black transparent set called In the Garden and has been coloured with copics.  The paper is from the first SWALK cd rom from Crafters Companion and is mounted on core'dinations cardstock.  The embossing is from a Crafts Too embossing folder called Daisies and the sentiment is from Craftwork Cards.

I hope that she likes it.  We'll be taking it in on Wednesday hopefully with a tin of Celebrations chocolates for them all.  I just wanted to let her know that we appreciated everything that she did for Bozzy when he was with us.

I hope you've all had a good day.  I've made a fish pie for dinner tonight and two mince beef pies to freeze for other days.  I like to try and keep busy so that I don't have too long to sit down and think sad thoughts as I know Bozzy wouldn't want that.

Thank you all for stopping by and for the lovely comments you leave, they are greatly appreciated.

Sarah xx

Goodbye my Beautiful Bozzy

I'm sorry that I've been absent the last few days. Unfortunately, as my title says, we lost our beautiful boy Bozzy (Boris) yesterday.  He had gone down hill the last couple of days and yesterday we made the heartbreaking decision that it was time for him to leave us.  He was just short of his 21st birthday so had a wondefully long life but, at the moment, that doesn't make things any easier. 

My husband, Jon, had him for nearly 19 years when turned up on his doorstep and never left.  I've known, sorry knew him for nearly 9 years and lived with him for the last 5 years of his life.  Those 5 years have been the most enriching and love-filled 5 years of my life because of that little man and that is why I'm really struggling not having him with us anymore.

We do know that it was the right thing to do (his vet agreed we'd brought him in at the right time) and we believe that Bozzy knew what was happening and was at peace with it because, for the first time in days, he settled into my dad's arms as we were getting his basket and he stayed there.  He was virtually asleep by the time we were called into the vets and didn't really stir much when we placed him on Jon's lap for one last time.  I was stroking his head and talking to him as he left us for Rainbow Bridge where he will wait for us to all be together again.

This poem has been helping us come to terms with things:

If It Should Be

If it should be that I grow frail and weak

And pain should keep me from my sleep

Then you must do what must be done

For this last battle can`t be won.

You will be sad, I understand,

Don`t let your grief then stay your hand

For this day, more than all the rest

Your love and friendship stands the test.

We`ve had so many happy years

What is to come can hold no fears.

Would you want me to suffer? So

When the time comes, please let me go.

Take me where my needs they`ll tend

Only stay with me until the end

And hold me firm and speak to me

Until my eyes no longer see.

I know in time that you will see

It is a kindness that you do to me

Although my tail it`s last has waved

From pain and suffering I have been saved

Do not grieve it should be you

Who must decide this thing to do.

We`ve been so close, we two these years

Don`t let your heart, hold any tears.

I hope that you will bear with me in these first few difficult and emotinal days and weeks as we come to terms with the loss of our beautiful boy.  He was more than just a pet to us, he was part of our family, our little boy and there is a huge whole in hearts and lives without him.

xx

Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Good evening all. I can't believe that we're already back at Sunday evening again.  There's a question going round on Facebook at the moment that asks you what button in life would you most like to press.  I opted for the Pause button so that I could have more time to do all the things that need doing, as well as the things that I would really like to do.  I don't just mean craft or bake, but spend more time with the people that mean the most to you and appreciate things more as it won't be around forever.  What I wouldn't give for the pause button right now to delay the inevitable Monday morning alarm.

I'm slowly starting to get my stamps catalogued (and I mean slowly).  I think it's going to take me a very long time to get there so I just have to spend an hour at a time at least working on it.

I managed to have some crafty time this weekend and made a couple of cards.  I'm going to show one tonight and I made it specifically for the Crafters Companion Monthly Challenge which is Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow. I've used one of my new Humphrey stamps and this one is Mistletoe Kisses and coloured him in with Copics and the fur trim glittered with Glamour Dust.  This is also a shaker card to make it look like its snowing, although the main photo doesn't really show it.

 The card is a base layer of Real Red CS from Stampin Up with a white layer of CS that has been embossed with snow dots embossing folder before having a whole cut out with a circle nestie.  The circle plastic shaker layer is placed in here with the little shaker bits and the image stuck on the back.  The frame is cute from Real Red CS using a scalloped and circle nestie.  I've finished off with some punched snowflakes gems and a sentiment.

I think in the close up you can just make out the little shaker pieces.

Supplies:

Stamp: Humphrey Mistletoe Kisses - Crafters Companion; Ink: Copics and Memento Tuxedo Black

CS: Real Red - Stampin Up; Tools: Circle & Scallop nesties, Snow Dots embossing folder, Shaker case, Martha Stewart Punch;

Embellishments: Gems, Pearls, Sentiment, Glamour Dust - stash

I was really pleased with how this turned out although I think I still need to practise with my red copics a bit more.

I'm also entering this into the following challenges:

Stamptacular Sunday - Punch it!

2 Sisters - Anything Goes

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Stamp that's never seen ink

Crafters Companion - Let it Snow

Fun With Shapes & More - Use Something 3 Times

Cute Card Thursday - Reds for Remembrance

Delightful Challenges - Snowflakes

Thank you as always for stopping by, your comments are greatly appreciated.

xx

My Stamp Collection!

I have to apologise for my lack of action in the past few months, not just in blogging and crafting myself but also in visiting everyone elses blogs to see what everyone has been up to.  I think a break has been doing me some good and I actually coloured some images last weekend, I just have to make them up into cards.

I've been thinking about making some changes to my craft room in the new year that will hopefully help me to utilise my space more efficiently.  Whilst in that mind set, it's got me thinking about my stamp collection and how to organise it so that I know what I have for each occasion.  There are so many that have yet to be used and it's such a waste. I've decided to try and catalogue them by brand and then subcategories into themes.  This could be tricky with some as they could fit a number of occasions!  I will be stamping them all up onto plain paper and putting into poly pockets and a folderToday I just started with getting my wood-mounted stamps out of the drawers.  The majority of them are Penny Black but there are some other brands there too. I decided to take some photos of them all for you!

The first photos is my stash of Penny Black stamps, wood mounted and clear sets.  I don't think it shows quite how many there are there!

 The second photo is of other brands of wood mounted stamps including Whipper Snapper, Elzybells and Me To You

 The third photo is of just some of my unmounted stamps.  The first basket as a large number of Humphrey and SWALK stamps as well as some Forever Friends and other brands.  The second basket is  mainly LOTV stamps.

 In the blue box are more LOTV stamps as well as some Wild Rose Studio, Fizzy Moon and Penny Johnson stamps.  The clear drawer has a really mix but a large number are Magnolia stamps. There are also some Greeting Farm stamps, the Stampasorus Elephants and more Forever Friends clear sets.

 This is my collection of Elzybells unmounted and clear stamps. There are 12 dvd cases full as well as a number of clear sheets.

 This is my collection of Popcorn Bear Stamps.  Surprisingly I don't have all the Christmas stamps!

Getting to the end of this post, I've just realised that I haven't photographed all my Forever Friends wood mounted stamps!! There must be between 20-30 of them too!!

What do you think of my idea of categorising them?  Do you think it's a good idea or is there a better way for me to go about it?  I look forward to hearing any ideas that you have.

Thanks for stopping by and for any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.

xx :0)