Will you forgive me?

I hope you are not all going to leave me... for the second time this week, I have no card!!! I have 1/2 a card on my desk - I just couldn't finish it last night. I pulled my back out late yesterday afternoon. Sitting at my desk was extremely painful. Yep - this just hasn't been my week - heck my month! It is a little better today, but I am moving slow.



So instead I will show you my Christmas present. My Donkey Cabinet!!! The other day I talked about getting it. You see Gato (the cat) has started climbing and snooping. I collect lots of things, many of which are very old and breakable. One collection is my donkeys - porcelain, wood, felt etc... old and new. Well she just found the shelves where they have been housed in my living room, so Hubby and I decided that it was time to find something with glass doors to hold the more valuable items. Now everything is just set in it right now, and actually not all my donkeys are in it yet. But with everything going on here I mainly just wanted to get things in it for safetly.. I'll foof it up later. (Is foof a word?)

Now some may be looking at it wondering about me... but I love the character, it is not actually old. But looks it - We have a country looking house with lots of antiques. So it fits me perfectly!




OH and one more thing!!!!!

I have gotten an award!! From the truely talented and amazing Camilla - I feel so proud to call her friend - her stuff really rocks!

The rules are to give it to five others, who shall give it to five others.. You shall link the one you got it from, and also the ones you give it to:) And let them know. And there is more... You have to write down five things you are addicted to.


Ok first to pass it on to five: (in no particular order)
1- Kimmie
2- Bev
3- Jacqui
4- Annie
5- Claudia

And now to 5 things I am addicted to: (in no particular order)

1- Stamping

2- Coke... my caffine of choice

3- My donkeys ( yes I am grouping all 29 in one here!!!)

4- Internet Blogging/Surfing

5- Buying more crafting supplies... love to get the latest!

Hopefully this afternoon I can sit at my desk and get a few things done - Hope your week is going better -

HUGS and-

Two Challenges - Two Cards!

Thank you all for being so nice with your comments for me and Bonnie. It really means so much to me ---

So we have two cards for today - House Mouse Challenge had some "technical difficulties" yesterday so I couldn't post my card - I am pretty excited about it! This is my first Guest DT for them, love my "mice" and their friends. Now I freaked just a bit when I was emailed my first DT challenge - Snow.... I have A LOT of HM stamps... not a one had snow of any kind. You want summer heat, swimming, playing yep got them all. But not a one with a winter snow theme. Well I got my thinking hat on and looked at each of my stamps to see how I could make it work. And just over half way through them - I picked up my Patriotic Mice. hmmmm that flag looks alot like a blanket... So I stamped it twice, first I colored the mice with my Copics - then the second one I cut out the flag - and separated the parts that were folded down. I just got some of the Doodlebug felt paper and it was perfect for a warm fuzzy blanket - I layed the pieces onto the paper and cut all of them out, bright blue for the main side, and purple for the inside color. I then cut out my mice, and then attached the blanket. I needed some shape... so with one of my Copics I shaded the blanket. I then pop dotted it onto the Me and My Big Ideas glittered snow paper, that I had cut out with my new Nestibilities label die, matted with purple. Then I backed card with the same papers. I layered two ribbons in the same colors, and doodled the edges. The sentiment is from Whiff of Joy and is heat embossed to make it pop more. I then added three Martha Stewart snowflake punches inked a bit with bright blue, then attached with snow flake brads and topped with blue dew drops.

I love how it came out, hope no one is upset I covered the flag... but the snug warm blanket worked so well with the snow - Now you must run over and try the House Mouse Challenge and see all of the DT's work! Oh my too cute!

CARD TWO:

Now to this weeks Spoon Full of Sugar - I can not believe it... but this week is a Happy New Year's theme!! Wow where did 2008 go? This will be our last challenge now before Christmas and we will be returning on 6th January. We would like to thank you all for joining in our challenges in 2008 and helping making our challenge blog such a huge success!! Thank you also to our wonderful sponsors for your continued support and for the wonderful prizes you have donated!!

Well I wanted to go with some bright colors and didn't have anything really party New Year's to go with so I went for a "pick me up" type of card - (yes pun intended there) I love the HM Bunny stamp, just love coloring those balloons! I have a stamp that reads Let your Dreams take Flight... but I decided instead to use the computer and print out my sentiment and add In the New Year.

My card base is the other half of my HM card's base, the pattern papers are from Inspirations, loved the soft colors and patterns with the stamp. I colored the image with my copics, including the background sky. I made the balloons a bit stronger, then high lighted with white gel pen. I then stamped them a second time and cut out pink and green balloons and popped them up on the image with pop dots. I then used my Glazed Dimensions to make them shiny and round. Really looks cool in person!

All the pattern papers were inked on the edges, the sentiment was doodled and used a Rubberstamp Tapestry stump stamp to put the flowers around the edge. I then stacked Prima flowers, jewelry spacers and mini brads on top of Martha Stewart Frond punched leaves. Love the colors and love that bunny -

I hope you will give the challenge a try... there are some really great prizes this week from new sponsors Colette and Katie from Nutcrafters. They have given us a fantastic prize this week which includes: High Hopes - Sunday's Best High Hopes - Daniel Prima Center Kisses (Jade)Prima Sandi's Favourites - Jealoussea (Green) Oh you just must run over to Spoon Full of Sugar and take a look! And also make sure to check out the other DT cards... oh these girls make me ohh and ahh each week!

Ok... sorry this one was long - but hope you enjoyed - Now I must run... I want to go and visit some blogs before the day gets to far away from me.

Again thanks for all of the well wishes -

HUGS and-

Sorry I didn't get back sooner -

So sorry I left you all hanging -


I was gone most all of the day, and I have not been feeling well this afternoon myself. But there is good news! Bonnie is doing much better - so much better that Doc was surprised and did not want to do the biopsy. He said that the meds were doing wonders for her, and it was looking less likely to be Cancer, so he wants to leave her on the meds for 3-4 more days and then check again. So we wait. But I am happy, that meant he didn't have to put her under to do anything, and she really is feeling better, playing and shhhh don't say the frisbee word to loud - or we will have to go out in the dark and play.
Doc will be out here tomorrow to check on Rosie - she is better but not 100% and he wants to take a look at her just in case.


One reason I was late as well was we picked up a piece of furniture for my living room... I collect Donkeys - yes I know I have 29 outside - but I also collect others, porcelain, wood, felt, toys you name it old and new. Well I have them all over the house, and many of my most pricey ones are in a cabinet in the living room... a cabinet that is just shelves - Gato my kitten..... has started to climb and get into things. So I asked Hubby for a cabinet with glass doors. We found one we both really liked - and now all my donkeys are safe from the tiny monster that was eyeing them as something to play with. ---- I'll see in a few days if I can get a photo of it... I really like it.


No card - I need to find out what happened to the challenge so I will save the card - maybe there will be two for tomorrow!

Thanks for checking back and for those that don't like too many update emails in one day - Sorry -

HUGS and-

I'll be back a little later -

Just wanted to let you all know that I will post later today -

I have to get out early today to take Bonnie to the vet - we are hoping for the best report. The meds she is on really has made her feel 90% better, if I didn't know she had been so sick you wouldn't think anything was wrong. (you can see the bottom of my post on Saturday if you don't know about my baby Bonnie)

I do have a card, but can't post it until the challenge site has theirs up... I was happy with how this one came out as I struggled a bit with the challenge theme... so I hope you will come back and see it -

Thanks so much and sorry for the double post today...

HUGS

Magnolia Vs. Stampavie Challenge and a HUGE SURPRISE!!!

Yea it is Sunday and time for the Magnolia Vs. Stampavie Challenge! And this week is a really fun challenge... but before I get to that I am about to bust with excitement.......

Yesterday I was at my class all day, and Hubby was gone as well... we got home at the same time, which was really perfect timing.

What was the HUGE SURPRISE?

Well out in one of the pastures was.... A BABY DONKEY!!!! Jolene or "JoJo" as we call her... totally surprised us and with out any warning she had her baby out in the pasture! Totally freaked us out, for a few seconds we thought Freddie had got out of the Momma Pen - but wait this baby is dark and really really tiny!!!

So in a blur of activity we harnessed up Bella and Freddie and moved them to the young pen with all of the newly weaned babies. (we were planning to do that today) Then Jolene and the new baby were moved into the Momma Pen. You could tell the baby had a really wild day in that pen with all of the other donkeys - We have a couple of females that are just dying to be Momma's themselves and were trying to take the baby from JoJo. It took a little while for them to calm down but then they were happy and safe and bonding well. Josephina or "Josie" as I will call her, is really really small. She measures only 19 inches! (You measure from the "withers" base of neck to the ground) This is our smallest baby so far, and we thought Lina and Gloria were small!

So this was very happy exciting evening! A baby we really did not think was coming until the end of December!

Ok... now to the challenge! This week Donna asked us to make Christmas Gift Tags...If your anything like me you always run out of tags! Or you may have an extra special gift that you would like to have that extra special personal touch on your gift, so make a gift tag of any size and make as many as you like.

For mine I used my old red Sizzix die and cut three tags out of Kraft paper, I stamped them with three of the Rachelle Anne Miller Christmas stamps. I colored them with my pencils and mineral spirits, then high lighted with Sakura Glitter Pens and White gel pen. I doodled the edges and then inked the edges. Found some dotted ribbons for the ties. They were really quick to make and I think I am going to make a bunch more to use this year!!!

I hope you take time to join in on the challenge and make sure to visit the Magnolia Vs. Stampavie Site and see how creative the other DT were! Wow they blow me away every week!

Ok.... gotta run... hubby is literally tapping his foot waiting on me ..... need to go out and check the donkeys.. take a few photos and then we have to meet the gang for breakfast -

Sorry it is quick! Hope you have a great Sunday!

HUGS and-

A Chilly Donkey Day

Brrrr. it was chilly out there this morning - The temp in our yard read 28 degrees, not cold to some, but to me and my donkeys... that is really chilly! Water was frozen in the bucket..

I took some photos late yesterday -

Gloria and Jazz... they were really trying hard to convince me to bring carrots out to them... they already ate all I had the other day - or I would have fallen for it gone and gotten them some.

I love this photo of Freddie.. if only I could capture the sound - he grunts trying to get your attention. He is so funny -

Darlene and Pavo, He is so BIG! I can't wait to put him and Freddie in the same pen and compare them, I am sure he is inches taller. And please don't mention to Darlene she is still "big boned"... it is an issue we share - but hey she has had 9 or 10 babies... so you can't blame it all on her eating habits.

Now you may want to know what are all the young ones looking at? I mean hey they stopped eating dinner to watch this "thing" cross their pen... and they were not happy about it being in there.

Truthfully neither was I........................................

ewwwwww...... why to children's books make opossums look

cute? I mean these things are just plain nasty, mangy, and gross!!! This was a baby - only about 8-10 inches long. I am sure Mom was somewhere - I don't know if you can tell by the photo but this little guy was haulin' .... And it was a good thing - I think there were 6 donkeys that were about ready to stomp it out of their pen.

One quick note... I don't mention my Border Collie Bonnie much.... don't really know why, I guess because she is more like a child to me, I am very emotional about her. We lost our first "baby" to Cancer 6 years ago - and Bonnie came to us to help us deal with the loss. I spend more time with Bonnie than anyone - probably including Hubby. My life revolves around Bonnie's schedule. Well she is sick. Really sick. I took her to the vet yesterday - they think she may have Cancer. We will take her back on Monday to have test done. There is a slight chance they are wrong, but we were told to prepare for it. So please say a prayer for her... if she does end up with Cancer, I do not want her to suffer. Today she is feeling much better - drugs do wonders. We will see what they say on Monday.

I need to run now, gotta get my stuff together for my class - we are making tile coasters today -lots of heavy loading and unloading.

Huge Hugs and -

Cute Card Hearts -

Ok, this was a fun card to do. It was great to do a card with some Hearts - I love hearts, collect them... it started with my wedding - I was married on Valentines day. When I opened up the Cute Card Challenge Blog, I was expecting Christmas, New Years, Red and Green something to do with the season. But was thrilled and actually excited to sit down and do a card for it. Hearts!







I started by finding an image with hearts... I have quite a few, but this one just made me smile. This is "Walking in the Rain Umbrella" from Alota Rubber Stamps. Is she cute or what? I colored with my Copics and white gel pen. For my pattern papers I used Imaginations patterns that I thought complimented the colors in the image. (I got so excited about the hearts, I forgot to pick the pattern paper before I colored... oops... then I had to go through and find some that matched, but these work I think) I inked the edges of the two patterns with a dark pink ink. Matted the image with the same card stock as the base, then stitched the edges of both with my gel pen. I ran a piece of light blue ribbon across to pull the color of the sky and the small blue flowers in the pattern paper.






Now how excited did I get when I was digging through my thousand of flowers and found those two pink dot flowers? They match the paper perfect! I stacked with a larger and smaller pink Prima flowers, jewelry spacers and pink mini brads. The sentiment is from Whiff of Joy and is perfect for the image. Then just for some added fun and heart I punched a large Heart with my Fiskar's Squeeze punch, and inked the edge with the dark pink. So happy with all the hearts and pink! Hope they like it at Cute Card Challenge -








So what do you have planned for this weekend? Me, I have a class on Saturday to teach, then I am hoping to work on my Christmas Cards and a few gifts on Sunday. So the plans have a crafty good weekend, we will see if that is actually happens - HA! Hope you have a great one planned -





HUGS and-