Memories and stuff

Today marks the two year anniversary of my husband's passing. I was going to go away this weekend, but decided I needed time at home by myself instead. Well, not totally by myself. My girls are here and they must sense my mood. Sophie spent yesterday glued to my side, following me all around the house, laying on me as soon as I sat down, and crying at me if I didn't give her enough attention. Today, it was Athena's turn. She actually did the "pay attention to me, damnit!" meow that she does only when she is frustrated because you are ignoring her. Sorry, cat. I was trying to eat my lunch! Sheesh.

I came upstairs after lunch today to get some scrapping done, which was when Sophie decided it was her turn again. She wouldn't get off of my chair. Every time I put her on the floor, she jumped back up. As soon as I got up, she was in the seat. Do these eyes scream, "pay attention to me. I'm cute!" or what?

Ok, so they also look a bit belligerent. LOL.
Anyway, I have been working on some layouts recently. My card-making mojo just isn't around much. I manage to eek out the cards for G's DT work but I can't seem to get my heart into anything else. I just want to flip through my pictures and get them onto paper with pretty embellishments. Today, I finished four layouts. I also did two last night. I'm just putting them together here and there, as I get the time and the energy. Energy is hard for me to come by during September, because I just get to feeling blah about things. Enough moroseness, though. Here's a few layouts I've completed in the last week or so:

Athena learned how to turn the water on in the sink when she was about four months old. Now she would have a hard time fitting in the sink! She's not fat, but she's not a tiny kitten anymore, either. We'll blame it on a smaller sink since I had the bathroom remodeled, though. I wouldn't want to give her a complex or anything!

This is the girls playing on the day after we brought Sophie home. Athena and Sophie are from the same breeder and are born only one day apart. However, we got Athena in November 2005 and didn't get Sophie until January 2006. Aren't they adorable with their 3 pound selves?

This is the bear that Tammy of Tammybears.com made for me, using Rick's wool scarves that he always wore with his favorite bomber jacket. I love this bear!

Another LO for Rick's memorial album. He sat down on the bench in front of Kings Arms Tavern in Williamsburg, VA. It was snowing outside at the time.

Ok, that's enough for now. Thanks for looking!

It's time we said thanks!

It's time for a new challenge at Guylou's Inimitability. Our wonderful leader and the creator of GI images, Guylou herself, is hosting this one. We all have someone in our lives that has done something generous or thoughtful for us. Some of those people even do those things frequently, putting themselves before others or simply just thinking of us when we're feeling low or need a hand. It's time to thank them! Your challenge this time is to make a thank-you card. Since those people make our lives shine brighter, your card needs to include at least one star on it. I'll give you an example. Here's mine, made with G's new clown image called Binker:

Isn't he cute? I colored him with copics, then added glossy accents to his nose, shoes, and the balloons. I also used my signo pen to add some highlights. The "thanks" sentiment, border on the card edge and strings on the star balloons are doodled. Two of the star balloons are popped with pop dots, and the blue one says "you lift me up."

Thanks, once again, for taking a peek at my blog. Now go make your own card and enter it. Come on, you know you have someone who deserves that "thank you."

Details: projects are due by 10 p.m. EST on September 29th. Check out the rest of the DT work for some inspiration, and post your own creation over at Guylou's Inimitability.

It's back to school time at Guylou's Inimitability!

School seems to be on the minds of many right now. Whether it's your kids, your neighbor's kids, your sibling's kids, your grandkids...well, you get the picture. Shopping trips show empty shelves formerly full of school supplies. I know that my brother and I have done a few shopping trips so far for my younger nephew and my niece. Those kids are getting so old! My oldest nephew is a senior this year. His brother just started high school and my niece ventured into the world of middle school. I've got friends who are sad to see their kids grow up and start their very first day of school ever. Ok, okay, enough with the sadness and pangs of nostalgia! We're going to have fun with this school thing, darnit!

Your challenge this time around is to create a project with a school theme and it must include at least one apple. I chose to make a thank-you card for a teacher, using one of Guylou's newer images called Teacher Leah.

I cropped the image to suit my card. She's colored with copics. The sentiment is also from Guylou's Inimitability. Papers are from a kit sold by Oriental Trading Company. They're really thin, so I first made the card out of heavy white cardstock. If you untie the little bit of pink and white striped twine, the card opens. I finished the card off with some rain dots and an apple button. You all know that I have a button for pretty much every occasion!

Now it's your turn. Make a school-themed project. Make sure to include an apple. Then upload it to Guylou's Inimitability by September 15th at 10 p.m. EST. You could win the opportunity to act as guest DT on a future challenge, plus a $5 gift card to spend in Guylou's store! What are you waiting for? Get to it!