I guess sometimes thank yous are sad

So, I was going to go into this long post about my furry children. I started to type it. I got two paragraphs in and realized, "dumbass. You're at work and crying here is not cool. Not cool at all" and so, I decided to delete all of that and just keep it simple. Isn't that some kind of acronym or something? KISS: Keep it simple, stupid. Yeah, I think that's it. So, here's me, keeping it simple. I will not comment again on the stupid part.

We lost one of our precious kitties back in April. Sophie became gravely ill to the point that the treatments would only prolong her misery and we had to make that awful decision to let her cross the Rainbow Bridge. She was only 11 and I miss that affectionate, crazy, sweet, smart, playful cat. Here she is, in a photo taken on her last day here on Earth:

She spent most of the day in bed with me (that big hump behind her is my rather large knee!) and then we made the trip to the vet that evening.

Her vet is amazing. Seriously amazing. So knowledgeable and skilled. So friendly and patient. The best part? She obviously chose the field because she loves animals (especially cats)...and still takes the time to show them that love whenever they come visit her. I know that sounds weird. I mean, what vet doesn't love animals? I assume that all (or at least most) of them do, but some just become jaded over time or just get so busy that they forget their patients need attention, too. Not Dr. Wozniak. She was stroking Sophie's fur, rubbing under her chin (a fave spot), and basically loving on her the whole time she was talking to us. Sophie was calm with her, not trying to get away or pissing herself in fear like she did with the last vet. I know it was hard for her to administer that injection.I could see that all over her face. She did it with compassion, though. Shit. I'm crying at work. Ok...back in a minute.

I'm back (it's been a few minutes, but hard for you to tell in blog land, I know). So, anyhow, I made Dr. Wozniak and her wonderful staff a thank you card. She has a hard job. I know it's rewarding at times, but sometimes, it just sucks. I wanted to thank them for all that they did...and still do...for our babies. So, I colored up this angel from the extremely talented Mo Manning. It's not my best coloring job, but I think it was appreciated. One of these days, I'll finish one class at Kit and Clowder so I can finally take another. I'm working on Skin and Hair. I've been working on it for over a year. I'm slow like that.

I love this image. I colored her with copics and tried to make her kitty look at least somewhat siamese. Her wings are blingy, but it's hard to tell in the photo.

That's all I've got for today. Thanks for taking the time to stop by, and if you made it to the end of my sad post, thanks for that, too. I think I failed at the KISS part, though. Not surprising, is it?

Loss and other yucky things

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit. It's been a rough two weeks. My gram was ill and passed away last weekend. My aunt was hospitalized. Nine people in my family got the nasty GI bug. My trainer moved on to another gym (minor in light of my gram's passing, I know, especially since I can keep in touch with him). It was not a fun period, let's just say. I like to look at the positives in even the most negative situations, though. I got to be with my Gram when she took her last breath. I got to hold her hand as she moved on. I have been reminded once again of how many supportive, caring people exist in my life, as the messages of condolence continue to come in and people continue to offer their assistance. My friend gave me a sign for my desk that says, "God only gives us what we can handle. God must think I'm a bad ass." Yeah, that about covers it.

Anyway, before all of the illnesses happened, I sat down and made Matt (my trainer) a quick card to thank him for all he's done for me in the last six or so months. He's a great guy who is awesome at what he does. He's encouraging, compassionate, and yet a bit of a hard ass when he needs to be. He needed to be with me, because I'm stubborn and cranky about the whole working out thing. I think I cursed more than his macho male clients! In fact, I know I did, because he told me so. The poor guy put up with a lot of BS and excuses from me while managing to push me in the right direction. So, I yanked out some of my new Stampscapes stamps and made him the following card:

Masculine cards are so hard for me. That's one of the many reasons I love the Stampscapes line of stamps, because they are quick, easy, and make awesome cards for men. I also like that they still look striking even when they are not colored. In fact, I'm kind of intimidated about coloring them. I mainly use my copics on people and animal images, not so much on these detailed nature images that need a lot of shading and attention to light source. I guess that should be a new crafty resolution of mine: stamp off and then actually color a stampscapes scene. Heck, I'm a bad ass. I can handle it. I think.

Supporting our Soldiers

I joined Soldier's Angels a while ago, because I believe that supporting the men and women who sacrifice for us every day is a wonderful cause and something we should all do. It really helps boost the morale of our troops when they are reminded that those of us back home are thinking of them, thankful for all that they do, and will always wish for their continued safety.

I am on my third "adopted" soldier. That's nothing compared to my soldier's "third": Paul is on his third deployment in the last six years. I've been sending him care packages but he only recently revealed that his birthday was back in December. I decided to make him a card and send him an extra-big care package this month. I've been wanting to try a tutorial by Sandy Allnock of Operation Write Home (another awesome cause to help support our troops). She has a great video on her blog showing how to color camo. You can check it out here. It was a lot easier than I expected, although I definitely need practice.

The image is "soldier Ian" by the Greeting Farm. Isn't he precious? He's colored with copics. For exact colors, watch Sandy's video. My memory for that stuff sucks! I did deviate from her tutorial on the skin colors, though. His skin is not as well shaded as I'd like, because my skin tone E's are getting dry and I don't have refills for two of them. Time to place another order with Oozak! The buttons are ones that I was gifted at a recent crop. Papers are the Paper Studio from Hobby Lobby.

Thanks for looking, leaving any comments, and hopefully, for taking a minute to do something for our amazing military. Links in my sidebar to both Soldier's Angels and Operation Write Home (hint, hint, shove, shove).

Shoot. I almost forgot. The card is based on this week's sketch at Mojo Monday. It's sketch 276. It is also for the Farm Fresh Friday challenge to Punch It! I used two spellbinders dies around the image, then a corner punch for the little photo corners.

Always so thankful...

...for our troops! On Veteran's Day, I was putting the finishing touches on my care package for my adopted soldier. I needed a card to send, as well. I'm so thankful to our troops for all that they do for us, plus his care package should get there right around Thanksgiving, so a thank you card seemed very appropriate. Luckily for me, Carla is challenging us to make a thank you card for this fortnight's challenge at Guylou's. I love when things fall into place like that.

Every once in a great while, I get the chance to search out some blogs that are new to me. I love to learn from and be inspired by other people. This time, I lucked upon Mariska's blog. Talk about some serious talent. She does this really cool technique where she paper pieces and layers different parts of a stamped image for this awesome 3D effect. I decided to try it, but I don't have the patience she has. She cuts each and every tiny piece and layers it. I mean, every tiny piece! For the image I chose, she would have probably cut the hat band, collar, and arms into separate pieces. Yeah, not happening in my house. I've got patience, but not that much. LOL. So, I left the hat as one big piece. I kept the two arms together rather than separating them, etc. I still think it turned out pretty cool, though. If you want to try it, she has videos on youtube giving step-by-step instructions.

It was a really fun technique to try, too. I didn't have the kind of glue she uses, so I used my always faithful KI Gloo. I think I need something a bit thicker and less runny, though. Maybe I just need more practice (that is the most likely explanation).

Here is a side view, to show you a bit better about how many layers there are:

 

So, the arms are a bit lower than the shirt, which is layer lower than the hat, with the face and hair on the uppermost layer. I tried to puff up each piece like she does, but it doesn't show as well in my pic; I think I needed to go over the pieces a bit harder before gluing them down next time. Anyway, this little guy is Dominique from Guylou's Inimitability digi shop. He's also the mascot for her store. I love how he can be placed on top of things, to look like he's leaning on them with his folder arms. Now it's your turn to show us a project to share your thanks! You have until November 29th to enter to win a gift card to G's store. While you're at it, don't forget to enter my Veteran's Day RAK. If you've done something good for a soldier, just leave me a comment with your email by Saturday, November 17th, telling me about it and you'll be entered to win my RAK.