Another Lovely Weekend...

With Kristine!!!

She surprised me last weekend and hoped on a plane for a quick overnight visit!!  We shopped all afternoon and scrapped all night!  It was so nice to have her here...Dave and the cats just adore her and I really needed the visit.

We found out a couple of weeks ago that another one of our cats Maggie (14yrs) has kidney failure, Stage 4....We received the test results back 2 weeks to the day of saying goodbye to Boogie and my heart just broke all over again.  My poor girl...

We educated ourselves, have different meds to help make her more comfortable etc and have to give her subq fluids every day (I'm still getting the hang of it!)  And for any other of our cats, this wouldn't be a big deal, however my Maggie May the Muffinhead is a willful girl and literally fights me tooth and nail!  Actually, she hasn't hurt me yet, but she sure knows how to wiggle and growl!  (scares the crap out of Dave! LOL)

Its been a couple of weeks so I'll be bringing her in for another assessment soon to see if her health is maintained (as opposed to declining)...please say a little prayer for us.

So back to the weekend with Kristine!  I got a few layouts done :)

Here they are!  My fav is the one of Evie...my goodness I love that boy. 
Steph
xo

Creative Scrappers Sketch 202!

Here is my latest layout for Creative Scrappers, I loved this sketch!! So much fun to work with...the linear lines are what I'm all about these days it seems!  haha!  I'm not sure why the change, just a direction my scrapbooking has taken without me realizing it until someone pointed it out to me!

I used one of my favorite new Whimsy buttons, the ever so popular CHEVRON! 

Thanks for taking a look!
wishing you a lovely week
Steph
xo

The Joy of Friendships...

A couple of weekends ago I travelled to Moncton, NB to attend a crop hosted by my bestie Kristine.  I missed the last crop as it was during our Honeymoon vacation in Jamaica,  so I was excited to scrap with the girls again!  I'd been marking the days off on my calendar for a couple of months....and then when my Seymour (aka Boogie) was sick and then passed away, I wasn't sure if I should go.  I've been so sad, I didn't want to bring anyone else down into my funk. 
After some thought, I decided that the best thing I needed was to be around my girlfriends.  Dave drove up with me, as I still find that long periods by myself  ends up with me in tears more often than not... I keep reading its the grieving process, all the different stages etc.  I just know that I miss my Boogie Boy, and that's its ok to cry.

The crop was exactly what I needed.  We laughed so hard we all almost peed our pants, then I cried when one of the girls sang for us...one of my favorite songs about saying goodbye.  Lots of fun, lots of hugs and best of all, lots of love. 

Thank you to Kristine, Chantal, Marielle and Zoe for making me laugh so hard it hurt my belly... and the Moncton girls, Isabelle, Gisele, Aurelie, Jocelyn... you are so much fun....I look forward to seeing you at the Crop and Create!

Here are a few of the layouts I created while at the crop
Cheers,
Steph
xo

Remembering

Its been a long week, and I miss this fella every day... Keeping myself busy, and getting my hands full of paint, glue and ink really does help

Steph
xo

Heartbroken...

My heart is broken with the loss of my beautiful Seymour (aka Boogie, Boogs, The Booginator) last week.  He wiggled into my life 15 years ago and has been my consent companion since they day I brought him home.  He was the first cat I adopted, the one who ignited my passion for these phenomenal creatures, and the one who gave me a headbutt every day for most of my adult life.

I know my heart will mend with time, but for now I miss him.  Its the little things like putting one less cat food dish out in the morning or finding a twist tie under the bed that catch me off guard and hit me the hardest. 

Rest in Peace my beautiful Boogie and know that you were loved

xo

(Creative Scrappers Sketch #200)







Creative Scrappers Sketch #198

With all of the wedding hoopla I never did get the chance to write a blog posting with my awesome news!  I've been accepted to be a part of the Creative Scrappers DT for this term!  This is such a wonderful sketch site, I'm so honored and proud to be a part of it :)

Here is my take on the latest Sketch #198
(Papers: Sassafras for Studio Calico, Studio Calico, Sassafras blooms and MLBOW bird Pins)
Happy Sunday!!
Steph

Goodnight...

Do you have a night time ritual? Bronte and I have done this every night for the last 15 years...I try to read or play on my iPad and she tries to wiggle her way in front of my face. Every night. And I love it! Lol

What Do These Have in Common?

They were all created based on the wonderful sketches of Kristine Davidson!!!
The week before our wedding, I had a bit of the jitters so I needed to keep myself busy (All the wedding planning was done months ago!)

When I downloaded the Creative Scrappers eBook  I felt so inspired!  I don't normally create that many layouts in such a short span of time at home.  If you haven't downloaded your copy of the eBook, I highly recommend it!  100 Sketches for 8.95$ is a fantastic investment to get you out of a creative block :)
Thanks so much for dropping by!!
Steph

ps  Big shout out to Kristine for another awesome blog design!!!  Love it!!!
(This first one is my fav, and of course it was created a couple of days after our wedding!)

Distractions in Metal Clay.....

From the Wedding Jitters that is!!!  I'm trying not to become Bride-Zilla...and I've been successful thus far!  6 days left and all the planning, arrangements and payments have been made....so I'm left with only my excitement and butterflies!  Oh how I can't wait to marry Dave!  Not to get too sentimental, but I swear, every minute I'm with him I thank my lucky stars he came into my life <3

So, onto my crafty distraction post!  This is what I did this weekend to keep my mind occupied and the butterflies calm....I made a few simple pendants to give to my family members next weekend, and then I finally turned on my Paragon Kiln and fired them!  As many of my friends know, I have been nervous about turning it on...don't ask me why, I guess I just wanted to make sure everything was fire-proof and safe. 

So here is the digital controller ramping up!  It has to go to 1200 F and then hold there for ½ hour to properly sinter my Silver Metal Clay.

Here are my test pendants!  I even fired one with a small round CZ for a bit of sparkle...

I gained so much confidence after that firing, I couldn't wait to make a few more pieces....so I was up before everyone this morning, getting my metal clay area ready...

Its so very different than working with Polymer clay.  First, there's the cost....silver has gone up significantly this past year, and then there is the drying time.  With fresh clay, I may have 5-10 min of working time (and that includes hydrating it a bit in between).  It is a real challenge, and with those two factors combined, makes me a bit nervous for now.  I know that once I'm used to the medium, I'm sure it won't be so intimidating...but for now, I make sure I have planned my design and prepare my working area in full before I crack that package open! 

Happy Sunday!
Hope you have time to make art today as well
Steph

A very Scrappy week!!

Just finishing up a lovely 10 days of vacation, back to work tomorrow!  (I'll need extra coffee in the morning, I know it!)

We had a super fun visitor for 3 days... Kristine came by to scrap and do a bit of Lush shopping!!  We have so much fun when she visits, and its so adorable to see the cats fall in love with her one by one!  She was even able to scratch Mr. Flowers on the head, and not too many people have been able to do that over the years (he was a feral cat when I took him in, so always very shy and scared of strangers). 

As always, we scrapped the week away and I was able to finish quite a number of layouts!  Here are a few of them:

Thanks for catching up!
Happy New Year!
Steph