My family

(Humphrey and Sophie)

Thankfully, Jacob is home and recovering from his dental treatment. The anaethestic knocked him for six though and I found the day really hard going as I was so worried for him.

I thought that a post about my wonderful animals would be nice, and some photos that are feel-good and heartwarming and surely would put a smile on anyones face.

Just a quick post as I'm catching up with my guys and watching 'Children in Need'.

(Jacob and Basil)


This picture is of Basil in one of last years Christmas pressies!! He's best friends with Jacob so when i saw a bunny rabbit bed I had to get it! (Jacob loves it too).

(Basil)

This photo is of Basil and Tom when Basil first came to live with us last year. I wonder if a bird on one of the birdtables maybe caught their eye?

(Basil and Tom)

I love this photo of Tom, he is so photogenic so always looks good in a photo, but this one captures him at his 'modelling best'. Sometimes he looks at me in a way that is so beautiful, just like a cat model. He's not longhaired as Basil is, but really fluffy and thick haired nonetheless. I think this photo shows his fluffiness.

(Tom)

Finally a photo of Jacob and Tom. It was just Tom, Jacob and me for quite a while until one Christmas I just thought how happy we were and wanted to be able to offer more animals a home for life. I'd love all animals to have safe, warm and happy homes, to never be hungry, in pain, frightened etc, but I realise I can't save the world, hard as that realisation is.

I try to cope with that awful feeling of helplessness by doing all I can for any animal I come across or know, to increase awareness of animal welfare issues and to ensure that my animals have the best life I can possibly give them.

(Jacob and Tom)

So, this is my family. All are such characters, so full of love and they bring me more joy than I imagined possible. As you can see they get on with one another too which is extra special.

All these photos remind me that I MUST get back into scrapbooking as I have so many photos to use!

The tale of Jacob bunny and his naughty teeth

Poor Jacob bunny has been having problems with his teeth today and has been booked in for a dental examination at the vets tomorrow. Unfortunately, Jacob has recurring problems with tiny 'spurs' growing on his teeth and this means that every few months or so, Jacob has to have a dental, where under anaethestic, Richard (my vet) carefully grinds the spurs down.

Ok, this is the Science bit!

(http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rwf/articles/dental_disease.htm)

Rabbits are ' hypsodonts'. This tongue-twisting word basically means that their teeth are continually growing. Cleverly, if the jaw and teeth are perfectly aligned, the top row of teeth should wear against the bottom row as the bunny eats. Hay, which is a vital part of a rabbits diet for many reasons, also performs a crucial role in gently grinding teeth down.

Unfortunately, many rabbits have teeth that are not aligned and are crooked (just like us), and an uneven mouth leads to uneven wear on the teeth. The back teeth (molars) are where 'spurs' develop. 'Spurs' are basically where uneven wear leads to pointy, sharp bits of tooth and this is as painful for a rabbit as it sounds.

These nasty pointy bits of tooth, become more pronounced over time and dig into the rabbits soft cheeks and even their tongue. The poor bunny, as you can imagine is reluctant to eat as it hurts so much. Bunnies have a very sensitive digestive system and need to eat regularly. If they can't and therefore don't eat, this means that the gut has nothing to digest and it can shut down.

This is VERY serious and a rabbit medical emergency. A rabbit that hasn't eaten or toileted in 4-6 hours needs to see a vet immediately.

Jacob is off his food. Teeth problems were an immediate suspect and particularly when I gave Jacob some Basil and Spring Greens and though he tried to eat, he stopped almost immediately. As this has happened before, I am aware of the signs and as he is still going to the toilet, teeth problems are most likely. I have booked Jacob in to see the vet tomorrow and in the meantime have given Jacob some pain relief as prescribed by my vet. I have also given Jacob some mashed banana and some of his Science Selective food mixed with some Oxbow critical care and a bit of apple juice for extra taste. Jacob has eaten these by himself so there has been no need to syringe feed him. I am keeping an extra eye on him to ensure he is still drinking and going to the toilet.

Jacob will be assessed by Richard (vet) tomorrow morning and if teeth probelms are confirmed, Jacob will have to be very brave and be admitted for the day so the 'spurs' can be dealt with.

I will also have to be very brave as I sit at home waiting for the telephone to ring to confirm that all is well. There are always tears and although my other animals are always especially good to me and look after me, home isn't right when someone is missing.

Watercolour technique cards

These are my latest cards. The basic design of the card uses a card project from the Hero Arts site. They have a great 'Learning Centre' with instructions regarding various techniques and projects for cardmaking and scrapbooking.

For both of these cards I used the same basic watercolour technique. I used Marvy Le Plume pens to ink the Hero Arts stamps. I then spritzed the stamped images with water from several inches away and allowed to dry.

Once the image had completely dried, I re-inked the same stamps using Versamark. I then stamped to the side of the watercolour flowers a couple of times and gently chalked with a matching colour.

The backing papers are by Joanna Sheen, the flowers are Prima. The 'Live Well' sentiment is from Rubber Stampede and the 'Angel Wishes' from Elzybells.

I'm rather pleased with my first attempt at this technique. Having said that, it has to be one of the easiest techniques whilst still producing some of the greatest results. I've stamped a few more colours in the flowers (too many irresistable Marvy le Plume colours), so I will have a play around with the backgrounds a bit more. I have a huge lace stash and it was great to make use of some of it! I especially like the lace used on the card with the Joanna Sheen lace paper. It's so pretty and very 'white' and 'clean' and I am really pleased with that card especially!

Bit of a shock..but a nice one!

Well, the title says it all. I logged onto the PC this morning, checked my emails etc and had a quick potter around some of my favourite haunts.

As the Pink Petticoat blog revealed itself, I was amazed to see one of my cards featured. I sent in a few of my latest cards to show Liz (lovely Miss Pink Petticoat herself) how appreciated her monthly freebies and designs in general are. The card above is one of the ones I made and posted about a day or so ago. The background, flowers and frame are all Pink Petticoat designs).

A quick peruse of the Pink Petticoat blog shows how incredibly talented those who wear pink petticoats are! If you look at the Customer Gallery, it's part hugely inspiring, part a bit depressing as the standard of ideas and actual execution are so high.

I've a big smile on my face today and it's given me and my cardmaking a real boost in confidence. I don't have nearly enough time and energy to devote myself to making cards, scrapbooking, sewing, altered art etc. The lack of energy is particularly depressing (raise your glasses to my hosts M.E. and Fibromyalgia). But for today (at least) I'll stop being so gloomy about not being able to do as much as I'd like, and just enjoy that I manage to make anything (which in itself all too often is an all too distant dream).

Beautiful new stamps

How gorgeous are these?

They are by Oxford Impressions. This plate is not available anymore but I was so lucky and noticed it for sale on the UKS (Uk Scrappers) site recently.

I'd never come across this manufacturer before, but as soon as I saw them I had to have them. Having looked at then Oxford Impressions, there's a few other plates I wouldn't mind either!

They're photo-plates so amazingly detailed and I need to perfect my knack a bit. I've only played with them so far but will have to get down to some 'grown-up' cardmaking soon and try my best to do justice to these amazing images.

I did think some of them would be suitable for Christmas cards. I will get the gold and deep blue inks and powders out and have an experiment.

I love rubber stamps but I really love these rubber stamps!

Cardmaking practice

With Christmas ever nearer, I thought I'd better get in a bit of cardmaking practice!I decided to use some of the Pink Petticoat papers again as they're very different to the vintage style papers I normally use. the image above is also from Pink Petticoat. The text is a free font made into word tiles and a simple 3d effect. It's much trendier than my usual style!





Again the Pink Petticoat papers are used for this card (above). I made a frame from one of the papers printed onto card and used a 3d effect for the flowers. I painted an irridescent glitter glue onto the 3d petals and the petals on the backing paper, and once dry, carefully curled them to increase the 3d effect.Tiny pink gems form the centre of each flower. Another free font was used for the text and the gorgeous black velvet ribbon I bought recently was the perfect finishing touch.

I'm pleased with the results and more importantly had loads of fun making these. I'd love some more bits from Pink Petticoat actually, I have my eye on Lolas boutique!

Although the patterns and images are alot more modern and trendy than I'm used to, they still just cry out to be glittered and blinged and ribboned to death, which is a big PHEW!

Opportunistic recycling

I was in the haberdashery department of a local shop a couple of days ago on the hunt for pretty ribbons and buttons. I found some beautiful black velvet ribbon which was just what I was looking for to finish a card I was making and a veritable rainbow of rickrack.


As I looked at the ribbons, I noticed that the shop assistant was sorting through the ribbons, replacing empty rolls etc.

By her feet she had a basket with a great pile of empty ribbon spools. I'm a regular customer as you can imagine and the lady asked me how I was. We got talking and I asked her what happened to the empty ribbon spools. She told me they were thrown in the bin but I could have them if I wanted.

I have a huge ribbon stash but they currently are stored in plastic bags defining type of ribbon, in storage boxes. What I can't see I tend not to use, so for ages I've been trying to solve this ribbon storage crisis.

(a teeny selection of my ribbon stash)

Putting the ribbon on spools will not only help me actually see what ribbons I have, but also keep them in better condition as it's very annoying to have to iron bits of crumpled ribbon for sticking on a card! I also seem to have lots of ribbon that is very similar if not identical. I seem to buy bits of ribbon as I think I don't have organza pink ribbon 6mm wide, when I do.

The shop assistant told me that every month the rep comes in and she has a good sort out of ribbon so if I want any more empty spools I just have to let her know. Now I just need to have a good sort through of my ribbons and organise. Then I need to work out a nice neat way of storing the spools and another of the all too frequent stash storage sagas may actually be solved.

So, 'right place, right time' results in free storage that should be fantastic and very professional looking too and my local landfill will be just that little bit smaller than it might have been. Perfect! (or it will be when I get round to transferring my ribbon from their current spaghetti type form to the reels...)

Lots of cat food needed!

Somewhere along the way, I have come across this picture (probably on a cat forum) and copied it to 'my pictures'. I don't know who took the photo, or who the cat or man is so am unable to credit it, sorry.

However, it is such an amazing picture, I had to share it.

So many questions are raised:

How many sachets of cat food a day does this cat eat?
Does he/she have a dog flap rather than a cat flap?
How on earth do you take this cat to the vets?
How do you get a worming tablet/antibiotics down his/her throat if unwilling to co-operate?
Does he/she prefer a settee to a chair?
What does the vacuum cleaner think of all the cat hairs produced?

Finally, the ultimate question:

Can I have one please?