The beautiful and very brave Sophie

On 17th May 2008 the beautiful and very brave Sophie had to be put to sleep.



Sophie had fought an incredibly corageous battle against encephalitozoon cuniculi which is a horrific disease which affects the brain. We had several extremely cruel false dawns and although Sophie fought the battle of her life with me standing and fighting alongside her, it became clear on the morning of the 17th that Sophie could not fight on. Sophie was put to sleep in my arms whilst I told her how beautiful and loved she was.



When Sophie first arrived with her brother Humphrey, they actually had different names and after much souls-earching I decided to rename them as their original names were just too silly and unsuitable. Sophie immediately became 'the beautiful Sophie'. All my animals are stunning but Sophie was a bunny supermodel! Her apricot coat and cream tummy together with her chocolate brown eyes and long eyelashes meant she just had to be 'the beautiful Sophie'! Over time, Sophie showed how she was not only extremely beautiful but incredibly brave too. Sophie thus became known as 'the beautiful and very brave Sophie'!




I will remember Sophie for so many things. Her loss is so painfully felt and I can't begin to imagine how Humphrey must feel. I told Sophie I would take extra special care of him and I am trying to ensure he gets through this as best he can. It feels as though we have lost ten members of the family, not one, Sophie filled this house and the aching empty hole is vast.



Until we meet again, run free Sophie. We love and miss you so very much.

Birthday Wishes

A belated Happy Birthday to my sister.

Late as photo kept crashing part way through uploading! Still, better late than never and if you see this I'm glad you liked your card!

I'm back!

it or not I'm back!!!

I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted...it's been ages!! What can I say? Time flies, especially around Christmas and energy levels have been very poor. I just haven't had a chance really to blog, bearing in mind the need to provide photographs to reduce the potential of total boredom in reading this!!

Anyway, here I am.

The card above by the way is my first (would you believe) attempt at using my new corner rounder scissors (Fiskars). I had a nightmare trying to obtain a corner punch and when I did find them on web-sites the whole size of 'round corner' was baffling. I then happened across a range of corner rounders/decorators by Fiskars. Great value and really effective I think. It's possible to do a small or large corner (the above are the large corner) and also to do a backwards corner with the corner going into the paper. Blimey, I just can't work out how to explain that feature at all. maybe best if I do a piccie sometime! Anna Griffin papers, Heidi Swapp flowers, some gems and ribbon (can't remember brand of gem and ribbon just from haberdasherer). The chipboard sentiment is K and Company.

I'm not really into these bold cards but fun to try. I don't have any jumbo brads and the card suffers for that I believe. The small brads to hold the flowers in place just don't cut it. Unfortunately, I have a pretty useless shop in my town regarding the suply of materials so I mainly rely on the internet. It's a pain as it's impossible to buy even basic essentials, no flowers, no chipboard anything, no Anna Griffin, no Heidi Swapp/Karen Foster/Tim Holtz.. It's dedicated to the supply of Kanban. (Um).

Back to the card, I'll search for some big brads and I'm sure it'll look alot better.



I rather like the simplicity of this card. I'm really trying to try new things with my cardmaking and use some of the many (read tonnes) of beautiful stash I have. Anna Griffin papers, printed sentiment and ribbon. The dragonfly embellishment is of unknown origin I'm afraid and the Snowdrop image is from a pack of replica cigarette cards by Crafthouse Press. The cigarette cards are available in many topics, and I'm particularly keen on the roses and flowers. The butterfly set though is stunning. I have some matching papers for the roses and butterflies so must have a play.

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).