My Furkids

I thought I would share a couple pics of the loves of my life...............

This is Zeke, he is my 9 year old basset hound.  He came to me at 7 months old from Bluegrass Basset Rescue.  He loves to wear bandanas!  I took this the other day when we were having unseasonable warm weather here in mid-Michigan.  Don't you just love those swirls on his butt?

Last summer I was in our local hardware store petting the resident cat and telling the owner and some women shoppers how much I missed my kitty.  I had to put Ernie to sleep the first of the year and Zeke and I were missing feline company.  Well one of the women said she had a friend so I gave her my number.  It seems that a cat was left on the side of the road, duct taped into a card board box and she was giving birth.  Shame on her previous owners!  She was rescued and homes were found for the kittens but not her.  So I adopted her.  She was a skinny scrawny little thing, barely 10 months old and already a mom. She weighed 6 lbs when I got her.  This picture was taken in October, 3 months after she came to live with us,

And here is a pic of my little girl taken just 2 months later, I named her Slinky.  She lost most of her baby hair and grew in a brand new coat.  And surprise, surprise, she is part Maine Coon cat.  She has a fabulous mane around her neck and down her chest.  And such a bushy tail, it is shorter than a normal cat's but very full and luxurious.  She is a beautiful cat and such a love.

She and Zeke get along quite well.  They play and she is much rougher than he is.  She can't resist those big droopy ears of his and he usually gets bit by her.  He is a wuss and comes running to Momma when she plays too mean, lol.  But they enrich my life and I am truly blessed to have found them.

Outlines Monday Challenge 16 - Picture This

Our team challenge this week for Outlines Rubber Stamp is Picture This, incorporate a picture into your creation.  Visit the Outlines Rubber Stamp blog to join the challenge for a chance to win a $25 shopping spree and to see what the rest of the design team has created.

For my card, I started with my Holly Photo Frame  and my Holly Strip stamping them with Memento Tuxedo black ink onto Cryogen paper.  I colored the Holly with YG23 and R37 and then colored the background with E50.  Trimming out just the outside of the frame, I added a photo of my basset hounds, Molly and Zeke from Christmas 2003 then mounted it onto red card stock.  I used this wonderful new holly patterned paper from the Christmas Eve Chowder 6x6 paper pad by Jillibean Soup as well as the striped border piece.  I trimmed the edge of the Holly Strip and added it to the bottom of my card stock.  For the sentiment, I used one of the inside panels of the Holly Photo Frame adding a  Merry Christmas from the Posy Winter Greetings stamp set.  Using Holly Sq. Lg. and stamping it twice, I trimmed out just the holly and added them to the card.  The last step was to add Crystal Viva Glass Effect Gel to the holly berries for extra shine.  Finished size is 5 x 7 inches.

 Be sure to visit the Outlines blog and join in on the challenge for a chance to win a $25 shopping spree at Outlines Rubber Stamp company

Cheery Lynn Designs Butterfly Embellished Frame

Cheery Lynn Designs has released some fabulous new butterfly dies this month, 3 styles in 4 different sizes.  All week long, the design team is showing you some of the great possibilities of these dies.  For my project today, I am using 2 of the 3 butterflies that come in the Exotic Butterflies Small Set.

I began with this wooden picture frame I had laying around.  Using Basic Grey's Capella collection of paper, I created the backing adding a picture of my sweet Molly.  (Sadly she went to the Rainbow Bridge January 2010, I miss her every day)  I used my XL Coved Rectangle Stacker Nesting dies to cut out the photo and then my XL Scalloped Coved Rectangle Stacker Nesting dies for the panel behind the photo.  Using my Pair of Ferns dies, I added 2 to each side of the photo, then a name plate created with my Little Stackers Scalloped Cove Rectangle die.

Next I cut 3 Fanciful Flourish die cuts to embellish the sides of the frame.  Before cutting them, I used spray adhesive and attached a piece of Capella paper to some coordinating card stock so it would have some strength.  One of the great things about Cheery Lynn Designs dies is their ability to cut through multiple layers of paper.  Using the same technique on the butterflies, I adhered 2 more pieces of Capella paper to card stock and die cut 2 of the butterflies.  Using glue, I added the vines and the butterflies to the frame, wrapping the vines and leaves around the side of the frame.

The last embellishment was the corner flower and leaves created using Judy's Blooms.  I found out that you can cut Grunge Paper with this die.  So I cut a set using Grunge and a set using some Capella paper.  I glued them together, shaped the leaves and petals and then glued them to the frame.  This frame measures 6 x 8 inches.


On May 22nd, Cheery Lynn Designs Blog will host a Butterfly challenge with two fabulous prizes.  To enter you must use a Cheery Lynn Designs butterfly.   The first place prize of a $50 gift certificate to Cheery Lynn Designs will be voted on by the design team; the second place prize of a $25 gift certificate will be picked using Random.org.