Getting Creative

Wow, it has been such a long time since I have even looked at my blog to be totally honest.  Don't think I haven't thought about it, I have.  But my excuse was always, I just don't have time.  But I really wanted to blog, so, if you want to do something, then just DO IT!  So here I am.  The same goes for getting creative and getting out into my studio, JUST DO IT!  So I have been out in my studio a lot lately and loving the time of being creative, but still I wasn't blogging, so tonight I decided to DO IT and hear I am.

I wanted to share with you some things that I have created recently.  I have discovered a wonderful lady who does amazing colouring videos and I have just started checking out her blog as well - Sandy Allnock.  Wow, I have been learning heaps from her videos about colouring with Copics.  I use Spectrum Noir pens at the moment because that is what I have.  But I have been slowing purchasing some Copics, mainly for the skin tones.  Here are the two big things I have picked up from Sandy lately.  1) To use a very light purple when adding shadows to skin and then blending over it with more skin tone colours.  Wow, this looks really awesome.  I will try to do some examples in the next couple of days and share them here on my blog. And 2) To use light greys (browns or greens for ground) to add shadows under my coloured stamped images to 'ground' them.  It makes all the difference.  My images don't look like the are just hanging there any more.

Oh one more thing Sandy has inspired me to do is to colour my stamped images with coloured pencils or water colours.  I need to find some water colours but I am playing round more with coloured pencils.

So here are a few cards I have created recently

One the weekend I had a workshop.  At the workshop I started a few layouts, most of which I could not finish due to not being able to use my Silhouette Cameo or forgetting punches and other items.  Well today I finished one of the layouts and I am really pleased with the end result.  So here is that layout as well.

I love how the layered circles helped to 'ground' my photos.  It also looked like a shield wall that the Norsemen would often practice.  Yes these guys would practice and train in full armor with proper chainmaille, helmets, swords and axes.  Very impressive.  My husband and daughter were very new so all that had to defend themselves with was a large stick (which later would have been made into an axe)  Fun to watch the training's.

I hope you feel a little inspired to raid your scrapbooking or card making supplies and get creative.

See you again soon ...

Poor Peanut

I feel like I have had a bit of an emotional 24 hrs.  My cat (OK technically it he is my daughter's cat) has lost weight dramatically since about New Years.  So I have been giving him extra meals to try and get his weight back up.  I de-fleaed him and wormed him as well - that was a mission and ended up at the vet to get him to do it.  Peanut was like a naughty child and clamped him mouth shut)
Anyway, over the last couple of days his breathing started to be effected and looked rather laboured.  I could not take it any more so booked him in at the vet yesterday.  Now I know when you go to the vet you don't get much change out of couple of hundred dollars when you have a very sick animal.  So that was stressing me out to start, but I was terrified that the vet would take one look at Peanut and say he would need to be put to sleep like with Calem a number of years ago.

Anyway the vet was wonderful.  She looked at Peanut and said there could be a couple of things that it could be, but to do an xray to check if there was fluid round the lungs.  She did and there was.  She said she could use a needle and drain the fluid (she was thinking it would be pus).  So we left Peanut with her for a couple of hours and she was able to remove some fluid and sure enough it was pus, but it was very liquid, not like the pus I would have thought - you know thick and icky.  She also gave him some long acting antibiotics so I don't have to try to give him pills (phew!).  He was breathing a little better but he had been shaved on both sides of his chest - poor boy.  Now we need to go back daily for some drainage of this fluid.

Shaved patch on one side, the other side is shaved too.

Peanut having breakfast this morning

I worried all night over Peanut and Kitty has been at his side a lot.  While Peanut was at the vet yesterday Kitty wondered round looking for him.  It is nice to see she does care as most of the time she ignores him LOL!  This morning Peanut ate all his breakfast and even had some milk - yipee!  He also looks like his breathing is a bit better today.  So we will see how we get on this afternoon.  Hopefully he will be on the mend ready for his birthday in a couple of weeks