Falliday Leaves

Hey!  I missed you guys yesterday.  I had a card to post, but things got busy and I didn't have time to sit down and do it.  I'll share more on that later.  :)   First here is my card.  Dina's challenge was to use die cuts for masking.  I cut some leaves out of masking paper and masked off some watercolor paper.  I followed up with some Brusho crystals.  I finished it off with a bit of distress ink and a die cut sentiment.   Fun, huh?  the Stampin' Up! Dictionary stamp added some fun detail as well.  Be sure to go check out the Falliday challenges!

Stamps:  Stampin' Up! Dictionary (retired)
Ink:  Brusho Crystals, Vintage Photo distress ink
Paper:  Stampin' Up! More Mustard, Canson Watercolor paper
Other:  Lawn Fawn Stitched Leaves dies, Concord & 9th grateful die, bakers twine, masking paper

Now about yesterday...

As I sat down to eat dinner I looked outside and saw a little dog.  He was cute, a little black scruffy one.  I looked closer and I could tell that he was a stray.  His fur was matted and he was so dirty.  I set up our extra dog crate, got some food, and headed out to see if I could catch him.  I didn't know what I was going to do with it, but I at least wanted to feed him.   I caught him and he was the sweetest thing.  Laila and I took him to a vet and they didn't find a microchip.  He had a collar but no tags. I could tell he had been out on his own for a while.  I contacted a local rescue and they were able to take him.  I was sad to leave him, but my life is too crazy for anything else.  Here he is:

Laila and I drove him over to the rescue's vet this morning.  Last I heard he was being groomed.  I can't wait to see some after pictures and see him in a loving home.

I appreciate everyone's words about Laila and sharing our struggles. I'll try to share as I can to let you know how we are.  I know Kelly mentioned that I don't share as many photos of Laila like I used to.  Part of the reason for that is because she doesn't make eye contact with the camera much anymore.  It's a struggle to have her be still long enough to snap one too.  If I do ask her to take one, I get this.  lol

Falliday Fest: Thankful Leaf

I'm feeling very thankful today.  My camera and purse arrived safe and sound on Wednesday so I was able to get better pictures for my newest cards.  On top of that, today starts a fun set of October challenges on Splitcoast Stampers called Falliday Fest.  I love crafting with fall supplies, so I'm excited to see all the challenges!  There's also tutorials for new projects as well.  Today's card is for Lydia's challenge to use some fall colors that you'd find in New York, her home state, and include some text.  I don't think if you can see it, but there's some text on the bottom left and the top right side.  Very subtle, but there!

Stamps:  Concord & 9th Lace Leaf
Ink: Distress Inks:  Shabby Shutters Spiced Marmalade, Scattered Straw, Barn Door, Gathered Twigs, Vintage Photo
Paper:  Stampin' Up! Early Espresso, Neenah Solar White
Other:  My Favorite Things Blueprints 20

I seem to have lost a lot of blog subscribers lately.  I'm going to guess it's from sharing too much about Laila and our current struggles.  I've decided to stop sharing and stick with just cards for now.  I apologize for annoying people.

Freshly Made Snowman

Whew!  Remembered to stop in and do my Freshly Made Sketches post!  On time!  Woo hoo!  Jen M. should give me a gold star or something!  Ha!  Her sketch is awesome, so I can't wait to see all the awesome entries for the challenge.  I hope one of them is yours!  Be sure to drop by the challenge blog and check out the awesome new design that Jen T worked up! I do apologize for the crappy picture.  I don't usually take them with my phone.  My camera is in transit back to me so fingers crossed it arrives tomorrow and is not damaged in transit.

I'm off to relax.  Or fight the dog off which is what my time seems to be when I'm not dealing with Laila.  Today was a horrible day and Laila and I were at odds for most of it.  I don't know how we are going to go back to having to be around one another for 3-4 days a week with no help from Jason.  She is a lot for one person to handle alone for that many days in a row.  My mental health stays on the verge of collapse anyway, so I just hope I can survive it until we figure something out.  Today I barely made it.  We did rally at the end and go for a little drive to hunt Pokemon.  That helped us at least end on a good note.  

Freshly Made Fall

Oops!  I just realized that I totally forgot to do my Freshly Made Sketches post!  Jen T created a fun sketch and I was able to sit down and make something.  I don't love the result, but I tried!   I love the idea of using a large banner, so I'll definitely try this one again!  The rest of the team did some amazing things, so be sure to go over and check those out.  You still have a little time to play along too.

Isn't that fun?!  I used my much-neglected banner punch board to make my banner.  That made it easy to get the size I wanted.  :)   The leaves and grateful are Concord & 9th dies. 

On Friday we took Laila to a little event to ride Thomas.  It was a four hour drive for a 25 minute train trip, so I don't think we'll be doing that again.  Such a long day!  She seemed very overwhelmed by it all too.   Thursday she was sick with a fever, so I'm hoping it was just that.  She did say she had fun, so I hope that was the case.  This past week was another bad one at school so she won't be going back anymore.  They asked that she not come on Thursday and after hearing the report of the behavior anaylst that observed her and the class, it just doesn't seem like a good fit.  She's already the "bad" kid and they aren't even trying to turn things around.  I figure we have years of this to look forward to because it seems to be the norm for her.  She just can't behave in a classroom. It's very hard to parent a kid like her and we are struggling.  Having no family nearby and no breaks from her make it even more difficult.  Send good thoughts our way as we'll need them.  I'm probably going to have to rehome our dog now because they don't get along and I can't walk the dog when she's home.  Just so much to deal with.  :o(  

On top of everything else, I left my DSLR at the restaurant near the Thomas event.  The manager found my purse and is supposed to be mailing it back to me, but we'll see.  That is crushing as I love my camera.  I don't know how I'll get pictures for my blog now, so it might be a while before you see me post again. 

Fall Coffee Lovers Hop

I haven't been stamping much lately due to no mojo/life is in the way, but I took a little time to try and make something for the Fall Coffee Lovers blog hop that's going on this week.  Fall and coffee are two of my favorite things, so it kinda had to happen.  lol  I used some dies from Avery Elle, My Favorite Things, and Lawn Fawn along with a sentiment from Wplus9.  And my distress inks of course!  :)

I'll be back another day to update on Laila and all that's been going on.  We've both been sick and more school issues, so I'm worn out!  I'm heading to relax and listen to a podcast before cleaning and dinner time starts.  

Have a great week! 

Rita

Power Poppy Sunflowers

Just dropping in with a quick post.  This past week has been rough, so I haven't had much time to create.  I saw that Power Poppy was having a sale on some of their digital images, so I grabbed this pretty sunflower one.  I am so intimidated by their images, but I wanted to try one to see how it went.  I actually love it too!  It wasn't as hard to color as I thought it would be.  I have another one printed out to try again too, so you might see it again soon.  :)

Miss Laila is sick, so I'm off to snuggle with her.  She seems to be congested and coughing so much since she started school.  Last week there was a horrible week for her, so she may not be going for much longer anyway.  :(  We had a second appointment with the psychologist last week and she's now being referred for further testing.  It is getting confusing with one person saying they don't see anything, others saying they do.  I hope some testing will clear up things, but there's a four to six month wait for appointments right now.  Keeping sending lots of positive thoughts our way.  

Now off to snuggle!

Freshly Made Cat Christmas

Happy Wednesday!  We've almost made it though half the week.  Whew!  I know it's been a week here.  I hope yours has been better. Today I'm sharing my card for the new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.  Our queen of shabby chic and layers, Narelle, is our sketch designer this week.  I love what she challenged us with as there are so many ways to use it.  My first thought was washi tape, but the image I picked out was big and didn't leave a lot of room for the vertical parts.  I think I still stuck to the sketch, just in a different scale maybe.  lol  

I don't know where I got the image I used for this. I had printed it off a while back and colored it, but my laptop has since crashed and I can't access my digital stamps to see.   It's adorable and I wish I could remember.  I hope Jason can rescue my digital files and they aren't all lost! 

Amazon was slow to ship the green binder that Laila picked out for her postcards, but we finally got it set up this week.  :)   Her favorite colors are green and orange, so we had to get one that color.  She wanted orange, but I didn't see one.  It's so fun to sit and look through the ones she has.  Thank you to those who sent one.  I hope I managed to reply to everyone who offered to do it.  

School is going okay for her so far, but she gets so upset and has meltdowns when she has to write.  She dislikes writing so much and it seems to make her days rough.  We try to get her to practice so she can be more confident and not get upset, but she just won't do it.  I'll have to do some research on things to do to help her.  She's leanring so much, but that part just gets her.  

MFT Mummy

Is it October yet?  lol  I'm totally wishing September away.  I am ready for it not to be so hot!  We went to the zoo today and man!  The humidity was killer! After we got back and rested a bit I finished up this card I've been working on for the MFT Card Challenges sketch.   I got this cute set last year and ran out of time to use it.  I thought it would be fun to make a card for an October birthday.  I know it will be late to whoever I send it to, so the sentiment is perfect.  lol  Am I the only one who mails late cards always?  I can make them, but the mailing...

Stamps:  My Favorite Things Mummy

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, distress inks

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, MFT Black Licorace

Others:  MFT Blueprints 27, Silhouette Cameo (bat)

The carousel is always her favorite.  :)   This week at school wasn't the best for her, but I'm hoping it was because she wasn't sleeping well.  She's had a cough at night that has tired us all out.  She seems to get it this time of year, so I'm thinking it must be allergies.  We have Zyrtec now, so fingers crossed!