Why?

Since we moved back from England now In our spare time we foster dogs. There are so many in kill shelters that can be adopted if only given just a little help. Above is our furbaby Sun along with Bella a foster. Sun is so good with them. She helps teach them right from wrong and helps them not to be afraid.

Today I had an incident with one of our babies, a 3 month old puppy named Amanda.

This sweet little thing got spooked when I went to pick her up from behind. So bad in fact that she ran away screaming to hide behind the sofa. I wound up with a bite and multiple scratches before getting her out. I then spent the next few hours coaxing her to not be afraid. We think something I did brought back a memory. But here is my question. What could someone have done to this little angel to cause such a reaction? What could make this puppy so scared she screams continuously when touched? It breaks my heart to think something so horrible could have happened to her.

I do not blame her for fighting back to her is is just instinct. She was scared. I am just sad that she got so scared. When she first came to us she would guard her food and bones. She has finally learned to trust with that.But again why should she have to. Why should she be afraid of being touched or eating all she can now in fear that there will be no food tomorrow. She is just 3 months old and should only be worrying about chasing bugs and playing with toys.

This is Lexi, our 6 year old Rottie foster who was recently adopted by a wonderful forever family. When lexi came to us she would get spooked just from my daughter walking past her to fast or someone yelling. She would yelp and cower. Look at those eyes. So gentle. How could someone have done something so horrible to her? Even though she was scared Lexi still had so much love to give.

It just breaks my heart to see them hurting inside.

People ask how we can give them up for adoption. Maybe they think I am a cold person or without feeling. But truth is I love each one that comes through as if it were our own. When I first started fostering I did not expect to be able to give any up. But by adopting them out we can give another the time they need to find a family.

Each one that comes through our house can get the chance to learn to trust and love again and get the little extra time they need to find their forever home.

This is why I foster.

Today we adopted out another baby 6 month old Bella. Here is Bella saying goodbye to Amanda. When Bella came to us she guarded her food and had just caught a horrible cold from the stress and such. We nursed her back to health and worked with her on her food guarding as well as house breaking and learning some basics such as sit. Today she got a new family to give her all the love she needs and accept hers in return.

I really don't know why I decided to share all this maybe it is because I am so upset over what happened with Amanda today. Whatever the reason, thanks for listening.

And if you have a furbaby at home be sure to give them a big hug or cuddle.

Thanks for stopping in and have a wonderful evening. Angela

Alter it week at TIOT

And the them this week is "Mosaic" so show us an altered project containing a mosaic. I altered a domino case. the mosaics are dome with scrap papers and photos. They are then coated with UTEE. The lace flowers are from trims purchased at a local Stamping store. the paper roses are Prima as well as the leaves. The little mice ate stamped and colored with Promarkers then cut out.

Now if you head on over to the TIOT blog you can see some more great inspirational altered pieces from my teamies.

We are also going to be announcing our new additions to the DT along with some fun new changes to the challenges on March 6 so be sure to stop in and check it out.

Now head on over and link up your creations. We can't wait to see them.

Thanks for stopping in and have a wonderful day. Angela

thanks for stopping in and have a great day. Angela

ARRGH!

I wish this cold would go away. It has been a miserable week and the weather is not helping at all. Anyway, This is a layout I did last weekend on Sunday when I got together to scrap with some friends.

Once again the inspiration was from Scrap Jacked. There are lots of really great layouts just waiting to be jacked this month. Its so hard to choose. This time I chose to jack Mandy. this is an old photo I found of our trip to Walt Disney World Florida in 1996. I loved the pastel colors in it. The castle and butterfly are wood diecut from Kaiser Craft. The pearls are from Prima. the background paper is from Basic grey and the other is a scrap of unknown. The trim is from a local store here in Jersey "Scrappers Cove"

Aside from that not much crafting this week. Just trying to nurse the house back to health. Hoping to pick up next week and get caught up a bit more. I can wish right! Now I am off to bed and up early for work tomorrow. thanks for stopping in and have a great night. Angela

New challenge at the Stamp Man

The new challenge at the Stamp man is up and the theme is The Colors of Spring. I used one of the new stamp sets I bought from The Stamp Man just before Christmas. I love the big flower and the fancy gate like border. I stamped and embossed the flower with obsidian Saphire EP and coloured using Ramblin Rose Starburst stain. I then went over the flower using Tim Holtz Victorian Velvet Distress ink on the edges. The flower is then cut out and layered 3 times. The leaves are handcut and crumpled. the are colored using Edelweiss Moss Green Starburst stain. The Background is inked using Tim holtz Broken China distress ink and the Ramblin Rose Starburst stain with baby wipes. The border is stamped and embossed using Stampendous Fran-tage Aged Black Embossing Enamel .

Materials used:

Stampendous Jumbo Zinnia stamp set

Starburst Stain Daubers Edelweiss Moss Green, Ramblin rose Pink

Tim Holtz Distress inks Victorian Velvet and Broken China

Black Archival ink

Midnight sapphire obsidian Moon glow EP

Stampendous Fran-tage Aged Black EP

Mixed beads

There are lots more great Samples on the Stamp Man blog made by my uber talented team mates. Please do check them out then link up your creation.

I hope we have inspired you. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day. Angela

New Challenge at Try it on Tuesday

First off I have to say I do not know where my head is well actually its full of a head cold. I cannot believe I got the wrong date when scheduling my TIOT post. Sorry!

So now onto the new Try it on Tuesday challenge. This week we want to see your project using Acetate. Whether it is an acetate sheet or some recycled packaging we want to see it. I used some recycled packaging to stamp the butterflies on then colored them with Promarkers and added some paint to the back. the letters are the recycled packaging from letters cut out and painted on the back with black paint. the packaging was left imprinted with the letter images so it worked perfectly. Just a bit time consuming. The flowers are diecut with Tim Holtz Tattered florals die and recycled baby wipes. The centers are done using mixed white beads. the papers are Basic Grey.

Now hop over to the Try it on Tuesday blog and check out some more great projects from the DT. They are sure to impress.

We have another foster pup this week. Her name is Amanda and she is 3 months old.

Isn't she sweet? She is gonna be big though. her paws are very big although the perspective of the picture makes them look small.

So that makes 3 in the house now. Here is a pic of Bella with our lab Sunny.

Bella looks just like Sun but in miniature.

Between the head cold and 3 furbabies it has been a crazy tiring beginning of the week so far.

Sun helps with training them by showing them the ropes but they have so much energy. Guess they are making up for lost time. It's amazing how these dogs are all so forgiving even after all they have been through. Bella has a potential family coming to see her Wednesday. Wish her luck. Guess I better go get them ready for bed.

Thanks for stopping in and have a great day.

Angela

It's Tag week at Try it on Tuesday

The theme this week over at Try it on Tuesday is "Hearts and flowers" As this is a tag week we are looking for al your tags with hearts and flowers. I decided to use Dylusions heart stamps to create some flowers on my tag. The background is also layered with Dylusions inks, paints and Tim Holtz Crackle paint. Hope it inspires you. Now if you head on over to the Try it on Tuesday blog you can see some more wonderful inspiration from some team members. then why not show us what you will create. We cannot wait to see your tag creations.

Thanks for stopping by and Have a wonderful day. Angela

LIM wk 54 One layer card week - Stripes

Its one layer card week over at less is more and the theme this week is "Stripes" This was a pretty simple one for me although I went through about 3 cards because of my silly inky fingers. I am not the neatest of crafters. I masked off the butterfly and added the striped by hand with my Promarkers. the Butterfly is also colored with Promarkers. Hope you like it.

Now here is the reason I have been MIA this weekend. This is our newest foster Bella. She is a little handful as she is only 6 months old and has managed to come down with a cold from the shelter. We got her on friday and she is such a snuggle bug. We are still missing our Lexi, She was with us the longest of all the fosters but she is in a wonderful forever home now and they even keep us updated on her progress.

Thanks for stopping in and have a great day. Angela

Time for another fortnightly challenge at The Stamp Man

And the theme this fortnight is "Texture". I decided to to make a card using the moon face from "Every woman is a star" Non Sequitur stamp set to make a moon and sun. I make the sun by embossing yellow card with the Tiny Bubble embossing folder and then cut out the pointy flower from Tim Holtz Tattered floral die. I used Rusty Hinge Distress ink to bring out the embossing. The paper on the card background is distressed rolled and inked with Distress ink.

Now if you head on over to The Stamp Man blog you can see some more wonderful inspirational projects from my teamies. then you can show us your project with some texture! don't forget, some lucky winner will receive a voucher for The Stamp Man shop.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day. Angela

My material list:

Prima Reflections 6x6 pad.

Every Woman is a star Non-sequitur stamp set

Tim Holtz Tattered florals die

Tim Holtz Distress ink Stormy sky, Rusty Hinge

Tiny Bubbles Embossing folder

Mixed beads

Yarn

A new layout

I was checking out the new inspirations from the DT over at Scrap Jacked this month and I saw that my layout I did last month was picked. I was so surprised, you can see the layout here. They have so many great ideas to choose from each month and all you have to do is jack one and use it as inspiration. Its a great place to go for inspiration. This time I chose to Jack Kylie. I loved how she used the clocks throughout. I kept the circles but used pages from "the jungle book". The other circles are cut from scraps, I then niped little bits. I wanted to keep a very masculine earthy feel so I used neutral colors and textures. The picture is of my nephew. He is such a little monkey.

Thanks for stopping by and for all the wonderful comments lately. they are greatly appreciated.

Have a great evening. Angela

Its All about Love!

Or at least that is the theme this week over at Try it on Tuesday. This week we are being sponsored by One stop card crafts. So one lucky winner will win a voucher to their shop. For my card I used a edge punch to create the pierced scallop and then laced it with black twine. The hears are chipboard covered with book pages and the background is stamped with a Hero Arts cling stamp. Now if you pop on over to the Try it on Tuesday blog you will some some fantastic cards to help inspire you. Then lets see your card!

Now on another note I have to say Belle had a wonderful time at the ASH convention this weekend. She got to meet some idols and learn some great things from them.

It was a fun but exhausting weekend.

Now lots of catching up to do tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping in and have a great day. Angela

More with Slide mailers.

I am so loving playing with the slide mailers I bought for the TIOT challenge last week. This girl-Olive Rose(Olivia Thomas) of course is one of my favorite Stampotique stamps and is definitely one of my most inked. This week it fit in with the challenge over at Stampotique. SDC 47 is to alter something so here I am again altering another Slide mailer. It is similar to my first one but because you can only use Stampotique stamps for the challenge I tried a different technique for the window.

The window is done using a clear packing tape transfer technique on a paper bag I had saved from one of our trips abroad. I loved the image on it and also had a bit larger plastic bag to match. The image of the buildings was transferred from the paper bag to the masking tape and made semi transparent. I then added some ink to the background and some Dylusions paint to the back of the transferred image. The girl is then stamped on the tape and added on top the transferred image. I stamped her again on card, colored with Promarkers and altered her a bit on the head and added a hand drawn bow. She is then cut out and added on top of the frame as if looking out a coach window. The flowers in the bottom of the windows are from the bottom of my Birds of a Feather stamp(Maryse Carrier-Stampotique). They are then spot colored with Promarker and smudged as if flying by outside the window.

The top inside of the mailer is colored with a combination of white primer, Dylusions paints and Spray inks. the stamps used are Little Bird stamp(Josie Cirincione- Stampotique) and again the bottom of the Birds of a Feather stamp(Maryse Carrier-Stampotique). The sentiment is Carol's Collection also from Stampotique.

The Top cover of the Slide Mailer shown below was done again with White Primer, Dylusions paint and spray inks. the image is from the plastic bag that matched the paper I brought back from our trip. I cut out a portion of the image and decoupaged it onto the cover then stamped the Little bird( Josie Cirincione- Stampotique) . The bird and transferred image are then spot colored using Promarkers.

Here is another closeup of the inside window without the flash glare from the packing tape.

I hope you enjoyed my project today. Thanks for stopping in and have a wonderful day. Angela