Blog Break

Hello creative people thanks for stopping by.

Just a note to let you know I'm fine but life is very busy right now and I haven't had much time for blogging.   Sorry that I haven't been around to visit your blogs lately.   We are still missing our sweet Archie so much, the house is not the same without him :(.

I need to take a break from blogging, when life settles down I'll be back :)  

However today I'm showing a 'dream board' journal page (mixed media with collage) that I created for one of Tamara Laporte's (of Willowing Arts)  Lifebook 2017 lessons in January.   I'm behind in Lifebook lessons, but that's OK I can go back to them later.  

You can see some of the collage layer below

Please take good care and 'see' you soon :)
Shirleyx
ps... I will be back briefly in early April with a Guest Post for Crealies :) 

Flower Girls

Hello everyone, I hope you are having a great weekend.

Thank you so much for your kind words of comfort about the recent loss of our sweet cat.   We are heartbroken and miss him very much.    It will take time to heal as we know from experience.

I thought I would post  something more cheerful today.   I'm still enjoying most of the lessons with Lifebook 2017 (Willowing Arts).    A recent lesson's focus (with Tamara Laporte) was to use minimal supplies.   I enjoy mixed media and was surprised at how much I enjoyed using just 3 Tombow markers to mix colours along with one more flesh colour marker and black & white pens.

The 9x12 journal page below makes me think about sisters, I'm lucky to have three of them :)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week,
Shirleyx

Heartbreak

Hello everyone, thanks for stopping by today.

Generally I don't talk about my personal life here, I like to keep my blog for sharing 'artsy stuff'.   But today I have some sad news to share as I think it will be helpful to talk about it.   You may have already seen my Facebook post.

My mischievous 'crafting assistant', our sweet fur boy, went peacefully to kitty heaven on Tuesday.  Our hearts are broken, we miss him so much.

Archie was the coolest cat with a gentle soul, silky fur and of course sometimes demanding.  As a friend said, we were his 'staff'.     He didn't seem to be afraid of anything or anyone, except the big scary vacuum cleaner.   He would tap my face at 6:00 a.m. not because he was anxious for food, but because he wanted me to pet him.    Next he wanted to play as if he was a kitten, he was addicted to the 'laser light'.   We found it so funny and I kept thinking we need to video record him, but unfortunately I never did.  I couldn't understand why he was so fascinated with a laser light that he could never 'catch'.     Jim would walk him along the sidewalk on a leash, people would stop to pet him, they all loved him.  He also greeted dogs that walked by with their owners.    He probably lived with dog(s) in his early years, we don't know. 

We adopted him 11 years ago from a shelter, the vet estimated he was around 2 years old.   Archie picked me as he came up to me right away and I immediately fell in love with his sweet face and friendly personality.  He had health issues right from the start with digestive problems and later developed serious dental disease, his teeth were literally disintegrating.   Almost all of his teeth were extracted in two  lengthy surgeries (a few years apart).  He also damaged a ligament jumping from a high arbor in our previous garden. 

Last June he was diagnosed with early stage kidney disease after pre surgery blood work (2nd dental surgery).   We went ahead with surgery as his teeth would have caused pain.    In July he developed a painful mouth infection, we thought we would loose him, but he pulled through.  A couple of months ago he developed more serious intestinal issues but with some good meds he gained some additional time.    He took a bad turn over the weekend, the last few days were not good.    I wished he could tell me how he was feeling, but his actions spoke to me, it was time to say good bye.   We could not let him suffer and so he went peacefully to kitty heaven at the vet's office.  Our Vet was so kind assuring me that I was doing the right thing for Archie and that we had given him a good life. 

We've been owned by 5 wonderful cats over the last 24 years, a lot of the time there were 3 fur babies sharing our home, but for now we are 'empty nesters'.   

Goodbye Archie, we miss you very much xxx