Getting ready for the Gardner Sidewalk Days fair

Here are several other cards I worked on for the fair this coming weekend.  Each is a one-of-a-kind right now because I only made one each.  The first ones are twist-up cards, fun gifts to give.

The first card shows Chuckie again, but with a Joy Crafts die as background.  And I used all brambles only.














The second card shows two of the many bunnies that arrived so far.  Bunnies are tricky animals to raise, and mortality rate is high.

Here is Tubby, my logo squirrel.  His story is on my blog in last year's March and April section.














Here is Blackie, my first ever black squirrel girl.  She was released about a week ago together with seven other nest mates.  She is doing well, they all hang around and continue to get fed as long as they need it.














A pink design, here are two squirrel babies of different ages snuggled together.
















 And here is Ginnie, my overwintering opossum girl.  She was also released a few weeks ago.  She was a sweetheart, not an aggressive bone in her body.

And here you see a pile of squirrels sound asleep.  It doesn't matter how big their space is, they like to pile on top of one another.













I also made a bunch of Christmas cards, 29 in all.  I used burlap as background and cut out the ornaments, which are Tim Holtz, with chipboard first, then cut out the front and embossed it before adhering it to the chipboard.  The sentiments are Cheery Lynn and Marianne designs.  I needed to cut them out, a stamp would not have looked good on such rustic cards.

I uploaded three cards to show that each one will be a little different from the others. The inside has a sentiment stamped on green card stock and a snow flake attached to it.  

And then, while I was waiting for the final feeding late at night, I kept myself busy with making flower balls.  

Everything you see here is available for purchase.  Please ask for pricing.  I won't upload onto Etsy until AFTER the fair.  

I hope to read your feedback soon!

A card for a Marianne blog challenge

One of our design team members is always on the lookout for fun blog challenges.  Most times I am too busy with my critters, way too often working 16 hour days, but this one just sounded like too much fun. 

So here is my card, a twist-up design.  It is my understanding that it had to be hexacon, there were no other restrictions.  This is Chuckie, the little woodchuck that arrived more dead than alive in mid June, happily munching away on a piece of water melon.  I took that picture a few weeks ago, she is much bigger now and almost ready to be released together with her sister.  I will miss her, she is such a hoot while she is still a youngster.  Her sister is much more reserved and will be a great asset for her once I release them.

The bottom is a Spellbinders embossing folder and I painted the larger daisies for added effect, the daisies are handmade by me, the daisy leaves are a Martha Stewart punch, the sentiment is cut out with a Spellbinders die, and I affixed it with eyelets.  The top background is a Marianne LR-0242, one of the most versatile dies in my collection.  I framed the picture with Memory Box Grapevine wreath 98191 and Bramble circle 98450.

I don't like to overload cards that feature wildlife in my care, I let the picture do the talking.  This is a lucky shot, one of my favorite pictures for a long time to come.

Will they like it?  I hope so, I'd love to add a badge to my blog!  But in the meantime, do YOU like it?  Feedback, please!

Challenges:
Marianne Design Challenge- Hexagon shape

Double embossed Cards and Pinwheels...

Hi everybody!

My apologies for having been so quiet.  Wildlife rehab season is starting to take its toll on me.  Over 50 animals have arrived thus far, and it has been an interesting summer in terms of rescue missions.

But that is for another blog entry, I know most of you want to know what I have been CRAFTING. 

I went to a small fair in early July in hopes to raise some funds for my wildlife rehabilitation expenses, but we got rained out.  So there were hardly any people around.  But I had made some cards and other items, which I will put out again this coming weekend here in Gardner when the "biggie" is held, the two-day Gardner Sidewalk Sales event.  It will be a first for me, I have never even thought to participate because usually my first neonate baby squirrels are here already.  This year I am passing them on to a friend because my rehab room is still full and hope to not get any prior to this weekend...   

The above three cards were made using a technique called double embossing.  It requires separate embossing folders and matting.  I didn't invent the technique, I merely designed the cards.  These can be used for just about anything, they have a fresh, airy feel about them. 



When I decided upon making pinwheels to have something for kids as well, I was looking for containers to put them in.  These owls were on sale at Michaels at 60% off.  Perfect for my table!  Don't you just love those eyes?  They crack me up every time I look at them.

It took quite a while to make all those pinwheels.  But it was also fun. 

As always, I welcome your comments!

Three little Oreos...looking for help!

The phone rang:  it was my friend Beverly.  She had "good news and bad news", so I asked for the good news first.  Her grandson had found a baby skunk in the middle of the road and called her--any chance that I could take it?  She helps with rehabilitating squirrels but has no experience with anything else, and being a vegetarian she would have trouble with an omnivore.

The little girl was exhausted and scared and didn't give much resistance when I bathed her to get rid of the fleas.  She drank some apple flavored Pedialyte and then I let her rest for a while.  I had asked the young man to go back and check for siblings later on, but I didn't expect him back half an hour later with a large box.  When I stepped out to greet him, he held up two fingers:  two more.

These two were feistier and had drenched the towel they were in.  He told me the woman in whose yard they were in didn't want him to take them because she didn't want them to spray.  When he explained to her that they would not make it without help she said she didn't care, let them wander off on their own, she just didn't want the stink.  She was so impossible to talk to that he finally just swooped in and grabbed the two with the towel, and of course one sprayed.  The woman, furious, went in the house, and, not sure if she was going to call police or return with a gun (he said she acted crazy enough) he just got the heck out of there.  Bless him for rescuing those two little ones!  He grinned when he admitted that his truck smelled pretty bad, but a good airing out will take care of that.

I kept the two outside and brought the bowl for bathing on the porch instead.  One had goopy front feet and claws and gunky teeth, it must have tried to eat a slug from sheer hunger.  That slime is almost impossible to get off, but I finally succeeded.  The smell did not go unnoticed in the neighborhood, but babies have a way of melting most people's hearts.  And once I had disposed of the smelly towel and box the air was clean again.

They are now sleeping in their carrier atop one of my storage boxes in my craft room.  I wouldn't do that if I didn't trust that they'll behave.  They have full bellies, a warm bed, and they ... are awake now, of course!  Little heads bobbing up and down, ooooh, I just love skunks!

Once they have settled in and have had a few meals I will transfer them into a larger cage in my rehab room. But I need to make sure that they can thermo-regulate, the little girl in the first two pictures is pretty run down.  Her siblings, piled into the formula dish, are much stronger.  

These babies will cost me about $150 each to raise, so if you would like to partially adopt a baby, I would so appreciate it!  My friend was going to help with what she could afford for the one baby but almost fell over when she heard there were three.  Please spread the word, Operation Adopt A Baby Skunk is now in full swing and will be ongoing for at least the next two months. Every little bit helps. Thank you!

How about a paper flower pot? No watering needed!

Crafting relaxes me and makes me feel calm.  So I try to take a little time each night to work on something, but right now big projects are a bit daunting since I never know what the next phone call will bring.  But little items are working out well, and making flowers is little enough where I can stop at any time if need be.

I got a Tim Holtz flowers die on sale and decided to try it out.  Messing around with the individual die cuts, these flowers came about.  They looked like they would go perfectly with a pot, so I painted a little terra

cotta pot and stamped some ferns all over it.  I spray sealed the piece with a matte finish and here it is.  I filled the spaces with all kinds of greenery from Cheery Lynn, Cottage Kutz,Sizzix, and Memory Box and didn't even need any moss or other filler.  You like?

One of our team members' father was in the hospital, and we all decided to make get well cards for him.  He is back home but still has quite a road to recovery ahead of him.  The oooogly eyes of my opossum girl seemed perfect to remind him that he needs to listen to the doctors and not try doing this on his own.  Is she not the prettiest ooooooogly eyes girl?  Cracks me up every time when she looks at me like that.  

That's all for now!  Happy Tuesday!

Sigi

My two little wood chuck girls at dinner time

Since they are too cute for words, I thought I share this little clip with you all.  Water melon is a favorite, with sweet potato being a close second.  The little girl which arrived more dead than alive is in front.  She has gained well over a pound since her arrival.  I can't really put her on the scale anymore, but I can feel her weight when I pick her up.  Her sister does not want to be handled anymore.

I hope you enjoy yet another glimpse into my rehab room!  Would love your comments!

Sigi

A special card for a special friend

My wildlife season has been so insanely busy that I did not have time nor the energy to craft these past few weeks.  I "felt" it, creating is my anti-dote to stress.

A very dear friend has fallen seriously ill, so I decided to make a special card for her.  I just finished it a little while ago because I had to argue with the printer when one color didn't print correctly and my squirrel looked blue at first, so it's a bit too late to make the box for the card tonight.

This is a straight-forward easel card, and the background is a Cheery Lynn burlap embossing plate which I enhanced with Tim Holtz Burlap distress ink.  The oval frame is also a Cheery Lynn die called Japanese Garden, and I gave it dimension with Creatology foam which it cut nicely with one pass.  Poking out the holes took a bit of patience, but running the foam through more than once would have flattened it where it would have been too large as a backing for the green cardstock.  The greeting is a Sizzix Framelits die, the leaves are also a Sizzix die, the flowers are my own creations.  The picture shows my little black squirrel "Blackie" munching on her favorite snack, a slice of banana.

I wanted the card to be upbeat and sunny without being too loud, and I think I achieved that, would you agree?

Looking forward to your feedback!

Happy Monday, everybody!  June already, where have the last two months gone?!

Update 06-4-13:

Here is the box I managed to finish this morning and then mailed at last.  She will receive it tomorrow. 

Sigi