To Pet or Not to Pet ?

Well...to be precise...To dog or not to dog? That is the essential question for us these days. And in addition to that, “Which dog to dog?”. Sorry, I meant which dog to pet… My mind is overflowing about doggys, 'doggy' info and images so much so that I'm seeing dogs everywhere!

We are both huge fans of Labradors and Golden Retrievers but we are worried that they are too big for an apartment (even if we do have decently large space.) Everywhere I go I'm suddenly seeing dogs. Today in front of the supermarket we saw a sweet puppy (cocker spaniel) crying for mummy and daddy to come back out and pick him up! During the weekend , we went 'doghunting' and saw soooo many cute, sweet, adorable...(ooohhh I could just go on!!!) puppies!

We went to see the cutest little golden retriever. It's completely white (a very rare type of golden retriever) but so energetic and smart. Immediately he loved us and ran to jump into my arms, the next second he ran to play with some grass and then ran to eat some dog food that was safely stored away in a plastic bag in the corner. Next second again he was about to escape into the great unknown outside. What an energy bundle! I told my DH to hold me back from buying at that very moment and drag me out of the shop when I wouldn’t let go of my “cutie, sweetie, fluffy, tubby, roly-poly puppy”! In the end, he somehow got me out of there and started to discuss rational questions such as “how many times a day do big dogs need to be walked?” “How about when we travel away for vacations?” and other boring considerations… And this from the very guy who just stated, "Oh Man, I can't live without a dog! I need a Labrador.....Now!!!"

It didn’t take long for new challenges to arise! Dear Mom-in-law calls frantically and decrees: “Don’t buy a dog, waste of time, waste of energy.” and “Dogs will not be allowed into our house for Christmas.” She apparently heard the news from FIL that we had gone nuts and wanted to buy a dirty, smelly creature of some sort! Well, not all have the same taste I guess… Anyways, we are sitting and drooling over our newly acquired 'encyclopedia of dogs' and have come to the realisation that if we have any sense we will get a small or medium sized dog. Check back on my blog next week to find out if we have any sense.

P.S: I wouldn’t necessarily put a lot of money on us being overly rational !

Well... crafting and creating wise, I had a fun day. I wanted to play with some inkpads and stamps I had lying around for ages so, I made a few cards and tags. Oh and check out the CPS blog. Just discovered it and I think it's pretty cool! Here's my take on the CPS Sketch #83. I've shifted the circle from bottom right. Hope you like it!

I layered white embossed card on black card for the bg. Then I stamped and handcut the blue scalloped border and layered it with silver and black cards. The cute 'duckie' image, I painted with silver and blue paints, matted on black and added a hipchip from Ki Memories at the upper right. And Voila!

This card is my personal fav. I layered the pp with a beautiful quote which says,"If I had one gift that I could give you, my friend, it would be the ability to see yourself as others see you, because only then would you know how extremely special you are.” I stamped a border around the quote and then handcut. Then I layered it with ribbons and a fabric flower I made from some gorgeous fabric I found this weekend in the sale section of a local shop!

That's all for now. Have a Great Week ahead!

Cheers,

Avantica

Another Manic Monday!

Good Morning! It's the start of another week already! Boy, how time flies! Weekends seem just so short...actually week days too! Wish I could cram all the things I dream of making and all the stash I obsess over and all the things to do into a single day… now that would be a wish come true!

Anyways, this is what I came up with this weekend in between some glorious strolls exploring the city and gorging on sweet, juicy watermelon !

I’ve been trying out many different styles of late. Having fun just playing with paints and inks and getting smutty, inky fingers!! Love it !! On the recent trip to London, I bought a BIG box with juicy inkpads (for just 7GBP) and ever since I’ve been having a rollicking time trying different techniques and varying my styles.

In this card, 'Sending Love', I played with colours and tried a collage style. The backing paper was made by repeatedly stamping and playing around with a few different colours and shades on which various images were then stamped in coordinating colours. Some images were even stamped into fabric metallic liner! After layering and coloring various papers to co-ordinate and contrast, they were finally stuck down in a pleasing manner. The final embellishment is a dragonfly made from wire and a crystal bead!

The materials used are: Cardstock (Bazzill), Wooden heart and Text paper (Panduro), Stamp sets (Fancy pants, Prima, making memories ), Wire (Old stash!), Stamp pads (Staz On, Versacolour), Metallic fabric liner (Marabou), Yarn, Open weave fabric and Crystal bead (local craft shop)

In the sympathy card, the emphasis is more on the message and the sentiment. So, I have kept it simple. A scalloped card frame is mounted on the focal stamped image (bouquet of flowers). The sentiment in front and the message inside were printed from the internet in coordinating colours. Various papers were cut and layered and a satin bow added to finish off the card.

The materials used are: Patterned Papers (K&Company), Cardstock (Bazzill), Stamp set (Panduro), Stamp pads ( Versacolour), Satin Ribbon (Local market), Printer, computer and Craft robo!

In the card titled, “Key to my heart” I have used elements and techniques to give a distressed and ‘vintage’y feel to the card. The layered papers have all been distressed with inkpads and rolling/tearing the edges with fingernails! The tag is coupled with a key! The key was made to look ancient by distressing the chipboard and stamping in various colours and heat embossing with UTEE several times. In between various levels of UTEE, more colours were added. The felt was cut into a scalloped border and the card was finished with blooms, stamped sentiment and hand sewing.

The materials used are: Patterned Papers (PaperMania), Cardstock (Bazzill), Felt (Panduro), Stamp set (Basic Grey), UTEE (Ranger),Key (Maya road), Stamp pads (Ranger- Walnut distress ink, Versacolour), Ribbon (American Traditional Designs), Brad and Blooms (Prima, Papermania, Panduro) and Embroidery floss

That's it for now. Thanks for your comments and Have a Glorious Week!

Cheers,

Avantica