Some sad news about our Ruby

 

Hi everyone,

I have some very sad news about our Ruby.  Ruby had been doing so much better under the care of her new Vet and putting on weight and eating well and so much happier - but then suddenly she became very unwell.  She had vomited and her breathing the next day became very noisy and she had stopped eating and was very listless and unhappy.   We took her to the Vet and she stayed overnight with them.   They did an X-ray which (unexpectedly) showed a large inoperable tumour around her heart as well as pneumonia caused by aspirating ie: breathing into her lungs what she had vomited.  There was also cancer in her lungs.   

Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done and the kindest thing was to put her to sleep.   The Vet rang me to tell the bad news whilst my daughter was at school so after the school pick-up, we went to the Vet to take Ruby home for a couple of hours for lots of pats and cuddles before we took her back that evening to put her to rest.  The Vet was so kind and gentle and explained the X-rays so that our daughter could understand the situation and that we were out of options.  We nearly lost Ruby back in January because she was misdiagnosed so after seeing a new Vet with the right diagnosis, we were at least able to spend another 5 months with her and I am very grateful and thankful for the new Vet giving us that time.   

Ruby was so loved and such a big part of our family and was always wanting pats and cuddles.  The house seems so quiet and empty and we are heartbroken.  It is too soon to talk about getting another cat or kitten.  We need to heal and not feel like we are just replacing her.

Here is one of the last photos I took of Ruby just a week before she passed.  She was sitting in her favourite spot - the loungeroom window in the sun.  This is how I want to remember her - warm and happy and smiling.  

We miss you Ruby and will never forget you.  

Jocelyn 

Penny Black Bunny Kiss Easter Card + Update on Ruby

Hi everyone 😀

I have been on a roll of late making cards and boy, my Craft Room is a mess 😮 - but it is good to get back into making more cards and blogging.  Today I am sharing an Easel Card that I made for my daughter for Easter:

This is also my card for the following Challenges:

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - PBSC April - Anything Goes with optional Easter  

 

Splitcoaststampers - Free for All Friday Challenge F4A634 - Renewal Old to New - with suggestions of using old items from your stash or recycle something etc.  My old items are the border punches and both stamps.  

The main image is by Penny Black - Bunny Kiss.  I stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black ink onto Ranger watercolour cardstock and coloured it using Lyra watercolour pencils and a #2 round paintbrush.  I went over the black outlines using a black Unipin 0.1 marker to make them darker after colouring.   I diecut the panel using my Big Shot and Lifestyle Nesting Rounded Squares dies.  The tiny pink hearts around the image are the leftover punchies after using an EK Success Arrows border punch as they look like tiny hearts to me.  I added Stampin' Up Dazzling Details glitter glue to the cheeks on the bunny and chick as well as the flowers and tiny hearts.  You can see a little bit of the glitter in this close-up:

The designer papers are by Craft Consortium - Bloom and Wild.  I adore the designs in this pad - so pretty.

The sentiment is a clear stamp by Pink Gem Designs which I have had for a really long time which came in a set.  Pink Gem Designs have a store on Etsy but only sell digital products these days.  I rounded the corners on the sentiment panel using a Corner Chomper then added Artstar pink gemstones.  I popped the panel up using several scrap pieces of cardstock so it would hold the front panel in place when open.

The punched border is my old favourite - Martha Stewart Doily Lace edge punch.  The ribbon is from my stash and I attached it in 2 separate elements - and the bow itself was made using my Bow Easy.  I glued the bow down using Fabric glue.  The pink and white cardstock layers were trimmed to 1/16" or 1/8" using my Perfect Layers Tools.

Here is a photo of the closed card:

On a happy note and an update from my blog post on 21st February:  I took our cat Ruby to a different Vet clinic a week ago to get a 2nd opinion about her vomiting and he took about 5 seconds to diagnose Inflammatory Bowel Disease from Ruby's blood tests which had been taken by our regular Vet clinic.  Somehow, the diagnosis had been missed and they were thinking that her vomiting was caused by a tumour - possibly a brain tumour - and they had recommended X-rays and an ultrasound - and if that showed nothing, an MRI.  Poor Ruby was so thin and very unhappy.  So, the 2nd Vet put Ruby on a specially made Hypoallergenic diet by Royal Canin and nightly steroids and wow, what a difference!  This Vet also said that it is more common than what you might think with dogs and cats developing IBD.  Apparently, the animal develops an allergy or intolerance to either one food or multiple foods or preservatives or something else in the food that upsets them.  It was so confusing because Ruby could eat some foods and keep them down - but other foods, would come up - yet she was asking for food all the time.  Of course, it all makes sense now with the diagnosis.   

He also said that having an X-ray or ultrasound isn't necessary UNLESS Ruby doesn't respond to the special diet food and continues to vomit - so I am glad that my instincts told me to get a 2nd opinion before paying out over $1000 for the tests.  Ruby is eating well and back to her sassy-self - still a bit quiet but putting on weight.  I am being cautiously optimistic - but gosh, it's been a difficult couple of months and I felt like my heart was being ripped out.  It's awful when you see your beloved pet goes downhill.   Ruby is 13-1/2 so not a young cat but oh, we just adore her and we can't imagine our life without her.  

Thanks for visiting my blog today.  Happy Easter everyone!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Penny Black - Bunny Kiss!  2563H wood-mount, Sentiment - Pink Gem Designs

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black

Designer Paper:  Craft Consortium - Bloom and Wild 6" x 6" pad

Accessories:  Big Shot, Lyra watercolour pencils, #2 round paintbrush, ribbon - stash, Bow Easy, black Unipin 0.1 marker, Stampin' Up Dazzling Details glitter glue, Perfect Layers Tools, Artstar pink gemstones - Easter - 7mm, Tombow Mono Multi and Mono Aqua glue, Fabric glue, Martha Stewart Score Board, Corner Chomper, Cardstock - rose pink, white + white card base, Ranger Distress watercolour cardstock

Punches:  Martha Stewart Lace Doily edge, EK Success Arrows border

Dies:  Lifestyle Nesting Rounded Squares

Trimcraft Me to You Sweet Shoppe Valentine's Day card

Hi everyone 😀

Today I am sharing a card that I gave to my daughter for Valentine's Day:

I made the card on the 13th February so was a very last-minute make.  Our cat Ruby has been terribly sick these past 2 weeks so I have been very busy looking after her and had multiple Vet visits, blood tests etc.  The blood tests came back with nothing so it is a real puzzle but at least it's not kidney failure.  Ruby is now 13 so not a young cat and it's such an ordeal for her to take her to and from the Vet.  The next step will be an ultrasound and X-rays and the Vet is thinking it might be something neurological which doesn't sound too good.   Hopefully she will be OK.

Anyway, back to my card........ My photo editing program isn't working properly so I had to use a different one which had me tearing my hair out.  And even then, I could not figure out how to save it as a smaller file so ended up using the old program Paint to resize it.  So frustrating when you have used a program for over 10 years and suddenly it stops working - and wrapping my old brain cells around something else isn't a quick process.  Thank goodness for Google to search how do stuff.  I find the 'Help' that is attached to programs really UN-helpful and it's so much easier and quicker to understand it when someone posts a You-Tube video on how do something.  The colours on the card are actually a bit lighter in real life but this was the best I could do with the other program.

I am entering my card in the following Challenge:

Splitcoaststampers - Free for All F4A265 - Hearts and/or Flowers

The main image is by Trimcraft - Me to You (Tatty Teddy) Sweet Shoppe decoupage kit which is from some years ago.  Makes it so easy to layer the images together when all the pieces are already diecut 😀   Tatty Teddy is holding a sweet/lolly/candy in case you couldn't figure out what it is.  Inside the card, it says:  "You are so sweet".   My daughter and I are BIG Tatty Teddy fans so I have a little stash of Tatty Teddy papercraft products that have been released over the years.  I layered the image onto some mint cardstock and rounded the corners with my Corner Chomper then popped the panel up on foam tape.

Here is a close-up so you can see the dimension on the image:

All the designer papers are by Cocoa Vanilla - Unforgettable - 6" x 8" paper stack which just happened to match the image perfectly.  The punched pink cardstock border was made using my old favourite edge punch - Martha Stewart Lace Heart border.  I glued the leftover punched hearts around the image just to fill in some of the blank space and added some sparkle to them using a Wink of Stella clear glitter brush.

All the layers were trimmed to 1/16" and 1/8" respectively using my Perfect Layers Tools.

The sentiment is from another Trimcraft 'Me to You' range.  The twine came from my local supermarket - Woolworths (Australia) - and was part of their Valentine's Day range.

Finished size is 5-1/2" x 5-1/2" or about 140mm x 140mm.

On a happy note:  I was able to go to a Craft Show last Saturday - the first time since the Pandemic started.  It was so lovely to look at products in person and see all the new releases and card samples.   I always stock up on my staples like glue and card bases so tend to be more pragmatic in my approach so I don't have to by them online.  My favourite retailer is always Catchy Crafts as they are so upbeat and wanting to help you with anything that you need - and they always have a HUGE stand with everything you could ever need.  I buy from them online too and can highly recommend them.  No connection to them - just a happy customer wanting to support our Australian retailers. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps and Ink:  None

Designer Paper:  Cocoa Vanilla Unforgettable 6" x 8" Paper Stack

Accessories:  Perfect Layers Tools, Tombow Mono Multi glue, dimensionals, Corner Chomper, Trimcraft 'Me to You' Tatty Teddy Sweet Shoppe decoupage set, Sentiment - Trimcraft, twine - Woolworths, cardstock - pink, mint and white card base, Wink of Stella Clear Glitter brush

Punches:  Martha Stewart Lace Heart edge