Abby....

Have you ever looked into someone's eyes and seen no fear....I mean...eyes that say they are past fear...past hope?

That is what I saw when I first held Abby in my arms. Abby is a spaniel/terrier(?) cross. She is around one year old and we just adopted her. We heard about her from my niece-in-law. We were sitting around the table at my sister's house and talking about a show we saw on Animal Planet about a lady in Las Vegas who was hoarding dogs. The dogs had to be taken away from her and the pleas for help went out. Her local rescue group answered the call and was at the local pet store earlier in the day with six dogs. I was shown their website and I fell in love!

Abby is a miracle...actually, if it wasn't for the fast thinking of the rescue group, Abby would not be here. They went down to Las Vegas to pick up six dogs. One of the dogs was unable to travel and they saw Abby and included her in the mix. You see, Abby was at a "kill shelter" where they can only keep them for three days.

Abby was a stray...she has had a litter of puppies...no one knows where she came from, how she came to be lost and where the puppies are. She was picked up on Saturday...Tuesday the rescue group showed up to get the dogs and Wednesday Abby was slated for euthanasia. She most definitely has a guardian angel.

She was so matted she had to be shaved and her fur is growing in patchy...she had an ear infection and she clawed her face so bad she is on antibiotics and has a cone to keep her from scratching (but, she is healing nicely). She has been spayed so no more puppy mill problems for her!

We went back to my sister's on the weekend to visit Abby at the shelter. I got to hold her and we even got to take her back to my sister's house for a few hours. You need to understand this...my sister does not like dog hair...she is allergic to animals. Abby got to ride in her fancy truck...she took one look at Abby and started calling herself "Auntie" and telling me "You just have to take her, she is your dog, you can't leave her behind". That's the power this dog has over people!

Abby carries a "stuffy" around like a baby so you can imagine she misses her puppies. It is difficult with the cone but she picks the "stuffy" up and rests it on the cone and walks around with it. She sits, walks on a leash, is incredibly gentle with children and even plays fetch.

I can hardly wait until Sunday when she arrives at our home and can finally grow into the beautiful dog she is meant to be...we call her our "Vegas Showgirl"!

I wish everyone a sunny day and that you may have wonderful ideas.

Cat

Finally....

Talk about being busy!! Also, the heat wave here was brutal...I mean, it was 105 degrees last Tuesday. This was enough to send us to the Okanagan for the weekend to sit in my sister's pool for three days.

Before I left I attended my friend's daughter's bridal shower. This is the card I made for her (another Sharon Johnson "No Time To Stamp" inspiration). This is a 6x6 card and the ribbon is black satin with pearl embellishments. The dress is a Peel Off sticker on Be Creative Tape. I used Martha Stewart Crystal Glitter on the dress and I glued crystals on the necklace:

Also, as Jen and Rob bought their first home I made this one for them too. A "Home Tweet Home" stamp by Impression Obsession, some Copic coloring, Cuttlebug embossing folder and voila! Don't look too closely...when I blew this up I saw some places where I colored out of the lines...that's what I get for doing this at 4:00 in the morning and in a hurry! Thank heavens it was a small picture and went unnoticed!

And...then it was her mother's birthday so...I had to make her a card also. This is another Peel Off Sticker and I followed the pattern from Elizabeth Craft Designs and painted the butterfly with a mix of Sakura Metallic and Stardust pens. The dark spots were done with a Quickie glue pen and Microfine glitter. I used the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder on the bottom half and the ribbon was a "find" at Michael's:

Well, I am off to make some more wedding invitation templates and cards. A friend has been diagnosed with cancer and just had surgery. I think she could use a pick-me-up card!

I hope the weather is better where you are and the forest fires are aways away from your homes!

Cat