Thanks

We went to California on vacation in March.  The vacation was well earned as it was the first for me in 2 years.  Vacation can be a little tricky because of the two beasts, St. Bernard dogs Abby and Jilly, that normally share our home with us. 



Jilly on the left and Abby on the right

 Getting good pictures of a dog is tough- they are always on the move and these two do not really like to hear the sound of the camera. 

Often the shots end up looking like a bad driver's license photo.  Jilly in particular doesn't enjoy the electronic sound of the shutter on the camera opening.  So, we end up taking shots from a distance or surprising them.  It's always tricky.

Abby out by the fence

This doesn't mean that these 125 to 145 pound monsters aren't precious to us or important.  So, when we go on vacation we're always grateful for  a house sitter.  This time our neighbor, Cheryl, watched the girls for us.  This can be a bit of a task because of the drooling, dry grass they haul in the house, and the hours they keep (up at 6 am for a milkbone and rest outside, breakfast at 8 am, milkbone snack at 4 pm, and dinner at 8 pm).

Jilly hiding from the camera

While on vacation, I brought a few paper crafting supplies and ended up making a thank you card for Cheryl.  It is the very least I could do and still fun, relaxing way to spend a couple of hours with the balcony door flung wide and the ocean breeze tickling my back.

Green being my favorite color, I brought my burlap and some shear fabric with me.  Using a cream cardstock for the card base, the shear fabric (see in the background of the picture above) was cut to the size of a olive green piece of cardstock and glued to the cardstock which was then adhered to the cream card base.  Brown distress ink was applied to the edges of the card bringing out the texture of the fabric.  I cut the burlap to size and ran water over the burlap to soften and misshape the burlap.  This added even more texture to the burlap which I glued on with clear, adhesive tape. 

The sentiment is stamped on a scrap of cream paper.  Cream, pleated paper was inked along with the edges of the sentiment to create a focal point to draw the eye.  The bow is made out of a string pulled from the burlap edge and glued in place with Crystal Accents. 

I'm thankful for many things, my family and the wonderful time we had on vacation, but equally as much for neighbors who you can entrust the precious things with!

Andie