WHEN did this happen ? ? ?

Luke has been home for two days yet it seems like forever... do we own him or does he own us? He is lying by Dad's chair, guarding:

He already came across a full grown German Shepard that was willing to show off his dental work for little Luke to see . . .   Luke ran into Dad's arms -- I am sure just to protect Dad --- haha. Thought I would share a photo since have gotten lots of well wishes for Luke. TFL and YOLO

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner ? ? ?

It is always hard to say goodbye to our pets -- and this one esp since it was hubby's dog/best bud/shadow for 15 years. . . This is Norman --- or Normie as I called him -- and he passed away in January 2012.

This was puppy (Normie)  lying in my garden on my Pachysandra next to the bird bath that he was under the impression was a tall water bowl for him . . .  DH did not take his loss well but that was to be expected. He had talked about getting another dog but never did anything about it . . . until today --- he said he was ready for a new dog and today was the day he wanted to begin his search . . .   well that did not take long -- out of 6 puppies this little guy was chosen as he took right to DH and vice versa.

So Guess Who's Coming to Dinner ? ? ?  This little guy is Luke --

He seems to be pretty smart -- his first leash and already he has tried to chew that but I will say where there is a will there is a way --- I gave him Puppy Chow in a Cool Whip bowl as I have not washed his new bowls yet but as you can guess the Cool Whip bowl started to move so what else would you do as a dinner guest but put your foot in it to hold it still??? Silly puppy --- but it worked:

We stopped at the Vet's on the way home and he will be seen on Friday so that will be good. DH is over the moon and happy and that is always a good thing. He named the new puppy Luke and I am happy about that as he suggested Muncie --- like the motor parts --- so Luke it is.  A new addition to our family . . . .  but certainly no replacement for Normie.  TFL and YOLO

Scrow Pops

Had seen the Scarecrow Cards made and here is a photo of some of the ones I had made using the SU Top Note die. Then I saw these little guys made using the SU Curly Label punch:

Too cute and would be great on tags and such --- here is a photo to show the difference in sizes of these guys:

So decided to use the little guys for a tag and two Tootsie Pop holders. Here is the tag first and I used the SU Two Tags die to cut out the green tag from SU card stock. The scarecrows for these little guys were made using Kraft card stock from Mikes and I used the SU Square Lattice embossing folder to emboss them. Sponged the edges and put them together. For the tag I tied on a ribbon and then a piece of hairy yarn around that:

These tags would be good for a candy bag or such. This smaller scarecrow is a good size for smaller items than a card. Here are my two "Scrow Pops" as I call them:

Will start with the holder on the left -- Used white speckled card stock and cut the piece 2 1/4" wide by 8" long. Scored this at 3 1/2" and 4 1/2". Before folding and creasing the score lines I put this piece in the TH embossing folder Textured Leaves. I only put the holder front into the folder and embossed it. The bottom and back of the holder are not embossed. Once embossed I used a corner rounder punch and rounded the top corners of the holder. Using SU Sahara Sand ink I sponged over the leaves and then the sides of the embossed piece. Using the bone folder I creased my scored lines and folded my holder into shape. Using a pencil I made two marks near the top of the holder and then used a small circle punch for the two holes. Put the Tootsie Pop in the holder using a glue dot to hold it in place. Used a small stamp for "Give Thanks" and stamped that onto scrap speckled white card stock. Cut that oval tag out using the Spellbinders Back to Basics Tag set--sponged the edges and then used SU twine and tied the holder shut. Put a clear glue dot behind the oval greeting to keep it in place.

For the small scarecrows -- using the Curly Label punch I punched out a piece from kraft card stock. Then punched out a second label from printed double sided card stock. Drew the mouth on the kraft piece with a black marker and then embossed this in the SU Square Lattice embossing folder. Sponged the edges of this piece. Added wiggle eyes and made a triangle nose. Sponged the edges of the hat and used the SU Trio Flower punch for the flower for the hat and added a crystal. Hair is brown paper shred from the dollar store. Put the scarecrow onto the holder using pop dots. Here is a closer photo of the embossed/sponged holder front:

Now to the second holder:

This holder is made using cream speckled card stock from SU. Made the holder as the other using a piece 2 1/4" x 8". I used the same embossing folder as the other holder but for this holder I used that embossing folder as the background image. I inked the raised side of the embossing folder using brown ink and put the front of my holder only into the inked folder. Closed the folder and ran over it with a brayer. This transfers the inked design onto my piece. Once that was done I rinsed off the embossing folder with water and set it aside to dry. I sponged the edges of the inked front of my holder using the brown ink and then used the bone folder to crease my scored lines. Put the Tootsie Pop in the holder with a glue dot and again made small holes to close the holder with twine. The twine for this holder is the $1.00 twine from AC Moore. Here is a closer photo of the inked background on the holder front:

Used brown ink to stamp the "Thanksgiving Blessings" stamp and used a die from the Sizzix Banners #2 die and stamp set. Put the banner/greeting piece on the holder using a glue dot. Put the scarecrow on the holder using pop dots. Did not round the corners at the top of this holder. But clearly you get two different looks from the same embossing folder:

Tootsie Pop holders are free standing and cute table markers or favors. Easy to do and the smaller scarecrow is a perfect size for the holder fronts. TFL and YOLO

Hissy Fit and the Landlord . . .

Well, well, well . . .    just when you think you have seen everything and that you know some one . . . . I guess you never know...  WHAT is that on the bird nest on the front porch? ? ?

It seems that since our tenant had 5 babies she has outgrown her little nest pretty quick. Now the kiddies --
see photo --- are getting bigger and flapping the wings and such..  Here they were on April 29th:

As with any babies once you start feeding them the growing begins. . .  These little babies are not anymore little babies and with five of them this spacious nest is not so much. . . DH was concerned that they are getting too big for the nest and with them moving around . .  .  .   plus we noticed at night Mom is having a hard time being able to get into the nest so DH decided something has to be done ---

This is what I came home to today:

It is a platform DH built and screwed into the wall behind the nest and it is smooth on the top for the babies and Mom --- he was afraid they would fall out of the nest since they are getting feathers and moving around so much --- he watched and waited after he put the platform up and Mom has come and gone with the delish fav lunch of bugs and worms (ick) and here is a photo of her standing on the platform feeding the kiddies:

So hoping she is over the Hissy Fit she was having as he was putting up her new porch -- he was very careful not to touch anything or bump the nest but Mom guarded him through the new porch project . . .
I am hoping this will help Mom tonight when she is guarding the kiddies until morning. . .  What a landlord DH is --- now if I could get a new porch put up for me that fast --- hahaha.... TFL and YOLO