Thank you and Goodbye Sweet Ella

Crafty Friends-

I usually do not share personal items on my blog but if you don't mind I would like to share on this post.  

Many of you may know that my husband and I do not have children so we share our home, lives and love with our furry family members.  Our Saint Bernard, Ella, was the center of our home and our hearts.  She was a beautiful girl inside and out.  She loved everyone.  She was always happy.  She filled my heart with joy and, most of all, love.  We took the best care of her to ensure she would have the best of health.  Giant breed dogs have short lives and we wanted our Ella to live as long and healthy a life as possible.

Three weeks ago we took Ella to the dog park.  It was a typical dog park day: she took a dip in the lake, had a little walk and wanted to play.  She was in her usual good mood and was enjoying the day.  However, my husband and I noticed that she started to bleed from her nose, then her eyes, then her mouth.  We took her to the vet and after numerous tests it was determined that she had a very rare immune disease called immune mediated thrombocytopenia with anemia.  Our vet warned us that some dogs do not even make it overnight after diagnosis.  It is a horrible, fast disease and big dogs do not survive it.  We were devastated.  Our vets did everything they could for her.  We did everything we could for her.  In a short amount of time she went from an energetic, healthy Ella to an Ella that I care not to ever remember.  On a Monday she was healthy and happy and by the following Thursday she was gone.  She was only seven.

Our home feels empty without her.  When I think of her my heart aches and I feel sadness beyond words.  Ella was sweet, innocent, loving.  She will always hold the most special, dear place in my heart.

After weeks of not crafting, I decided to make the veterinarians and staff a thank you card for taking such good care of Ella, my husband and me during this time.  Admittedly, it felt strange to return to my craft room and I was at a loss for what to create.  One of the favorite parts of my home did not feel the same and I thought that maybe I was returning to craft room too soon.  I decided to look at sketches and challenges for inspiration.  JustRite had a challenge to create something nature inspired and a nature theme was perfect for the thank you card as Ella loved the outdoors and her trips to the dog park.  

Below is the completed card.  Products and techniques are also listed.

All of the stamps used were JustRite stamps.  The roses are from the Rose Postcard Background stamp.  The roses were watercolored using Distress Markers and were fussy cut.  I applied Distress Stain in Picket Fence to soften the rose colors.

The Upcycled Woodgrain Background was covered with black archival ink, stamped once on a piece of card stock and then stamped again (did not re-ink).  The second stamped background was used on the card.  "Thank you" from Fancy Frames was stamped in black and then die cut using the smallest die from Spellbinders' Romantic Rectangles Two.

Thank you very much for stopping by.  Thank you to everyone who left comments on my blog, emailed, messaged, contacted me during this time.  I appreciated all of the kind words and hugs sent from near and far.  

Hugs,
Kathy Jo