Life StacyC Style: October 2011

Hi and welcome to the CKU Blog Hop! We’re excited to share with you projects that we hope get you excited about CKU Reunion, whether you’ve already registered, are planning to come, or wishing you were coming. The blog hop is from Friday, October 7th at 10:00 am MT until Saturday, October 8th at 10:00 am MT. If you get lost during the hop, come back here for the hop order (below). Have fun hopping!

Last winter I took Christy Tomlinson's SheART Workshop and loved playing with the various mediums, doodling, and letting loose as I created. The only problem was, I'm not very good with making cute girls (mine was a little on the "fluffy" side). So when I was thinking about a project for this blog hop I thought it would be fun to try some of the techniques I learned in that workshop but with a twist.

This canvas is a tribute to my sweet Basset Hound Cleo. I love this picture of her. The great thing about making a canvas is you can play and if you don't like something, add another layer or stamp something over it.

What you need to get started is a white canvas (you can get them at any hobby store like Michael's, JoAnns, or Hobby Lobby - mine is a 8x11 size), paper, photo, Mod Podge, stamps, StazOn ink, paint, brushes, rub-ons, and a heat tool (for quickly drying in between layers).

This picture shows the basic background I applied to the canvas. Everything is adhered with Mod Podge and totally dried before starting the next steps (that's where the heat tool comes in handy or you're going to have a lot of waiting time).

Next, I added the "character" to the project, the stuff that makes it more of a collage than just a canvas. I used stamps (you'll need StazOn ink for stamping because the Mod Podge creates a slick surface), paint and a variety of applicators (like mesh, bubble wrap, and a dry brush), printed items, a rhinestone paw print, rub-ons, and doodling with a pen.

Once you have all the flat items on, paint the edges of the canvas, and apply a final layer of Mod Podge to seal everything. Then I added a flower (made with various circles) and a brad with a quote (I clipped the brad legs off and applied with foam tape).

Here's the finished project and a couple close up shots.

I had so much fun creating this canvas, which I now have at work so I can admire my beautiful hound. But more than that were the memories I enjoyed as I worked on the canvas.

I hope you enjoyed my Cleo canvas. Have fun blog hopping and we hope to see you at CKU Reunion in San Diego on October 27-29.

Here's the blog hop order (if you stumbled upon this blog post I highly recommend starting at the beginning with Stacy Julian):

Stacy Julian
Michelle Hill
Jodi Sanford
Kim Watson
Deena Wuest
Cindy Tobey
Stacy Croninger (You are here!)

The past two weeks Cleo hasn't felt well - she wasn't putting weight on her front, right paw. We took her to our vet, then to a specialist, ran every test they suggested, but couldn't find the cause. So we decided we just needed to be patient and let the muscle heal (that's what the doctor figured it was - a torn muscle).

Late afternoon on Friday, we were all home and Cleo had just gone outside. We peeked out the window and Cleo was laying on the deck with her paw under her in a weird way. When we opened the door, she laid back and lost consciousness. We scooped her up and tried to wake her up while calling the vet - they said to bring her right in. By that time she had stopped breathing and so we started trying to revive her as we frantically drove to the vet. When we got to the vet (one in town since our vet was 20 minutes away without going through the football traffic), he tried chest compressions, injected her heart, and compressions again but was unable to revive her (he thinks she had a heart attack).

And so our sweet Cleo has moved on to greener pastures. While this weekend has been an emotional one, the thing we all agree on was that she knew she was loved up to the very last minute. We were all with her telling her how much we loved her and what a good dog she was. Plus, because she hadn't been feeling well, we had spent a lot of time rubbing her belly and just sitting with her.

We will miss her more than words can express. Her internal clock that reminded everyone when it was time to eat or have a treat, her perfect hound howl, the stubborn look she'd get when you wanted her to do something, her beautiful spotted belly, her basset waddle on walks, the way she smelled like corn chips after a nap, and so much more.

Mabel also misses her buddy. She has not been by herself for more than a few hours since we brought her home. She has searched the usual places a few times this weekend looking for Cleo, which breaks our hearts. She loved Cleo, even if she did enjoy tormenting her as any little sister would.

Cleo's big paws left permanent prints on our hearts. She will live on through photos and memories and in the knowledge that she was greeted by Buster and Barkley and is now roaming the green pastures of doggy heaven.

We love you Cleo!