My friend Cath hadn’t contacted me since before Christmas and I was worried that either she or her husband were ill, so I emailed her. Cath said although she was fine, her sister was not. She said her sister, Norma, has adopted a one-eyed chihuahua from a rescue center and the dog normally preferred to spend it’s time with Norma’s husband. Recently, when Norma would lie on her bed, the dog would lay with it’s head on her chest and cry. It wasn’t just one occasion, it was several times. Since Norma hadn’t felt well, she went to her doctor and told her the story about the dog. Her doctor took the dog seriously, and ran tests.  They found that Norma had breast cancer.
I wanted to make a card for Norma, featuring a chihuahua, but the only chihuahua stamp I had was from Tim Holz Crazy Dogs stamps. I asked Cath if that would be ok with Norma, and she said she thought Norma would like it. I made the card and wasn’t thrilled with it and wrote about it in my blog. A reader told me I should use the word HOPE on the card, and once I made that change, I’m really happy with the end result.
To make the card, I started with kraft colored cardstock 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ scored on the 8 1/2″ length at 4 1/4″ to make an A2 size card that is 5 1/2 x 4 1/4″. I took Recollections Heavyweight 110 lb. white card stock that was 4″ x 5 1/4″ and scored it on the 4″ width at 1/2″ intervals to go the whole 4″ every 1/2″….Then I took four Distress Inks, Walnut Stain, Pumice Stone, Hickory Smoke and Gathered Twigs. I rubbed the Pumice Stone all over the paper first, then the other inks I tried to rub in the pattern of a wood grain, up and down and used the inks from light to dark. I sprayed it with water and dabbed it off, then used my homemade Gesso on a fan brush to lightly brush the Gesso over the front of the card.

My homemade gesso recipe:
1/4 cup Plaster of Paris
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup cheap white craft paint
1./4 cup Elmer’s white glue

If you don’t have Gesso, you could use white paint or a white gel pen. I also added lines with my white gel pen and smeared them vertically, then went over the image again with Gesso to make the gel ink look less defined.
To color the chihuahua, I used Touch Five markers and the numbers are listed on the video.
I used a die to cut out the dog and the sentiment and used a Stampin’ Up marker in Soft Suede with a blender pen to add a floor under the dog. I glued the barn wood panel to fun foam and then attached it to the front of the card. I added the dog to the middle of the card with ATG and wet Tombow Mono glue.
I couldn’t find a sentiment that I liked so made my own, and it said “Miracles come in all shapes and sizes, I’m so glad you found yours.” I typed it on my computer and printed the sentiment on cardstock on my computer. I die cut it and put it on the inside of the card. I have a die that cuts out the alphabet and I used it to create the word HOPE and put it on a piece of black and brown striped paper that I lined with a piece of craft card stock behind it, then laid it on foam stamp and added it on an angle beside the dog on the front of the card.. I stamped “Made by Sandy Parker” on the back of the card and stamped dog paws on the envelope and it was done.

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