Is it laundry day?

Nope! Not for me. 

Although, if I had a cute laundry basket like this it might motivate me. Maybe. LOL

I made this little laundry basket with a lot of blood, sweat and tears. 

Not really. More like...frustration, sore fingers and eventually patience. 

In the end, I am happy with how it turned out for being a first try.

Believe it or not, the clothes pins were much easier to make. I couldn't find the toothpicks that already have the decorative ends so, I used the regular kind and just sanded the little groove to give it a round head. I slit the other end with a hobby knife to give it that split look. I then aged them to give them that weathered look as if they've been outside on the clothes line doing their job. I made the basket that holds them out of wood and the handle is a small piece of wire with a bead strung through. It was a tight fit getting the wire through the bead and I may or may not have split one or two others in previous attempts. 

I'm thinking maybe I'll use the other two containers as laundry detergent storage...? I made them out of wood and glued embroidery floss around them. The idea is to finish them off to look like tin/ enamel containers, with a bit of rust of course. I also would like to use water decals to label them. I made the tiny scoops out of cardstock and edged them with the same embroidery floss. They're very tiny! 

Hope you've enjoyed your visit. Thank you for stopping by.

Big Mini Hugs,

-Iris

Vintage Tins

One day, when I have a mini house, I want to have all sorts of adorable accessories throughout. Nowadays people are creating amazing things with 3D printers and laser cutting machines, and I'm sure I will always have a growing list of all the things I'll want to get. In the meantime, I'll make what I can with what I have, and within my abilities of course. LOL

One of those things are vintage tins. Mine are a bit rusty and I'm sure over time they will get even more "loved". 😜 

I made most of them using 6x6 scrapbooking paper. The 6x6 prints are smaller and I just chose those that fit to scale better. I used acrylic paints to add the rust effect and finished everything off by giving it a coat or two of gloss medium. 

The lids and handles for some are a mixture of paper, jewelry findings, wire and buttons. In the above pics, for the round yellow "tin" I used a wooden bead for the canister itself. A button for the lid. And a tiny bead for the knob on the lid. The image is a tiny print I found in my stash.

I love how they turned out considering they are my very first attempt at making them. They have quickly become some of my favorite minis.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you are all having a lovely weekend so far.

Big mini hugs,

Iris :)

By Candlelight

 It's a holiday weekend here in the states and that means instead of the usual, and oh so very quick two-day weekend, we get a three day weekend! I decided to use my time wisely and do absolutely nothing related to adulting. 

It's been some time since I've done anything crafty, so here I am. 😀 I made some shabby candlesticks, and mini candles using real candles, for no particular use or reason. I don't have a dollhouse or room scene to use them in, but does it really matter? I just needed the art therapy. Although, I did recently find something that might work as a roombox. Idk, we'll see. :)

Hope you enjoy the pics and your visit here. Thank you for stopping by. 

A little dabbling...

 While I have not been creating much of anything these past few years, I got a little itch recently and decided to distract myself. I made this cabinet/ bookcase by deconstructing an unfinished hutch that Michaels Arts & Crafts used to sell many moons ago.

I wanted a stained wood look for the top. I don't have any stains, so I used a mixture of watered down acrylic paints to give it a similar look. 

This is what the cabinet originally looked like. I have a few of them (different designs) that I am now so happy I thought to buy. Even though at the time I had no idea what I was going to do with them all. LOL I'm glad I got them when I did. Michaels stopped selling them shortly after I bought them. They were only $1 and can easily be taken apart. I used the top part, turned upside down for this project. 

I hope you are all doing well, and finding time to get crafty. 

Wishing you all an amazing week! 

xo,

Iris :)

My Sweet Romeo...

My sweet boy put up a brave fight, but it was all just taking too much of a toll on his tiny body. I miss him dearly and my heart is broken. I still cry for him and hate the last images I have of him in my head. He was my first pet and the most absolute sweetest soul ever. He was loving, curious and playful. He was always happy to see me, even if I was only out of the room for a few minutes. He was my shadow. =)  

Momma loves you sooooo much, lovebug. I can't wait to see you again and kiss your tiny little face off! =*

RIP 

04/22/2009

-

02/19/2015

XOXOXOXO <3 <3 <3

Update: Romeo's Vasculitis

Unfortunately, Romeo has worsened over the last few weeks. He has a secondary bacterial infection on his lesions, which the specialist wants to treat with Doxycycline based on his last culture results. For now, she is keeping him off steroids due to this. The lesions on his ears and paw pads started deteriorating again, to the point where his paw pads split open and were bleeding again.

The specialist has discontinued Pentoxifylline and Protopic. She has increased the dosage of Cyclosporine. Her goal is to taper it to the lowest effective dose since this medication may increase the risk of opportunistic infections; damage to liver, kidneys or other organs. Romeo is currently battling a very bad bladder infection.

The specialist wants to start using Mupirocin, to be used generously on his lesions twice a day for resistant bacteria. She will start more steroids once his bacterial infection has improved. I also have to apply Easotic to his lesions as well as bathe him twice a week with Malaseb shampoo.

Since Romeo isn't showing improvements on his current treatment plan, the specialist is seriously considering treatment with Dapsone. It is a sulfa antibiotic that seems to be effective for Vasculitis, but can cause liver toxicity. There is also a treatment called "intravenous immunoglobulin therapy" that we can consider as well, but is quite expensive.

Based on my talks with the specialist, I would consider the Dapsone treatment. I am extremely concerned about the liver problems it can cause though, because Romeo is only 3lbs. He has a very tiny body, so you can imagine what the size of his organs must be. It worries me to put him on such an aggressive treatment. Romeo is very special to me, and I am afraid of him having irreversible liver damage that may affect his quality of life to the point of euthanasia. It has happened in some cases.

At this point, I am feeding him whatever he will eat. His appetite has substantially decreased and I need him to eat in order to give him his medications. I still haven't found something he will eat enough of so that I can give him his medications as prescribed.

The CareCredit card I have for his medical treatment is now maxed out at $1700. His last appointment this past Tuesday, December 16, 2014 was a total of $120.31 and that maxed out his card. At this point, I don't know what else I can do for him. If anyone knows of or can recommend anything, I am more that grateful to hear it.

Please remember, Vasculitis is an immune mediated attack on his blood vessels. The hope is that we can get him into remission and then if he is not vaccinated again, it will not come back. Please help me to continue getting Romeo the treatment he needs. I have done all I can to this point, but can no longer afford it.

If you or anyone you know can afford donating even $1, please consider doing so. Every little bit does help in these circumstances. I can not express my gratitude enough for those who have donated and for those who have helped spread the word. Thank you!

You can read more about Romeo's condition in my previous post or by visiting his page at: www.gofundme.com/c8gy4o

Have a beautiful week and Happy Holidays!

Update on Romeo...

After visiting the veterinary dermatologist this past Friday, Romeo was visually diagnosed with vasculitis. A biopsy can be done to attempt to confirm this diagnosis, but I can't afford it. 

Another issue is that in doing the biopsy he will lose a significant piece of his ears. Since they have significant deterioration, they would have to, not only take the affected area, but a little of the surrounding as well. He would also lose an entire paw pad wherever the biopsy is done, again, because of the same reason. See, Romeo is a very small dog. He only weighs three pounds. He has a tiny body.

The dermatologist said that the vasculitis may have been caused by his annual vaccinations. It seems that in small dogs the body over-reacts to their vaccines and the result causes blockage of tiny blood vessels resulting in ulceration and death of tissue, which is what Romeo currently has on his ears, wrists, paw pads and tip of his tail. 

I've decided to start treatment to try and cure the ulcerations, swelling and irritations. They may or may not work. It will be trial and error depending upon how he reacts to the medications. The dermatologist has started him off on three. One of the medications alone is $260. Because Romeo is so small the meds need to be compounded and this will take a few days. I went ahead and had the pharmacist do it, but at this point I still don't know how I will pay for them. If these medications do not work, they will change them to stronger immune suppressants. 

I was able to take him to the dermatologist visit thanks to the donations I received on GoFundMe.com and donations made by my sisters co-workers. In total, $200 was raised. 

I will no longer be able to vaccinate Romeo. If I do so, the reaction can start all over again and may be worse next time. I'll have to get his blood drawn for antibody titers to ensure that he is still protected from those viruses. 

His treatment will be continuos until he can be completely healed and it will be pricey. The only reason I resorted to the GoFundMe.com website is because I honestly cannot afford the costs. If you know of someone that can donate $1 or more please please share his link: http://www.gofundme.com/c8gy4o via Facebook, Twitter, Email or through any other social media. I really need the help to keep his condition from getting worse.

Thank you for anything you can do. I sincerely appreciate it.

This is what Romeo's ears look like:

He also has to wear booties until his paws completely heal.

Thank you for taking the time to read about my Romeo's condition.
I hope you are all having a beautiful week!   =)

Apology, RL Update & Romeo's Illness

First, I must apologize for my absence and abandoning my blog. I'm surprised to see I still have any followers left. Thank you for sticking around. It truly means a lot to me.

It's been two years since I last posted and it wasn't intentional. My life drastically changed and I have been dealing with the aftermath. I have been horrible in keeping touch with mini friends and emails. For that I am truly sorry. I created this blog to learn, share and make friends around the world. You have no idea how much I miss miniland and visiting all of your blogs. I hope I can get back into it soon.

The past year has been one of growing, accepting and putting my life in order, or at least trying to...lol. It has also been one of faith and love. Today I am in a better place but I certainly didn't achieve this alone.

Even though I haven't been making minis, I have been doing other crafty things, on and off, as a form of therapy. Maybe I'll start posting those things as a way of keeping my blog current, if anyone is interested?

Okay, now that the first two things have been addressed, on to the third and the one that saddens me the most. For those of you that haven't noticed that adorable pup to the right, he is my heart. He was the only reason I got up everyday and didn't just give up. I had to take care of him. I don't have children so all my maternal instincts are projected onto him. LOL He is 3lbs of pure sweetness. His favorite thing to do is to chase after his ball. He can literally do that ALL day! He also loves to cuddle. In between play, he will come up to me for some love and then go right back to playing. He's so silly!

In January of this year I noticed he had some scabs on his ears and took him to the vet. I don't know where the scabs came from or what caused them. The vet put him on antibiotics and gave me an ointment to put on his ears. It seemed like the ointment was drying the scabs out even more but then it got worse. Creams and antibiotics haven't helped at all. Today his ears look horrible. I suspect they also hurt because he cowers down when I'm cleaning the wounds out. I took him back to the vet two weeks ago because his paw pads were splitting and bleeding. The vet suspects that the two are related. She examined him and did cultures and everything came back negative. Her last diagnosis is that he may have some form of lupus. She also has posted photos of him on a medical website in order to get the opinion of other vets. She has never seen a case like Romeo's and is exploring other options for him.

She recommended I take him to a vet dermatologist and I have already made the appointment, but I don't even have the money for this. The consultation alone is $150. The whole visit will cost anywhere between $400-$800 because he will need a biopsy. I went ahead and made the appointment because I am hoping I can raise the funds needed through donations. I created a "gofundme" page for him explaining his case and I am praying that we will be able to meet our goal and be able to see the specialist. I hate not knowing what is wrong with my Romeo. These days all he does is sleep. He will go days with eating, which I suspect is a side effect of the antibiotics. And he doesn't show much interest in playing, which is extremely rare for him.

I know this is alot to ask, especially since I've been gone for so long, but I would be eternally grateful if you could help me in spreading the word about his donation page (http://www.gofundme.com/c8gy4o). If you are not able to make a donation please, please share the
link. Maybe someone else has an extra dollar or two to spare. I know in today's world things are tough for everyone, but any amount will help me in trying to get Romeo the diagnosis and treatment
he needs.

You can share, donate and read more here: Romeo needs a biopsy.

If you've made it this far, thank you reading this never ending post.

I hope you are all enjoying the summer, and if it's winter in your part of the world, hang in there. We will be getting it soon enough.

Have a beautiful week sweet mini people!

Iris

and we have a winner...

The participants were all listed...

shaken, rattled and rolled...

and out came a winner!

Congratulations to Maria!!! Maria, as soon as you send me your information I will mail out your prize. =)
Thank you to all who participated. =)

Have a beautiful day!!!

Message boards...

A while back at one of the craft stores, in the scrapbooking section, I found cork board and chalkboard card stock. The cork is pretty thin, so I thought I would make a mini board. I really like the chalkboard because you can actually write on it.  =) 

I'd also like to thank everyone who has signed up for my giveaway. I'm especially excited because I LOVE the work that many of you do. You have beautiful blogs filled with your gorgeous creations, and that you are interested in what I have to offer is quite exciting for me.

I hope you are all having a wonderful start to the week.  =)