Lettuce Be Friends Forever

Hello, friends! I owe you an apology for being so quiet over the last several weeks. Our family has certainly had quite a bit of excitement this summer. I hope you'll take the time to read through this long and unusual post.

Today, I am sharing a card we made for Dr. V and the incredible staff at Animal Care of Gloucester using the Wheek Wheek Wheek clear stamp set from Gerda Steiner Designs.

There's a bit of a back story on this one... in mid-June, we looked a lovely home that was for sale on the water and it got us thinking about putting our house on the market. We've lived here for 9 years and my daughter's best friend since the age of 2 lives right across the street. Needless to say, when we told the kids that we might be moving it caused such drama and heartache. 

We found a wonderful home only 5 minutes away (before it was even listed) that keeps the kids in the same schools and it's in a great location! They accepted our offer and the very next day our house was on the market! Low and behold, our house sold in 3 days right before we left for vacation in Canada.

On the day after we get back from vacation, one of our daughter's guinea pigs -- Oliver -- ends up with a bladder stone that required immediate surgery! We just couldn't consider putting him down (that is, with everything else going on) so we opted for surgery. I'm pretty sure this tops my Top #10 Crazy Things Parents Do For Their Kids list. Miraculously, Oliver made it through a very tough surgery and we've been nursing him back to health ever since. Never in a million years did I think I would ever do something like this for a guinea pig. But, how can you resist this little cutie??

Oliver - Just After Surgery

Within a week of the surgery, my daughter goes off to Waters Edge Church Kids Camp, Grandma and Grandpa from Canada arrive, and we're in the middle of packing up our entire house. We were also having trouble force feeding Oliver 4 times a day after his surgery, so my friend Katie and Dr. V from Gloucester Animal Care offer to babysit him for free at the clinic for a few days until my daughter returned from camp. We were brand new clients, so this generosity was very much appreciated.

Thanks to their kindness and extended care, Oliver made a tremendous recovery and is now back home and doing really well. We are putting a care package together for Dr. V and her staff along with this adorable card from Oliver. 

My daughter watercolored the leafy background of the card with my Zig markers. I finished up the piggy and added some additional layers to make the lettuce leaves standout. The sentiment is heat embossed in white and popped up with foam tape.

On the inside we added this cute thank you sentiment and added a personal note from Oliver himself. Dr. V has a big heart for guinea pigs so we can't wait to give her this card on Monday!

Now that Oliver is on the mend, we can look forward to moving into our new home. We only have 2 weekends left so I better get packing!! Once I get settled into my new craft room, I also hope to bring more crafty inspiration your way.

Have a great wheek, wheek, wheek!!

Challenge Entries:

GSD Share Your Design Challenge - July

SSS Wednesday Challenge - Make Your Own Background