My help comes from the Lord...

I can't imagine that each of us hasn't been touched in some way between all the economic issues and the natural disasters sweeping the globe. We know a number of families who've experienced different degress of loss, and I sometimes struggle with what to say. I want to *do* something, but obviously I can't just sweep in and make everything better... I made this card to send to a friend who is going through some difficulties, but I found myself encouraged as well. No matter what is going on, HE is still in control, and HE will provide what we need.

Mountaing image: Cornish Heritage Farms, Sentiment: Wordsworth, Patterned Paper: 7gypsies

All about Attitude

It's been awhile since I've joined in the Salt challenge, and when I was catching up on some blog reading this weekend I saw the latest theme: attitude.

Ouch.

Let's just say that I've really been struggling in this area lately... I'm finding myself frustrated, judgmental, apathetic, and showing other ugly 'tudes all too often. And I can't change this on my own. But God doesn't ask me to! My patient Father - who provides endurance and encouragement - will give me the proper attitude. I just have to ask. And be willing to let go of all the junk that I'm clinging to.

My little project is nothing fancy. I hand wrote Romans 15:5 on some BasicGrey Kioshi paper, and then doodled a bit with a fine black pen. I went around the edges with gesso, spritzed it with some pink glimmer mist, then matted it on black before pasting it into my journal. I chose the floral print to remind myself of the organic relationship - if I'm not in Him, I'm dying. I have to stay on the vine if I'm going to reflect even a glimmer of His magnificence.

Simple Gratitude Journal

I've dabbled with "thankful lists" in the past, and decided to keep a gratitude journal for the month of November. I'm writing down 10 things each day - 5 in the morning and 5 in the evening - and yes, sometimes it's kind of hard to come up with something. It has definitely made me more aware of the blessings that fill my life, both big and small. I've been jotting things down in this comp journal, and finally got around to prettying it up last night.

Nothing too fancy, but I like the final result. The paper was something I'd had in my stash for a long time; I loved the tin tile design, but it was too large for most of my projects... finally put it to good use! The letters are from a Tim Holtz grungeboard alpha pack, and I just colored them with Brilliance ink. I computer generated the verses, then just cut them apart and glued them down.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise;

Give thanks to Him and praise His name [Psalm 100:4]

I will give thanks to the Lord because of His righteousness;

I will sing priases of the name of the Lord Most High [Psalm 7:17]

Hoping you, too, can find 10 things to be thankful for today!

Deep Roots

Another double challenge card to share today: Mojo Monday sketch and Stampin' Sisters in Christ theme. The challenge at SSIC was based on I Peter 1:23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. Based on that, we were to incorporate a bit of green into the card. I took the idea of a growing seed pretty literally, and paired it up with the stamp from MorningStar.

I dug into my stash of paper and pulled out the Blue Hill collection from Crate Paper. It had a variety of die-cuts included, and I thought the flowers worked well here. I accented the centers with a bit of mint ice stickles.

I pray that your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love! (Ephesians 3:17)

Quilted Die Cuts

One more card for the Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge, based on this week's sketch at CPS. The verse is from the Christian Sympathy set (Clear Dollar Stamps) and I paired it with this "quilted" piece I had made a couple weekends ago at a library class, but it had yet to find a home. I know the CPS sketch features circles, but I really like the interest that the shape provides here.

Below you'll find the 2 cards that I made using the same quilted technique - punch squares from patterned paper and adhere to standard copy paper, then die cut. These panels were also dry embossed (with the CB paisley folder), and I accented it with some ink on the left card. Fun and easy! The sentiments are from Unity (praying for you) and a*muse (relax...)

The strength of my heart...

I always find the posts over at Stampin Sisters in Christ so encouraging, and this week's challenge was no exception: a reminder that God is always with us, even when it may not feel like it... it's so easy to rely on our own strength, and treat God as a last resort. But whatever our shortcomings may be, He is faithful - the one and only thing in life that is truly dependable. What a blessing!

Anyway, as I was reading through the post, my thoughts went to this verse (Psalm 73:26) - we fail even ourselves, but God is the "strength of my heart." Isn't that a wonderful phrase? I ended up using the layout from the Card Patterns sketch, but did adjust the circle just a bit to fit the verse. I used a variety of bits and pieces for embellishments, but it still has a clean, simple feel to it. I think I may end up playing around with this layout a bit more to create a few masculine cards - just need to lose the flower and lace :) Hope you all have a fabulous day - and remember, God *IS* with you!!

Growing...

I always love the challenges over at Salt, and seeing the artistic interpretations that each team member creates. This time around, the theme was growth, and I just knew I had to make something! Since we've moved, I've found myself stretched in many ways - relocating 2,000 miles definitely took me out of my comfort zone and forced me to take a hard look at myself. Was I truly relying on God to meet my needs, or was I more often turning to friends, and then putting the matter to prayer as the next step? Also, was I stepping out in faith, sharing the Lord, or being content in my happy little box?

Anyway, I made this piece as something of a souvenir of this transitional time - as well as a reminder to not grow so content as to stagnate. I also wanted to make another example of the "earth rejoicing" for the Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge - and I'd say those trees look pretty joyful! The verse is from smARTworks' Walk Trio "That you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." (Colossions 1:10) The papers are all from Memory Box (Sprout), and I mounted it onto some plain cardstock so the finished size is 5x7. The tree image is from Unity, and I paper pieced it, as well as doing a bit of coloring with pc pencils. Oh, and can I add that I love that the trees have hearts on them - because that's exactly the fruit I want to bear: a heart for HIM. I had picked up the clip frame from the Target Dollar Spot eons ago, and was so glad to actually use it :) After I put it all together, it needed something else, and after digging through my stash I came up with these fabulous corners (glimmer chips from Tattered Angels).

And now that it's all done, it will be residing on the bathroom counter, where it will serve as a good daily reminder. Plus it looks way nicer than all my other junk :)

Beautiful Sunset

This week's challenge over at Stampin' Sisters in Christ was to somehow show the earth rejoicing - and since moving to South TX, every time I see a palm tree outlined against a sunset sky, I can't help but think of Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Anyway, I tried to capture some of that glory in this card!

The layout is adapted from Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge. I stamped the palm silhouette (TAC) then created the "sunset" with prismacolor pencils - trust me when I say that God does a much better job! :) I masked off the circle on the card base, and stamped with a swirl (smARTworks) then went over it with a couple different Brilliance inks. I stamped the verse(Unity) and added some gems for sparkle.

Pretty simple card, and I might just have to mail it to my folks in Montana (where they had snow this weekend!) - just to give them a hint of what they'll discover when they come down to visit over Thanksgiving...

Everything Beautiful

There was another great sketch at the Mojo Blog this week, and once again I made a "scrappy" card. The verse is from Unity Stamps and the paper is all from the BasicGrey Lemonade line. I did add a few pearls (Kaisercraft) just to give the main panel a bit of dimension, but aside from that, all I did was stamp, cut, and paste.








I really loved this sketch, and I decided to make a second card, but took it in a very different direction: no printed papers, and a fall palette. I pulled out the Botanicals "Cookie" Plate from smARTworks and stamped the leafy image repeatedly with sepia Versafine and champagne Versamark Dazzle inks (which frankly isn't all that "dazzling" but the subtle shimmer works well here). I stamped the small sprig image onto the dark green panel along the bottom also using the champagne ink. For the three strips, I rounded the upper edges and then laid them flush with the lower panel. The brown strip looked a bit too stark, but a Martha Stewart edge punch took care of that.

So there you have it - 1 sketch, 2 completely different cards! :)

Always Joyful

I do love the "Buttoned Up" set - that girl is just so doggone adorable! I also love Memory Box paper, and dug out the winterberry line for this card. I stamped the little sweetie onto kraft cardstock and then cut it into a circle with my coluzzle. The swirly edge had a definite line, so I added a few more swirls with the help of my trusty stamp-a-ma-jig. The dress is paper pieced, and I added a bit of rosiness to her cheeks with a prismacolor pencil as well as a tiny prima flower in her hair. I also pulled out oval coluzzle for the verse panel, and accented the card with a bit of taffeta ribbon.

Well, I'm off again - see you tomorrow for the sketchy tea party! :)

Be joyful

The weather here is rainy and a bit chilly... perfect to sit inside with a cup of coffee and stamp! ;) I did just that yesterday afternoon, and was able to get a couple cards made.

This one uses the Buttoned Up set - such a cute little girl, and I love this accompanying verse. I used patterned paper from K&Co, added the color using dye ink pads, and added a couple tiny pearls for good measure. And although you can't see it in the photo, the girl is coated with Old Lace glimmer mist, so there's some rich sparkle in person.

See you tomorrow at the Tea Party!

Fading flower...

I have a simple card to share today. The flower is from Hello, and the verse is Isa 40:8. The main image is "inked" with twinkling H2Os, so it has a lovely shimmer to it. Add a sentiment and a bit of embellishment, and you're good to go! The verse, pearls and ribbon are all dark brown although they look black here.

Hope you all have a great weekend. I'm heading to an all-day crop tomorrow hosted by a local church, so am quite hopeful that I'll have all sorts of creations to share as a result :)

An Unusual Birthday Card

We'll be attending a little party tomorrow, and we've purchased a variety of dress-up items for the darling birthday girl. As I was deciding what to do for her birthday card, though, my mind kept going back to focusing on why she is truly a princess... and this rather unusual birthday card is the final result.

I started by stamping the crown (smARTworks Kings) onto an oval die cut, then outlined it with a spica glitter pen and blinged it out with rhinestones. I mounted that onto a scalloped die cut and decided to just leave it at that. I stamped the verse (Clear Dollar Stamps) below with gray versafine. I love the verse, but will admit that the fine font is a wee bit difficult to read. For the inside, I stamped "Happy Birthday" (Stampington) and then the word Princess (JustRite block & Brayton font) accented with stickles.

I can't think of a better reason to celebrate!

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart" Jeremiah 1:5a

The Lord is God...

Still haven't had much time for creative pursuits, but I did manage to pull this card together. It all started with this week's sketch from Card Positioning Systems, and then the papers from Memory Box. I've had this MB paper kicking around for awhile now; I love the designs, but they all have rather strong images and I've had a tough time actually incorporating them into a card... this time, though, I started with the paper. The verse (Uptown Designs) is the only stamped element. I also highlighted the trees and the word "God" with a spica glitter pen, but just couldn't get a decent photo. Trust me, though, it's quite lovely in person! I just love the subtle sparkle the pens provide, plus the ease of application.

Well, I'm off and running again. Hope to be back soon!

Time for another party!

Today is another smART Cookie Tea Party, and our hostess Susan provided a sketch with a "cut out" element. Man, my cutter bees have really been getting a workout lately! :)

After all the baby cards I've been making, I wanted to use some different tones... and well, this is definitely different! The card actually isn't quite so bright IRL, but my camera just didn't know what to make of these colors. All the papers are from the BasicGrey Cupcake 6x6 pad, and I used Express Duo #1 and Deut 6:5. I modified the sketch a bit to accommodate the large verse, and I really wanted to use ribbon across the bottom, but I couldn't find anything in my stash to coordinate, so I just used a strip of paper. I stamped the verse onto a piece of white, then accented each "all" with a swipe of twinkling H2Os, then cut them out. Final touch was three dew drops along the edge for a bit of dimension.

Would you like to see what the other team members have created? Then click over to Susan, Dina, Giovana & Donelda. We'd love to have you join in - just leave a comment with a link to your creation!

True Beauty

Life continues to be busy at our house; I was supposed to go to a crop this evening and I was eagerly anticipating some cardmaking time. Plans changed so I wasn't able to head out, but I still managed to get some stamping in here at home. Bliss!

I based this card on Taylor's sketch, but did take some liberties to accommodate the central image. The woman is from Chapel Road Artstamps; they offer some very nice images, but I was disappointed by how thin the rubber was. I think I need to go with lighter tones next time I stamp this lovely lady, as I'm afraid she came out looking a bit scary here :) The verse is from Clear Dollar Stamps. The patterned paper is BasicGrey, and there are tiny red dots in it, which is why I chose that as my accent color. The ribbon is from amuse, and it's a wonderful weight to work with - easy to tie and holds its shape well.

Well, enough jabber for now. Off to bed so I hopefully won't be a grouch tomorrow!

Getting pinky with it

I have no idea where that title came from, but that should provide some pretty good insight into my current mood :) Things have been a bit nutso these past couple weeks, but I took some time to create this morning - trust me, I needed the therapy!

I have a couple friends who are expecting, and I know at least 2 of them will be welcoming little girls. I used this week's Mojo sketch as my starting point, pulled out some BasicGrey paper (Euphoria collection) and this card is the final result. I love to use this verse for baby cards, and the font on this stamp (Whipper Snapper) is particularly fun. The final touch was some layered primas, topped with a pink rhinestone.







I wanted to make another card, and I was dying to use these beautiful Christine Adolph papers. They're 12x12, but most have strips or panels so can be easily cut down to card size. The background paper is foiled, so is absolutely stunning IRL. I accented it with a small strip of ledger type paper (wiped down with old paper distress ink), then tied on some organdy ribobn for the finishing touch. The inside reads "May your day be steeped in joy and warmed by love." (smARTworks) Very simple, but I love the elegant result.

Well, therapy time is over - have a wonderful weekend!!

Whatever...

Well, we had a rather interesting weekend - our hard drive crashed (rather magnificently, I might add). Thankfully, hubby was able to transfer the majority of our data, and got the PC up and running again with another hard drive.

I couldn't do anything with the photo besides crop it, but here's a card to share regardless :) One of our friends' daughter's just graduated and turned 18 - definitely reason for celebration! She's a wonderful young lady, and I know that the Lord has great things in store for her. I wanted to make her a "cool" card and avoid anything overly girly, so this is what I came up with. "Whatever" and the verse are from Clear Dollar Stamps. I paired it up with some BasicGrey paper which I then gussied up with BG stamps (I also stamped a few of these on the envelope). I blinged it up with some light green rhinestones, and pronounced it good.

I don't know how much stamping I'll be able to do these next 2 weeks; I'm having another big sell-off of stamps, paper, etc. later this month and I still have more sorting to do to get ready for that. If you're anywhere in the Philly area, email me for more info -- I seriously am going to be running my own LSS for a couple days :)

Pushing Daisies

As I had mentioned yesterday, I spent Tuesday night parked in front of the TV - but I did play with my Daisy Trio #1 set so I could pretend that I was being productive ;)

I love the way these look in the bright colors - I was just playing around with a variety of palette, versamagic, and brilliance inks when I created these. And I must admit that the funkified alignment was a direct result of my TV distraction... I wasn't paying close enough attention to the orientation of my block in relation to the stamp-a-ma-jig, and I ended up "misplacing" the 2nd layer on the middle flower. But I thought it looked kinda neat, so I went with it! And yes, there is glimmer mist spritzed on the main panel - I love that stuff!

This second card is much softer. I used a cream panel, and built the flowers up with only two layers (white and wheat versamagic). I then added the yellow center, and it was done. BTW, I only used my stamp-a-ma-jig to make sure that the flower layers were occupying the same space, but I didn't align each petal; I still think they look lovely! I finished it off with the verse (Hebrews 13:15), matted and corner punched, then layered on some sheer white ribbon.

Blessed Father's Day

Father's Day is looming large on the horizon, and thought I'd share this card I made for my Dad. The background panels are made using the faux leather technique; rather than embossing the panel, though, I covered it in glossy accents. It did take awhile to dry (which is tough when you're an impatient creator such as myself) but I do like the outcome. I ended up trimming it down to three panels, then mounted it on black. I added the sentiment (Clear Dollar Stamps) in black and brown - that's always safe for a masculine card, right? I know it's not exactly a traditional father's day card, but I just wanted to let Dad know that we appreciate the heritage he's given us. The inside reads, "And we're blessed to have YOU!"