No Greater Love...

I attend a Tuesday Precept Bible study, and this morning the husband of one of my friends in that class went to be with the Lord...her name is Jan, and I hope you'll join me in praying for her. I am grateful that she has other women who've been through this experience to lean on. We are a close-knit group, very involved in each others' knitty-gritty...as close as we all are and as much as we know about each other, it still is hard to imagine what she's going through. She and Pete, although I would guess they're in their 70's, were relatively newlyweds, and she is going to miss him tremendously.

Michelle Redman and I met today for lunch to celebrate her birthday, and after having some delicious PF Chang's Chinese food, we headed--like good stampers should--out to shop for stampin' scrappin' supplies! I found this beautiful designer paper at JoAnn's and thought that it would make a lovely card for today's challenge. It wasn't until I was almost half-way through with it that it dawned on me that it would be a great card for Jan.

The scripture sentiment says, "Greater love hath no man than this, but that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13." That, paired with the symbolism of the butterfly, is our promise of the hope and truth of Eternal Life, all accomplished through the willing sacrifice of Jesus Christ. I hope this card brings comfort and peace to my friend as she mourns the loss of her beloved husband.

For the challenge, I used gold EP to emboss the swirl from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' Floral Flourishes on Paper Pizazz Brown Diamonds shadow print. I also used a Spica glitter pen to glitz up the butterfly cut from Colorbok's Caribbean dp. The sentiment is from Sweet 'n Sassy's set, Love of a Friend. I used Tim Holtz distress inks to distress the edges of all the cardstock and vellum papers, and to stamp the sentiment.

I will be taking this card to Jan on Saturday when Pete's memorial services are held. Our Bible study will be hosting the gathering afterward. Thanks for visiting, and thanks for your prayers for my friend. Blessings!

Whew! I Survived the Post Office!

It was certainly an adventure at the Post Office earlier today...I am grateful that I was able to ship my box with the assurance that it would arrive before Christmas morning. Thank God for the machine that lets you weigh and pay on your own! Otherwise, it probably would have been late...I arrived about 5 minutes after the clerks' stations closed.

I stamped this sympathy card this afternoon...my SIL's father passed away last weekend, and I wanted to make something for her that would let her know she is on my heart and in my prayers. My new Basic Grey Archaic pack had this *menswear* plaid, so I distress inked it, stitched a double row of straight stitching along the edge of the paper, and added some buttons from Patrick's worn out linen shirt that I had already cut apart (previous post!). Sympathy cards are quite a challenge for me, so I'm relieved to have this one finished. I still need to make her a birthday card...hers is two days after Christmas. I'm sure it will be a bittersweet day after her recent loss, but it is still definitely something to celebrate.

I am still hoping to make several gift card holders, hopefully that will fit with today's challenge and/or the new Holiday Extravaganza challenges. Lots of fun stuff going on to relieve that holiday stress!