Perfect Sentiments Challenge 38 Here Comes the Sun

This week PSC38 is Here Comes The Sun. As I'm writing this we have a heat index of 105 degrees outside my house, definitely a sunny day!  Since this is the first full week of summer here, this is the perfect challenge!

The challenge this week: create a card with a sunny sentiment like: you are my sunshine, wishing you sunny days, you shine, etc.

The twist: include an image of the sun on your card. The sponsor this week is  Pattie's Creations.

My patterned paper for paper piecing my sun was inspired by the tiny prints in the  sunburst quilt at the Inspired By challenge:

I embossed the light blue background to represent the radiating heat. If you've traveled somewhere hot I bet you've seen that rising from the road. I used a sunshine stamp that was just one fourth of the sun, so I stamped the yellow sun four times on yellow cardstock. I wanted the smaller rays made from orange patterned paper with a tiny pattern like the ones in the quilt photo, but I didn't have what I wanted. So I stamped it again four times on pink patterned paper with the yellow ink, making it orangish. Then I paper pieced it. The really fun part was lining up my 2" circle die to cut out the center of the sun, the cardstock and the front of the card. The sentiment and banner were also part of that stamp set. I finished it with yellow, orange and pink baker's twines tied together.

These sunny sentiments are great for many different occassions. I hope you'll enjoy playing along with our challenge at Perfect Sentiments. May God bless you with sunshine in your life today.

"For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly." Psalm 84:11

Other challenges for this card:

Charisma Cardz Challenge #24 - Summer

Deep Ocean Challenge #28 - Welcome Summer

Inspired By #29 - a sunburst quilt

Pause, Dream, Enjoy Challenge #25 - 3 of anything (3 different stamps and 3 baker's twines, yellow, orange, pink)

The Ribbon Carousel Challenge #59 - Paper Piecing

5.5" x 4.25" Card Recipe:

Paper - Close To My Heart "Sophia," Sunkiss Yellow, Sky, White Daisy cardstock

Stamps - CTMH "Splendid Day"

Ink - CTMH Sunkiss Yellow, Black

Accents and Tools - Cuttlebug "Divine Swirls" embossing folder, Bazzill button, Spellbinders Nestabilities Circles die, CTMH Paradise Assortment Baker's twine, crochet thread

You Are God's Masterpiece, Loved Beyond Measure

Ever since I was a teenager (many, MANY years ago) I've known young women who don't recognize their own self worth or their worth to God. Sometimes they feel that way only when they're down, but other times they feel alienated from God all the time. I've known some who feel out of place in Christian circles and others who feel they don't have any good traits. So often this happens from the negative input from other people or from comparing themselves to someone else. I always believed God wanted me to encourage them the way His word always encourages me.

Sin in our lives definitely pulls us away from fellowship and blessings from Him, but even then, He loves us beyond measure. That's why Scripture says, "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us," taking the punishment for our sins through His death on the cross. Once we have believed this and received that gift, we need to understand that nothing we do and none of the things done to us can separate us from that love. Yes, we have to confess and repent of the sin we continue to commit due to our human nature, but we can gain victory over so many bad habits and attitudes and maintain our fellowship or closeness to God through such confession and help through prayer and His Spirit living inside us. We don't have to continually feel like He's not there for us.

I made this card to encourage someone who feels God could never love her because of all the bad things that have happened in her life. I love this verse from Romans 8:38-39 because it means that not even the worst sin or circumstance can separate those of us who follow Christ from the love of God:  "For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." I felt this verse implies that we are God's masterpiece, which is the challenge this week at Stampin' Sisters in Christ. The verse is from Clear Dollar Stamps "Value Verses 1."

I was inspired by this sketch from Freshly Made Sketch and the color palette from The Play Date Cafe, asking us to use black, white, and a splash of blue.

May God bless and encourage your heart as you realize how awesome you are to Him.

Challenges for this card:
Stampin' Sisters in Christ #144 - something that reflects how you are God's masterpiece
Freshly Made Sketch # 40
The Play Date Cafe #137 - black, white, and a splash of blue

6.5" x 5" Encouragement Card Recipe:
Paper - Bo Bunny "Enchanted" collection; Close To My Heart White Daisy, Black cardstock
Image - Clear Dollar Stamps digi "Value Verses 1"
Ink - CTMH "Moonstruck"
Accents and Tools - Sizzix Swirly Vines with Hearts embossing folder; Spellbinders Nestabilities "Labels 10," Lattice Rectangles; Making Memories navy blue ribbons; Close To My Heart My Legacy writer, black button brads, stipple brush

Perfect Sentiments for the Graduate - Gift Card Holder

This week at Perfect Sentiments Challenge #37:

The Challenge: use a sentiment appropriate for a graduate. Sentiment must be on the front of your card.

The Twist: create either a gift card / money holder or a card with a designated place for the gift card/cash

 

I made a graduation card using the colors of our local school. Three of our kids went there and two graduated from the high school. Lawson's mascot is a cardinal, so red is the predominant color. I chose to make my own version of a Joy Fold card using stripes in the school colors and gray dotted paper.

I started with a premade card base that is 6.5" x 5."  I cut the front in half lengthwise at 2.5" and covered it with Dotty For You gray flannel paper that is 6.25" x 2.25" on the front and back side. I attached the striped piece inside, measuring 6.25" x 4.75." 

The red cardstock was cut at 4" x 7" and folded in half. The outer side was embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder and decorated. The inner half had a 3"x 3" envelope attached, using some extra strong sticky tape to handle a gift card or cash being moved in and out without detaching. The top flap of that envelope was cut off since the gift card would stick up a little above the opening.  I love the sentiment that's attached to the envelope. It's perfect for graduations. I also left room for a short note.

The outside has a matted and decorated circle attached using dimensional tape only on the bottom half so that the red flap can fit in the top. That's what keeps the card closed.

I hope this helps you sometime in designing your own gift card holder. Be sure and stop by Perfect Sentiments for more ideas.

Challenges for this card:
Craft Your Passion #115 Flips and Folds (more than one fold)
Fairy Tale Challenge 42 - money or gift card holder
Here Come the Boys #29 - More than one fold
Pile It On #25 - Graduation with School Colors
Stamptaclar Sunday Challenge #168 - Fabulous Folds, more than one

Clear Dollar Stamps "Everyday Jargon" Thinking of You Card

One of the nice things about being retired is that I usually have more time in the day to think about friends and family and the things they ask me to pray for. Whether I'm with friends, driving, or alone on our farm, I like to recognize God's presence with me and feel that I can instantly take my thoughts and concerns to Him in prayer.  Thinking of You cards are my way of letting others know this.

This card was made with the new June release stamp image from Clear Dollar Stamps. It's called Everyday Jargon because the jars have a variety of contents and the sentiments are some we could use every day. It comes colored, in outlines for you to color, and with designer papers.

I used the June sketch from Kimbee's Creations.

On my card I cut out one flower from a duplicate of just the three flowers and pop dotted it over the white flower in the main image. I also cut two circles out of petals of one of my flower embellishments, colored them with the Copic marker and pop dotted them over the center of my floral embellishments.

6.5" x 5" Thinking of You card Recipe:
Image - Clear Dollar Stamps digital "Everyday Jargon"
Paper - My Mind's Eye Stella and Rose "Gertie"paper pad; Close To My Heart Cocoa and White Daisy Cardstock
Copic markers: R20, RV23 (pinks), R35, RV29 (reds), BG10 (water), N0 (neutral background), YG03 (green stems), Y17 (flower centers)
Accents - CTMH Cocoa grosgrain ribbon; Spellbinders Nestabilities Oval, and Scalloped Oval; Prima and Recollections Floral Embellishments;
Technique - paper piecing and pop dots

Clear Dollar Stamps Sassy and Fabulous Card

I have a couple of friends who are really into purses. One of these friends gave me a really cool PINK purse which she thought was perfect for me. I'm not really a "pink" person, and don't really care about fashion, shoes, or purses like I used to when I was younger. I'd rather spend my money sending my grandkids to Christian school. But she's very effective at helping me stay fashionable. Yet, the most important part about her is that she's the perfect friend, like a perfect handbag. I immediately thought of her when I saw this image and sentiment. I made this card in her honor. The rest of the sentiment inside is the most important part!

I used this sketch from Crafting Life's Pieces:

Challenges for this card:
CLP Sketch Challenge 48
Papertake Weekly Challenge 3-2-1 = I used 3 flowers (or 3 sparkles), 2 silver ribbons, and 1 embossing folder (or 1 diecut)
The Corrosive Challenge #151 - Feeling Punchy (I used 3" circle punch and lacy circles diecut)
Try It On Tuesday - Anything Goes

5" x 6.5" Friendship Card Recipe:
Image - Clear Dollar Stamps digital "Sassy and Fabulous"
Paper - DCWV "All Dressed Up;" Close To My Heart Black and White Daisy cardstock
Markers - Copic G20 (Wax White=light green), YG03 (Yellow Green), BG13 (Mint Green)
Accents and Tools - Cuttlebug "Ornate Swirls" embossing folder; Spellbinders Nestabilities "Lacy Circles;' 3" circle punch; Recollections Floral Embellishments; Close To My Heart Sparkles Blue Green collection, Licorice adhesive pearls; Michals silver ribbon

Perfect Sentiments Father's Day Card

This week the challenge at Perfect Sentiments is to make a card with a sentiment for Father's Day. The twist is to use this color story as inspiration for your card.

My husband loves car shows and vintage cars, so this card is definitely for him. I used this sketch from Sketch Saturday Challenge #211 for the design of this card.

I embossed both the red background and the grey strip using Clockworks. It reminded me of the gears in a car. I carefully lined up the gray strip across the middle of the embossing folder so that I could match it to the embossed design on the red background. The main image was stamped three times with different colors of ink and pieced back together so that each part showed up more. There was a title on top that said, "Enjoy your special day," but I covered it with the Father's Day sentiment that came with the stamp set. I retraced the words with a darker marker so they would stand out and pop dotted it on the black background. The three pewter brads on the bottom are all different and show up better in this photo:

Our wonderful sponsor is Shelley's Images. Please join us in making your own card with the perfect sentiment for Father's Day!

Challenges for this card:

Sketch Saturday Challenge #211 - sketch

Celebrate the Occasion #66 - Fathers Day

Cooking It Up with Katie #97 - Texture, Metal, and Masculine

Crafting for All Seasons #29 - for a man

One Stop Craft Challenge #186 - Father's Day

 

5" x 6.5" Father's Day Card Recipe:

Paper - My Mind's Eye "Kraft Funday - Everyday Fun;" Close To My Heart Cranberry, Gray Flannel, Colonial Whte, and Black cardstock

Stamps - CTMH "Vintage Father's Day" (retired)

Inks - CTMH Black, Brown Bag, Gray Wool

Accents and Tools - CTMH Black Hemp, Pewter Designer Brads; Cuttlebug "Clockworks" Embossing folder

Four Wheeler Father's Day Card

My younger brother loves living in the woods. He has constructed paths through the trees where he took me one time on the back of his four wheeler. It's a great way to travel across rough areas when you live in the country. He used to take his kids camping on the weekends and they'd have a great time driving four-wheelers. Luckily there were no serious accidents, so I hope this card will bring back a few happy memories of those days when the kids still lived at home.

When I saw this image at Clear Dollar Stamps I knew it was perfect for his card.

I used the sketch and theme from Sentimental Sundays #106 when I designed the card.

This card was for the following challenges:

Cards for Men Challenge #12 - Father's Day

Cardmadfairy's Digi Days Challenge - Father's Day

Dutch Dare Card Challenge #168 - For Dad

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge #189 - Happy Father's Day

Sentimental Sundays #106 - For a Special Guy

Simply Create Too #15 - Happy Father's Day (or for a male)

5.5" x 4.25" Father's Day Card Recipe:

Image - Clear Dollar Stamps digi "Dirt Rides"

Paper - Close To My Heart (olive background retired), Pemberly (blue strips), White Daisy and Outdoor Denim cardstock

Ink - CTMH Outdoor Denim

Markers - Copics B24, N2, N4, N6, N8

Accents - CTMH pewter brads, Color Ready Cork Shapes

MOJO Monday 245 Birthday Card with Flowers and Ribbon

Life has been so busy the past week that it was good to spend time in my craft room to create again. I made this card for my sister's birthday. Four of my siblings inherited a muscular dystrophy called Charcot Marie Tooth Disease. I am the oldest and feel quite fortunate that I was spared that malady that has put all but my brother in a wheel chair. One of those younger sisters died in her early 30's. I have my own muscle disease that is disabling at times, but seeing their problems helps me minimize my own. It's also a reminder that this body is temporary, but our soul will live on.

This birthday card is for Susan whose faith has remained strong. She has shown courage in the face of seemingly insurmountable problems at times. Her feet now look like skin wrapped around a pile of unconnected bones. The best foot surgeons in Kansas City say there's nothing they can do. And yet she stays vigilant in her wheelchair, always working to keep up her health after many surgeries on many parts of the body. I pray that God will give her strength and that she'll experience His mercy, grace and love for each new challenge. I chose this stamp set from Our Daily Bread Designs for the verse I put inside: 

Dear Friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even your soul is getting along well. 3 John 1:2

Here's the sketch from MOJO Monday that I used today.

I chose the color palette from Come and Get It Challenge for June: Colors of Spring:

Lexi's Creations challenged me to make a birthday card. Really Reasonable Ribbon inspired me to use the flowers stamp I hadn't tried yet, and of course, to embellish with ribbon.  Shopping Our Stash Weekly gave me the idea to use two different ribbons. That was perfect for the ribbon banners on the left side, but I also decided to try using those two ribbons to make my bow embellishment. I tied a piece of crochet thread around the middle of the larger grosgrain ribbon behind the satin bow to give it the dimensional appearance I wanted.

Thank you for looking, and may God bless you and encourage your heart today so you can in turn encourage others.

Challenges for this card:

Come and Get It - Colors of Spring

Lexi's Cerations Challenge #67 - Happy Birthday

MOJO Monday sketch #245

Really Reasonable Ribbons Challenge #49 - Flowers and Ribbon

Shopping Our Stash Weekly Challenge #55 - Double the Ribbon

5" x 6.5" Birthday Card Recipe:
Paper - All from scraps! Basic Grey pink scrap, Close To My Heart "Lucy" floral scrap, Colonial White, Creme Brulee, Lilac Mist, Spring Iris cardstock scraps
Stamps - Our Daily Bread Designs "Birthday Blessings"
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, CTMH Creme Brulee
Accents and Tools - CTMH Creme Brulee Ribbon Collection; Copic Markers; 3" and 1.5" circle punches and corner rounder; Spellbinders Nestabilities " Lacey Circles" and "Heart Circles;"  Cuttlebug "Scalloped Edge" embossing folder

Perfect Sentiments Lacy Romance Challenge

When I was a young bride MANY years ago, my husband in the Air Force was sent overseas for eight or nine months. We wrote every day because it seemed to help the loneliness. This is a card I will send to Operation Write Home for that purpose.

This month I'm a guest designer for Perfect Sentiments. Our first challenge for June is called Lacy Romance. We are being sponsored by MelJen's Designs.

I used the Heart Strings Parasol from MelJen's Designs. One of the fun things about their designs is the little dots across the design. I used Bitty Pearls at the tips of the parasol and pink and red Bitty Sparkles on the other dots. I stacked a red lacy ribbon on top of the white lace and used a lacy diecut as a frame for my image. I typed my own sentiment using Microsoft Word. I thought this image was open to interpretation, so I chose one for the Service Men and Women for writing home to a loved one. It would also be great for a wedding or baby shower with the words "Showered in Love." Have fun coming up with your lacy romantic card and sentiment! You can find the link at The Perfect Sentiments Challenge Blog.

4.25" x 5.5" Love Card Recipe:
Paper - Martha Stewart dp, Close To My Heart White Daisy and Cranberry cardstock
Image - MelJen's Designs "Heart Strings Parasol"
Accents - Copic Markers, CTMH Bitty Pearls, Sparkles red/pink collection, Cranberry ribbon collection; white lace unknown, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, Spellbinders Nestabilities Lacy Circles, 3" circle punch

Father's Day Smooth Sailing Card

I'm looking forward to taking my daughter, son-in-law, his mother, and four grandkids to the ocean for our vacation this summer. Living in the center of the U.S., my grandkids have never seen the ocean. With that in mind, I made this Father's Day card for their dad, my son-in-law.

The image and the designer paper are both from Clear Dollar Stamps in their set called Smooth Sailing.

I tried a new way of using my favorite embellishment - embossing folders. I folded the kraft cardstock so I could fit the top part in one embossing folder and the second time the bottom was embossed with a different folder. By covering the fold with a ribbon, you can use different folders creatively. I wanted swirls on the bottom like ocean waves. I also added a textured banner to hold my handwritten sentiment. When I colored the sky and water with my Copic markers, I used two shades of blue on the top and two shades of bluegreen on the bottom. Then I removed color with the Colorless blender to resemble clouds and white caps on the waves.

Challenges for this card:
Here Come the Boys - Challenge #28, Anything Goes
Lexi's Creations - Challenge #66 For the Man/Boy in our Lives
Love to Create - Challenge #18, Father's Day or Special Guy in your life
Shopping Our Stash Weekly - Challenge #54, Father's Day or Masculine
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Sugar Creek Hollow - Challenge #14 Father's Day

6.5" x 5" Father's Day Card Recipe:
Paper - Clear Dollar Stamps "Smooth Sailing;" Close To My Heart "Victory" (chocolate swirl), Chocolate, Kraft, White Daisy cardstock
Image - Clear Dollar Stamps "Smooth Sailing"
Accents - CTMH "Milepost Shapes" (banner), Baker's Twine Paradise Assortment; Cuttlebug Musical Flourish (bottom) and Scrollwork (top) embossing folders; white twill old and unknown;Copic Markers- B00, B02, BG10, BG13, N0, N2, N4, E33, E35, E15, E18, 0 Colorless Blender

A New Technique for Masculine Graduation Card

Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge this week was to try something you've been afraid to try. It went with a devotional on these verses:

SCRIPTURE:

"The Lord is on my side; I will not fear:

what can man do unto me?" Psalm 118:6."

 

My son just graduated with honors after many years of going to school part-time, changing majors over and over, working, and being a husband and father. When he finally started going full time, he would call me on his way to school in the mornings to pray for him as he took a hard test. We spent hours talking about what to do to be successful. After so much effort he knows what it takes to be successful, but he also saw God at work when he was feeling sick or hadn't had much sleep. Going to college can certainly give a person confidence as well as help them know what it takes to get a job done and to do it well. I was happy to see him grow in the realization that God had given him an amazing mind that could be taught to learn and do anything.

 

This is his graduation card that I made using a new stamp from Clear Dollar Stamps called ConGrads.

 

 

 

 

I always wanted to try multi-fold cards, but was apparently hesitant, since I hadn't. I made this card using a technique I found on Splitcoast Stampers. It always looked hard, but once I rewrote the directions so that I could understand and duplicate, I was surprised at how easy it really was. I used Chupa's sketch #62 for the main part of my stair step card. Another item I'd been hesitant to use was cork letters and shapes that I've had quite a while. The challenge at There She Goes, "Cork It," gave me that little push to try it. I lightly inked the edges of the star.

 

Here are the challenges I used for this card:

Cards for Men - #11 - Congratulations

Lexi's Creations - For the Man/Boy in our lives

Sketchbook Saturday - Sketch #62

Stampin' Sisters in Christ - Do Something on your card you're afraid of

There She Goes #158 - Cork It



 

5.5" x 5.5" Stair step Graduation Card Recipe:

Paper - Close To My Heart Passages paper pack, White Daisy cardstock (diploma)

Stamp - Clear Dollar Stamps "ConGrads"

Ink - CTMH Barn Red

Other - Copic E33, CTMH Color Ready Cork Alphabet, Color Ready Cork Shapes, ribbon scrap, pop dots, 1.75" circle punch, Sizzix embossing folder Diamonds on Diamonds