Clearly Inspired Challenge #71 - Anything Goes

Today at Clearly Inspired Challenge #71 we can make ANYTHING, so I made a layout to put in my scrapbook about my childhood. I'm combining it with Patter's Hymn and Scripture Challenge #8 from 2012 about the hymn "Christ Arose." I had been wanting to journal about the special meaning of that hymn to me, especially when I first sang it in 3rd grade, but I didn't have photos to go with it. So I chose a digital verse and image from Clear Dollar Stamps to embellish or illustrate it and included an Easter photo from a different year.

I used the digital stamp "Jesus Paid It All" from Clear Dollar Stamps to add the verse and empty tomb embellishment. I used Photoshop to print the colored version of the tomb, reducing the opacity to 80% so that I could color over the colors with three of my neutral gray Copics.  I did that to soften the colors to coordinate better with the heritage look of the page.

I used the CDS stamp for Matthew 28:6 which also emphasizes the other half of Christ's sacrificial death, taking our place on the cross. Simply stated, he didn't remain in the tomb. He showed us that death for believers is not final. There is life after death. Patter has a great devotional on her blog (linked above) with many more verses you can use to understand the depth of this song.

Journaling in the pocket: In 1958 my dad was pastoring a small country church, Prairie Lee Baptist Church, near Lee's Summit, Missouri. I was in 3rd grade. I was always there when the doors were open, so when a few brave souls gathered for choir practice before Easter, they invited me to come up front to sing with them. It was the very first time I remember hearing the hymn but the music and words captured my heart and I fell in love with it.  That choir practice taught me about dynamics for the first time. The way the song was sad in the first part was softer and slower. When the verse talked about Christ's resurrection, it was happier, louder, and faster. When Easter Sunday came, they asked me to come on up and sing with them in front of the church. I was always shy, but since I loved the song, I enjoyed singing with them, even though it was in front of the small congregation. Little did I know that it would be the first of many future years of singing in choirs.

I used yellow gingham ribbon and K & Co floral/butterfly embellishments. The tag pocket is from Close To My Heart.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you with joy this Easter as we celebrate His death for our sins and His joyous resurrection.

I'm sharing this layout with the following challenges:
Hymn and Scripture Challenge #8 - Christ Arose.
Celebrate the Occasion #104 - Easter
Crafting for All Seasons #48 - Anything But a Card
Craft Us Crazy #39 - Anything But a Card
Digi Stamps for Joy #63 - Celebrating Easter
Word Art Wednesday #72 - Anything goes with scripture, uplifting verse

12" x 12" Scrapbook layout recipe:
Digital Image and Sentiment - CDS Jesus Paid It All colored
Copic Markers - N00, N02 neutral grays to color over image
Paper - Creative Imaginations, CTMH Sunny Yellow and Indian Corn Blue cardstock,
Accents - CTMH letter stickers, envelope (Décor Journaling Spots); K & Co flower and butterfly accents; yellow gingham ribbon from stash; page from old hymnal
Tools - Printer, Photoshop CS (to reduce opacity); Spellbinder's Fancy Tags 2; Cuttlebug Embossing Folder "Swiss Dots"