As long as I have breath...

A dear friend lost her husband this week several decades too soon, so I've been frequently praying for her. Another family at our church lost a sister/daughter/aunt this week.  I seem to need sympathy-type cards frequently. Here is the first. It simply started with this blue and kraft colored image from Graphic 45's Botanical Tea, which I've nearly used up. I had wanted to make it for this week's Color Throwdown challenge using light blue, kraft, and white, but of course mine also has the neutral cream color so much a part of Graphic 45. I added white glitter tape, white sequins, and white for the sentiment and card base.

I  chose two Psalms about prayer for this card from Verve's Scripture Medley Five: "Because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath." Psalm 116:2 and "Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you." Psalm 55:22. The truths in these verses will be needed for life's challenges to come. I'm so glad the Lord listens, cares, and is always near to help those who take their cares to Him. 

I embossed the Sky blue cardstock with the CTMH Rose embossing folder. I used a PTI border die to cut the kraft border and added the leftover inside. Some burlap twine seemed to go with all the kraft.

Thank you for visiting. May you, too, take your cares to the Lord who wants to sustain you if you'll only ask.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

4 Crafty Chicks #386 - with Sympathy

Aud Sentiments Challenge #195 - anything goes

Color Throwdown Challenge #476 - kraft, light blue, white

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Birds of a feather

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - add a sentiment

Word Art Wednesday 318-319 -  anything goes.

Reach for the Stars

Yesterday I posted a set of cards for which I used a pattern from the new CTMH Make It From Your Heart Vol. 4 How-To Book.

It has a great variety of card patterns and lovely samples for each pattern. I used one of the new paper packs, Stargazer, for this masculine card.  This card uses Pattern #1 from the new book.  It was so quick and easy when the pattern tells you what size to cut each of the banner pieces.

Thanks for visiting!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
Crafting By Designs -  Out of This World
Deep Ocean #172 - Something New
Die Cut Divas January Challenge - Do or Use something NEW (paper, pattern book)
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - add a sentiment
Stinkin' Inkers January Challenge - It's a Banner Year
Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #153 - Masculine, anything goes

Seasonal Expressions New Product Blog Hop

This month Close To My Heart released another fabulous Seasonal Expressions 1 catalog full of new products and inspiration. Our blog hop today is highlighting some of the new products. If you just came from Miss Carrie's Creations you are on the right path. You can find the complete list of participants at Melinda Everitt's blog. 

I chose to share the newest Make It from Your Heart, Vol. 4 how-to book for making cards. The pages are printed on very heavy cardstock. I placed mine in one of the Everyday Life notebooks I had previously ordered.

Each pattern on the left includes measurements of each panel for a 4.25" x 5.5" card. The opposite page on the right shows two sample cards using the pattern.

What I loved was that the patterns are basic and open for adding any variety of sentiments, stamped images, and embellishments. I like to add clusters of these to finish my cards. Here's what the background looks like for pattern #7 that I used.

Here are three samples showing variations in clustering as I finished each card using the same pattern base. I only used the following colors from the Color My Heart Color Dare #275:

Leaves and flowers were gold embossed on Bashful and light Fern cardstock before die cutting.

Both of these versions use the stamps from Chelsea Gardens Cardmaking Stamp and Thin Cuts die set.

The third card uses another new stamp set, He Is the Way. The Bashful colored paper on the sides is a new one from the paper pack, Make Waves.

Now you are ready to see what Wendy Kessler has created for you!

New Stamp sets used:
Chelsea Gardens Cardmaking Stamps:


He Is the Way

:

Other embellishments used: Bashful Glitter paper, Bashful Pearls, gray gems from Chelsea Gardens Dots and Gems, Bronze Sequins, Rose Embossing Folder,  White and Gold Twine, Basics Ribbon Pack.

He Counts the Stars

A number of challenges, like Path of Positivity, are about making cards with BLUES.  It makes me think of the sky.  I live on a farm, far enough from city lights that you can see so many more stars where we live. My photographer hubby likes to visit National Parks even farther from city lights. He'll get up hours before dawn after the moon sets to photograph the night sky and show star movement across the sky. When you ponder how many stars there are, it's almost incomprehensible. When I read this verse, I was amazed to think God could count all those stars and had a name for each one. How amazing He is, in so many ways. He cares about even the tiniest details, including those that are important to us. 

I chose some of my older CTMH paper from Stardust to go with this PTI verse.

I'm also sharing this scripture card with Word Art Wednesday #316-317.

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Be sure to visit my blog tomorrow night or Wednesday morning for our blog hop with 20 bloggers showing ideas for using new products from the new Seasonal Expressions 1 catalog. 

Using that paper inspired me to make a couple of birthday cards for boys using this paper and my older star stamp sets.

I used three retired CTMH stamp sets, Reach for the Stars, Shining Star, and Wishing Star.

I typed my own sentiment for the front and the inside. I've included a jpg at the bottom of this post of the front and inside sentiments that you can click on and save if you need a sentiment like this for an out-of-space birthday card.  I printed it on a 6.5" x 4.5" cardstock piece and cut off the top words.

I'm sharing the birthday cards with the following challenges:

Brown Sugar #274 - Birthdays

Stamps & Fun = Creativity #315 - Use Stamps

Dragonfly Journeys #109 - Birthdays

Dream Valley #170 - anything goes

Seize the Birthday - anything goes that's birthday

God Bless You in Shades of Gray

I tease my hubby a lot because whether he's picking out clothes or new paint for the house, he always wants gray!  I say it's because all that gray in his hair has affected his brain! Yet, this year Close To My Heart came out with six new shades of gray! I was thrilled because I've always known there were more than two. In fact, there's more than six, but this is a great combination of cool and warm grays. I combined several of them with this card for the Color Throwdown Challenge #474, combining gray, ivory, and black. I used this week's Atlantic Hearts Sketch #245.

  

Here is my Cricut Explore cut file. It doesn't use a specific cartridge, just shapes, so anyone can use it.  I cut the gray hexagons just a little bigger than the holes. One hint: I traced each hexagon on the main panel, then glued the larger gray hexagons over each traced one. that way, when I pop dotted the top panel, the edges of the gray ones go beyond the holes. The white embossed sentiment is from the stamp set, God's Blessing.  I'm sharing this blessing card with Word Art Wednesday #316-317 this week. For the Simply Create Too Challenge #134, Embossing, the bottom third of the panel was dry embossed with the hexagon embossing folder setting it in the side of the folder so the hexagons would be oriented the same direction as the hexagon cuts.

Thank you for visiting! May God also bless you in this new year in your crafting and giving!

For a Sweet Birthday Girl

Today our oldest granddaughter turns 13! It seems the day we drove 55 miles in an ice storm to meet this dear one, was just the other day. Here's the card I made to celebrate her day! It has a white base, but the photo looks pink. I wish I'd straightened the bow but photo conditions haven't been good enough for a retake.

I used a combination of old and new materials to make her car:  new Bashful Ink to stamp the cascading hearts on top, old Baby Pink to color the old chipboard frame and to stamp the new butterflies from the Chelsea Gardens Cardmaking Stamp (and die) embellished with old Little Dreamer Glitter Gems, old birthday sentiment stamp and Baby Pink organdy from at least 10 years ago. The bottom panel was a leftover scrap from old Calypso papers. 

If you're in the Northern Hemisphere of this planet, I hope you'll keep warm this week!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Craftaholics R Us #1 - Celebration

Double D Challenge - Birthday/Anniversary Mood Board inspiration - butterflies

Pause Dream Enjoy Challlenge #1 - die cuts

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - something new-butterfly stamp and die

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #151 - Feminine anything goes

New Chelsea Gardens Poppies

I've made my usual New Year's Resolution to make birthday, anniversary, etc. cards earlier in the month. So far I'm two weeks ahead so I haven't given up yet on the belief I can achieve my resolutions this year. But I do think my resolutions need to be wrapped in prayer with plenty of help from the Lord.

This birthday card uses more of the new Chelsea Gardens paper I used on yesterday's post. Here it has a totally different look by combining the papers with bright scarlet poppies from the new Chelsea Gardens Scrapbooking stamp set.

I stamped the flowers several times, first with Cranberry Ink, then with Poppy Ink on parts that weren't as saturated. There's another "trick" I do sometimes to get good ink coverage on solid stamped images. I stamp scrap paper with Versamark or Pigment ink, then re-ink the stamp with my dye ink. It seems to stick really well on the stamp. I used a Misti to re-stamp the poppies for this card.

The ribbon from the Whimsy Ribbon Pack matches the paper and so would the Charcoal gray dots in the Chelsea Gardens Dots and Gems.

Thank you for visiting! May you be blessed in this new year as you share your creations with those you love!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Everybody-Art Challenge #416 -  latest purchase
Heart 2 Heart Challenge - Something new
Heartful Stamping Challenge - anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Something New
Sweet Stampin' - anything new

January Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - Bloom & Grow

Welcome to our blog hop featuring the lovely Close To My Heart Stamp of the Month, Bloom and Grow. You may have just come from Miss Carrie's Creations. If you'd like to see the entire list of participants, you can find them at Melinda Everitt's post here.

This stamp set features a seed packet embellished with vines and room for a sentiment about growing. I used that seed packet, along with some sponge dauber techniques and the new Chelsea Gardens papers, for my first two cards. 

I inked the seed packet stamp with Sweet Leaf ink, then daubed on some Juniper ink in a few places. The card design was taken from the new Make It From Your Heart Vol. 4 book of card patterns, p.38. I used a sponge dauber for Charcoal Ink to in the edges of the patterned papers (something I used to do a lot).

For my second card, I embossed the seed packet in white for the next card. Then I sponged over the design with Sweet Leaf and Glacier inks, more heavily inking the outer frame with Juniper ink. I dry embossed the light gray linen paper with the Rose embossing folder.

The sentiments in this set can also stand alone without the seed packet. I need two anniversary cards this month, so I made one of them fairly flat for mailing. I layered dovetail scraps of the Chelsea Gardens papers (p.6, Make It From the Heart Vol. 4). Then I silver embossed one of the sentiments on watercolor background paper, along with three of the hearts from the stamp set.
The only element with any dimension is the new cream ribbon, but it's such a soft ribbon it doesn't make a hard knot.

I think silver embossing is perfect for these papers.

This stamp set is only available in January for $5.00 with a $50.00 purchase or for $17.95. You can purchase this set and other new materials shown from your CTMH consultant or , if you don't have one, you can shop here following the links. 
Thank you for visiting! Now you're ready to go  to Melissa Robinson's artwork.

Additional Materials used:

Sweet Leaf Ink, Glacier Ink, Juniper Ink, Charcoal Ink 

#1 - Whisper Thick Twine, Black and White Dots, Sponge Daubers (or value pack) 

#2 - Versamark Ink, Ranger White Superfine Embossing Powder, Tweezers to hold edge of embossed panel while heating, Craft Heater,  Chelsea Gardens Dots and Gems, Whimsy Ribbon Pack

#3 - Ranger Silver Superfine Embossing Powder,   Cream Ribbon