Easter Blessings!

For many, Easter's blessings may be dressing up for church, decorating Easter eggs for an egg hunt, baskets of chocolate bunnies and eggs, and brunch or dinner with family or friends. These are lovely traditions! I especially like to think of this day as Resurrection Sunday when I focus my thoughts on what kind of amazing love God has for you and me . He knew that none of us could be sinless and since something had to shed it's blood and die to pay for our sins, He sent His own sinless Son to die on a cross to take our punishment for all of our sins. He didn't love me because I was sinless, but while I was sinful! That's the focus of the verse below that I used to make this Easter card: "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8" This verse is one of the free verses from Word Art Wednesday's February 28, 2018, post.

But His death wasn't all that He did for me. His second gift was that He rose from the dead like He'd said that He would to show us we also had the gift of eternal life when we believe in Him and what He did for us! His amazing love for us wasn't just words! What a blessing! I will forever be thankful!

Here's one of several cards I made to share that message with family and friends. 

The two background circles were both from Spellbinders, the sentiment is MFT's Wonky Stitched Rectangle,  and the silver-embossed cross is an older CTMH stamp that I fussy cut. The light gray flowered background paper is from the CTMH Basics Fundamentals paper pack.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Always Fun Challenge #51 - Easter
Deep Ocean Challenge #178 - Easter/spring
Die Cuttin' Divas #362 - Easter with die cuts
Fab 'n' Funky #387 - Easter
Word Art Wednesday Challenge #328 - 329 - anything goes with uplifting message

Wishing You Easter Blessings

Each year I always seem to make a lot of Easter cards. Artistically, I love the pastels and lovely colors of spring after a gray, white and brown winter. Practically, I enjoy having an occasion to spread love and the message of God's love. Today I made half a dozen using scraps from my scrap drawers. I have an Ikea chest of nine drawers and put one color in each drawer, arranged like the rainbow. Today I focused on the lavender and purple drawer but added more colors for contrast. Here are the two I made using the colors of Sunday Stamps challenge and the sketch from Atlantic Hearts Sketch #257.

I've been using CTMH paper and stamps for 16 years so these scraps are very old. The top blue strip is a satin ribbon. The chicks and sentiment are from a new stamp set, Easter Animals.   The chicks are so cute and reminded me I need to tell my grandkids about the chicks and ducks I got for Easter as a child.  This card is for a sweet young first grade girl I know. 

I had an extra silver embossed CTMH cross left from making several other cards, so I added it to my second version of this card.  I think the design works well for an adult card that focuses on the spiritual meaning of Easter as well!

I kept the inside simple with room because I like to write a personalized message.

I used another lavender scrap and a verse you can save and print from Word Art Wednesday, February 28, 2018: 

Thank you for visiting! May you be blessed as you make your own lovely creations to share with those you love. 

I'm sharing the first card with the following challenges:

Atlantic Hearts Sketch #257 - sketch

Dragonfly Journeys Challenge #114 - Bunnies, chicks and ducks

Hiding in My Craft Room Challenge #345 - any holiday

Make My Monday Challenge #67 - Easter fun

Sunday Stamps Challenge #175 - Easter color palette

Easter - Earth's Gladdest Day!

I like that quote by Susan Coolidge that says, "Earth's saddest day and gladdest day were just three days apart." The Good Friday message of Christ's death on the cross nearly breaks my heart but the joyful message of His rising from the dead adds a new dimension to life and death. It surprised some of His followers, but gave them a new understanding of His gift of salvation.  The angel said, "He is risen as He said," so they should have all expected it. Scripture records that He was seen by over 500 people after he arose. No wonder His message spread like wildfire. Although we've been born about two thousand years later, His message still changes lives today. He conquered sin for us with His death by taking our punishment and He conquered death for us with his resurrection. Those of us who believe in and receive His gift will resurrect to a new life with Him after our deaths here on earth. This is the message I like to send with my Easter cards.

I used Cricut Design Space to cut the frame and mat for the PTI sentiment.  I stamped a diagonal background on the white panel behind it. I inked the CTMH stamp with Pixie, then dabbed on a few spots of Lagoon and Gypsy inks with sponge daubers. I also stamped the same pattern on the Juniper leafy frame using Lagoon. You can see the detail in this close-up:

Thank you for visiting! I pray your life will be blessed with the message of Easter!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

A Gem of a Challenge #215 - Easter
Crafting with Dragonflies Challenge #100 - Easter cards
Crafty Catz #409 - anything goes with option of Easter
Cut It Up Challenge #144 - Easter with die cut
Moving Along with the Times #67 - Easter
Sweet Stampers Challenge #18 - Spring or Easter
Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Easter
Word Art Wednesday Challenge #326-327  - anything goes with uplifting message

Some Bunny Loves You Easter Card

Here's an Easter card I made for a little girl I met a couple of years ago at our local craft fair. She and her sister love to visit our booth while they spend the two days helping their grandma. I think they like our papercrafts and each year spend the money they earn at our booth.

I used the sketch from Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge:

One of the girls loved seeing my friend's Bible because it was filled with artistic Bible journaling. She even mentioned it again this year because she'd seen Bible journaling somewhere else, too, and wanted to tell us about it. Since I know from her grandma that she knows that Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead, I wanted a simple verse inside that acknowledged this reason we celebrate Easter. I couldn't find any, so I made up my own simple jpg that you are welcome to use.

I stamped an Easter basket and cross inside using the very light Bashful ink that matched the paper. You can click on the jpg below to enlarge it and right click to choose Save As if you'd like to keep it.

Thank you for visiting! May you be blessed as you create cards to share that bless others!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #256 - sketch
Bastel-traum #63 - Easter/spring
Crea Chicky's Challenge #19 - Easter with hand colored image
Do-all Kreatives #15 - spring/Easter
Hanna and friends #292 - Easter/spring with hand-colored person or animal
Let's Craft and Create Challenge #135 - anything goes/option Easter
Sweet Stampers Challenge #18 - spring or Easter

Materials from Close To My Heart:
Paper - Make Waves
Stamps (retired) - Some Bunny, Sensational Season, He Is Risen
Inks - Memento Tuxedo Black, Lagoon, Bashful
Cricut Art Philosophy
Other Supplies:
Copic Markers, Lawn Fawn Spring Showers cloud dies

Die-namite Blog Hop

I'm excited to share with you this month's sale at CTMH on Thin Cuts Dies and die/stamp sets. Our blog hop should give you some ideas for using your dies or the ones you want to purchase. If you came from Brandi Robinson's blog, you're on the right path. You can find the entire list of participants on Melinda Everitt's blog.

This month all of the Thin Cuts Dies and die/stamp sets  are 25% off, including many that had previously retired! If you missed some earlier, this is you're chance to get in on the special!

I enjoy using the word and letter dies. Here's an Easter card I made using the word "happy" cut out of silver foil cardstock and the word "Easter" cut using individual Block Alphabet letter dies. One thing I can do with word and letter dies that is easier than using the Cricut is being able to line up the letters on patterned paper exactly where you want them to highlight part of the paper's pattern.

For the background of my card, I used the rock and roll technique to stamp leafy branches from Chelsea Gardens - Scrapbooking stamp set in Sweet Leaf rolled in Juniper ink. I used sponges to apply three colors of ink (Bashful, Pixie, and Thistle)  on White Daisy cardstock for an ombre effect, then I cut out the EASTER letters. 

I glued the silver "happy" to the cardstock panel first, then I added about three of the Thin 3-D Foam dots to the back of each letter for dimension. The foam dots fit exactly behind each letter!  I mounted my panel on a juniper leafy cardstock from the Chelsea Gardens paper pack and added Make Waves Sequins as a final embellishment. This was so fun and easy to make!

Now you're ready to move on to see what  Alyson Mayo has in store for you!

Thanks for visiting and happy crafting!

Happy Easter - Celebrate the Saviour!

On national news yesterday they showed a segment where they interviewed young children who looked to be about five or six years old, the age I often used to teach. They asked them what Easter was all about and a few specific questions about what did Jesus do, etc. The answers seemed funny, yet not so funny. They thought Jesus brought Easter eggs, candy, etc . If you know the real events of Christ's death and resurrection, I hope you'll make it clear to the young children in your lives. I plan to do that tomorrow at our family gathering.

I used some old lavender striped paper long retired from CTMH and an unknown floral. The die cuts were all cut using Cricut Design Space. The sentiments are all from the PTI set "Alleluia."

Thank you for visiting! May you find the peace, joy, and blessings of following the risen Saviour!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Crafting with Dragonflies #78 - Easter card
Creative Knockouts #189 - Buttons, Buttons
Deep Ocean #152 - Easter
Inky Chicks #81 - Use Purple
Little Red Wagon #389 - Happy Easter

Yellow, Green, and Gray Easter Cards

After making a bunch of flowery feminine Easter cards I wanted to make a few more that were more Clean and Simple or masculine. I'm not sure if this set of cards fit that plan, but they were fun to make!  The YNS Sketch and Color Challenge #61 seemed like perfect inspiration for these cards.

I made several of these but here are the two main versions. I used yellow, green, Whisper gray, Slate gray, and black from the color challenge. I only vaguely used the sketch, but it gave me the idea for my card. I wanted to use a woodgrain background and this light gray birch bark background from CTMH "Oh, Deer" seemed nice for a springtime card.

The main difference is what portion of my green scraps I used for the word Easter. One part of this scrap (from retired CTMH "Tinkerin'") had the look of yellow paint. I wasn't sure I'd like that but in the end, it was my favorite.

To stamp just one word in a set of words, I place a piece of scotch tape over the unwanted word, ink the stamp, pull off the inky tape which leaves the unwanted word in-inked, and stamp the single inked word you want.

I used the same lily stamp on the inside with the sentiment stamps that are also in the set.

Thanks for visiting! May His love fill your heart, too!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Crafting with the Dragonflies #78 - Easter Cards
Crafty Catz #365 - anything goes with option of Easter
Dies R Us Challenge #70 - Easter, with die cuts (tag and happy)
Stamps & Fun = Creativity #299 - spring or Easter

Your Next Stamp Challenge #61 -  sketch and colors

4.25" x 5.5" Card Recipe:
Paper - CTMH White Daisy, Whisper, Slate cardstocks, Oh, Deer and Tinkerin' retired CTMH dp

Stamps - CTMH retired His Love (lily and inside sentiment); ODBD Tulip Tag Set (word Easter)
Ink - CTMH Slate (lily outside), Sweet Leaf (lily inside), Memento Tuxedo Black (text)
Markers - Copic YG00, YG03; Y11, Y15;
Tools - CTMH "happy" word die; MFT StitchedTragTagStax Die-Namics, Scotch tape

Paisley and Gingham Easter Card

I give my family Easter cards that celebrate that first Easter Sunday when Christ arose from the dead. This was my hubby's favorite from the ones I've been making. This is my second card that uses a  Cricut Lacy Label, three stamps from the Papertrey Ink "Alleluia" stamp set, Spellbinder Foliage Two leaves, and papers from my very old Close To My Heart background and texture packs that seem perfect for Easter and spring. The stamped sentiment says, "He is Risen! He is risen indeed!"

Thank you for visiting! May you be blessed by the risen Lord!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
Come and Get It - Easter
Craftaholics R Us April Challenge - Easter
Creative Moments #115 - anything goes with option of Easter
Deep Ocean Challenge #152 -  Easter
Dies R Us Challenge #70 - Easter
Do-All Kreatives #4 - Easter
Inky Chicks Challenge #81 - use purple
Mustard Seed Faith #2 - Easter
Scrap From Your Heart #8 - Spring colors/Easter
Sweet Stampers Challenge #5 - Easter or Spring

Kaleidoscope Easter Card

I found a new challenge last week called Mustard Seed Faith Challenges. This week the challenge is to make something for Easter. I appreciated the idea shared that Easter isn't just one day to celebrate in a year but what affects life every week, every day for those who believe in Christ's gift of salvation. For me it's a daily relationship with a living Savior who took my punishment for my sins so that I could receive that gift and have a close personal relationship and share eternal life with the Lord. Sometimes a man may have died for a friend or family, but only one who was the sinless Son of God could take our punishment when He died and better yet, rise again from the dead to show us that life is eternal.

I love this sentiment stamp from Paper Trey Ink using Matthew 28:6 that expresses that He is a living Savior. History records that over 500 people saw Him after He arose from the dead before He ascended to heaven. For me, His Spirit speaks to my heart each day and He's always near to help, comfort and guide me. So I agree with the writer at Mustard Seed Faith that Easter impacts my life every day. I hope you'll visit their blog and check out their beautiful creations.

Thank you for visiting! May you be blessed by the risen Lord!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Come and Get It Challenge - Easter
Craftaholics April Challenge - Easter
Dies R Us Challenge #70 - Easter with die cuts (Cricut and Spellbinders leaves)
Do-All Kreatives #4 - Easter
Just for Fun April Challenge - Spring/Easter
Mustard Seed Faith - Easter
Scrap from Your Heart #8 - Spring colors/Easter
Sweet Stampers Challenge #5 - Easter/Spring

6.5" x 5" Card Recipe:
Papers - Close To My Heart "Kaleidoscope" paper pack, Pixie, Sweet Leaf, White Daisy cs
Stamp - Papertrey Ink Alleluia stamp set
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Embellishments - Recollections paper flowers, CTMH Purple Hearts, retired CTMH brads
Tools, Spellbinders Foliage die, Cricut Lacy Labels Cartridge on Design Space

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Easter Card

When I make cards snippets of hymns I used to sing usually play in my head. This set of cards inspired two hymns from the days when I used to teach in a Christian school in Harrisonville, Missouri. At Easter the music teacher taught my class "Lift Jesus Higher" which paraphrases John12:32: "And Jesus said if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me." The other I learned in church which I kept repeating, "Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim..." He gave us the perfect example of love with both His life and His death. The cross He died on wasn't attractive. I'm sure it was a rough hateful thing. But since it represents His sacrificial love, taking our punishment for our sins, artists down through the centuries have decorated crosses to symbolize this love.

This sketch at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge inspired my design for these Easter cards combining the symbol of the Easter cross with Cricut cut spring flowers along with some old Paper Garden papers and new Paper Fundamentals.

I used Cricut Flower Market cartridge to cut the flowers. You may use my cut file if you have that cartridge. They are sized for my 6.5" x5" card.  My hubbies favorite is the purple one I made first which has the sentiment and cross embossed with silver. The cross comes from a retired CTMH stamp set A1184 Rejoice.

My favorite has a lot more white space and is embossed with gold to match the yellows in the striped Paper Garden papers.

The embossed sentiments show up better in this photo.

Thank you for visiting! May you be blessed with the joy of Christ's love!

I'm sharing this post with the following challenges:

Addicted to Stamps Challenge #144 - Easter
Atlantic Sketch Challenge #204
Cut It Up Challenge #118 - stitches (mine are faux from the MFT double stitched circle die)
Fab n Funky Challenge #343 - flowers
Moving Along with the Times #41 - handmade or die cut flowers
Mustard Seed Faith Challenge - any shade of yellow
My Time to Craft - woodland animals or Easter
Really Reasonable Ribbon #160 - Spring/Easter with ribbon
Southern Girls Challenge #156 - use a die  cut
Word Art Wednesday #274-275 - anything goes

Hello Lovely Easter Card 1

I need to make quite a few Easter cards, so I used the card bases I made with our recent CTMH Hello Lovely Workshop Your Way. This one uses pattern 4 with a few additions: a doily, a circle (from retired Caboodle paper, cut with MFT double stitched circle die), a sentiment panel (retired Nevermore paper). The Blush Shimmer Ribbon were the perfect addition. The cross, stamped with Whisper ink,  and sentiment are retired but are perfect for my card's message that Easter is a celebration of Christ's resurrection from the dead.

I kept this simple so my friends at our scrapbook workshop could quickly make one if they wanted.  You can even download the cutting guide for all the layouts and cards here.


Thank you for visiting! May God bless your crafting and the recipients of your crafts!


I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
4 Crafty Chicks #343 - punches or dies
Addicted to Stamps #144 -  Easter
Aud Sentiments #176 - any sentiment but birthday
Crafty Sentiments Designs - Easter
Really Reasonable Ribbon #160 - Springtime/Easter with ribbon
Southern Girls #156 -  use a die
Word Art Wednesday #274-275 - anything family friendly

Easter Bunny SOTM Card

When I saw this week's Color My Heart Color Dare, I instantly pictured an Easter card, so I enjoyed playing with the  stamp of the month again. If you missed the earlier blog hop featuring this stamp set, you can find it here. 

The color dare featured silver, Black, White Daisy, Pansy, and Raspberry:

Most of the supplies used are from CTMH except the white ribbon. In addition, I used Cricut Art Philosophy and Artistry cartridges along with Cricut Design Space for the free scalloped background mat from Cricut Craftroom.  If you have those two cartridges you may use my cut files with Design Space. They are sized for a 5.5" x 4.25" card.

I paper pieced the bunny's ears and dress using Raspberry heart paper from Adventure Fundamentals collection. I used the Confetti embossing folder to add some texture.  (The silver flowers decorating the egg on the left are no longer available.)

Thank you for visiting!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
All Sorts Week #401 - Paper Piecing
Color My Heart Color Dare #229 - silver, Black, White Daisy, Pansy, Raspberry

Morgan's Art World #2 - Add Ribbon
PDE Linky Party #158 - anything goes
Stamping Sensations February Challenge - animals
The Ribbon Girls - anything goes with ribbon

Christ Is Risen Easter Card

Happy Easter Sunday! This holiday brings up childhood memories of new dresses, hats, white patent leather shoes, and gloves. That was the 1950's and '60's. Of course there were Easter baskets with jelly beans, chocolate and stuffed bunnies. Joyful hymns at church and dinner with a large family stand out along with my mother's pots of Easter lilies adorning a table. She continued to decorate with those lilies all her life. This is why I chose the lily image from Our Daily Bread Designs.

But the enduring message of Easter was the joy I always found hearing the exciting account of Christ's resurrection from the dead. It surprised His followers then, but gives hope to believers now that He was truly God's son who took our punishment and that death doesn't end a believer's life -  life continues after death!  I used purple for this card because one of my younger sisters died in her early 30's and is now in heaven. I have the  hope of seeing my sister again some day. As I type, March 26th is Purple Day to raise world awareness of Epilepsy. My sister changed her seizure medication and when it combined with her regular meds, it stopped her heart. But I knew that she had believed in Christ as her savior from sin, so when she was "absent from the body," she was "present with the Lord."

I used this sketch from Scrapping Everyday Miracles.

I stamped the ODBD lily with light gray ink and colored it with Copics and Prismacolor pencils. I mounted it on a purple die cut piece made with a Spellbinder Fleur de Lis Rectangle (which means lily in French!). I added some glittery details with a Sakura Gelly Roll pen.

The polka dotted paper is from Graphic45 Sweet Sentiments.The lace is covering some of the stripes in the unknown striped paper from my scrap stash. I white embossed the sentiment from ODBD "I Am the Way" on a scrap of Basic Grey. The ribbon was old Making Memories and the sparkle flourishes are retired CTMH.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you and yours during this lovely Easter season! May you have joy in the hope of life after death!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Card and Scrap #114 - Lace
Card Mania #78 - polka dots and stripes
Crafter's Cafe Challenge #145 - Easter
Crazy 4 Challenges #329 - Purple for Purple Day/World Awareness of Epilepsy
Kreativeinkauf #37 - Happy Easter
Let's Craft and Create #111 - Easter
Scrapping Everyday Miracles - March card sketch


Why the Resurrection Still Matters

The Real Beauty of Easter

The real beauty of Easter is knowing that you are loved so much by someone else that He would volunteer to take your punishment for all the wrongs you'd ever done in life by giving up His own life, dying in your place.  His death was cruel, traumatic, and ugly, but His love for doing it is beautiful, so we tend to make our Easter cards beautiful. This card is made in gratitude of Christ's beautiful love for me, for you, and for the world (Path of Positivity Challenge - Beauty).

I made the cross by cutting a border strip into two pieces and lining it with gold glitter paper to make the cross. I stamped the sentiment: You are Loved from the stamp set Your Own Kind of Wonderful.

The soft colors come from the Charlotte paper pack and the leafy branches are from Charlotte complements chipboard. The gold heart is one of my favorites from Treasured Puffies.  They have shine, dimension, but are fairly soft so shouldn't affect mailing.  The Whisper thick twine is also soft for mailing. The Cricut cut is from page 70 of Art Philosophy, If you use Cricut Explore, the image code is #M413F5.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you and your loved ones this Easter with the overwhelming realization of how very much you are loved by Christ the Lord!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
All Sorts #355 - Easter
Bitten by the Bug 2 - Spring flings and Easter things
Crafting with Dragonflies #53 - Easter
Crafty Cardmakers #160 - Easter
D.L.Art Thankful Thursday #176 - Easter
Fantabulous Cricut Challenge #262 - Easter
Jo's Scrap Shack #130 - Happy Easter
Path of Positivity Challenge - Beauty
Where the HeART is Challenge 7 - Easter/anything goes
Word Art Wednesday #222/223 - anything uplifting

Penelope Easter Card

I love the colors of SPRING! They seem to wake me up after a drab season of winter colors. My yard is wrapped in pastel blooming bulbs and trees. Today two plum trees are in bloom, one white and one purple. Here's another Easter card reflecting these spring colors and the resurrection message: The Lord reigns; let the earth REJOICE! That's exactly what my trees and bulbs are doing on this sunny day!

I usually use my Cricut Explore to cut dies, but our computer connection has been spotty for a couple of weeks so I used four different punches instead. I'm also keeping this short while I have a connection! The Penelope papers, the Rejoice stamp set, and the Gray enamel gems are all CTMH.


I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
Crafter's Café #145 - Easter
Crafty Enjoyments Challenge #5 - Easter
Creative Moments #89 - anything goes/optioal - Spring
Double D Challenges - Easter
Kreativeinkauf #37 - Easter
Paper Creators #45  Spring Colors
Sisterhood of Crafters- dies/punches
Southern Ridge Trading Company March challenge - Easter
Word Art Wednesday #222-223 - anything uplifting
Words 2 Craft By March challenge - Easter/Rebirth


Thank you for visiting! May you enjoy the beauties of this season and rejoice!

Happy Easter Daffodils

My favorite daffodils have resurrected in my yard. They are a pale yellow with a darker yellow center. My spring bulbs are like scripture written in nature that reminds me of Christ's death and resurrection and life after death for believers.  They popped through the soil almost two weeks ago and now they're sharing beautiful blooms. The lovely colors brightening my yard sing out praise to their Creator, especially after a brown and gray winter. 

Here's another simple Easter card with daffodils made with bright, cheery Penelope papers (and two retired CTMH stamps). I colored the image with Copics (Y11, G20, B000) and ShinHan markers (Y222 and G234).

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Crafty Boots Challenge - Easter
Deep Ocean #124 - Easter
Marker Pop Challenge #90 - Easter
The Crazy Challenge #218 - flowers

He Is Not Here Daffodil Card

Daffodils in my garden a couple of years ago on March 27 and later on April 4th.

Every year around Easter my daffodils spring up out of their frozen beds just as if they had risen from the dead. Each year their yellow blooms seem to pronounce the resurrection message that Christ has risen from the dead. They also herald the glorious news that winter is over and, yes, once again, spring has arrived to infuse us with warmth, color, and new life, just like Christ is the giver of new life. This idea directed my choice of ODBD scripture stamps which said:

"It is true! The Lord has risen!" Luke 24:34     and    "He who has the Son has life. 1 John 5:12

Easter is about the Risen Lord. The apostle Paul told his contemporaries that Christ was seen  by over 500 people at one time after His resurrection. It was a detail his contemporaries could check. It's an amazing historic detail that encourages our belief. To me the resurrection is as important as His death to take the punishment for our sins. It tells me that his followers will also have life after death with Him as He promised. He met with His disciples during the 40 days following His resurrection and amazingly, after He ascended to heaven and His Spirit came to fill His followers, over 3,000 people believed in Him in one day when they heard this testimony about the Son of God and what He did in their own languages!(Acts 2:41)

Because my main image came in circle form, I decided to use the lovely sketch this past week at Deconstructed Sketch:

I used Pattie's Creations digi stamp: Daffodils Circle Scroll.  I printed it 3 times, colored the entire image, then colored just the daffodils, and finally just the centers with Copic markers, cut them out and pop dotted them in position. I embossed the blue background paper with a pinked, stitched border. I sanded the stitches so the white core shows through.  To make the extra two circles behind the daffodil circle, I trimmed the outer edge of what was left when I removed an orangish circle sticker, so you just see a thin line of white and orange. I embellished those circles with leaf flourishes cut with Spellbinders Foliage Two Shapeabilities and a few aqua dots. I chose the darkest dots for contrast. More details are listed below in the recipe.

Thank you for visiting. May the Risen Lord bless and keep you!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
Chocolate, Coffee, and Cards #89 - use a die cut (foliage)
Come and Get It - things that start with "B" - buttons, blue, blossoms
Craft for the Craic April - Die-ing for Spring or Easter (foliage die)
Deconstructed Sketch #197 
Fussy and Fancy #137 - Springtime flowers
Hiding in my Craft Room #196 - freestyle/anything goes
Open-Minded Crafting Fun #34 - Recycle something (cut out orange edge left over from a circle sticker)
Pattie's Creations Design Challenge #109 - Easter + use an image (mine is Daffodil circle from Pattie's Creations.)
Suzy Bee's Bloomin' Challenge #76 - anything goes with twist-use die (Foliage 2 die) or punch
Word Art Wednesday #179 - anything goes with family friendly project


5" x 6" Card Recipe:
Paper - Close To My Heart "Blossom," and White Daisy cardstock; sticker remnant from "Blossom" Complements
Stamps -  Pattie's Creations digi stamp Daffodils Circle Scroll; Our Daily Bread Designs "The Lord Is Risen"
Copic Markers:  Y11, Y13, Y17, Y21, YG03
Tools & Embellishments - Cuttlebug "Pinking Stitch" embossing folder, Spellbinders Shapeabilities Foliage Two die, CTMH sanding block, CTMH Aqua Dots, very old unknown button brads

New Life for a Happy Easter!

My spring flowers, bushes, and fruit trees are in bloom with these colors! It's so uplifting to see them come to life after a barren, colorless winter! My card uses Graphic45 paper and unknown ribbon and flowers from my stash.

Today I'm celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Many people are focusing on bunnies, chicks, Easter eggs, and family dinners. My view of eggs and chicks are that they represent new life and the new life we receive by placing our faith in Jesus Christ, making Him the Lord of our life. In the Old Testament of the Bible, something had to die to take the punishment for one's sin, a sheep, goat, or cow. When Christ, God in flesh like us, came to earth as the sinless Savior, his plan was to die in our place as the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice. What's more amazing was that He didn't remain dead, but rose again after three days to show us that as believers in His death, we, too, can have new life both on earth and after death in heaven with Him. I hope and pray that you have received the gift of new life by believing in Christ's death on the cross for you. I also hope you've found that close relationship with Him, letting Him direct your life through His Word and His Spirit. If you haven't yet, I hope you'll check out this information for a better understanding.

May God bless and keep you as you celebrate Easter!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
4 Crafty Chicks - Easter
All Sorts week 305 - Easter
Kitty Bee Designs Aloha Friday #44 - Easter
Luna Girl Moonbeams Creative Challenge - spring chickens
Polka Doodles - use a die (Spellbinders scalloped rectangle)
Really Reasonable Ribbon #115 - things with wings
Word Art Wednesday #177 - anything uplifting

Easter Blessings To You



Today we celebrate Easter. This is just a quick post to wish you Easter Blessings on this Resurrection Sunday.This was a hard winter where we live, but daffodils began to bloom in my yard with their promise of spring and new life. To me it's a picture of the gospel in nature. May you take time to reflect on God's gift of His Son who gave His life for us and rose after death to give us the promise of everlasting life!

Today we will be spending the day with our children and grandchildren. It is such a joy to know that death will never permanently separate us. We have that hope of living eternally with Christ and each other. That is one of the messages of Resurrection Sunday!

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 NIV

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; John 11:25

May you share God's love with others this Easter!