Simple Divinity

I love to encourage others with scripture cards. Over the years I've collected a good number of stamp sets with Bible verses, many from Our Daily Bread Designs. Did you know they've recently changed their name to Divinity Designs? I've also been hoarding a lot of papers from previous Basic Grey collections, My conscience has been pricked again to attempt using them up. So I pulled out the Lemonade collection and began making simple cards with scripture and those beautiful retired papers. Here are the simple results :

I decided to make larger cards using the same design in order to create faster and use up more paper. Here's one with the same scripture that I already had out and on a block. I decorated both of these with stickers. The owl and sentiment are from Green at Heart, but it had similar colors as Lemonade. It's for my granddaughter who loves anything with owls.

Next I decided to use die cuts from my drawer of previously cut shapes. I inked the edges with long-retired CTMH Kiwi ink. I matched scriptures from the first set I had purchased from Papertrey Ink years ago. Both of these cards used smaller scraps of Basic Grey. I cut each scrap in half to make two cards:

I finished each card with some old CTMH embellishments. The entire process took three hours and I still have most of the paper pack left. I really need to do this faster and more often. If you have any suggestions for making more cards, using more of some long hoarded paper, feel free to share your idea in the comments.

Thank you for visiting! Blessings to you always!

I'm sharing this with the following challenges:

2 Crafty Critter Crazies Challenge #23 - anything goes with a critter
613 Avenue Create Challenge #218 - anything goes/ optional add a critter
Crafty Friends Challenge #102 - animals/birds
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper February Challenge - anything goes with patterned paper
Word Art Wednesday Challenge #372-373 - anything goes

Verse of the day: 

But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.

Psalm 59:16 ESV

Vellum Butterfly Card

Have you ever made a card for yourself? I often find when I'm sick I feel better if I make encouragement cards. It helps me to revisit my stamps with sentiments that help me put my focus on what God can do rather than how horrible I feel or how much I'm going through.  I'm having a reaction to contrast dye for a CAT scan and decided the only thing that will make me feel better is to create something and get my mind off how I feel. The good news is that the growths in my lung have stopped growing and I won't need additional scans. I'm praising God for this answer to prayer! To find that out was worth having the iodine contrast, reaction or not. I always thought that as a nonsmoker I wouldn't have to face things like lung disease.

I gold embossed the sentiment for this card, "He who kneels before God can stand before anything." This was my reminder to keep praying for the reaction to subside and trust God to do it. I also gold embossed the butterflies and flowers on vellum and colored the backs with Copic markers.

I cut a large oval out of the center of the kraft cardstock die cut and popped up a smaller stitched oval with the sentiment. Here you can see the gold embossing better:

Thank you for visiting today! May you be blessed by the Lord as you bless others with your cards!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

All Sorts Challenge #469 - Insects, bugs, bees, butterflies
Challenge Up Your Life #92 - Gold
Cuttlebug Mania - butterflies and birds
Fussy and Fancy Challenge #212 - favorite florals
Heart 2 Heart May Challenges - Get Creative with Vellum
Word Art Wednesday Challenge #336-337 - anything goes, uplifting

Stamps and dies - CTMH "Chelsea Gardens Cardmaking" stamps and dies (butterflies and flowers), Stitched Ovals Thin Cuts;Sweet 'n' Sassy Stamps "The Future,"  Spellbinders "Classic Ovals,"  "Tranquil Moments" Card Creator (background)


365 Promises - Promise #146:   I will show you the mysteries of My kingdom.

Watercolored Flowers Card

I was intrigued by the challenge at Modsquad challenge blog to make a floral watercolor. I'm always wishing I could get better in creating with watercolors. It's a medium I love that doesn't always love me or produce what I envision. But like everything else, I'm sure practice makes perfect, so I tried again. I wanted to make an encouragement card with the message: "God doesn't give us what we can handle...He helps us handle what we are given."

I chose flower colors from this inspiration photo at Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge:

I wanted to paint these in a free style that goes outside the outline of the flowers, which is harder for me than staying in the lines. I stamped flowers in Stazon ink. The middle pink flower and its stem and leaves were stamped first. I stamped the same again on a sticky note, cut it out, and covered(masked) the flower on the card before stamping the rest of the stems and leaves so they appear to be behind the middle flower. When I painted the flowers one at a time using a waterbrush and watercolor paint, then I went back over the slightly dry flower with more water hoping it would smear a little to help make a background. The green paint "smeared and spread" most easily. The butterflies were lightly painted the lightest yellow in the paint set. I was happy to see that painting them made the wings curl.  I mounted my colorful flowers with diagonal black and white stripes on each side, which seems to be a trend in crafting right now. I thought the black and white was good for such a colorful subject as bright spring flowers.

Inside the card I stamped two sentiments and added three flowers along the edges in light gray (Pebble).

This style card may not appeal to everyone, but I have a very artsy friend who needs encouragement, so I think this verse and watercolor style will be perfect for her.

Thank you for visiting! May you also be encouraged by this message and encourage others in turn.

365 Promises: Promise #116: Seek My kingdom first and everything you need will be given to you.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Dragonfly Journeys Challenge #116 - April showers bring May flowers
Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday Challenge - flowers and a sentiment
Hand Stamped Sentiments Challenge #288 -  inspiration photo
Make My Monday Challenge #69 - In the garden
ModSquad Challenge Blog - Floral Watercolor
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - flower power
Try It On Tuesday Challenge - Nature's beauty
Word Art Wednesday #332-333 - anything uplifting

5.5" x 4.25" Card Recipe:

Paper - CTMH Watercolor Cardstock, Cats and Bats paper pack (black and white stripe, retired)unknown yellow cardstock from stash

Stamps - CTMH Many Congratulations, Falling for You-Scrapbooking (retired); Sweet and Sassy Stamps "The Future"

Ink - Stazon Jet Black, Memento Tuxedo Black

Embellishments - all CTMH - Black and White enamel dots, all retired: butterflies, Thistle Thick Twine, Make Waves Sequins

Tools - Thin Cuts die "Party Banners," Watercolor Paints, Medium Round Waterbrush  

'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus

I have loved music since I was a young child. I remember singing my first songs in church when I was about three. Usually, I sang songs in children's church, but if I was in grown-up church and I recognized a song, I remember standing on the pew next to my parents and singing all the parts I knew with joy. With those experiences is it any wonder that I've been in love with the old hymns for over 60 years?  The songs and their words are deeply ingrained in my being and rise to the surface often to encourage me, to remind me of truths I need to remember.

Here's an encouragement card I made with the first line of one of those old hymns that reminds us that we can trust Jesus to help us through life's trials:

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, And to take Him at His word. Just to rest upon His promise, And to know, "Thus saith the Lord." Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him! How I've proved Him o'er and o'er! Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! O for grace to trust Him more!

I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches #331 and the colors from Color Throwdown #487:

 

Thank you for visiting! May you, too, be blessed by the Lord as you trust Him more and more!

I'm Sharing this card with the following challenges:

Color Throwdown #487 - pink, red, mint

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper April Challenge - anything with patterned paper

Dies R Us #94  -  anything goes with brands of ies they carry

Freshly Made Sketch #331 - clean layout using sketch

Simply Papercraft #56 - anything goes
Word Art Wednesday #328-329 - anything uplifting

5.5" x 4.25" Card Recipe:

Papers - retired CTMH Sugar Rush and Lollydoodle

Stamp - Sweet 'n' Sassy Stamps Timeless Hymns

Embellishment - CTMH Black and White enamel dots

Tools -  Tim Holtz Thinlits Alterations die, Spellbinders Foliage die

Lord Bless and Keep You Wild Sunflower Card

This week a sunflower farm in our area started allowing visitors. People come from all over, even other countries, to take photos of the acres of sunflowers. We have a smaller, wild variety that blooms along fence rows around our farm. I chose a flower stamp for this card that looks like our wild ones.

I needed more encouragement cards, so once I made this one that I liked, I made three more. I love the message of this new CTMH sentiment stamp set: May the Lord bless and keep you. I originally made it for one of our daughters to send to a sorority sister fighting cancer.

The sentiment has a small sprig of leaves on each side, so I enlarged it by stamping four more outline leaf sprigs from this month's stamp of the month that I colored with alcohol ink markers. Then I added two large leaf stamps under it from Falling for You-Cardmaking. The large flower came from Falling for You-Scrapbooking. The flower does have a matching die, but I fussy cut mine because I didn't want the white border this time.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
Dream Valley Challenge #162 - use a stamp or digi

Heartful Stamping Challenge Sept. 3-10 - anything goes with stamping
Hiding in My Craft Room Challenge #316 - Fall Colors
Scrap and Craft #7 - Colours of Autumn
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Stamp It
Word Art Wednesday #298-299 - anything goes, positive

Stamp sets used:

Falling for You - Scrapbooking

Falling for You - Cardmaking

God's Blessings

Feel So Blessed stamp of the month

Life is Tough Encouragement Cards

Life us full of ups and downs, some small and some catastrophically huge.  Here's a set of encouragement cards I made using Prickly Pear papers. When I was almost four years my family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah. While driving there, my grandmother showed me a small cactus and told me to watch out, it had stickers that would hurt. Of course, I got stuck in less than five minutes. Just a little problem, but I thought the cactus on these papers could represent any sort of prickly problems. Since the cacti images are more whimsical than realistic, I thought the marker style sentiment fit perfectly. It's from the retired CTMH Sunshine on a Cloudy Day stamp set.

I made several of this card design and couldn't decide which encouragement verse to put inside, so I used this week's free word art scripture from Word Art Wednesday which was perfect for my intent and three different ones from the retired CTMH set, Look to the Light, some with the cactus from Prickly Pear - Cardmaking stamp set..

I'm sharing this project with the following challenges:

Dragonfly Dreams - Patterned Paper
Eclectic Ellapu September Challenge - Flora or Fauna/Nature
QKR Stampede Challenge - Wild West or anything goes
Really Reasonable Ribbon Challenge #171 - Anything goes with ribbon
Word Art Wednesday #298-299 - anything goes

Stampaganza Blast from the Past

Stampaganza is our chance to buy two stamp sets and get one free. We can also get the opportunity to purchase stamp sets that were previously retired from Close To My Heart.  Today we are showcasing stamp sets from the past that have been re-released just for this month..  You may have come from Brenda Lapp's blog.  If you get lost along the way, you can find the whole list at Melinda Everitt's blog here.

 I decided to play with the Washi Wonder stamps again to make another card. You can see all of the re-released stamp sets here.

I was inspired by a sketch at Atlantic Sketch Challenge and the current Color Dare at Color My Heart.

 

I hadn't used this stamp much when I first got it a couple of years ago. (That happens to me a lot.)Now I can't stop playing with it!  You are ready to go to Darlys Recker's blog.

4.25" x 5.5" Card Recipe:
Paper - White Daisy cardstock
Stamps - Washi Wonder, Happy To Be Friends
Inks - Sorbet, Lemon, Juniper, Black
Embellishments - Whimsy Ribbons, Gold glitter paper, Black (and white) Enamel Dots
Tools - Cricut, Flower Market cartridge

Praying for So Many

In the past few days my oldest daughter had surgery, a good friend's son lost his eye in an accident and is having a second surgery, and tomorrow my son's wife is having surgery.  Amazingly, I had serious eye pain for two days and I used it as a prompt to help me remember to pray for the eye surgery and my daughter each time it bothered me, which meant a lot of praying! Saturday my eye was fine and I heard that the patients were much better, too. It's amazing how prayer works! Here's another one of my encouragement cards that's going to be hand-delivered tomorrow.

I used the top row across at CAS-ual Fridays tic-tac-toe challenge:

I used one of the stamp sets that has been re-introduced this month at CTMH, called Washi Wonder. There's a great sale for stampers, buy two get one free. If you enjoy stamping or want ideas for using some of the older stamp sets being re-introduced, please check out the blog hop Tuesday morning. I'll have the link here when all the links go live.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

4 crafty Chicks #358 - stamping, no digis
Cards 4 Galz #51 - butterflies, mine are from Recollections
CAS-ual Fridays - tic tac toe challenge - one layer, butterflies, I stamped washi-type stripes
Crafting with Friends #37 - anything goes
Simply Papercraft #48 - anything goes

Do Not Worry

Earlier this week I shared that one of my sorority sisters is in a nursing home being treated for cancer. We are sending her a card a day to encourage her. Here is another verse I chose along with more papers from the retired CTMH Free to Be Me paper pack. If you're not able to read the encouragement sentiment, it says, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34." I had opportunity to practice this verse last night when our area was plagued with severe weather. It took a lot of trust during the night to sleep and feel safe, acknowledging that God's loving care surrounded me.

This design comes from the PTI stamp set, A Cheerful Heart. It fit well on an oval die cut framed by the Spellbinders Lacey Ovales die cut. I made three versions of this card as I tried to use all the paper pieces. This first one is my favorite.

It has three shiny Florence sequins and twine from my stash. The yellow Prima butterfly sets it off. The next one has some retired CTMH flowers (stacked with a blue Petalloo flower) and butterfly. The black enamel dots are CTMH.

The inside verse for all three cards is a Hero Arts stamp set from Simon Says Stamp.

I'm sharing the first card with the following challenges:
Deep Ocean Challenge #158 - Lots of layers - I have 5 including the base on first card
Little Red Wagon Challenge #400 -  three of something (blue sequins)
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - anything goes
Southern Girls Challenge #163 - ribbon or twine
Word Art Wednesday #288-289 - anything goes

Under His Wings

I've been away from my blog too long thanks to a week with a stomach virus and migraines, then too much kitchen work with my orchard producing cherries, apricots, and especially peaches. What a harvest of peaches we've gotten when I thought the late freeze would have destroyed them.  I'll be freezing lots of quarts of peaches for at least a week, as well as making  more peach pies to share.

I have a P.E.O. sorority sister who is in a nursing home being treated for cancer. Our group decided to sign up for making encouragement cards for her, one to be mailed each day for the next couple of months. Here's an encouraging verse I'm sending that came from PTI's Year of Psalms mini stamp for the month of March:  "He will cover you with His feathers and under His wings you will find refuge. Psalm 91:4." I visualize running to hide from trouble, to be protected and comforted, whenever I read this verse. In fact, after making these cards,I continually heard the old hymn, Under His Wings, playing in my mind. The words and piano version are in that link. I've also liked the message of a newer version sung here.

I remembered having this feathered CTMH paper from the retired Free to Be Me pack. I made several cards with this paper piece and took a photo of these two.

Thank you for visiting.  I hope you'll find peace, safety, and comfort in this verse, too. If so, pass it on.

I'm sharing these cards with the following challenges:

Make My Monday Challenge #49 - Summer Brights
Path of Positivitiy Challenge #50 - anything goes (I didn't use option of faith, hope, and/or love)
Stamps & Fun = Creativity #304 -  inspired by a song
The Crafty Addicts #37 - anything goes with option of summer colors
Word Art Wednesday #288-289 - anything goes

Words of Encouragement with One Sheet Wonder Cards

I'm often late to participate in trends or fads. I just found a need to make a lot of cards for our local store and use up lots of my paper stash. When I discovered One Sheet Wonder patterns on Pinterest, I finally joined the trend. Here are the first seven I made after a quick cut of the pieces along with die cut words and coordinating stamps.

Using the flower paper from CTMH La Vie en Rose was a good choice for the cards with three strips or three squares. I loved the way the pattern matches from strip to strip.

I had found the "prayers" set of die and sentiment stamps at Simon Says Stamp.

The rest are found at Papertrey Ink. I liked the versatility of these sets because each had a variety of beginnings and endings that can be matched with the die cut words to fit the situation of the recipient.  One additional feature of my cards is that I cut a black mat for each piece. I thought it would take a long time, but I looked at the size and added almost 1/4" on two sides for a contrasting mat. The black hearts were stamped and one black glitter paper heart was added for simple embellishment.

This week I just found that another CTMH consultant, Kathleen Androlewicz, used the same One Sheet Wonder pattern with the Dreamin' Big papers that you can see here.

Thanks for visiting! I hope this inspires you to make your own encouragement cards using One Sheet Wonder patterns!

I'm sharing this project with the following challenges:

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper April Challenge - anything goes with patterned paper
Crafty Creations Challenge #340 - anything goes
Crafty Gals Corner Challenge #120 - anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - anything goes
Word Art Wednesday Challenge #280 - 281 - anything goes/family friendly

Card for Encouragement and Faith

Time Out challenge this week has a beautiful quote that connects to the sentiment that I chose for this card of encouragement.

'Friends are connected heart to heart, distance and time can't break them apart'

I have some friends who are always on my mind and in my prayers. Sometimes we are connected as sisters in Christ, other times by similar interests or needs. Here's the first one I made using  my old Basic Grey "Oh, Baby Girl" papers.

I stamped the flowers using a 2008 CTMH stamp, "With Love." I admit, I don't throw out paper, stamps, or embellishments. (My only hope is that I can use most of them in this lifetime then let my friends take all that they want!) Buttons are another one of my hoarded items. I was happy to add them to the large centers of the flowers thanks to the Southern Girls challenge.

I'm sorry I couldn't get my camera to focus on the words because of so much white space. I used the top strip to focus, but it didn't help the words, which are the important message: "The Lord will see you through this tough time!" Both sentiments are from the Our Daily Bread Designs Stamp set "Faith Card Sentiments." I surrounded it with a circle shape from Cricut Flower Market.

Crafting When We Can Challenge #137 - flowers
Southern Girls Challenge-retro challenge - smash that stash - buttons and/or brads
Time Out Challenge #76 - Inspired by words
Word Art Wednesday #268-269 - anything family friendly

Take Heart Encouragement Card

News from around the world seems so negative sometimes that I know many people in many nations are facing problems that can be overwhelming. It's comforting to know that God is in control, in both good times and bad times, waiting for us to rely on His help, wanting to bless us through and after trials and troubles. Here's a verse to encourage someone who is troubled by the circumstances of life with this Scripture Series 3 stamp from Our Daily Bread Designs:

"In this world you will have trouble, Take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

A week or so ago I saw a challenge to use red and pink. While I've been making lots of scrapbook layouts this week trying to use up some of my Basic Grey collections, I pulled aside some of the red and pink scraps for cards. I added two thin strips of CTMH Raspberry with hearts from the Adventure Fundamentals. The black silhouette is from Cricut Flower Market cartridge.

Thank you for visiting! May you see God's direction and blessing through life's problems.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Come and Get It - 3 or more layers

Crafty Girls Creations #33 - anything goes

Crafty Sentiment Designs - Lace and/or Ribbon (my CTMH black flowered ribbon)

Die Cuttin Divas #302 - anything goes (Cricut cuts white sentiment shape and black fern)

Inspiration Destination #121 -  anything goes

Word Art Wednesday #268-269 - anything family friendly