Sunshine and Smiles

While New Orleans is being flooded with too much rain, here in Missouri we're praying that there will be some rain left as it heads our way--and soon. The county where I live has missed most of the meager rainfalls that surrounding counties have had. I think that's why I've been looking for the usual wild sunflowers that bloom here in August and I don't see any.  So I decided to make my own sunflowers this week with cards. The image and sentiment for this one comes from Clear Dollar Stamps. It's called Sunshine and Smiles. I chose the words that say, "Sunflowers are God's way of saying "Chin up!" They really do turn their "heads' to face the sun as it moves across the sky. So do my daffodils in the spring. I thought that was a great analogy.

 

I used this great sketch from Fetch a Sketch, making it rectangular.

 

I scissor distressed the edges of my image, added one row of stitching with embroidery thread on the left side of the mat. (Wow, I actually could see the hole in the needle to thread it!!) I tied organdy around the punched border and topped the bow with a wooden button tied with embroidery thread.

 

Now I'm turning my head up like the sunflowers and praying for some of that rain!

 

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Crafting for All Seasons  Challenge #34 - Stitching Real or Faux (mine are real)

Crafty Creations Challenge #185 - Summer Scene
Fetch a Sketch Challenge #31
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge #154 - Punches, dies, or shapes

5.5" x 4.25" Encouragement Card Recipe:
Paper - The Paper Studio "Simple Elegance," Close To My Heart White Daisy, Olive, Honey cardstock
Image - Clear Dollar Stamps Digital "Sunshine and Smiles"
Markers - CopicsY17 (Golden Yellow), E33 (Sand), E25 (Caribe Cocoa), BG10 (Cool Shadow), N02; CTMH Alcohol markers Creme Brulee, Olive, Light Olive, Black
Accents - CTMH Goldrush organdy ribbon (retired), Chocolate wooden button; white embroidery thread
Tools - Martha Stewart border punch, CTMH ruler (with holes - to punch for sewing) needle for hand stitching, scissors for edge distressing


 

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

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

 

Building Up Others with Kind Words

One of my goals in making cards is to encourage or build up others. When I hear of a prayer request they have, I've always tried to pray for them, but I've become even more concerned that the individual, not just God, hears my words to build them up. This morning my son called before work with a request for prayer about a job that their new company needed that seemed to be in limbo. I shared Jeremiah 29:11 with him that God knows the plans He has for them, plans to prosper them, not to harm them. I told him to go in to work today, look up the scripture on his computer and share it with the other young guys in his company. He called later to thank me that the job came through and that he had shared it with two other young men. God's Word is so powerful for building up others!

For my card I used the Colour Create Challenge #96 to use green, brown, white, and a touch of lavendar and purple. When I read that I envisioned flowering trees that recently bloomed in our area. The challenge this week at Stampin' Sisters in Christ used this verse with a wonderful devotional:

Ephesians 4:29 "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

The card challenge was to build up our card using layers, paper tole,  paper piecing, or stacking flowers, etc.  I made a get well card by using an embossing folder to make branches, embossing it again on brown and green to cut out branches and a few of the leaves to stack for even more dimension. I even overlapped two of those leaves over the ribbon. I stacked brown velvet ric rac on top of brown gingham ribbon. I stacked flowers putting white punched flowers on top of a lavendar ones and putting a lavendar brad in the middle. My verse from Jeremiah 30:17 was stamped with pansy purple ink and double matted with brown and lavendar. With the embossing, paper piecing, stacking and pop dots, my card also fits the challenge at Creative Card Crew for using Dimension, one of my favorite things to do.

 May God build you up and bless your heart each time you hear or read His word and may He use you to encourage others the same way!

Challenges:
Colour Create Challenge Blog: #96 Green, brown, white and a touch of lavendar or purple
Creative Card Crew #11 - use Dimension
Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge #140: build up our card using layers, paper tole, paper piecing, or stacking flowers, etc

5" x 6.5" Get Well card recipe:
Paper - Bazzill brown cardstock; Close To My Heart Sweet Leaf, Amethyst, and White Daisy cardstock
Stamps - Our Daily Bread Designs "Get Well"
Ink - CTMH Pansy Purple
Accents - Cuttlebug embossing folder; CTMH Petal brads; flower punch; Offray gingham ribbon; velvet ric rac unknown from my stash

Christ takes us as we are . . .

After church on Mother's Daymy family and some friends and I are going to celebrate by going to a beautiful arboretum and botanical garden. One of my friends feels sad sometimes because she was a horrible mother when her kids were young. She improved at least in the ten years I've known her. She became a Christian and turned away from so many problems. Now she's a wonderful grandmother, so I want her to know the message of this card - that Christ takes us as we are, buries our sins in the deepest sea, and molds us into His image.

I used a little symbolism in the materials of this card. I used black hemp, a natural product, for me representing the natural man. I wrapped it around the paper on the left and wove it through the outer holes of the frame. Then below the text I used red sparkles, representing rubies, and white satin ribbon, symbolizing purity. Inside I'm including a portion of Proverbs 31 so that she can see how far she's really come. "Who can find a virtuous woman, for her price is far above rubies. . . "

I used a verse from Clear Dollar Stamps, from the digital set "Become New." The sketch was CPS #264. The idea for the hemp was from the Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge #138, to use something real or natural. I used the middle panel for the large sentiment so that it would be the focal point, as suggested by Challenge #10 at Creative Card Crew.  Frosted Designs Fabulous Friday Challenge to use Lacing deserves credit for that idea that I incorporated.

I'll add more details after our Mother's Day Celebrations!

Jeremiah 29:11 Card with Spring Coloured Stripes

Not too long after I met my friend, Kathy, she introduced me to this verse. She quoted it to me while we were discussing a prayer request for one of my kids. I'm sure I'd heard it before but I'd never memorized it. It soon became one of my favorites. It was the first stamp I ordered from Verve when I was looking for scripture stamps of encouragement. Here is the Viva La Verve April sketch for Week 4 using that stamp with bright, spring colors. I thought stripes in spring colors would be great for the chevron design.

This week at Stampin' Sisters in Christ, Challenge #136 has a devotional about God's Word being a light unto our path. The challenge is to use light pastel colors. I thought the design of the Verve challeng was perfect because the chevron/arrow shape looks like it's pointing the way to go and the verse I chose talks about God having the best plans for us. The challenge also said we could use black and white which I did for contrast and to make the verse "pop," which is also the challenge at Crazy 4 Challenges - use black to make it pop! 

Challenges:
Viva La Verve April 2012 - Week 4
Stampin' Sisters in Christ - Challenge #136 Use soft pastels
Crazy 4 Challenges - add black to make it pop
DYSU #68 - Stripes
Basic Grey Challenges - #66 Spring Colours

5" x 6.25" Card Recipe:
Paper - Basic Grey Lauderdale (green) and Lollipop Shoppe (stripes), white and black cardstock
Stamp - Verve Jeremiah 29:11
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Other - Spellbinder's Nestabilities Lacey Circle; Cricut Art Philosophy (2.75" and 3" circles); K & Co felt flower; Michaels Ribbon

A Friend Who Touches Your Heart

With the arrival of Spring, our yard has become a whole rainbow of colors, so this card is representative of some of these. When I was younger I planted lots of bulbs, especially daffodils, and many flowering trees and shrubs. The many blossoms have attracted a wide variety of butterflies already. I wanted this card to be bright and cheerful with its Spring palette.

Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge #132 today used Romans 8:31b-32 "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else along with him?”  Miesje has a lovely, brief devotion you would enjoy reading. God is here for us in every situation and gave us the greatest gift of all, His Son, Jesus. Part of the challenge was to think about what is the greatest gift we can give to others.   I think showing appreciation for the little things in a relationship is important. I made this card for a friend to let her know how she touches my heart as a good friend. Another part of the challenge was to make a project that uses everything.

My card has several layers, the white is embossed, there are buttons, metal, felt roses, butterfly, sparkles, velvet ribbon, a doily, punched boder, a pennant, and lots of colors. The way I clustered everything around the sentiment, I'm trying to still keep the message the focus.

I chose a sentiment that I love to be the main focus of my card, which was the challenge this week from CCEE Stampers. I used a piece of special red velvet ribbon to go with the red doily, so I'm also entering this card in the Spring theme challenge at Really Reasonable Ribbon.

6.5" x 5" Card Recipe"
Paper - CTMH patterned paper (retired gingham), Blush, White Daisy, Crystal Blue Cardstock
Stamp - CTMH "Friendship" "A Huge Thanks"
Ink - CTMH Black
Other - CTMH Just Blooms butterfly, Foundry Pin clips, Red/Pink Sparkles, Winter buttons, glitter buttons; 3/8" red velvet ribbon, K & Co felt roses, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Wilton doily

The Comfort of His Wings

Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge#129  used a beautiful Psalm today:

Psalm 91:4a "He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge."

That verse has so many applications. I always appreciate the devotional they include with their challenge. I seem to need a lot of cards of comfort lately.  I had found a wonderful bird image embedded in one of my patterned papers and had cut it out. I had already started making a card for the ColourQ Challenge using the sketch from The Sweet Stop when I found their challenge to make something with wings.

My card uses a verse from Sweet and Sassy Stamps.

The bird is from one of the papers from Basic Grey's Curio. The yellow and orange papers are from Basic Grey Color Me Silly and Oh Baby Boy. The brown patterned paper is from Recollections.

CPS Day 5 Many Blessings Card

CPS (Card Positioning System) Card Sketches is celebrating their 5th Anniversary with a challenge to make card using the previous patterns they select over 15 days. This is the 5th sketch, CPS#38. I skipped day 4 until I can find the My Favorite Things stamp set (I have buried) that I want to use on that card.  Both the 4th and 5th days are being sponsored by My Favorite Things.  Here's the sketch they chose:

I added a few embossed lines on the top as well as the flower and ribbon. I had a flower border stramp that I inked with Versamark clear ink then rubbed with chalk. I wanted them to be bigger, so my chaled areas are bigger. The verse on this card truly expresses how I feel about God's blessings in my life. Tonight one of my friends shared good news with me about a new job. This is for her. That made me realize I should link it to Stampin' Sisters in Christ for their challenge about happy news and rejoicing in life.

5" x 6.5" Card:
Paper - My Mind's Eye  ;CTMH Colonial White, Hollyhock CS
Stamps - Papertrey Ink scripture collection; CTMH Boutique Borders
Ink - CTMH Black, Versamark
Other - Prima flower, CTMH Cocoa ribbon, Pebbles chalk

Viva La Verve Jan 2012 Week 3

Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenged us to make a card that shows who you really are. Linda posted a devotion revolving around Philippians 4:8, one of my favorite verses. The interesting thing was that I had meditated on that verse before going to bed the night before, so I was thinking about it again Sunday morning. I've been sick, so it's easy to be discouraged, but if I think about the things that are true, honest, just,  pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy, I can more easily block out how I feel physically and experience the joy and compassion for others that I should have. The card I made symbolizes the fact that I have a heart for other people and want them to know I care and God cares.  I used this sketch for Week 3  and a stamp from Verve.

For technique junkies (like me), I dry embossed the chocolate background using a Cuttlebug folder and CTMH chocolate CS, which has a white core. I lightly sanded the raised portion, then sponged the white with Blush ink.  The heart was cut 3 times using Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge. The blush heart in the background was 2.5" and had the edges lightly sanded to show the white border. Another blush heart was cut at 2.25" and pop dotted. A tulip cs heart was cut the same size using the decorative frame feature, then inked with chocolate on the edges.

6.5" x 5" card:

Paper - All CTMH patterned paper retired, Blush, Chocolate, Tulip, White Daisy CS

Stamp - Verve "Joy for the Journey"

Ink - CTMH Chocolate, Tulip

Other - CTMH Cricut Art Philosophy, Mini-pearl opaques; Cuttlebug embossing folder "Textile;" ribbon unknown

Loveable - Card Patterns Sketch 149

I have so many friends that are totally loveable, so it would be hard to know which one should get this card. However, I want to be the kind of person that shares God's love with those who don't think they're so loveable. I am amazed that God loves each of us, every minute of every day, loveable by our definition or not, we are loveable to Him. That is the message of this card. The heart on this card is for Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge #123. I hope I'll give it to a friend who needs that encouragement, to know she is loved.

The design for this card was inspired by this sketch made by Tracy Schultz for Card Patterns Sketch 149. I loved it the minute I saw it.

Using the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge that has so many shape cards, I first cut a circle card that was 5.5" intending it to fit in my 6" x 6" envelopes. Then I cut a 5.75" scalloped circle using the layer feature that just makes a circle border. Using that feature made a scalloped circle type of frame. It was a little too thick for this card, so I cut the Graphic45 paper at 5.25" to fit over that. Everything was sponged with Chocolate ink. The heart was stamped on CTMH textured Blush cardstock. The edges were first sponged with Tulip, then just the edges sponged with Chocolate. I liked that effect for a shabby chic card. Instead of adding a 2nd flower like the pattern, I chose to make a bow from some net-type lace in my stash that has pink flowers lightly scattered throughout. I made a tiny tag stamped with the word "loveable" that comes from my newest alphabet stamp that has large cursive letters with a word for each letter. It doesn't go on sale until Wednesday, but I couldn't resist using that word. I hope that I show God's love to all of my loveable friends!

I'm also adding this card to Word Art Wednesday because of the theme. (Thank you, Karen.)

5.75" Card"
Paper - Graphic45 Playtime, CTMH Tulip, Colonial WhiteCS, Blush Textured(retired) CS, Black unknown
Stamps - CTMH "Soul Mates," "Keepsake Alphabet"
Ink - CTMH Tulip, Chocolate, Black
Other supplies - Martha Stewart "Lacey Hearts" punch, pink ribbons unknown, pink pin CTMH retired, Recollections red rose