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

Ahoy Matey Birthday Card

I can't believe my oldest grandson is turning 10 this month. I made this card to celebrate the great kid he is. Just a couple of years ago he got an outdoor play set with swings, etc., that had a pirate's tower. He also wanted to watch pirate movies when he came to my house. He definitely got his youngest brother into dressing up like a pirate. This has definitely been a hobby of his, so this card is also for Here Come the Boys Challenge #26, Hobbies. I also wanted to scissor distress the edges, making them rough and more masculine. Craft Your Passion Challenge #109 is for torn or distressed edges.

I chose the colors for this card with the great masculine palette at The Play Date Cafe, Challenge #131: Seaweed, Algae, Goldfish, and a touch of Black.

The sketch came from My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club #71. The main image was made with a clear stamp that is also from My Favorite Things, Claire Keay's Ahoy Matey.

I added some additional sandpaper distressing on the lighter green piece that was embossed with the woodgrain pattern. The Kraft corrugated shapes are neutral and don't interfere with the intended color scheme. All three pieces were connected, but I punched them apart. Cut the one on the upper right in half and mounted the stamped sentiment under it. The ones on the bottom right came from inside that frame. I turned the inner circle upside down so I could stamp the number 10 then reinserted it and pop dotted both pieces over the arrow using two layers of pop dots on the bottom. It's hard to see in this photo but the black strip has the word "ha ha" over and over again. I tied 2 pieces of black hemp around it and tied two more pieces into knots on the right side and trimmed.

I enjoyed making this card using these challenges. That part was fun. But the number 10 makes me a little sad knowing he's just growing up too fast. I'm so glad he's a Christian and goes to a great Christian school, Sunday School, church, and Awanas. Being the oldest of four kids, he's very nurturing of the younger ones. At least I know he'll grow up to be a sweet pirate, but please, Lord, not too soon!

6.5" x 5" Masculine Birthday Card:
Paper - Basic Grey Sultry; Close To My Heart "Hooligans" (black),  "Olivia" (sunset dotted), White Daisy and old retired green cardstock
Stamps - My Favorite Things Claire Keay's "Ahoy Matey;" CTMH numbers "Friendship Alphabet" and sentiment retired
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Other - Copic markers; CTMH sanding block, black hemp, Milepost Shapes; Sizzix woodgrain embossing folder

Two of the pirate brothers. Dressing up as pirates or super heroes is definitely a big thing at their house!

Mother's Day Love

If you read my previous post, you would have read about the tornado warnings where my son lives. I just watched the evening news with lots of photos of the tornado near their house. How thankful I am again that no one was hurt and there was no damage. Olathe, Kansas, is a very populated area with so many homes and businesses. Both tornadoes stayed aloft, but they certainly looked ominous.

I have a few more Mother's Day cards to make, so I was glad to see the challenge at Paper Sundaes. This card uses the great sketch at Freshly Made Sketches, #33. I used the color scheme from The Play Date Cafe, Challenge #130. It worked really well with the My Mind's Eye "Love Me" paper collection.

I used an embossing folder that has diagonal lines like the plaid paper. I cut out two hearts from the paper and pop dotted them. The gray heart on the sentiment circle came from a gray doily pattern on the back of one of the papers. Ribbon and sparkles were simple embellishments, but maybe with the embossing, my card isn't quite so Clean and Simple. It certainly was simple to make and I know my oldest daughter will love it.

May God bless your cardmaking for the special women in your life.

Challenges:

Freshly Made Sketch #33

Paper Sundaes Challenge #119 - Mother's Day

The Play Date Cafe Challenge #130 - pink, aqua, gray

6.5" x 5" Mother's Day Card Recipe:

Paper - My Mind's Eye "Love Me;" Close To My Heart Crystal Blue cardstock

Stamps - CTMH retired (sentiment)

Ink - CTMH Hollyhock

Other - Cuttlebug embossing folder, CTMH pink sparkles, Crystal Blue organdy (retired), Spellbinder's Nestabilities Heart Circles

Hebrews 13:15 for Word Art Wednesday

Word Art Wednesday always has lovely verses for us to use for their challenge. This verse from Hebrews speaks to my heart about the gift we can give to the Lord for all he does for us. Since the Hebrews were Jewish they came from a culture of making sacrifices to atone for sins. What a wonderful concept this was that praise can be our sacrifice. Verbalizing thanks for what the Lord has done is the gift we give back to Him.

I couldn't resist using the interesting palette from the Play Date Cafe one more time and the Deconstructed Sketch #49.

This card uses the paper from Basic Grey's "Eva" collection and a 3" circle punched from CTMH Outdoor Denim.  The organdy ribbon is also Outdoor Denim. Since the main image is the verse from Hebrews, I put flowers in a row where the sentiment would have gone.

May you find opportunities to practice praise and may God bless you as you do.

Like a Mother to Me

I have the best mother-in-law in the world! She's a kind, compassionate, intelligent, Christian lady who loves to help others. Her health is so great it's hard to realize that she's 87. Moreover, she raised a wonderful son! Here is a card I made just for her.  I used the Perfect Sentiments Challenge #29 Sketch and the intriguing palette from The Play Date Cafe Challenge #129.

I had some paper  similar colors in my Basic Grey "Eva" collection but I had seen the challenge at Our Creative Corner to use watercolors, so I decided to make my own ink using reinkers for the butterfly corner stamp (greenish yellow) and mixed watercolors to get the other two colors for the butterfly.

The challenge from Our Creative Corner was also to make a Mother's Day card with Embossing, ribbon, and brads or buttons with the watercoloring. I actually painted the butterfly more than once to get the layers of color I wanted. I purposely left a few white splotches on the edges of the wings. The butterfly was stamped and cut out twice so it's layered. The entire yellowish corner was stamped using a mixture of Sunkiss Yellow and Sweet Leaf mixed then poured on a small pad that passed as a stamp pad. The white daisies on the yellow area were stamped on another paper, cut out, then adhered in place, so that more detail shows with the black ink.

The ribbon strips were cut from a piece of Eva then embossed, inked with Cotton Candy, then covered with ribbon. Brads that are Pansy Purple and Vineyard Berry were inserted into two of the flowers, which were also watercolored just in the center, then dried.

Thank you ladies for the fun challenges. I certainly got out of my usual "box" to craft this one.

Challenges:

Our Creative Corner - recipe for Mother's Day

Perfect Sentiments Challenge #29 - sketch

The Play Date Cafe Challenge #129 - Dusk, Magenta, Seedling

 5" x 6.5" Mother's Day card Recipe:

Paper - Bazzill (dusk)cardstock; Close To My Heart White Daisy cardstock and textured CS; Basic Grey "Eva"

Stamps - Our Daily Bread Designs "Butterfly Corner;" My Favorite Things (sentiment)

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Vineyard Berry (Painted some on butterfly)

Reinkers - CTMH Sunkiss Yellow, Sweet Leaf

Other - CTMH watercolors, brads, Cuttlebug "Mary Ann" and Holly Ribbons embossing folders; Recollections floral embellishments; The Robbie Stanley collection magenta ribbon

Word Art Wednesday with Play Date Cafe

Migraines have kept me away from my craft for a couple of days, but I finally got to make a card! I love this verse from Psalms that was chosen for Word Art Wednesday's challenge #22. I also love the way they changed the font on every noun describing what God is for us, especially as we trust Him. I chose the calm, serene color palette from The Play Date Cafe Challenge 126. These colors speak to me of the calm, reassurance we should feel when we trust God to be our rock, fortress, deliverer, strength, buckler, salvation, and high tower.  I hope to send this card to a friend this week who recently lost her husband. Her faith has kept her strong, but I know it isn't easy.

I have a lot of papers in these colors so it was hard at first to decide which to use, but when I saw the scrap of patterned paper that combined both the blue and the green, I knew that was the one. Gray is a great neutral color to bring contrast to a card. Mine is somewhat hidden by the label with the main image, but if you could see more of it, you'd notice I embossed it with Kassie's Brocade embossing folder. The card itself is lightly embossed. 

May God bless you as you learn to trust Him more.

5.5" Card Recipe:

Paper - CTMH Twitterpated patterned paper, Crystal Blue, Gray Flannel cardstock

Ink - CTMH Crystal Blue

Other - CTMH Crystal Blue brads and organdy ribbon, White Daisy Just Blooms; Cuttlebug Kassie's Brocade embossing folder, Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Ten and ?

Country Comfort Card

Here's one more card today with a country comfort theme suggested by Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge #158. The palette I used came from the soft colors from The Play Date Cafe's Challenge #121.

I found those colors among some of my Basic Grey papers in the Curio Collection. Those suggested the softer side of country living, so I chose a hen from a Layers of Color Art stamp and used the sketch provided by Tuesday Morning Sketches #135.

I used the soft rose paper for the background because flowers in the country can be marvelous. When I first moved here, I went crazy planting trees, shrubs, and lots of perennials. One time I put out 500 bulbs. Another time I raised over 1,000 perennials and annuals from seed in the house under lights. I started in January and lived for the weekends when I could be outside. The juniper lace paper reminds me of quilt blocks, which always make me think of my grandparent's farm and my grandma sewing so many quilts for all of the family. I used the twine from Papertrey Ink to add to the rustic quality of country life. Sometine I'll share the story of my one and only chicken. I could make dozens of different cards illustrating so many different aspects of the country comfort we enjoy here in rural Missouri, but overall, the peace and serenity of living in a rural area can't be beat after living a couple of blocks from a busy freeway in an overpopulated suburb.

CPS Day 10 Sketch with Play Date Cafe Palette

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 10th sketch, CPS#26.  I decided to use it to make an anniversary card with the classic Black and White color scheme that The Play Date Cafe has in their challenge. They also wanted just a splash of hot pink. I interpreted the hot pink to be an old CTMH color that's been retired: Orchid Bouquet.

The front of my card is embossed with a brocade pattern. The black and white papers come from Bo Bunny's Enchanted collection.  The sentiment stamp is from CTMH, "Love Always." I also used their Just Blooms flower with sparkles from the Red/Pink collection. I did change the design slightly by addin the strip of ribbon all the way around the card front.

Love is in the Air

The Play Date Cafe always has such cool color challenges, even for Valentines. Here's their color inspiration photo uses juniper, mint and vanilla:

I used this sketch from the deconstructed sketch #33:

My final product is using up some of my paper stash. I would guess that the shiny cardstock is Bazzil and the striped is Creative Imaginations, but it's just a guess.

The stamps are both from Close To My Heart.