Encouragement from Psalm 37:3-5

Some days I have big plans regarding things I want to accomplish that day. Now that I'm older and slower, that's really not very much. But on those days, it seems I get a lot of phone calls that take me away from those plans. I had two phone calls during breakfast that slowed the start of my day. There were two phone calls during the evening news. I seem to miss it every night. One of those was a long political survey. Yuck! Then there was another long call in the middle of supper. I had difficulty all day trying to open emails. Some I never could open or maybe I just didn't wait long enough. Living on a farm in the country doesn't give me the best connection with broadband.

So I found this scripture tonight that I've always loved. I truly delight in His Word and the faithful way He's always worked in my life. It speaks to me that even though the unexpected can seem to take over the day, I know I committed it to Him and thanked Him for guiding my life when I got up this morning. So I'm going to trust Him that He will help me do what I need to in His time and I have to think that each call was important (even the political one, Lord?) to someone else. I will keep on trusting His faithfulness to lead my life each day in the way He desires.

The verse is from Clear Dollar Stamps, "Value Verses 1" digital image. Because it was tall and narrow I thought the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches #157 was perfect. Since Clear Dollar Stamps is sponsoring their challenge this week, I'm not wanting to be a winner, just a "player." I used ColourQ Challenge #148 for my color inspiration for this card.

I pray that you will also delight in the Lord and see how He works in your life as you commit each day to His leading. The promise is that He will give you the desires of your heart, and He shall bring it to pass. May God richly bless you.

Challenges for this card:

ColourQ #148

Craft-room Challenge - Buttons and Bows

Divas by Design #46 - Flowers

Tuesday Morning Sketch #157

6.5" x 5" Encouragement Card Recipe:

Paper - Close To My Heart Baby Pink, Holiday Red, White Daisy Cardstock and retired sunset orange dotted dp

Image - Clear Dollar Stamps "Value Verses 1" digital (also comes as a clear stamp)

Accents - Recollections orange and pink flowers, Michaels ribbon; CTMH wide ribbon and sorbet waxy flax; unknown buttons from my stash

Tools - Cuttlebug 5x7 embossing folder

Fabulous Dahlia for Tuesday Morning Sketches 147

Here's a belated birthday card I made with the fabulous Dahlia digital design from Clear Dollar Stamps. I chose a paper from Basic Grey's Hello Luscious that I thought had the colors of the challenge this week from The Color Throwdown, although my green Copics may not have been as dark.

I used this sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches, Challenge 147.

The digital design had dahlia buds included, so I used three of them for the three flower embellishments on the design. I wanted the main dahlia to stand out so I printed it twice and pop dotted the center portion for dimension. This is a fun technique to use on multi-petaled flowers. I'm also using this card for the Fabulous Flowers challenge at Crafts and Me.

I have two friends who love very bright cards. The patterned paper is a little much for me with the busy dahlia, so I think next time I'll try making it again with white or green embossed paper in its place. Thank you for looking!

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.

Tuesday Morning Sketch #134 Christmas Angel

It's exciting to have motivation to make Christmas cards early. The 52 Christmas Theme Challenge #2 for this year is "Angels." Since I only have one angel stamp I like to revert to digital images taken from vintage art. I love the angel I chose for today. I know my oldest daughter would, too. With the vintage look of the image I chose to distress my papers so the challenge at ABC Christmas Challenge this week, D for Distressing, was just right. I wanted to use some Christmas carol paper, so I chose the Tuesday Morning Sketch #134 for this week with its large corners - just right for some papers from Graphic45 and Close To My Heart. Here's the sketch:

My card is a rectangle rather than a square to accomodate the shape of the angel. I distressed the edges of the corner papers and red cardstock using scissor distressing. The angel graphic and green music papers were ink distressed using Ranger Vintage Photo. My angel came from Free Vintage Angels and cherubs Clip Art at Vintage Holiday Crafts.