Seeking His Strength

I've been enjoying Ginny Maxim's blog for several years. She often shares images and word art that we can use in our own artwork. Here's a card I made with one of her images with a verse of encouragement. There are a lot of verses in scripture encouraging us to seek the Lord. Those verses assure us that when we seek Him, we will find Him. I love the verse on Ginny's image that encourages us to seek the Lord and His strength. I'm at an age when strength seems more elusive, so I'm frequently praying for strength as well as guidance and wisdom. I made this card to share the encouragement with someone else.

After printing the image, I colored it with Copics and fussy cut it. The left flowering branch is tied with a ribbon. I colored it yellow and painted it with a gold shimmer brush to match the gold dots in the pink paper.

An image like this looks best on solid cardstock or paper with no pattern, but the tiny gold dots on this paper seemed to enhance the image.
The papers are from DCWV Wildflower. The black and gold ribbon is CTMH.





I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
Colour Crazy Challenge - anything goes with coloring
Craft-Dee BowZ - anything goes with handtied bow
Crafty Calendar Challenge -  Make it flowery
Simply Create Too #145 - anything goes
Word Art Wednesday Challenge #370 - 371 - anything goes

I like to share the promises and photo from the daily 365 Promises. Click on the link to see more on the daily devotional.

365 Promises - Promise #20: If you search for Me with all your heart, you will find Me.Jeremiah 29:13 (WEB)
You shall seek me, and find me,
when you shall search for me with all your heart.

Loving Silhouette

I'm taking advantage of my hubby being gone today to make a card for him celebrating our love. This card is for the Heart 2 Heart challenge to illustrate "The Important Thing." I believe the most important thing is LOVE, both the kind we feel and show to our family and friends and the kind we show to those we don't know. It's so important that it's the greatest commandment in scripture to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind and to love others as we love ourselves.  It's a subject I could expound on for days! Most of the problems of the world exist because of a lack of love.

Here's a mood board from Crafts Dreamy that I found with a perfect mix of colors, text, and a heart, just right for his card:

I used the challenge at Crafting By Designs and added a circular frame. I put a smaller circle die inside the next larger one to make the frame. For the challenge at Moving Along with the times, I chose a Cricut die cut that had a heart balloon. 

The striped diagonal that looks like it has black stripes is actually a silver foil sticker with no black, but I did add charcoal, white, and gray enamel dots to match the other elements.

Thanks for visiting! I hope you'll share love in new ways to  those around you!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Crafting By Designs - Corners, borders, frames

Crafts Dreamy Challenge #2 - anything, using the mood board

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

Heart 2 Heart Challenge - The important thing

Moving Along with the Times - Have a Heart

365 Promises - Promise #2: I am full of mercy and grace and I overflow with love. Psalm 103:8 (WEB)

Yahweh is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness.

So Much Sympathy

Last night I received news from a friend of a serious infection she has. A few minutes later there was a call of a cousin who had a heart attack. As I sat to begin writing this post I received a call that a dear friend had just passed away. Life as an older adult brings so many challenges, so much bad news. The good news is that God is with us and loves us through all our trials.  His strength is made perfect in our weakness. I'm thankful I had just made these two cards and will certainly need more.

I was playing with the color orange. I used Nectarine dye ink and a water brush for the first one and watercolor paints for the second.

I'm sharing these cards with the following challenges:

613 Avenue Create #217 - anything goes/option watercolors

Make My Monday #87 - use words or a sentiment

Unicorn Challenge Blog #39 - Things with wings

Word Art Wednesday #370 - 371 - anything goes

Thank you for visiting! May you be strengthened by the Lord when life brings its trials. 

365 Promises:  Promise #18: My power will rest on you when you are weak.2 Corinthians 12:9 (WEB)

He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me.

January SOTM Blog Hop - Card Captions

Happy New Year! Welcome to our blog hop featuring the January Stamp of the Month, Card Captions.  If you arrived here from Jean McNulty's blog, your on the right path. You can see the entire list of participants at Melinda Everitt's blog.

This stamp set has a greeting for every occasion. I have two granddaughters with birthdays in the next week, so I chose one of the three birthday greetings for this card. Although this sentiment is in one longer line, I wanted to show you how you can cut between the words to stack the words to fit a different sized shape.

I cut the scalloped border twice from the same paper. The light gray with white grid on the back of the dark gray dotted side doesn't show the pattern in my photo. The leaf or branch pattern at the top is one of the strips on the new Feels Like Home on the side to cut shapes and strips.


Thank you for visiting!  Now you're ready to see Miss Carrie's Creations!

Birthday Card Recipe:
Paper - Candy Apple and Black cardstock, Mix-in Paper Collection (black dotted/pebble grid), Feels Like Home (branch pattern on top), Black Glitter Paper
Stamps - January SOTM Card Captions, Dandelion Wishes
Ink - Versamark
Tools - Decorative Borders Thin Cuts, White Superfine Embossing Powder, (Cricut shapes - heart)
Embellishments - Red Pearls, Black Shimmer Trim

Boutique Encouragement Card

I must apologize for being MIA for two months. I kept getting sick with autoimmune problems and viruses in October. By the 30th I came down with shingles, but didn't know what the severe pain was until I broke out with the rash five days later. It was much easier and less painful giving birth to children! Four weeks of pain wasn't all. It left me with other neurological problems requiring medication that makes me lethargic and tired all day.

I had never thought anything would keep me from creating and blogging, but found out I was wrong. So now with a return of some of my mojo I hope to return, at least somewhat, to my norm. I must admit that two months ignoring my usual craft room activities made it difficult to find some things. I think organizing will be at the top of my list of New Year's resolutions.

I have a lot of unused papers from the last quarter. Here's a card using Word Art Wednesday's newest scripture art, Atlantic Hearts latest sketch, and the soft colors of the soon to retire CTMH Boutique papers, Puffy Stickers, and Mink twine.

It's nearly time for the Blog Hop featuring the January Stamp of the Month! I hope you'll join us late tomorrow evening or Wednesday. You'll also see new papers available in the new catalog! 

Thank you for visiting! Have a Happy New Year!

365 Promises of God - Promise #365:
Hold fast to the hope you confess, for I am faithful to keep My promises.Hebrews 10:23 (WEB)
let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering;
for he who promised is faithful

October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - Thanks & Giving

Welcome to our blog hop featuring this month's stamp of the month, Thanks & Giving.
If you're following the bog hop path, you just came from Melinda's blog. To see the entire list of participants, visit Melinda Everitt's blog post.

I made a card by gold embossing  two of the sentiments and the floral bough on papers from the Grateful Heart pack. All of the edges of the papers were scissor distressed. The stitched scallop Pomegranate circle was cut using the Fancy Tags Thin Cuts.

Here's a close-up of the embossing. I embellished it with the gold flecked gems and white and gold skinny ribbon:

You can purchase this stamp set from your CTMH consultant or here on my website for $5.00 with a $50.00 purchase or for $18.95 only during the month of October. 

Thank you for visiting! Now you're ready to see the creation on Katy Taylor's blog.  

Give Thanks

October has always been one of my favorite months. The days are usually sunny but the temperatures are much more mild than they were in the summer. Perhaps the colors of autumn are another one of the attractions. It is also a time of reflection and giving thanks for the many blessings God has provided.

Here's a scripture card I made using a Verve scripture stamp that is no longer available. It fit perfectly with the papers and other stamps from the You Got This card kit.

I inked the sunflower with Saffron and lightly rolled the edges with Autumn Terracotta ink. The heart was stamped with Pomegranate and the sentiment with Sapphire.

Please visit again tomorrow to see links to our blog hop and the favorite card I've made with the Grateful Heart papers and the new stamp of the month, Thanks & Giving.

Thank you for visiting! I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

4 Crafty Chicks #422 - Happy Fall Y'All
Allsorts Challenge #487 - Autumn glory
Crafty Friends Challenge #93 - Autumn colors
Crazy 4 Challenges #454 - anything fall
D.L.Art October Linky Challenge - Anything Goes
Heartful Stamping Challenge - anything goes with stamping
Moving Along with the Times #81 - Autumn/Fall

365 Promises of God - Promise #274: I am the everlasting God.Psalm 90:2 (WEB)
Before the mountains were born,
    before you had formed the earth and the world,even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.