...the strength of my heart...

I wanted to use this week's Word Art Wednesday verse for the past several days. This has become my newest favorite verse. My health is poor but I usually tell people my heart is strong in what counts. I know that I won't live forever and the body eventually fails us all, so this verse is truly a positive outlook when we know that God is our strength and we'll be with Him forever.

This afternoon I was finally inspired to create this card with the help of this Tic Tac Toe challenge at Die Cuttin' Divas.

I chose to illustrate the diagonal for flowers, three patterned papers, and distressed plus a die cut element:

 

I chose warm colors to match the bright sunshine outside today (even though my world is white, still covered with snow - wishful thinking!). I don't usually mix that many colors at once, but I think mood rather than logic led the color choices this time. The verse itself was printed on white cardstock and stippled with Buttercup and Smoothie inks, then the edges were distressed and sponged with Vineyard Berry.   It was matted on Kraft cardstock and then again on a Spellbinder's Nestabilities Floral Ovals die. My latest creative endeavor is matting sentiments that don't fit any of my die cuts on one that partially shows, at least on two sides. Who says everything needs to be the "right" size?

 

The papers were scraps of Basic Grey and My Mind's Eye and an unknown/forgotten stripe. Some of the edges were distressed by scraping a fingernail along the edges, slightly turning the edge upward. Others were distressed by sponging with Cocoa ink. The stacked flowers are all from Prima and have heart buttons tied with Sunflower wasy flax, inspired by the challenge at A Gem of a Challenge.

 

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

A Gem of a Challenge #69 - Button It (two heart buttons on flowers)

Cards by Lady Anne / Sentimental for Friday #7 - anything goes

Die Cuttin' Divas #104 - Tic Tac Toe above - flowers, 3 dp, & distressed + die cut

Word Art Wednesday #69 - anything goes with Scripture or encouraging sentiment

 

 

Thank you for visiting. May God strengthen your heart in the things that count!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gingham Bunny Card

We still have about 18 inches of snow with three to four foot drifts. My hubby spotted a rabbit in our bird bath that's almost three feet high. He had been putting birdseed there for birds, of course. But I guess we have really hungry rabbits, too. We are all hoping for warmer weather and the greening of spring. I, for one, can't wait to see spring colors again when my flowers and fruit trees bloom.

Lisa Lara enticed me with the cute gingham images in her set called "Some Bunny" that were introduced at Clear Dollar Stamps in February. I just had to try one out using all gingham paper and Kraft cardstock. There's something about gingham that says "country" and "spring" to me. I chose the Color Throwdown palette and the sketch this week from Sweet Sketch Wednesday:

 

 

Let me make it clear that I did not color the rabbit or use paper piecing. He's one of the pre-colored images in the set (great for a busy day). I wasn't sure how it would work to mix a large gingham pattern base with the smaller gingham panels, but I wanted to try it for once. I had brads in the matching colors so I used all three to be reminiscent of Easter eggs. Before printing my image, I did alter it slightly in Photoshop using Image/Adjustments/Color Hue. I changed the orange carrots by adjusting yellow to a darker shade to match the Kraft cs and the green and pink(red) were adjusted to match hollyhock and olive.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
Aud Sentiments - Easter
Color Throwdown #231 - I used Kraft, Hollyhock, Buttercup, and Olive
Sweet Sketch Wednesday #195 - sketch
Cute Card Thursday #258 - something old (all three of my gingham papers were made before 2005) and spool of Buttercup organdy about 7 years old.
Ruby's Rainbow - In the Garden (rabbits are in mine!)

6" x 6" Easter Card Recipe:
Image and Sentiment - CDS digi "Some Bunny"
Paper - Close To My Heart retired gingham papers from Olive, Buttercup, and ?Hollyhock Background and Texture packs, and Kraft cs; My Mind's Eye Kraft patterned paper 6 x 6
Accents - CTMH Olive, Buttercup, Hollyhock brads, Buttercup organdy (long retired); Martha Stewart white daisies


 

Black and White Comfort and Assurance

This week the challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs Shining the Light Challenge  #144 is to make a card that is black and white. Black and white can be very classy or even formal. I chose a verse of comfort from Psalms for this card. When the pressures of life seem overwhelming, we can hide under His sheltering feathers, so to speak. We should seek His comfort first when we lose a loved one.

The day the doctor told me and other family members that we had to turn off life support and let my mother die or remove her from the hospital, the sorrow seemed unbearable. I stayed at the hospital alone, feeling crushed, crying out to God for that refuge that a chick seeks from the mother hen's wings in distress. He replaced that feeling of aloneness and despair with His presence and gave me the strength to minister to my mom's needs as they moved her from ICU to the room where she would pass on to be with the Lord. I was the last one to share Scripture and words of love with her. She responded to the things I told her, so God let me know that she heard me and understood. This experience will forever be a precious memory.

I'm hoping that this verse will be an encouragement for someone else to turn toward God's protection and comfort in a difficult time. "He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge." Psalm 91:4

The bird image and sentiment are from Our Daily Bread Design's "You Will Find Refuge." The papers are from the "For Always" collection from Close To My Heart. The black cardstock was embossed with the Cuttlebug "Kassie's Brocade" embossing folder, but our dark cloudy weather doesn't help it to photograph well. I used a Spellbinder's label die cut behind the sentiment. Since I used translucent white organdy ribbon (with satin edges) I thought some white vellum flowers would be appropriate.

May God bless, comfort, and care for you when you take shelter under His wings.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
Our Daily Bread Designs Shining the Light Challenge #144 - black and white/cream
C.R.A.F.T. #196 - embossing
Crafty Ribbons #40 - anything goes with ribbon
D.L.Art Thankful Thursday #104 - birds, anything to do with birds
Word Art Wednesday #69 - anything goes with scripture or encouraging sentiment
 

VLV February Sketch 4 - Encouragement

Today I was talking with a friend who often feels defeated financially and with health problems. I was able to share specific instances in my own younger days that were identical to her issues. We talked about having that childlike trust in God, like children do with their parents, that He will provide the answers. I told her that someday she'll have this amazing testimony of what God did to help her out of that situation. I love the Psalms for expressing how much we need to lean on God through life's difficulties. The sentiment from Verve that I used today is a perfect reminder of that. I'm hoping this card will be an encouragement for someone in need.

Here is my last card for the Viva La Verve Challenge this month using their wonderful sketch.

One of the "zip strip" borders on the paper had buttons. That inspired me to put actual buttons slightly smaller in the same color on each of them.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
Paper Playtime - Use a sentiment stamp
Tuesday Throwdown #136 - Thinking of You
Viva la Verve February challenge, week 4
Word Art Wednesday #69 - anything goes with scripture or encouragement



5" x 6.5" Encouragement Card Recipe:
Paper - Close To My Heart "Claire" paper pack (and a small older scrap for "ribbon")
Stamp - Verve Psalm 31:24 Plain Jane
Ink - CTMH Black, Outdoor Denim, Hollyhock
Accents - CTMH buttons, Hobby Lobby satin ribbon. unknown striped twill
Tools - Spellbinders Nestabilities, Martha Stewart border punch
 

Mojo Monday 282 Encouragement Card

This week at Mojo Monday we have a choice between square or round. I made this card while blizzard winds were whipping the snow outside into four and five foot drifts. It was such a happy thing to play with flowers and dream of warmer days - the desires of my heart at this time like the verse below says. This is a quick post in case our electricity goes off again.

Cricut Art Philosophy cut the green leafy stem, 2.25" circle and the 2.5" scalloped circle. The flowers and butterfly were CTMH creme brulee, colored with sponges using Softie and Cocoa inks. The ribbon, sorbet brads, and brown pearls were also CTMH. The lovely verse is a Plain Jane from Verve.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
Cards By Lady Anne Sentimental for Fridays - anything goes with a sentiment
Created with Love - Bright and Cheery
Mojo Monday #282 - sketch
Paper Playtime #4- Use a sentiment stamp
Sentimental Sundays #143- flowers, flowers, flowers
 

PSC68 - CAS Get Well Card

We've been experiencing a blizzard since last night. Since we live in the country, surrounded by pastures, the wind has blown some of our snow into five foot drifts. The power has been off for a while, so I'm keeping this post short in case it goes off again. The best part about blizzards is that I get to stay inside and watch large numbers of different birds huddling in my wisteria and feeding at our patio bird feeders.

The worst aspect of this huge snowstorm is that people will still become ill and need to go to the hospital when the roads are sometimes impassable. This morning I awoke praying for the ambulance drivers and others who are gravely ill. One of our daughters is a nurse at a dialysis facility. People go there all day and all night to get life-saving dialysis, blizzard or not. So "get well" thoughts and prayers have really been on my mind today. This card perfectly fits my thoughts today.

Our challenge at The Perfect Sentiment Challenge 68:

CREATE A CARD WITH A SENTIMENT OF GET WELL (THESE EXACT WORDS DO NOT HAVE TO BE USED) AND MAKE IT CLEAN AND SIMPLE.

Our sponsor is Stitchy Bear Digital Stamps, who is providing a generous $10 voucher for one lucky winner.

The stamp I used is Stitchy Bear's "Under the Weather." I embossed most of the card front with raindrops, colored the printed image with Copics and die cut it off center with a Spellbinder's Nestabilities label, slicing off the left side. I stippled a little Indian Corn Blue ink on the image before pop dotting it on the card. I typed my sentiment in Word and attached it on the bottom with the gingham ribbon between the sentiment and the image. All very simple.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
365 Cards - Hats
Addicted to CAS #7 - Masculine
All Sorts #195 - Animals
Alphabet Challenge - A for Anything with Wings (duck)
Craft-room challenge - something for a man



 

Twist of Faith Challenge Stitching - Real or Faux

When I was seven years old my grandmother brought me a little sewing kit she'd made for me and began teaching me to embroider.  I usually prefer to hand stitch on cards and scrapbook pages because I find it rather soothing while watching TV. Maybe that's because it reminds me of my dear grandmother who was an accomplished seamstress, both by hand and by machine. So I loved this week's challenge at Twist of Faith.

 Our sponsor for this week, Robyn's Fetish! Our randomly drawn winner will receive their choice of five (5) digital images from Robyn's Fetish ... and we thank our sponsor for their generous prize

Robyn's Fetish Digital Stamps And More is proud to sponsor this challenge. Robyn's Fetish Digital Stamps And More, a division of I Did It Creations, was created and is owned by Robyn Weinrib. Robyn offers a wonderful variety of digital stamps and digital papers, designed to meet the needs of all digital paper crafting addicts for every occasion.

This week our challenge theme is:

STITCHING!
and a scripture, or uplifting verse or positive words of healing, encouragement, or support

I chose a verse about God being a "Sun and shield" for us.  There are a number of flowers, like the sunflower, who always turn their faces toward the sun throughout the day. I think that's a beautiful lesson for us to keep our eyes on the Lord as we go through the day, all day.

My card uses Sunflower 1 from Robyn's Fetish so I thought the verse should be on a "sun." I punched holes around the edge and used what I call a whipping stitch using yellow crochet thread, which I hoped were symbolic of the rays we often draw around a sun.

I mounted my Copic-colored image on papers from Graphic45 "BotanicaBella" and "Tropical Travelogue."  I used Chocolate and Vineyard Berry waxy flax to make french knots on the sunflower's center and in place of brads or other small embellishments. I also used a stitched ribbon to go with this week's theme. The tiny little buttons I used were threaded with thin bits of the yellow crochet thread which could actually be separated into 6 strands.

 

I  hope you'll join our challenge by sharing your own form of stitching, real or faux. I can't wait to see what you create!

 

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Chocolate, Coffee, and Cards #33 - buttons and bows

Crafty Cardmakers #85 - flower/s as the main focus

Gingerloft - ribbons and bows

Love to Create #54 - Wrap it up - string, twine, or fiber

Paper Playtime #4 - use a sentiment stamp (the Verve Psalm 84:11 Plain Jane)