Hymn and Scripture Challenge - My Faith Looks Up to Thee

Today I'm posting another one of my 9" x 9" pages for my Hymn and Faith Journaling album. I'm making this album as way of sharing with my children and grandchildren who I've been, who I am and what I believe. Music has always been a big part of my life, both externally with groups and internally, in my heart and mind. This hymn is one that Patter suggested this year. She has a devotional on her blog which focuses on verse three, when life's circumstances become dark and full of grief. One of her daughters has a serious illness, so she was especially comforted by this hymn at this time. You can find her post here at Triple the Scraps which includes copies of the hymn if you'd like to join her challenge.

Unlike Patter, I like the entire hymn to show. I copied the hymn from a vintage hymnal and matted it with the black cardstock and pop dotted the edges to make a large pocket, with a tag that has plenty of room for journaling. I used a concordance to study the word "faith" and chose a simple verse that is the beginning of faith, Romans 10:17: "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." When I was in college I became too busy and distracted to read God's Word each day. Even though I was in church every Sunday, I don't think I took God's Word into my heart and mind the way I should have. When I was in my twenties I finally realized I wanted to be "wholly thine" like it says in the first verse. I wanted Him to lead me through the difficulties of life. I recommitted my life to Him and made a habit of reading through the Bible each morning before leaving for work as a teacher. That's when I began to see how He was helping me through the situations I faced each day. I can also identify with the words "my zeal inspire" because I wanted to know Him more, pray more, encourage others more, and eventually went into full time Christian service.

Many of my pages in this journal use this retired CTMH 9" x 9" printed cardstock that has a pattern on each side. This is the back side of a different layout, so I added a Glitz 8" x 8" patterned paper on top.I cut the Spellbinders label twice, in black and white. I trimmed the white one down, following the embossed lines, and used it for the verse. I mounted it on a red patterned paper from MME. The black and red ribbons, butterflies, gray sparkles, and large flower are all CTMH. I used a foliage die from Spellbinders to make the leaf.

I hope something on this post or Patter's has blessed you. If so, please consider making your own layout to bless others.

I'm sharing this layout with the following challenges:
As You Like It #1 - favorite die or punch (the Spellbinders label)
Crafty Catz - Inspired by a Song
Crafty Ribbons - anything goes with ribbon
Hymn and Scripture Challenge 13
Mema's Crafts May Challenge - anything goes with optional flowers/Mother's Day
Sisterhood of Crafters - Free for all
Word Art Wednesday #78 - anything goes with scripture or encouraging verse
 

Viva La Verve Sketch - April Week 4, Oh Happy Day

This is my second and last post today for the Viva La Verve challenge on Splitcoast Stampers. When I finished it, I thought it was my favorite from the 5 sketches they had for April.

 



I used papers from Graphic45 "Secret Garden" along with some Basic Grey Urban Prairie for the background. I just had to use that adorable daisy seed packet for the larger banner. I used Spellbinders Nestabilities Floral Oval to make the green Bazzill die cut piece. Then I cut the lavender scallop with Cricut Art Philosophy and the banner for the text with Cricut Artiste and used the matching CTMH stamp for the banner. (It's intended to be a birthday sentiment, but I hope to give it to a scrapbooking friend who is retiring from teaching this month.) I had seen the challenge at Creative Moments  to use brads and I cheered because I have a jillion lavender brads (and other colors) from the time I designed one of our daughters' wedding album. I'm sure the lovely silver streaked lavender ribbon came from that period as well. I used CTMH mocha pearls in the centers of the yellow Prima blossoms.

I am sharing this card with the following challenges:
Created with Love #39 - Spring (the colors and flowers I used bloom in the spring)
Creative Belli #168 - Spring (9-year-old brads and ribbon)
Creative Moments #16 - brads
Critter Sketch #162 - flowers
Everybody-Art-Challenge #234 - pearls
Love to Create #63 - punches or dies
Ooh La La - Vintage/nostalgic
Stamp and Create - use at least 1 die cut
Tammy's Scrappin Corner #60 - lots of layers
Viva La Verve April 2013 challenge
 

Viva La Verve Sketch, April Week 3

Today I'm posting my last two cards for the Viva La Verve challenge at Splitcoast Stampers. Here is the first one that I made. The sketch seemed to lend itself to a shabby chic/vintage style.

 



I love the following Plain Jane verse from Verve:

Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

God, as our Father, wants to bless us, help us, and see that we are happy. The closer we grow to Him, the more fellowship we have with Him, the more He is able to do that and the more we recognize His blessings in our lives. I am also convinced that when we delight in the things of the Lord, some of our desires also change. There are some areas of life that won't be as important to us, so the desires of our hearts more closely align with what He sees is best for us.

 To make this card more vintage/shabby chic, I used papers from Graphic45's French Country and the Kraft woodgrain background from The Paper Studio. I scissor distressed the edges of the black, red, and gold papers and inked the edges of the two scalloped ovals. Cotton lace and a doily along with pearls also contribute to the vintage touch. I added a small unknown silk flower on the organdy bow and a CTMH butterfly.

Thank you for visiting. May God grant you close fellowship with Him and many rich blessings of the heart.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
Fashionista Challenge #15 - Shabby or Vintage
Happy Campers #16 - Use lace
House of Gilli - Lace and pearls
MilkCoffee Challenge - Lace and pearls
My Time to Craft #219 - use Kraft (the woodgrain kraft cs)
Ooh La La Creations - vintage/nostalgic
Paper Crafting Journey - anything  goes
Southern Girls #68 - You can say that again - sentiment/quote
Viva La Verve April 2013
Word Art Wednesday #78 - anything goes with scripture or uplifting/encouraging verse

 

PSC #77 - Make it Feminine

This week at The Perfect Sentiments Challenge we are celebrating mothers and all the girls and ladies in our lives. We'd like you to

CREATE A CARD AND MAKE IT FEMININE. USE LACE, PEARLS, BLING, LACY DIE CUTS, DOILIES, ANYTHING THAT A GIRL LOVES. DON'T FORGET TO INCLUDE YOUR SENTIMENT ON THE FRONT

Our sponsor is Robyn's Fetish who will provide one lucky winner with 5 free digis!

 

My card uses the Robyn's Fetish digi stamp called English Tea Cup. This was the perfect image for me. My family knows that I absolutely love to drink my tea every day the English way - with milk. My mom fixed it for me that way on snowy days when I was young and it "stuck" with me the rest of my life. My grandson got me an extra large pink teacup for Christmas and he's seen me use it many times!

 

 



 

To make my card feminine I used colors shown in the above inspiration from The Shabby Tea Room. I used soft papers with pink, green, and aqua blue from MME "Totally Girl."  I colored the teacup with copics using those soft colors plus light gray for shadows. I added pink lace and pink sparkles along with a shiny organdy ribbon bow and white and pink rosette ribbon flowers with pink sparkles in the center.  The teacup theme goes perfectly with the sentiment stamp from Our Daily Bread Designs, Proverbs 27:9, "A sweet friendship refreshes the soul."

 

I can't wait to see how you make your card feminine!

 

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

CCEE Stampers #1317 - In the Kitchen

Crafty Ribbons #44 - anything with ribbon

Creative Card Crew #35 - Bling

Dilly Beans - Think Pink

Robyn's Fetish #157 - Stripes or dots

The Hybrid Chick Card Caravan - use flowers

The Shabby Tea Room #164 - Beautiful Spring - using photo colors, flowers, lace, and ribbon

Totally Papercrafts #164 - flowers and lace

Word Art Wednesday #77 - anything with encouraging, uplifting verse

 

 

 

 

 



Twist of Faith #35 - Trees

This week's Twist of Faith #35 challenge theme is:

TREES!

We want to see trees in your creation.

Your creation should also include a scripture, uplifting verse or positive words/quote 

Our sponsor for this week is Eureka Stamps! Please check out some of their other tree sets used by our design team members at Twist of Faith this week.

I have been in love with trees as long as I can remember. I love their skeletal silhouettes in winter as well as their foliage during the growing season. In the fall my hubbie and I take photo trips to capture their brilliant colors in the landscape. My favorite verse about trees from Psalms 1:1-3 was a little long to put on the front of my card:

1. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

That was the passage I was thinking about when I chose this image. It looks like a really strong tree. I placed it on a hillside at sunset, the best time of day to see black silhouettes of trees. I kept the rest of the card simple so it would highlight the scene and the sentiment, which came from Amy Carmichael, the author and missionary to India a century ago. She opened an orphanage and started a fellowship to help over 1,000 children in India, especially young girls who were enslaved in Hindu temples. Her life story is amazing and inspiring. Her quote on the front of my card is closely related to the passage in Psalms. Difficulties may come, but as Christians they should move us closer to God and His Word for help and respite. Ultimately, those difficulties only make us stronger like the tree.

I kept my card simple so it wouldn't detract from the tree or the message. I also hoped it could be masculine. All of the materials used are from Close To My Heart. I sponged Honey, Sunset, Slate, and Black inks  to make the background. I used torn paper placed over the lower half to ink first the sky, then used the other half of the torn paper to cover the boundary of the sky and ink the hillside with slate and black. The mats are Sunflower textured cs and Sunset Dotty For You. In the corners I put Sunset Button Brads which are recessed in the center, where I added Black Sparkles. I used Adobe Photoshop to add the tree and the text at the bottom after I inked the background. You could do the same with a Word document if you choose 4" x 6" for the size and insert a picture and text box.

I tried to make my sky look like storm clouds are gathering at sunset, like this photo from For Your Inspiration Challenge #44 that was my inspiration:

May God bless you through the stormy times of life and show you the path to strength in Him!  I'm looking forward to seeing

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
Charisma Cardz #16 - Polka dots
Craft Your Passion #160- add text
For Your Inspiration #44 - photo and colors
Happy Campers #15 - use a mask or stencil (torn paper mask to sponge the sky and hill)
Papertake Weekly - weather (storm clouds gathering at sunset)
Pumpkin Spice #17 - nature
Word Art Wednesday #77 - anything goes with encouraging, uplifting sentiment
Word Play Saturday for April - weather ( I tried to make storm clouds gathering)


 

Bright Colored Happy Birthday

I'm not sure why I never noticed it before, but yesterday I found Verve's Diva Dare Challenge and knew it would make a great card. I'm not sure if I understand all the details but I think the "dare" was to make a card with bright colors like Charmaine's and butterflies and flowers like Marissa's and use something from Verve.

I used the Verve set "Hope Blooms" for the sentiment and the red center of my flower. The design from The Paper Players' sketch seemed to work well with these bright papers. I used The Paper Studio's "The Linen Closet" floral paper for the background and some Basic Grey striped, red, and yellow papers and two wide ribbons. The butterfly is from a Martha Stewart punch. I traced it on black paper and adhered it, adding dots of red Stickles on the wings and black opaque pearls.

The challenge at Get Inky is "fabulous floral fun" so I had fun experimenting with the flower. The white flower is from CTMH and the blue one is from Petaloo. I stamped the smallest flower from Verve's "Hope Blooms" set with Cranberry ink on yellow Basic Grey and colored it with a Crimson copic marker.  I left tiny bits of the yellow showing and fussy cut along the lines. I wanted the flower to be bright like the rest of the card and jazzed up a little.

Thank you for visiting!

I'm sharing this card with these three challenges:
Get Inky #3 - Fabulous Floral Fun
The Paper Players Sketch Challenge #143
Verve's April Diva Dare

 

I Cherish God's Creation

Today it's finally sunny outside, a good day to enjoy God's creation. My husband and I like to visit national parks and photograph the amazing landscapes, wild flowers, and awesome trees. Seeing wildlife in their natural environment never ceases to amaze us. We even photographed a bear the last time we visited Yellowstone. Everywhere we go, we're serenaded by birds. That's why I chose a bird for this card. It seems they're always praising God in every outdoor cathedral He created. I was inspired by the challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs Shining the Light Challenge #151 to show something of God's creation and Scripture/spiritual quote. I used Sketch 5 from the Viva La Verve April challenge:

The Verve design has three banners coming down from the ribbon element. I decided to use silk flowers that were still on the stem to represent more of God's creation. I added a CTMH black sparkle inside each one, like the three on the right side. I chose the black foliage paper from Graphic 45's "Botanicabella" and the green floral from some long retired Close To My Heart paper that I purchased in bulk. I placed the light green and red circles in the Sizzix embossing so that the pattern would match when they were placed on the card. The lovely bird image from "You Will Find Refuge" from Our Daily Bread Designs was colored with copics, fussy cut, and paired with a sentiment from the same set. He also has a very tiny light gray sparkle on his eye.

May God bless and astound you each time you go out to enjoy His creation!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
Catered Crop - Embossing
Crafty Ribbon #44 - anything goes with ribbon
Dream Valley Challenges #55 - Things with Wings
Going Grey with Scrap Creations Challenge - Insects or Animals
Our Daily Bread Designs SLC #151 - Cherish God's Creation
Paper Crafting Journey - Use a sentiment
Pumpkin Spice #17 - Nature
Sweet Stamps #114 - Use 3 of any item
Viva La Verve April 2013 - sketch 5
Word Art Wednesday #77 - anything goes with Scripture or uplifting verse