This Hug's For You!

Hello friends!  Popping in real quick to say hello, and to share another "just for fun" card with you!

I created this card to honor our SCS  Queen for the Day, Sandie, a few weeks ago.  I had loved her owl cards and had left her a comment about them, and  she had so kindly sent me some of these awesome punched pieces for this cute little SU! owl.  Since I have a couple young ladies in my life who love owls, this was for one of them. Anyway... I traced the "clothing" part from the card stock to some designer paper so I could dress my owl in something eye catching.  I gave her a little shadow, and perched her on a Spellbinders die from the Cherry Blossom Set.  I used designer paper from Echo Park "This and That" pad, and added the sweet sentiment from Great Impressions to keep it clean and simple.

I love the sentiment on this card... It could be used for Valentine's Day, but it could also be used when someone is just feeling down and they need a little encouragement... a paper hug from someone who loves them!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

From my Heart With Love

Hello friends!  Happy Sunday!  Although I am officially on a little break, I did manage to create a card for this week's Stampin Sisters in Christ challenge.  Our hostess this week is Lisa, and she has chosen Matthew 1:20-22, "But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.' All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel' which means, 'God with us.'" for this week's Scripture.  

Lisa's challenge is to create a card/project depicting an angel.

My card today is super quick, using an image and sentiment from Great Impressions, as well as  Labels 1 from Spellbinders... both the Grand, and the small.  I also used the SB Twisted Metal Tags for my sentiment.  I colored with Copics and painted the wings with Shimmerz Angels Wings.  I'm not really sure if this image is supposed to be an angel or a fairy, but I had bought it and colored it up for a special little 10 year old... so I went with it.  I don't have very many stamps that fit the challenge so I hope this will do! :)

The Scripture today is one that I have pondered so often. How did Joseph feel about all that happened while he was engaged to Mary, but they had not yet lived together?     Mary KNEW this child was from God, because she knew she had not slept with a man!  But how  did Joseph feel when he first found out that Mary was pregnant?  Did he doubt her? How did he feel about all that was told him by the angel? Did he at first doubt the angel?  There's not much that we know about his feelings... but we do know that he obeyed and did as the angel told him.   I can't even imagine being in this situation!  I would be overwhelmed... scared...doubtful, yet honored that God had chosen me for this incredible responsibility!  I believe somehow, God must have granted Joseph incredible wisdom and faith!  Humanly speaking, no man would believe his pregnant fiance when she said she was pregnant yet still a virgin!  Joseph however, took her as his wife, but kept her as a virgin until the Christ Child was born.   Can you imagine being given the task of raising the very Son of God?  Oh my.... I can't!!!   Perhaps we fail to think of the role this special man had in providing a home for the Christ Child, for caring for Him until He was old enough to begin His ministry!  I picture him with Jesus by his side, teaching Him the skills of a carpenter, and I picture Jesus taking it all in as any little boy would.  But there came the time when Jesus told His earthly parents that He had to be about His Heavenly Father's Business.  This child was not born to live only as a human, and to perform only human tasks.... He was born to die in the most painful way possible, yet without sin, so that His shed blood could wash away  our sins.  At some point.... these parents... Joseph and Mary must have realized the incredible purpose their little boy had come to earth for.... and they must have had to realize that yes, He came to die even for them!  It blows my mind!

How about you?  Have you accepted the salvation He came to offer you?  Are you willing to be obedient to whatever God calls you to do?  This Christmas season.... I am focusing my mind and heart more than ever before on this indescribable gift that was given for you and for me!  I am thankful that with this job loss has come a "freedom" from the bondage to buying and running around in a mad dash as the holiday quickly approaches!  This year, I'm hoping that the truths of this incredible story will penetrate my heart in new ways... and that I will respond with more love and commitment than ever before!

I wish you and yours a most blessed, Spirit filled Christmas season!

Our sponsor this week is Clear Dollar Stamps! 

The prize is a $15.00 Gift Certificate to the CDS Store!

We thank them for their continued support!

To read Lisa's devotional and for the full details on the challenge, please visit the Stampin Sisters in Christ Blog!

Be sure to check out the rest of the design team for more inspiration:
Chris, Linda,  Miesje, Rebecca,   Peggysue,  MariLynn,  Lisa, and Traci

I am entering this in the following challenges:

Inkspirations

2 Sisters - #68 Punches and/or Dies, Catch The Bug -  Anything goes, Craft Your Days Away  -  Buttons or bows, Little Claire's  -  Shaped Cards,  Alphabet Challenge –  V is for Vibrant,  Inspire Me Fridays - Anything, Wags 'n Whiskers - Week 2, Angel or Fairy, Card and Scrap -Angels, Paper Crafting Journey -  Anything Goes, Southern Girls -  Ribbon, Cooking It Up With Katie - anything goes, Divas by Design - anything goes, Paper Shelter Challenge -anything goes

Midnight Madness Sketch in Copper and Gold

Hello everyone!
I made this card for the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #12. I started out by making my tag element. I started with a white shipping tag and sponged it with numerous Tim Holtz Distress Inks, and distressed the edges. I stamped with Archival Sepia images from Stampers Anonymous and Great Impressions. I then took a VersaMark Pen and highlighted some of the swirls, then heat embossed them with Copper embossing powder. Next I sprayed the entire tag with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Iredescent Gold, which I got from the Our Daily Bread designs store. I added a dark brown elastic ribbon that has a goldish copper thread worked into it's design.

My card base is a stiff shimmery Copper from The Paper Co. Onto that I layered some highly textured paper from Coredinations Whitewashed collection. Onto that I layered my dsp which has a very vintage feel. It is from Prima, and is called The First blush. I love this 5 x 7 pack! I did quite a bit of piercing on this card that hardly shows up in the photo. I used an Ornare edge scallop template for the lower edge of both the dsp and the Coredinations layer, and I used part of a Nestabilities Edgeability piercing template for the design on the lower Coredinations part. I used another Ornare template for the design in the upper left corner... you probably can't even make it out in this photo.... maybe on the close up?

For my stitching, I pierced where I wanted my stitches to go and hand sewed some gold cord from "On a String".

My flower is made up of 2 layers of copper and green flowers from my stash, and then 4 layers of cut outs from my Nestie's Daisy Heads set. I cut 2 from a printed dsp in the same pack, and 2 from TH Grunge paper. The grunge paper is painted with TH acrylic paint, then sponged with Adirondak ink, then sprayed with glimmer mist. I cut between each petal right into the center and curled the petals up for dimension. All 6 layers are attached with an antique bronze brad. Behind my flower I added some copper fibers and some paper curls from my paper cutter and the base card stock.

While it looks like a simple sketch, this has a lot of steps in it, mainly because of all I did to distress the tag and color the grunge paper flowers. Had I used a simple ready made flower... and stamped an image on the tag it would have gone quickly, but I just had to try my hand at a more vintage feel. I think my "comfort" level in cards is simple elegance... but I do love a little vintage and also cutesy... so it's fun to go a different look sometimes!

Thanks so much for looking and if you have read this far... kudos to you!!! Have a blessed day!

Be Well Mojo Color Challenge

Hello everyone!

Today's color challenge on SCS was Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip and
Ridinghood Red. I used my Candy Stripe DP which has these colors in it, and my image is from Great Impressions, stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa and colored with Copics. I wish I had used inks to watercolor because my Copic selection didn't yield the right pink so I used a more violet color, but it would have been better to use ink and nail the colors. Oh well... this sketch was Julee's Mojo sketch #80. I liked working with it.

I used the Swiss Dot CB folder for my background, and did a little paper piercing. The round sentiment panel is stamped with a Hero Arts peg stamp, and cut with the smallest nesty circle and a Quickutz flower die cut. I used my Stardust clear glitter gelly roll pen to give some glitter. It seems I have need of several get well cards this week, as well as two sympathy cards, so I need to get cracking!

I hope you are having a great day! Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Happy Spring!

Hi all!
I hope to have a few new ones to post later on but for now, this was my submission for today's skech challenge on SCS. It was a fun one... I love offset layouts so this was right up my alley!

We are having record cold temps for March here in NC, but by the weekend it is supposed to be in the 70's! I won't be here.... I'll be in AL. where it will be nearly 80 according to my daughter! So... while I'm packing winter jacket, etc. I'm also packing capris and short sleeved tops! That's the nature of this time of year. March definitely came in like a lion here... so as the saying goes, "...in like a lion, out like a lamb!" So in honor of this great weather that's coming, I made this Happy Spring card.

I got to use my new designer paper from SU!... Delicate Dots. Wow! I LOVE this paper! The colors are soo delicate and pretty! My image is Great Impressions, and is stamped on watercolor paper, and watercolored with SU! Markers, except the watering can... that's done with Copics. There are stickles on each image but they don't seem to show up. Everything is layered on SU! Kraft. I am really happy with how this came out and I'm glad it went together quickly this morning as I have a lot to do today! Hope you like this and have a great Wednesday!!!

A Gift Bag and Matching Card

Today's Limited Supply Challenge over at SCS was to stretch ourselves and do something we don't usually do. I have never decorated a gift bag before, nor have I used buttons on my cards... nor have I sewn! I do sew... just not on cards! Well... today I made a matching card and gift bag that I needed for a good friend. I used my 5/8" square punch to punch all these little squares of various Provo Craft Designer paper. I mounted them on a chocolate background. I used my Nesties to cut out the heart and also the label 2 on the card. I sponged Creamy Caramel around both sentiment panels. The bag is stamped with a Great Impressions Stamp in Chocolate Chip, the sentiment on the card I made up and printed on the computer. I could not for the life of me get a good photo of the set so I'm uploading them separately, but you can get the idea I'm sure! I did another first on the bag... I tore a piece of fabric from my quilt stash and tied it into a bow on the handle, along with some raffia.

This is a card I made for a color challenge on SCS. I really am not a big fan of "garden green"... but I really liked how this card came out, even with garden green! LOL! The colors we were to use were Garden Green, Brilliant Blue, and Pumpkin Pie. The highlight of this card is my punched Bachelor Buttons, using my Martha Stewart cornflower punch. Each flower is punched twice and I bent up each petal just a bit for dimension. I used another Martha Stewart punch for the leaves, and I added veining with my embossing stylus and then lightly sponging ink on the edges and in the grooves. The Stampabilities butterfly is colored with SU! markers. The sentiment is Great Impressions.