Under His Wings...

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Hello friends!

I hope you are enjoying a wonderful week!  It's so hard to believe that August is more than half over already!  We've had a pretty cool month for NC, and I wonder if that means the winter might be colder than normal as well?  We shall see... sooner than I'd like I'm afraid!  

Anyway... today I'm just popping in with a few cards I made for the DTGD challenges on SCS last week.  My goodness that was quite a week!  I can't believe how many girls actually made all 49 challenges individually, meaning they made 49 cards during that week.  I managed to get all the challenges, but only by combining several in to one card.  

So above is one that I made, using ODBD You Will Find Refuge.  This is an older set but will always be one of my favorites. I have a "thing" about Chickadees... I just love them!  I also love this Scripture.  It has been such a comfort to me during some of life's darkest hours.  

The paper is BasicGrey and is called Serenade.  It is on a kraft base.  The branch is Memory Box, and the greenery is an MS punch.   

Then I thought I'd share one that was just plain fun!  The challenge was to make a triangular card.  I thought about a Christmas tree, but then the idea came to me to make a birthday hat.  I used fun design paper from MME, and used my Spellbinders triangle die to cut this in such a way that the side fold was just outside of the cut line.  I made the little pom at the top with twine, added a punched tag with a sentiment from My Sentiments Exactly, and it was done.  THIS has to be the quickest card I've ever made!  LOL!

Then, I made this one, using an Inkadinkado image which I hand cut and then matted with a layer of black, cut with a Spellbinders Majestic Labels 25.  One of the challenges for this card, was to use metal on your card, not just tie on a charm, but somehow actually use metal, so I made this frame for my sentiment, which is from Sweet 'N Sassy.  I cut open a lemonade can and used it to run through my Grand Calibur with this Spellbinders Back to Basics Tag. 

So that's a few for today.  I hope you enjoyed seeing something a little different from me.

Reflecting on the concept of our Lord covering us with His feathers, and  the refuge He is to us when we are safely sheltered under His wings, I just found myself singing that old hymn, Under His Wings.  That led me to search  for the lyrics, which led me to several newer versions of the old song, but none touched my heart like the old hymn.  For those of you who love it as much as I do, and for those of you who perhaps are struggling with something in your life right now and need to find safety and refuge... here is a link to a beautiful rendition you can listen to... just a  a little over 3 minutes, and you will be blessed!

Under His Wings

Blessings,

Press On!

Hello friends!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  I got to spend time with my kids so that was fun.  I have however not been feeling great since so am laying a bit low.  I am popping in to share a water color I did for an challenge on SCS but have not had the chance to share with you here on my blog yet.

This card uses a Stampin Up set, Simply Sketched, as well as a Sweet 'N Sassy sentiment.  I love them both!  For the image, I stamped with Archival ink and used Sahara Sand, Baja Breeze and So Saffron to color the image (this was a color challenge).  I matted with Sahara Sand and So Saffron.  I added score lines to the white panel to create the "illusion" of layers.  It's clean and simple, but I kind of like how it came out.  Hope you do too!

Have a wonderful week!!!

Today's Blessing:

Proverbs 16:9

We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.

I Know You Can Do This!

Hello friends!!!
I'm sorry I have neglected my blog these last few days!  I've been super busy and I'm also trying to work on the new release for May!  So I just haven't been able to share much of what I'm working on yet!  However, I thought I'd share this one I made for the card rack at church.  This image is Flourishes, the sentiment is Sweet 'N Sassy, and the embossing folder is SU!.  The paper also is SU!.  I added some stickles to the center of the flowers after coloring them with Copics.  Quick and flat!  Just what I need for the card rack!!!

Have a wonderful day!!!

Blessings,

SNS Always Time For You

Hello everyone! I made this card last month when I was a Guest Designer for Sweet 'N Sassy Stamps but have not posted it here on my blog yet. I made it using SNS Tea Time. I stamped the tea cup three times on scraps of designer paper from Prima Sparkling Springs and one piece of Crafty Secrets. I cut them out and with a craft blade cut along the front top lip of each cup, then I tucked each cup into the next to create my stacked pile of cups. The base is white (Flourishes) and the dp is Prima Sparkling Springs. I sewed lace onto my paper diagonal strips but it totally doesn't show up in the photo! I stamped half of one of the sentiments in the set in black on white and cut with a Spellbinders Fancy Tag set and every layer is popped up on dimensionals. The ribbon is Martha Stewart and I added four white pearls.

I scheduled this post for this week because I am off enjoying time with my grand kids and daughter. I am sorry I have almost no computer time so my commenting is down.... I promise to make it up to you after this week! :) This is my family vacation that I look forward to all year long! The kids are growing so quickly. This year our grandson who is 13 learned to wakeboard! Our granddaughter is loving tubing and swimming....we had a great day trip to a local gem mine, and a hike in the mountains is planned for tomorrow. We are all just enjoying being together!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you are enjoying a wonderful week!

Hugs,

Tea Time with SSIC!

HELLO EVERYONE! IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THE CRAFT'S MEOW BLOG HOP PLEASE SCROLL DOWN ONE POST!

It's time for another Stampin Sisters in Christ challenge, and today my dear friend and DT sister Chris Olsen is our hostess! Chris has chosen Psalm 121:2-4 for this week's Scripture.

"My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip. He who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep."

Chris is challenging us to create a card or project with a tea or coffee cup or pot-this can be the designer paper, the image, or embellishment

Aren't you thankful that His eye is always on us.... He ever searches the vast universe and nothing escapes His knowledge! I find it comforting that God doesn't need caffeine to stay awake! He is all knowing and nothing is hidden from Him. Sometimes we may wish He couldn't see something we've done... but really it's a comfort to me to know He knows and understands all things! I can fall on my face before Him even if I have failed greatly, and know that in His vast knowledge, love and mercy, He will take care of me and all those who call upon His name!

I'm so excited and honored to be guest designing for Sweet 'N Sassy this month! Today I am sharing a little gift set using the newly released Tea Time set. I was inspired by my Grandmother's gorgeous English China, decorated in gold with dainty pink flowers. I started with a base of Regal Rose card stock for my card. I embossed all my images from the Tea Time set with Ranger fine detail gold embossing powder, onto Crafty Secrets designer paper from the Radiant Pad, and cut them out to paper piece them. For the card I cut my doily using a Marianne die, and I cut the Spellbinders Doily Motifs from Recollections brushed gold card stock and embossed. I added a few little Prima roses and a sheer ribbon to embellish.

The template for the Tea Box came from Lauren Meader's My Time Made Easy. It's a fun presentation for a gift of tea for any tea lover! I created the box with Regal Rose card stock and used Crafty Secrets Radiant Pad for the designer paper. I used Regal Rose Grosgrain ribbon, layering it over two Martha Stewart punched edges. I added an element from the Spellbinders Doily Motifs which I cut from the dp, then I punched my sentiment with a circle punch, sponged with Regal Rose and adhered to the doily motif. One single ZVA Creative rose finished off the sentiment. On the top of the box is a doily motif in Regal Rose and another paper pieced, gold embossed tea pot.

Our sponsor this week is The Craft's Meow!
The prize is one stamp set designed by the talented Nina Brackett!
Oh and if you want another chance to win The full release going on right now... hop on the Blog Hop for the release one post down right here on my blog,
or start at the Craft's Meow Blog today!

For complete details on the challenge and our sponsor,
and the full devotional, please see the SSIC Blog.

For more inspiration on today's challenge, please visit my DT Sisters:
Chris, Linda, Peggysue, Miesje, Rebecca, Lisa , Kris, Sabrina, & MariLynn
Randi (on leave)

I am entering this in the following challenges:

Crafts and Me - Punches, Crafty Creations - Anything Goes, Creative Card Crew - May Flowers, House That Stamps Built - Paper Piecing cups & teapot), My Mum's Craft shop Use Dies, Penny's Paper-Crafty - Anything Goes, Stampavie and More - Ribbons, Your Next Stamp Challenge - Pop it Up, Fabulous Friday - Use ribbon or twine, Fairy Fun Fridays - For the girls, Inspire Me Fridays - Always anything goes, Mami Doodles - Spots and/or stripes (striped dp), Phindy’s Place - Use 1 image on at least 2 different projects, Phindy’s Place -Use 1 image on at least 2 different projects, Stamp Something - Anything goes, Craft Us Crazy - Use your favourite embellishments and/or something new, Delightful Challenges - Flowers,

Do You Stack Up? – Add a tag, The Rubber Cafe - Tags,

I hope you enjoyed my little gift set! Thanks so much for visiting! I love hearing from you!!!


hugs,

Fathers Day Center Step and directions

I'm honored to have been asked to Guest Design for Sweet 'N Sassy this month, and this card was made with the brand new release, Shining Light. It's a great set with lots of inspirational verses as well as practical sentiments like these two I have used. With Father's Day right around the corner, it's perfect!

I used the center step card design for this one. I love this design and find it so fun and easy! I have seen variations of this design all over blog land, but I decided to try drawing the pattern for you if you'd like to try it.

It's very straight forward! Simply start with a piece of card stock that's 5.5 x 8.5" if you want an A2 card when folded. You could certainly adjust these dimensions easily if you wished. I used a craft blade to cut the inside cuts, and my score buddy to make the score lines. If you make one please link me and let me see what you did!!! Have fun!

The base is Gina K Tan Leather card stock, the designer paper is K&Co Blue Awning. The image is stamped on Gina K Pure Ivory with Memento Ink and colored with Copics. I used my air brush to do the sky, layering on several different colors for depth, but a super quick technique. If I didn't have the air brush, I would use chalks and sponge them on around my cloud template by Rosy's Road Show. The key to using ANY template is to keep moving it so the angles of the clouds are not all the same. I often use the template for my first layer, then remove it and color over the white areas with a light color such as W01 or B0000. This gives the illusion of the puffy clouds without having them be stark white, and it allows you to have a more natural feathering of the clouds rather than the real defined scallops. If you are doing a whimsical card, the scallops are fun, but if you are doing a more realistic scene, it's nice to use the layering technique I described.

I cut the oval with a Spellbinders Classic Oval Large, and the frame with the Lacey Oval, both of which can be cut at the same time using the Grand Calibur! I then simply laced some twine through the frame and added a ship's wheel charm. I stamped two sentiments from the set directly on the dp.

I am entering this in the following challenges:
Cards For Men - must be masculine - for Someone Special, Crazy Challenge -- Anything Goes, Design Dollies - Creative Folds, Make it Monday - Anything goes, Pollycraft - Boyz to Men (macsuline), Simon Says Stamp and Show... - Anything Goes, Squigglefly - - Shaped cards, Stamps R Us - Masculine, Aly's Sunday Challenge - Shaped Cards, Catered Crop - choose recipe: I chose brown ink, Copics and die cuts, Creative Cowgirls - - Anything Goes, Emerald Faeries - Anything Goes, One Stitch At A Time - Fancy Folds, Scrappy Frogs - Anything goes, Allsorts - Use at least 3 Different Stamps (2 sentiments and 1 image), Catch The Bug - Anything Goes, Card Makin' Mamas - For a loved one.

Thanks for stopping by! I love to hear from you and so appreciate your sweet comments!

Happy Birthday Christian Papercrafts!

Tonight I wanted to play along with Christian Papercrafts Magazine as they celebrate their second birthday! This card was for today's Sketch Challenge. I used a base of Bazzill, and Webster's Pages for my dp. It is from the Hollywood/Wonderfall pack. I was thrilled to have been asked to Guest Design this month for Sweet 'N Sassy so I decided to use one of the fabulous Digi sets I bought there! This set is also available in stamps, but the digi worked great for me! It is called "The New Creature" set. I printed out both the butterfly and sentiment and cut with a Spellbinders Classic Circle. I colored the butterfly with Copics: Y19, BG18, YR23, E35, #27, and then I went over the entire image with a Spica Gold Pen. I then cut it out and mounted it on a panel I had embossed with a SU! ef and sponged with T Holtz distress ink.

The sketch is very CAS so it went together VERY quickly but I like it! I had fun playing along! I hope you might want to play along too and wish CPM a happy Birthday! Follow the link in the blinkie in my side bar!

I also wanted to share a card I made for yesterday's Birthday Card challenge... this one uses a wonderful set from my DT sister, Lisa's new store, The Craft's Meow. This is a TCM exclusive, designed by Claire Brennan of Waltzingmouse Stamps, and it's called TCM Friend of Mine. Isn't this set fabulous?

I made this card for the inspiration challenge at the Shabby Tearoom this week so I used the colors from the inspiration photo. The base is Craft, then a mat of Brocade Blue and the white is from the Rubber Cafe, their Pugnacious Signature Paper. I won it in a challenge and it's very nice to work with! I inked the negative side of my CB EF with Brocade Blue ink and embossed. I used a sheer ribbon from Michael's. Another CAS card but wow can I get a lot more done when I do CAS! LOL! The inside of this card has a Birthday sentiment with my birthday wishes for Christian Papercrafts! Why don't you join in? There will be some great prizes! There's one more day to play so you still have time!



I am also entering these cards in the following challenges:
A Spoonful Of Sugar - White + One Colour (Card 2)
Claudia & Co - Butterflies (Both cards)
Clear It Out! - Ribbon/Trim (Both cards)
Paper Take Weekly - Anything Goes
The Stamping Boutique - Winged Things
Top Tip Tuesday - Open challenge - anything Goes
Try It On Tuesday - A Card using Something older than 6mths and something newer than 6mths (Both cards us older card stock but newer stamps)
Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
Cupcake Craft - Something beginning with C (Both Cards - Cuttlebug folder)
Lexi's Creations - Friendship (card 2)
Make it Monday - Anything goes
Paper Playtime - 2W - Friends (card 2)
Pollycraft - SIO - Anything Goes
Stamp with Fun - Lace or Ribbon
Creative Inspirations - use a Digi (card 1)

Praying for you with sympathy color challenge and Mojo Sketch

Today I used the color challenge from SCS which was to use Pink Pirouette, Rose Red, and Basic Grey. I also used Julee's Monday Mojo Sketch. See a link to her challenge in my right side bar and play along!

I need two sympathy cards this week and they are the hardest cards for me to make. These however are going to friends whose loved ones knew the Lord, and we have the assurance they are now resting in the arms of their Savior. No more pain and illness... just pure joy in Jesus! We miss our loved ones here and now, but how wonderful to know we will be reunited one day!

I used designer paper by SU!: Bella Rose, and SU! Rose Red. My grey is The Paper Co. and the white is Georgia Pacific. I stamped my sentments in Archival Jet Black and the K&Co butterfly in Rose Red. I stamped the butterfly twice and glued one down, then glued only the body on the second one, lifting the wings slightly. I used a Martha Stewart edge punch and a ribbon slot punch for my Rose Red Ribbon. I also added some silver Dew Drops for the side in two sizes, and in the small size for the butterfly trail.

My sentiments are: Sweet 'n Sassy (With Sympathy), Verve (Praying for you) and on the inside I used a sentiment from Verses Rubber Stamps. I stamped that sentiment right on the Bella Rose DP. I hope it will bring some comfort to my friends to know they are in my prayers!

Thank you for stopping by! I so appreciate it!

Sweet 'n Sassy Sketch 9 and Color Combo

Hello everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful Friday! It's gloomy here again and I am still not feeling great, but I got a couple of cards made last night.

This one is for the Sweet 'N Sassy Sketch Challenge(8) over on PCP and also for the color challange on the Sweet 'N Sassy Blog (link in my side bar) The color challenge was unique in that we could choose to use either pink and orange or pink and brown! I love pink and brown so it was a no brainer for me!

I used my Scripture stamp from the SNS "Trust in the Lord" set, and stamped it in Chocolate Chip on GP White. I cut it with my long nesties and sponged around the edges. The designer paper I used came from my BasicGrey 6 x 6 pack ~ Sultry. Love these little pads so much because the designs are scaled better for cards than the 12 x 12 pads! I had this pink and brown ribbon from Michael's forever, but it looked dwarfed by itself on the card, so I added a white panel punched with my Martha Stewart edge punch and that seemed to do the trick. The butterfly is also from Martha Stewart, stamped on the dp, then painted with Shimmerz "Opal". I love Shimmerz!!! Anyway, the base is chocolate and that's about it.... a quick and easy sketch!

Our Senior Pastor's wife is going through a difficult time right now and I made this for her. I hope it gives her encouragement.

The Will of God Embraces Life

OK... so I told you I was going to change the sentiment on my Limited Supply Embrace Life card below. I stamped this wonder-

fully inspirational sentiment from the Sweet 'n Sassy set called The Grace of God. It just took a couple minutes to stamp this, add one more mat and mount it on top of the old one.

This something I often do.... when I make a card for a challenge, I either use no sentiment or make sure that the sentiment panel is easily changed, so that I can personalize it better when the need arises.

Hope you've enjoyed this little comparison... I'd love to know what you think! Have a blessed weekend!

Wow! Where did today go? I was knee deep in paper work for church all day long! I finally took a break to try today's technique lover's challenge over on SCS.... rubber band stamping.

This was a new one for me. You stretch multiple rubber bands over a wood block, and stamp your background with either VersaMark, Craft Ink, or whatever you please really. You then could sponge the bg and the inked portion would resist the color, or you could do as I did.... heat emboss. I did it in a two step process... first embossing with copper ep, and then with gold ep. I used the sketch for Our Daily Bread Designs ODBD02.... and I first colored my ODB image from Fishers of Men. But I didn't think it went as well with the new bg, so I used this Sweet 'n Sassy Chickadee and sentiment that I already had colored (with Copics) and was sitting on my desk. I will post the other one as soon as I can finish it up. Sometimes things like that just happen! LOL! So I used brushed gold cs which I ran through the cuttlebug for the left side of the sketch, punched a couple leaves out of copper scraps with my Martha Stewart punch, used my Nesties for the cut out shapes... oval and label one, and wrapped SU! twine around several times... in black and natural. I struggle with masculine cards, but I think this one is masculine enough for anyone!

This is a watercolor I did for a girl in my Bible Study group who was in a terrible accident. She was seriously hurt and I felt such a connection with her because I was in a very serious accident too... broke my back, lost my spleen and some other "damage"... so I wanted to send her a word of encouragement. This sweet image is a Penny Black Stamp and I watercolored with SU! Markers. The sentiment is a Sweet 'n Sassy Stamp. I tied the bow with SU! ribbon. I added sparkle with Stickles and a clear glitter pen. I hope it lifted her spirits!

Today I thought I'd just share a few of my recent cards since I have just started blogging and I want a few things for you to look at. This card was made with a brand new set that I WON from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps!!! Yes.... me... I won!!! Now I just don't ever win anything!!! So imagine my surprise when I won this fabulous set on Chrissy Dickinson's blog as part of a release party! To make it even more special is the fact that Chrissy herself designed this set. It is a large set and has lots of great images and sentiments. I just love it! I colored this with Copic markers and went for a clean and simple design. It really went together quickly and I love when that happens!!! LOL! Here is a link to Chrissy's blog... check it out here: http://chrissyd723.blogspot.com/