God's Priceless Gift!

Hello friends!  I hope you are enjoying a great week!  I had an unwelcome visitor this past weekend... the stomach bug!  I am so glad to say I'm finally starting to feel well again!  Whew!  Glad that's over with!

Anyway... I have not had time to even look at my craft room lately so I'm going to share a "reject" card I made a few weeks ago, not intending to show it here.   I was going for a collage card to tell a story of our Saviors birth, so I loaded quite a few images on here from Our Daily Bread designs.  I began with a Baked Brown Sugar base from SU!.  I stamped the Midnight Clear Background on ivory card stock, then stamped the clock image from God's Timing, and cut with the ODBD Matting Circles dies.  I die cut a Splendorous Star , and stamped two sentiments from the Admit Three Ticket set.  I die cut them with the ticket die that comes in the Mini Tags die set.  I also stamped the image from The Babe,  colored with Copics and Pencils, and cut with a Spellbinders Curved Rectangles die.  I sponged everything with distress ink to age a bit and then simply layered them up.  I loved the sentiments on these two tickets... especially the one that says "God's Priceless Gift ~ free to bearer" 

God's priceless gift to us on that special night, when God Himself came to dwell among us... is beyond my comprehension!  Have you ever thought about what He left in heaven... to come live with us?  He came knowing what He would have to face, and the pain He would suffer!  He came because He loved us and wanted to give us a precious gift we could not earn ourselves!  He wanted us to be able to live in His presence, but  sin had separated us and there was no way we would ever be able to take care of our own sinful state!  There was no way that we could pay for our own sins, and no way we could live a sinless life.  So a substitutionary payment was provided in our perfect Savior... the Light of the World!  His priceless gift is forgiveness of sin and a future with Him in heaven if we will but receive His gift!  It's free to US, but my friends, it was anything but free to Him!  

This Christmas, as we look around the world and see it literally falling apart all around us.... let's focus our minds on eternal things!  This world is groaning with sin, and we are seeing the result of that more and more all around us!  I believe time is short until the Lord returns for His children and takes us home!  The things of this world, while alluring and desirous, are all temporary and leave us feeling empty and looking for more.  Only that precious Gift who came in to the world as a baby born in a stable, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger in Bethlehem can give our lives eternal meaning!  Only He can cover our sins and remove them as far as the east is from the west, and remember them no more!  Only He can declare us righteous, because of His shed blood on the cross, and His victory over death!  Only He can fill us with peace... He IS our peace, and we can face uncertain tomorrows knowing that we are at peace with God, and we have the peace of God in our hearts knowing our future is secure in Him!  Let's focus on these things and give Him all the thanks, honor and glory due Him!

If I don't post again before Christmas.... I wish you and yours a most Merry Christmas, and a blessed New Year!!!

 

From our House to Yours!

Hello friends! 

From our house to yours.... MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! 

Today I have a quick card to share with you using this month's ODBD release, Let it Snow, and some partial snowflakes from a past release, Sparkling Snowflakes.  I stamped and sponged my MB snowflake stencil with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Iced Spruce.  I love the blueish green tones.  It reminds me of the retired Sage Shadow color from SU! which I miss very much.  My card base is Neenah Solar White and I cut my image panel with last month's die release, the Flourished Star Pattern die.  That gives the edge the tiny piercing that I could never do myself that evenly.  I popped the entire main panel up on dimensionals for a little extra pop, since the card is basically very simple.  I added the sentiment which is cut with a SB Ribbon Tag Trio die, and I added some tiny partial snowflakes from the Sparkling Snowflakes set and adhered with ribbon.  Simple and very doable in mass!

I hope you enjoyed my card today.  If you need a quick idea, this might help you get some made up in time to mail this year! :)

I have been focusing my mind and thoughts on the birth of our Savior throughout this Advent season.  I thought I'd share some Scripture with you today which gives the account of how Mary was first told by the angel Gabriel, that she would conceive a child, and that He would be great, and would rule His people.  There is so much to ponder in these verses, but what touches my heart today is Mary's response.... "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word. " I'm not sure I would have been that willing to be scorned for being pregnant out of wedlock in a time when that was an offense with dire consequences.  I'm not sure I would have wanted to start my marriage to Joseph already pregnant.  I'm sure I would have worried about what Joseph would think of me!  However, I think it was her heart that God found favor with, for her response showed her willingness to  do whatever God wanted her to do.  I hope you can take a couple moments to read Luke's account:

²⁶ Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”^[c]
29 But when she saw him,^[d] she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. ³⁰ Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. ³² He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. ³³ And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
³⁴ Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
³⁵ And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶ Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. ³⁷ For with God nothing will be impossible.”
³⁸ Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

I am entering this in the ODBD Shining the Light Challenge, which is Christmas!

Blessings to you during this most special season, from our house to yours!

Happy Birthday Tickets!

Hello my friends!  So gad you stopped by today!  I have something very CAS (clean and simple) to share with you today, which although not my usual style, I found fun to create and quick enough to actually be able to get several made for upcoming needs!  

I created this with the ODBD Dec. release, Admit Three .

I simply created a little border of birthday tickets from the Admit Three set, using different inks to coordinate with my chosen My Mind's Eye design paper, Hootenanny.  The inks I used are Primrose Petals, Daffodil Delight, and Marina Mist.  I added two ODBD Custom Beautiful Borders from a past release, and matted that on to my design paper, which I had pierced around the edges.  I popped this entire panel up on dimensions on a white card base.  I added a sweet multi-colored sheer bow to finish it off.

Today's blessing from the Word:

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

Proverbs 16:9

I'm so thankful that my future does not rest in the plans that I make, for I would mess up many things in my life with my limited, finite understanding!  I can trust God who is sovereign and all knowing to direct my steps and know in full assurance that His plans for me are only for my good, and His glory.  

As we come to the end of another year, I hope we can all commit our ways to Him and trust His plans for us!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Welcome to the ODBD Dec. Release!

Hello friends!  Welcome to the ODBD December release! If you have not had a chance to view the entire release, you might want to pop on over to the ODBD Blog to see it all.  Here are the details for how you might win one of the prizes up for grabs this month:

Three randomly selected winners will each receive a $15 gift certificate to the ODBD Store, to be used toward the purchase of ODBD Stamps found in the "stamps column" of the website just for commenting on the Design Team cards!  You have until December 2, 2014 at 9:00 p.m. EST to leave your comments on the Designers Blogs for a chance to win!  The Winners will be posted on the ODBD Blog on December 3rd, so be sure to check back there to see if you won!

 *********************

Now on to my cards...

For the card above, I used the new Let it Snow set.  I stamped with Memento and colored with Copics, then went over the silver parts with a Wink Of Stella glitter pen.  I marked on the back of my paper where the bells were and then hand embossed them from the back to give them some depth.  I love the effect even though I can't really capture it with the camera.   I also used some past releases on this card, including the Sparkling Star Die and the Vintage Labels Dies.  I cut two of the stars, one from glitter paper, and one from white, then I stamped my sentiment and colored the star to match the designer paper, which was last month's release, the ODBD Christmas Paper Collection 2014.

For my next card, I used the gorgeous new Gilded Gate Die, and two of the mini sentiments from the Mini Tag Sentiments set.   I cut them with two different mini tags from the Mini Tags Die set.  I LOVE these little sentiments and I know I will use them over and over!  I also used an older stamp called Garden Path.  I stamped this beautiful image on watercolor paper with Archival ink and watercolored with Derwent Inktense pencils and then shaded and colored the sky with pastel chalks.  My picture seems to wash out the colors a bit but in real life I love how this came out and how perfectly the path lines up with the gate!  I cut the Gilded Gate from black card stock and tied the little sentiments to a tiny spray of flowers with some fine gold cording.  This card is 5x7" and is matted with metallic brushed gold.  The dp is from Hobby Lobby, Paper Studio.

To re-cap, here are the new ODBD products used today:

 

I hope you enjoyed my samples today!  

 Be sure to visit my DT sisters and leave a comment so you don't miss a chance to win!

Julie * Chris * Cathy * Lori * Dawn * Sandee * Paula * Angie * Lisa * Audrey 

* Silke * Wanda * Grace * Gracie (Guest Designer)

Blessings,

You're My Shining Star!

Hello friends!  Did you think I fell off the face of the earth?  LOL!  Well sometimes it feels like I have, but I assure you, I AM still here!  I have been busy making my "Dirty Dozen" cards for November, among other things!  If you are a Fan Club member on Splitcoast Stampers, you can see this month's gallery, including my projects HERE. Since this is something special for Fan club members only,  I'm not allowed to post those photos anywhere else for at least 6 months, but we'd love to have you come by and see what we've been up to this month!

However, today I did get in to my craft room, tried to clean up the mess from November's theme, and put together a couple simple cards.  I'm sure when you look at this card you're thinking this is NOT my style. You'd be right, but  I wanted a card for a boy, and I thought perhaps this month's ODBD release - Shine On along with the custom Sparkling Star Die might work.  I also am sharing just a little smidge of a sneak peek at some new designer paper called the Patriotic Paper Collection, which will be releasing Dec. 1.  I love the fact that a lot of the papers while patriotic in nature, also could be used for other things as well! 

For this card I cut a Sparkling Star die from Night of Navy and the next smaller sized one from silver glitter paper.  I used the sentiment from Shine on and the designer papers were used for the strips (which were cut with an EK Success Punch), as well as the mat. I embossed  the Neenah White layer with a Stars Embossing folder from Darice, and added a few silver flat sequins.  I think this works for a boy's card, don't you?

Well that's it for now.  I know my US friends are all getting geared up for Thanksgiving, and I am as well.  I've got my favors made and ready to put on the table.  If I could only clean now and have it still be clean then.... I'd be all set!  LOL!

Here's today's blessing from the Word:

"The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord.  He delights in every detail of their lives."

Ps 37:23 NLT

A Sparkly Star Z Fold

Hello friends!  I hope you all are doing well!

Today I have a Z-fold card to share with you, using the November release from ODBD!  I  used Shine On for my front star designs, and Come Let Us Adore Him for the star that's inside. I used the Custom Sparkling Star dies and the Splendorous Star Dies to cut my stars out.   The sentiment on this card can go on the middle panel or the back.  I heat embossed the stars in Gold Embossing powder and Copper Embossing Powder.  I also used the beautifully elegant 2014 Winter Paper Collection.  I "hung" my stars with thin ribbon and added bows and lace which is also laced with the same ribbon.

Here is the inside:

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Forgive my short post but between computer problems and being really busy right now, I'm just trying to get the essentials posted! Thanks for understanding!

Blessings,

Welcome to the ODBD November Release!!!

Hello friends!  Welcome to the ODBD November release!  I hope you have had a chance to see the full release, but if not, be sure to stop by the ODBD Blog!  We are sharing shining stars this month! 

Here's the Prize Information: 

Three randomly selected winners will each receive a $15 gift certificate to the ODBD Store, to be used toward the purchase of ODBD Stamps found in the "stamps column" of the website just for commenting on the Design Team cards!  You have until November 2, 2014 at 9:00 p.m. EST to leave your comments on the Designers Blogs for a chance to win!  The Winners will be posted on the ODBD Blog on November 3rd, so be sure to check back there to see if you won!

For my first card above, I used Come Let Us Adore Him, and the Flourished Star Pattern Dies, Splendorous Star Die, Shining Star die and the Sparkling Stars dies.  I also used a past release, Elegant Ovals.  I also used the gorgeous new Winter 2014 Paper Collection.

I started with a Neenah White base, layered on my dies from Neenah White and embossed the verse with silver embossing powder.  I also cut a Splendorous star and the Shining Star and several Sparkling stars from silver glitter paper.  I cut apart one sparkly die cut from the Flourished Star Pattern die set and glued it back together on the white star so that the tips of the points would show behind my sentiment layer.  (In other words, I made it a little bigger to make a pretty frame for my sentiment panel).  I finished it off with some tiny stars from the Sparkling Stars set and a silver sheer bow.

For my second card below, I made a Z fold card.   I used Come Let us Adore Him, heat embossing with a Copper Glittered embossing powder.  I cut them with Splendours Star Dies and the Flourished Star Pattern die.  (These dies layer beautifully together).   I added some tiny stars from the Sparkling Stars set as embellishments, and one copper Shining Star die cut.   The paper is the beautiful new 2014 Christmas Paper Collection.  The base is a sparkly copper card stock.  Some pearls and pearl flourishes finished it off.

Here is another angle.

I lined up my front star with the inside star so they exactly line up when the card is closed.  Below is a close up of the sparkly copper embossing powder.  I hope you can see a bit of the sparkle!

Please be sure to visit my DT sisters so you don't miss a chance to win a prize! 

Chris * Lori * Paula * Cathy * Dawn * Sandee * Angie * Lisa * Wanda * Grace *Silke * Sabrina 

* Audrey* Graciellie

Thank you so much for stopping by!!!