He Is Risen!

As I celebrate my risen Savior, Jesus, I am reminded of these words:

I commend Jesus to you this morning, whoever you are. If he is not the joy of your heart, he wants to be. He says in John 6:35, "I am the bread of life, he who comes to me shall not hunger and he who believes in me shall never thirst"—NEVER! An unbroken line of satisfaction in Jesus from the now to eternity.

This is the word of the risen Jesus to us this morning—to all of us who will take him as our joy! "You will see me . . . and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you." [John 16:22]

John Piper

May you rise with hope in your heart and joy in your life this Resurrection morning.

Christmas Gifts

Sitting down to write this post for the second time.  Not sure where the previous post went to... the Internet neverland I'm guessing.  Still catching up on Christmas projects and thought I would share this project with you.  The Girl Scouts, my daughter being one, sell butter toffee peanuts each fall.  They make the perfect gift and I enjoy dressing the containers for Christmas gifts. I reached into the stash for this one.  The music patterned paper is from the leavings of my Christmas card this year.  I used a border die passed through the Grand Calibur twice to make the black pieces to cover the edges of the paper.

The brown circle on the top are a bunch of pattern papers cut for a Christmas card over 5 years ago.    I can't really explain why I kept 20 precut and ink edged circles, but I did and I found a good use for them.  The wreath is cut using my Papertrey Ink Rustic Wreath die.  The sentiment is stamped in black Archival Ink using my ODBD Christmas Mini stamp.  I finished the wreath with some holly berries using a Viva Deco Pearl Pen.    

We had the great fortune to be invited by good friends to the Desert Botantical Garden for the Lumenaria walk in December.  The weather was perfect- we needed to wear a heavy sweater and our cheeks got cold enough to enjoy a strong, hot cup of cocoa.  However, the weather was pleasant and the company stellar.  

The lights were particularly spectacular and wonderfully stuning.  We all had a good time, extending the wonder and splendor of the season one more evening.  I hope you all enjoyed your special times during the season and can look forward many more happy memories in 2015.

More Variations on Christmas Cards

A few more Christmas cards of similar design.  This time I combined my Papertrey Ink Rustic Wreath stamp set and my Papertrey Ink Rustic Wreath die to create the card.  The poinsettia was once again cut and embossed with my Spellbinders Layered Poinsettia die.  The red cardstock was then spritzed with watered down white acrylic paint using an old toothbrush.  A little Good Earth elements from Art Glitter in the center and a couple of stamped and cut Heartfelt Creations Holly Berry leaves finish the card off nicely.

Papertrey Ink sentiments are so cute, don't you think?  So glad to be able to share these cards with you this Christmas season.

Christmas Cards - A Little Peace This Year

I'm not sure what my Christmas card designs say about me other than I love my Our Daily Bread Designs Peace on Earth stamp from their Christmas Mini stamp set and my Papertrey Ink Rustic Wreath die.  The poinsettia was cut and embossed with my Spellbinders Layered Poinsettia die.  A little Good Earth elements from Art Glitter and this card is mostly done.

How are you doing on getting your cards made?  I hope they are coming along nicely.  I'm almost done addressing these to get them sent out.  I typically hold off sending them until later in the month to ensure a timely delivery.  Enjoy the season!

Christmas Cards - It's That Time of Year

It is that time of year.  Christmas cards are on the make and I am joining in the fun.  I made a series of cards and wanted to share them with you.

Each card is made using my Papertrey Ink Rustic Wreath stamp and die.









The poinsettia were made using my Layered Poinsettia Shapeabilities.  The center was made using some Good Earth Elements Earth Textures.  The red cardstock is spritzed with some white acrylic paint using an old toothbrush.

The patterned papers and kraft cardstock are literally from the scrap heap in the stash, bits and pieces from other projects over the years.  I guess these cards are the reason I keep those pieces!

The Peace on Earth sentiment is from the Our Daily Bread Designs Christmas Mini stamp set.      

I hope this finds you happily crafting for the season yourself.  Wishing a little Peace into your portion of the Earth this holiday season.

Guest Crafting

Not that you need an explanation, but I've been duly distracted this past few weeks as I experienced a bit of life changes.  I left my job of 5 years and started a new job with a larger company in a very different environment and structure.  Interviewing is very challenging to the introvert spirit!   I am a relatively confident person and believe that I am a good and valuable employee.  However, selling myself is a tough job.

In the middle of all this change a very good sister in Christ, my co-worker Wendy, also lost her position at our old company.  Upheaval and change... not always easy.  During all this mess, Wendy made a trip (we live on opposite ends of the Phoenix valley) to my house for some craft time.  She is very artistic and one of the most talented hostesses (right up there with my friend Keri, she who is of the Bubble Guppies fame) I know.  However, paper crafting isn't somethig she does everyday.  I got out a plethora of die cuts and stamps and let her make these lovely creations. She took them home to use them.  

So pretty, yes!?!  Proof that pretty paper and some matching embellishments and a keen eye can result in beautiful cards even with small amounts of experience.  More importantly, these cards represent a time spent healing together.  Beautiful!

I'm going to try to catch up with posts. I've been creative if not sharing...


 

My Kind of Ladies Night Out!

I have been facilitating a women's book club for the ladies Bible study group.  We typically try to have something to meet over in the summer where everyone doesn't feel compelled to come since vacations and schedules are a little more erratic.  After we finished our first book, First Light by Brock and Brodie Thoene, we wanted to have a little party where we unleash our compassion (think about others rather than nurturing ourselves).  I suggested a card making party.  Two of us have Compassion kids and so the focus would be for the ladies to create a card and then write a note to our kids to send encouragement and love around the world.   If you haven't heard about Compassion International and their pen pal program, click the link.  It is a wonderful blessing to so many impoverished kids around the world.

This post is filled with the beautiful creations of the ladies.  So many of them had never made a card before.  You'll see an assortment of my supplies- I provided precut die cuts and the ink and stamp sets.  It worked out great, don't you think?



I had a fair bit of Heartfelt Creations Sun-kissed Fleurs already die cut and colored.  Some with copper stamp paint like this one, the others with Peacock Feathers, Ripe Persimmons and Scattered Straw Distress Ink.  

























Others had frames from my ODBD Ornate Borders and Flowers and lacey die cuts using my Heartfelt Creations Raindrops on Roses die.














Apologies for the photos- they had to be taken under artificial light because these cards didn't come home with me and we met at night.  Still, you get to see their lovely creations.


























All the ladies really enjoyed themselves creating and laughing and sharing together.  It was a lovely night that I think everyone enjoyed.  Who knows, it might lead to other such nights for different purposes.  As always, I'm out there spreading the "contagious" enthusiasm for creating.  I challenge you to pass it on!

Happy Birthday Card

Popping in for a quick post of a birthday card made with my new favorite stamp- Papertrey's Rustic Wreath die and stamp set.  You'll remember this was a gift from Brandy for my birthday and I simply love it.  Here's the details:

• I stamped the wreath with brown Archival Ink onto white cardstock.  I then colored the leaves with my Peacock Feathers Distress Marker and die cut the wreath out using the die.

• I then stamped the sentiment using the Peacock Feathers Distress Marker to color the stamp.  It created this great mottled effect which I was at first extremely disappointed in and then realized what a stylized result it created.  Happy accident, love it!
• I used a scrap of purple twill ribbon and some leftover chipboard flower elements from the Scrappy Calendar. 
• Inside I stamped one of my Hearfelt Expressions sentiments in brown Archival Ink.

A quick, easy card to put together that I really like in the final result.

Grandma's, Thank You Cards and a Rustic Wreath

I had mentioned at the end of last week that I was planning a trip to visit with my grandma in Colorado.  It's a snowy time of the year for that kind of trip, but she has been ill lately and is facing major surgery.  We didn't get to see enough of each other during her visit in November because she spent the majority of her time here in the hospital.  All that and a $97 plane ticket was sufficient motivation to hop a plane.

Since we knew that she was going to be having surgery, I packed 1/2 a suitcase full of crafting tools and supplies with the intention to make her some Thank You cards.  In the end, these five duplicate design Thank You's were the only one's we made.  Not to be sad or anything, I've a post to put together to show you the crafty goodness that was our
 substitute. 



Here's the details:

• I stamped the wreath with brown Archival Ink onto white cardstock.  I then colored the leaves with my Peeled Paint Distress Marker.  Stamping off the page can be tricky- I had to be careful with firm even pressure all around.

• I then stamped the sentiment using the brown Archival ink as well.  

• I had brought with me a set of bling, so I added a few pieces strategically around the wreath.
• I had cut and shaped the Vintage Floret flowers for another project and brought them with me.  I added a piece of bling to the center and glued it in here. 
• Inside I stamped one of my Hearfelt Expressions sentiments in brown Archival Ink.

My grandma doesn't actively participate in my crafting, but mostly sits beside me and we chat while I work.  The BEST!  I left these five cards with her for use in the coming weeks as others are kind to her. She is a letter writer/sender and so I think will truly send them out.  Yay!  I'll be back later this weekend with a view of what distracted me from my card making.  Good stuff.

12 Days of Christmas 2013

I've shared a couple times before that one of our family traditions is to make and gift the 12 Days of Christmas.  It started because friends of ours dropped off a gift every day for the 12 days before Christmas.  Each gift came with a sweet tag, a poem and kind words.  We'd no idea who was doing this until Christmas Eve when the last gift arrived.  It was so very touching and thoughtful that I immediately craftied the idea up and have been doing it every since. 









I typically make one set for my nephew, one set for my niece and nephew and one set for good friends of ours, the McCleary (mamma McCleary being the one of Bubble Guppies crafty fame who is featured occassionally).









I am not nearly organized enough to get everything made and decorated and wrapped for the 12 days before Christmas, but instead gift the entire set on Christmas Eve or Christmas day with the intention that they open one each day til the Epiphany.  This year, I came across Graphic 45's stamp set and said- "That, my friend, belongs to me".  I really did say that out loud because Brandy was shopping with me!





The tricky part was making time to create with the stamp set and 6 x 6 paper pad.  In the end, these tags were made for the outside of each bag on the weekend before Christmas- terribly late.  However, my husband and the kids were away for two days visiting his mom and dad so it was craft heaven around our house.  Just me and the saints a craftin' away to Christmas tunes. 

























As a reference, I'll connect in to the two other posts I've made regarding the 12 Days of Christmas.  The first post shows how I made a set of 12 Christmas cards as a gift to a few of my Bible study friends.  I found a list online that linked Bible verses to the 12 Days ideas and used the same layout for each card varying the patterned paper layers in each card.







The second post outlines a few ideas for a 12 Days of Christmas gift like this one.  I used the exact same idea this year- 12 paper lunch bags with the gift and tag inside telling our friends of the connection to the 12 Days and a tag outside the bag to tell you which bag to open on which day.







This year, the tags for the outside were very simple.  Here's the details:

• Each tag was cut using my Accent Essentials Cricut cart from the Graphic 45 6 x 6 paper pad.  The paper is double sided with one side solid and the other side patterned.
• I stamped the Graphic 45 stamp for each day using brown Archival Ink on the solid side of the tag.  I edged the tags with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

•  Each tag is embellished with FlowerSoft, glitter, and/or bling accents.  I used Crystal Accents to clue on the FlowerSoft (Delphinium Blue, Christmas Green and Heather) and the bling accents and a glue pen to accurately place the glitter.  Please forgive the poor glitter photos.  I just tried to get an exposure that would highlight that glitter was used!

I didn't have a whole lot of time and I envisioned a much more beautiful, intricate and detailed final product than what I made.  Yet, I am so pleased with how they turned out.  Sometimes, simple is just beautiful and I think these tags ultimately hit the mark!






















Here's a photo of the supplies before we began bagging everything up.  I'll confess that the cost of filling the bags varies greatly.  I look for low cost, high impact items like candy and slippers, etc.

ETA:  The whole Google Plus thingy didn't work.  I've included the copy here though you'll have to delete the parentheses which identify what I gave as a gift:

On the first day of Christmas… The partridge dropped off an ornament for you! (a bird ornament)	On the second day of Christmas… The turtle doves thought  you might enjoy these little Cuties. (Cutie oranges)
On the third day of Christmas… Those French hens are talkative, so they gave you these cards to write someone a note. (handmade cards- look below)	On the fourth day of Christmas… The calling birds are always talking.  Everyone has been going on about this treat.  What do you think? (Chocolate Covered Pretzels a new favorite in our house)
On the fifth day of Christmas… Search through these rolls to find the elusive gold (pineapple!) ring. (Rolls of Lifesaver candies)	On the sixth day of Christmas… The geese a-laying made a huge mess so they kindly left these to help you clean up. (washrags)
On the seventh day of Christmas… When you get done swimming with the swans, sooth your dry skin with some peppermint lotion.	On the eighth day of Christmas… The maids thought you might enjoy making some muffins to go with all that milk. (muffin mix)
On the ninth day of Christmas… The ladies recently started dancing by candlelight.  Light this candle and see if they visit!	On the tenth day of Christmas… The Lords find these socks feel real good on their tired feet.  They even agreed to share with you. (I made them wash their feet first!) (fuzzy socks)
On the eleventh day of Christmas… The pipers find they suffer from dry mouth – all that piping.  Here’s some of their favorite gum to wet your whistle. (a pack of gum)	On the twelfth day of Christmas… The drummers like to celebrate- enjoy a fizzy cup on them. (sparkling cider)

This year, I printed the cards out on my printer and then cut them using my Spellbinders Labels 18 and my Spellbinders Labels 17.  I then stamped the corners of some of the cards with the corner stamp from the Graphic 45 stamp set.









You'll notice that I got my craft on making some thoughtful cards (those French hens- always communicating) as one of the gifts.  This card was made by stamping a kraft card using my Papertrey Ink Rustic Wreath stamp using brown Archival Ink and coloring in the leaves using my Peeled Paint Distress Marker and finishing it off with a brown Archival Ink sentiment stamp right in the middle.  Quick and easy but highly effective, don't you think?








In process picture>>>>>>

I ended up stamping white cardstock with the title stamp from the Graphic 45 stamps and accented with the corner stamp.  I then cut out this image using my Imperial Gold Labels 4 die.  I simply glued this to a cardboard box top that I had wrapped with some plaid Christmas colored wrapping paper. 

The finished product.  I have so much fun doing this, I'm convinced that no one enjoys the gift as much as I enjoy making it.  They assure me this is not so, but I can't imagine that.  Thanks for sticking with this very picture heavy post.  Hope you enjoyed the trip.