Sweet Empty Calories F4A162 (SCS)

Happy Friday evening to all my delightful friends and family!!

Posting this quick-like between batches of Snickerdoodle cookies that are baking.  The Youth group at church is having a bake sale tomorrow in town so I thought I'd get some cookies made up for them.  Last night my youngest daughter asked me to make a couple of "simple" birthday cards for two little sisters turning 6 and 3 years old.  Jakob and Addy will be celebrating with them at the pool (indoor community pool!) tomorrow.  So here are my "simple and quick" cards I made.

For both cards I used the exact same stamp set and paper.  Stamps: Hero Arts, Cupcakes; Designer Paper: DCWV; Bazzill card stock.  This card I also used Liquid Pearls to add "sprinkles" to embellish and Glitz washi  tape.  Inks used: Memento and Archival in black.

On this card the Spellbinder scallop circle was die cut from  the Die-Namics Fishtail Flag that I had previously die cut.  The image was stamped on a separate piece of Neenah card stock and colored with Copic markers and adhered to the backside of the flag. I saw something similar on Pinterest so I thought I'd put my own twist to it.  I've embellished the flame and flower with Ranger Stickles.

Well that's it for tonight.  Mmmm the smell of snickerdoodle cookies are filling my house.... yum!  Thankfully, there are a few cookies that didn't turn out "perfect" that I'll just have to keep out of the bake sale, oh rats!  So much for my Sweet Empty Calorie post.  Which reminds me these cards will be entered in the Friday Splitcoast Stampers challenge Free 4 All which is "Sweet Empty Calories".

And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.  John 19:17-19

Have a blessed weekend and I hope you will consider keeping your focus on the great sacrifice Jesus Christ made for you and because He lives, we can live also. 

Buttons and Blessings! MFTWSC117 and WAW#73

Hello Delightful friends and family!

Hope this finds everyone well and getting prepared for their Resurrection Sunday celebrations.  

It's always a busy weekend here getting prepared for Sundays since hubs is a pastor. We are always celebrating Jesus! But with it being Easter we do have a special dinner with our family on Sunday afternoon.  I also want to get a couple of the granddaughters new dresses for Sunday and hopefully one of them will be able to go to our Sunday service.  Anyway.... I'm counting my blessings and... my buttons are organized nicely in a spice rack according to color! (lol)

  Isn't this is the cutest little Pure Innocence stamp.  She reminds me so much of my youngest granddaughter Tucker Lynn.

Here is Tucker Lynn age 2 one of our little blessings. This was taken last weekend. I was glad to get a decent picture of her, lately she's been growling at me.  Don't know what's up with that but maybe it's the outfit!

I'm entering my card in two challenges: 

1.  Word Art Wednesday#73

2. My Favorite Things Wednesday Sketch Challenge MFTWSC117

Here are the ingredients:  Stamps: Cute as a Button (MFT); Designer Paper, MME (Collectable 6x6 paper pad); Bazzill and Neenah card stock; Washi Tape (Glitz and Bella Blvd); Button (stash) Colored with Copics; Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa and Archival black. Dies: MFT (Fishtail Flag Stax) and Spellbinders Nestabilities Circle and Scallop Circle. EK Success corner rounder punch. Ranger Stickles.

Thanks so much for visiting and God bless. 

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?  Romans 8:32

Complete and Growing, My Adventures in a Faith Journal - WAW

Hello Delightful friends and family!

Fast week!  And this will be a fast post.  It's going to be a tough weekend because it's going to be a busy one plus my aunt's funeral is tomorrow as well, which will begin the day off on a sad note but in the evening we will be celebrating my youngest daughter's birthday, so we will end up on a happy note.  A fast post is because I need to get busy and make her a birthday card!! 

Here are the next two/four pages to my Faith Art Journal which will be entered in the Word Art Wednesday Challenge Blog (Anything Goes) #72

 This first page is a reminder of the verse in Colossians 2 verse 10 that tells us that we are complete in Christ.  What a relief that was when the Lord revealed that in His Word to me.  I don't have to rely on my husband to complete me, nor my children, nor religious works, because my Lord and Savior has said that He completes me.  The butterflies represented the new life (salvation by faith in Jesus Christ) I have as a Christian.  I am new and complete in Christ!

Now that I'm new and complete, I need to grow in God's grace.  Not only have I received the grace of God (His unmerited/undeserved favor to me) but I'm to grow and extend that grace to others and grow in my knowledge of Him, too.  The verse that inspired me for the following pages is 2 Peter 3:18.  

My next few pages I plan to work on will be expounding on the verses found in 2 Peter 1 that really ministered to me as a young believer and helped me grow in faith.  It tells us what and how we are to add to our faith. (Please take a few moments to read the first chapter of 2 Peter.) It doesn't say to add to salvation because that is a done deal, but we are to grow and add to our faith.  It's a constant going forward, it's enduring and it's growing in the knowledge of the Lord. 

 I hope this will encourage you to abound and grow in your knowledge AND in your love for Jesus.

Here are a few of the ingredients I've used: Ranger Acrylic Paint Dabbers, Claudine Hellmuth Studio paints and Studio Multi-medium matte; Stencils:  Plaid Folklore, Dylusions 5x8, Crafter's Workshop; Inks: Archival Black; Dylusions Ink Sprays; Faber-Castell Gelatos and Crafter Crayons; Stamps: Dylusions (How Does Your Garden Grow, Further around the Edge) and Taylored Expressions (Make it Memorable - KI Kit);Ranger Liquid Pearls; Prismacolor pencils; Zig Pen (all the writing and letters are my own handwriting and my attempt at doodling!)  Designer paper scraps are from Jillibean Soup (Grandma's Lima Bean Soup collection);

Thanks for looking and to God be all the glory!

PS. so much for the fast post... (ha!)

For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. Colossians 2:9-10

Happy 6th Birthday - Seize the Birthday #10

Hello Delightful friends and family!

I just wanted to share a quick post this evening.  I've made a masculine birthday card for the Seize the Birthday challenge blog.  No coloring on this so it was quick and easy.  The #6 is a Making Memories sticker that I've had for ages! This sketch would be easy to make a card set with different ages on each card and use both girlie and masculine papers and change out the embellishment with a flower and you could have a variety on hand...

Ingredients:  Designer Paper, Echo Park (Scoot Collection 6x6 pad); Bazzill card stock; Ink: Memento, Love Letters red; Punch: Paper Shapers star; Darice hemp cording, primary colors; Die: MFT, Die-Namics Fishtale Flag Stax.

Hope your week will be a fabulous one!  Thanks for visiting.

The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him.  Psalm 28:7

Heart of the Matter - Faith Art Journal

Hello Delightful Friends and Family,

Working on my Faith Journal and enjoying the "journey" so far, course it's only been a day and a half (ha!).  I have some ideas for pages floating around that I need to write down before they escape! In my last post I shared that that those were my first pages but I should clarify that they were my first pages completed.  These two pages are actually my first pages.  I feel very strongly about our hearts being right before God and so that prompted me to have a couple of "heart" pages to begin this journal. So... "The Heart of the Matter is.... God is Love.  That's the bottom line, God is love.  However, we have a responsibility, too which is found in the Scripture I share at the bottom of the page from John 14:5 "If you love Me, keep my commandments."  That's pretty straightforward.  We need to pay attention to that two letter word "if" when we see it in the Bible.  It usually denotes a condition of personal responsibility towards God.   So let me make it personal, if you love Jesus, do you keep His Word, His commandments?  Those commandments are summed up in two, love the Lord with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.  You see it's not being religious, fulfilling some religious duty, it's about a personal relationship in which we are loving the Lord, pleasing Him and loving those around you.  If you are loving, you are fulfilling the law of Christ!

 Here are some close-up snippets of the journal:

Some of the ingredients:  Background - Dylusions Spray Ink, Ranger Dabber Acrylic paint.  Doily Stencil (a gift from my online friend and sister in Christ, Marsha Fisher, please check out her blog HERE) also used on the last post and I forgot to mention that, oops!  Tim Holtz Sizzix Heart Dies (movers and shapers line); EK Success heart punch; Liquid pearls and Viva Pearl Pen; Black Zig Pen for my writing and shadowing around some of the letters and hearts; Studio Multi-Medium (matte). Hand drawn letters, fussy cut and doodled :-)

Thanks for visiting and letting me share my heart with you!

 I will praise You O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. Psalm 9:1

Faith Art Journal - Word Art Wednesday #71

Hello Delightful friends and family!

It has been a busy and exhausting week for some reason, nothing really has changed in my schedule.  Oh wait a minute, the time change.... ugh... I don't know why one hour of time can cause me to feel so wiped out!  Weird.  Or am I just getting... ya know... kinda old...worn out?  Wait a minute, that can't be it, Jake my 6 year old grandson is having the same reaction...never mind!  I think I'm feeling better already ;-)

Well, after much perusing of Pinterest and being inspired by the girls at work and their wonderful examples of mixed media art I decided to start my faith-based art journal.  I didn't have a journal that could withstand all the techniques and then I saw on one of my rabbit trails in Pinterest that I could use an old hardbound book.  But here's the catch: I would have to tear out pages and then glue some of the remaining pages together for added depth and strength.  Well, what's the rub?  I'm a former librarian, it's extremely difficult for former librarians to deface a book after years of teaching little ones not to! 

But I faced the challenge, found a duplicate "old" book, which happened to be a devotional, which will come in handy as I use the torn out pages to stamp on, make flowers etc. (is that justifying the situation or what!??) plus I don't have to worry about inappropriate words popping up on a Faith journal under the  Gesso'd  pages! It's a win-win.  As a matter a fact, I found this quote on one of the torn out pages which I've used on my first pages.  "Live every moment as best we can... trust God for the result."  It was this quote that was the springboard for the two pages.  Give your best effort for God's glory then TRUST the LORD for the results = BLOOM.

Here is a "partial" list of the ingredients:  Book: Pocketful of Hope by Mary C. Crowley; Stamps: Unity Stamp Co (Andi girl) and Ranger Dylusions stamps (How Does Your Garden Grow); Copic Markers, Sharpie black marker (fine tip); Acrylic paints: Ranger Adirondack Dabbers, Claudine Hellmuth Studio paints; Making Memories Acrylic paints. Faber Castell crafter crayons; Mod Podge. Dylusion Spray Inks (fun colors!).

I'm entering this at the Word Art Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes #71

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful weekend!

I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.  John 10:10

Birthday Wishes - Seize the Birthday #9

Hello Delightful friends and family!

Here is a card I've done for the Seize the Birthday challenge.  It's the feminine birthday card week, so here is the sketch and my card!

 I'm using another fun Saturated Canary digi image for my card today. This hip young lady is named  Violet Vintage. I have colored her with Copic Markers. The sentiment and label are both from Taylored Expressions Labels of Love stamp set.   The designer paper is Jillibean Soup's, Grandma's Lima Bean Soup collection which was the inspiration for the color scheme of markers I've used.  

Other ingredients used:  Card stock: Bazzill and Neenah;  Ink: Memento, Nautical Blue; Archival Ink: Olive; Darice Hemp; Button: Making Memories; Side border die: MFT: Die-Namics Notched border; The flower was created with a die (Taylored Expressions, Bugabee flower) and the felt was a gift from my niece who lives in New York!  She gave me a stack of beautiful colors, I almost hate to cut into them.  A Spica Pen (Lime) was used to add a little glimmer to the green flowers in Violet's hair and the buttons and heart on her dress.  Unfortunately the picture doesn't pick it up.  Well, I think  that's about it.  Hope you enjoy the last day of the weekend. Monday will be here too soon! 

  Thanks for visiting.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.  2 Timothy 1:7

Remember to Smile - SSS#200 and WAW#70

Hello Delightful friends and family,

Hoping to get this in for the Sweet Stop Sketch challenge.  Congrats to Korin for her 200th sketch!  

 Here is my card, I've used a Saturated Canary digi image, Easter Dress (the first time ever coloring one of these beauties, hope I've done her justice.) I've only taken one beginning Copic class at our lss, and I'm so thankful for so many tutorials online plus I just bought the book "Copic Coloring Guide Level 3: People" by Colleen Schaan and Marianne Walker and it was so very helpful. Practice, practice, practice! Someday if certification is offered a bit closer to where I live perhaps I'll be able to do that.

The designer paper is Echo Park (For the Record 2), card stock Bazzill, Neenah; Sentiment: Greeting Farms; Inks: Memento ink, tuxedo black; Distress Inks, Worn lipstick,Antique lines, Frayed burlap, Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities Scallop Oval and MFT Die-Namics Fishtale Flags STAX.  I've also used a piece of vellum that's distressed and the edges inked with the Frayed Burlap Distress ink.  

SSS#90 Here is a card that was one of my favorites using the Sweet Stop Sketches I used it way back in January 2011!

Okay, gotta quickly get this linked up!  I will also link this up at WORD ART WEDNESDAY - Anything Goes #70.  Have a blessed day.

Thanks for visiting!

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.   2 Cor. 2:14

Sister Act Card Challenge Design Call

Hello Delightful friends and family!!

Hope you all have had a good Monday!  I'm sharing about a new challenge site called Sister Act Card Challenge.  They (sister-in-laws, Jenn and Trish) are looking for 8 full time members for their design team.  A variety of styles will be put into consideration. The term runs from April-September. The blog will air on Fridays. Here are the requirements:

You will be required to make 1 project a week-Anything Goes
You must be able to meet deadlines
You must have an active blog
You must link our challenge and the DT members in your sidebar
You must be a teamplayer
You need to be able to communicate in English
You will be required to leave comments on participants blogs

If that interests you be sure and visit their site HERE for more information.  This call is open until March 22.

Here are my three favorite cards that I'm entering into the "competition" for a spot on the team.

  

CAS style, colored with Prismacolor pencils.

Copic coloring, embossing and diecutting techniques.

Paper piecing technique and dies.

Thanks for the opportunity and and thanks for visiting!

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.  Isaiah 26:3

Happy Birthday, Jakob! Seize the birthday #8

Hello Delightful friends and family

Here's our little guy who is turning a big 6 years old.  He loves camo and anything military (typical boy!) so I've made a birthday card that I have a feeling he will like a lot (as much as a six year old can like - this grammie totally gets it!)

Here is the sketch from seize the Birthday that I used for this card.

inside

Ingredients:  Bugaboo Digi stamps; Reminisce Stickers (American Hero signature series); Misc Alpha stickers; Copic Markers; Bazzill and Neenah card stock; Cuttlebug embossing folder, stars; Distress Inks: Frayed burlap; MFT - Die Namics Notched border. I'm not sure of the manufacturer of the designer desert camo paper.

Thanks so much for visiting and you can be sure I'll be sharing more pictures of the birthday boy after his party tonight!

This is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:24