Teach Me and Lead Me - Word Art Wednesday challenge

Hello!
It's the last week of August! How can this be? Did your summer fly by too?
The grandkids started the new school year this week, my goodness they are getting so big. 

First day of school (Jake, Tucker, Riley & Addy)

I hope that this weeks Scripture art will bless you as it has me. It's Psalm 143:10  (see the end of the post) and I've made a card for our challenge over at the Word Art Wednesday blog (family friendly - anything goes). This weeks sponsors are Newton's Nook ($20 gift card) AND Polly's Paper Studio (digital).  Hope you will link up your creations with us!

Here is my card:

Ingredients:

I've used an embossing folder with autumn leaves on the top layer (5.25 x 4") not sure of the manufacturer of the folder (sorry!) it's not marked and the packaging is long gone!

I diecut using the Cottage Cutz cross-stitched squares for the two top pieces. The pattern paper is from Carta Bella (Fall Break 6x6 paper pad), the orange ribbon is from my "stash" I've collected over the years from a Taylor Expressions kit.  The natural hemp is from Darice. The Distress Inks used were Rusty Hinge, Aged Mahogany and Crushed Olive. My card base is a natural 80# Neenah card stock.  I've used a solid rust to cover the base front, also from the Carta Bella paper pad.  This card design was really quick to put together and there are a lot of options if you were to make a gift set.  I usually make sets of cards for my sisters who have birthdays in November.  This may be one of the designs! 

This weeks Scripture  is a plea from David to the Lord.  What a powerful chapter (be sure to read it all), it truly shows the frailty and humanity of David (just like us!) and we all go through trials no matter how long we've been serving Christ.  But David knew who to turn to and who to trust for deliverance. Sometimes we may think that God has forsaken us when we don't see the answers to prayer that we desire or the trial may be lasting much longer than we anticipated, whatever the situation might be... we need to cry out to the Lord to teach us and lead us because He is good and desires only the best for us. His righteousness insures us He will be faithful and it's His faithfulness that insures He will be righteous.  We can trust the Living God for He is compassionate and gracious and completely faithful to you! Great is His love for us. Be encouraged today - Jesus loves you so very much.

Thanks for visiting!  Don't forget to check us out at Word Art Wednesday!

Word Art Wednesday Challenge (348 & 349)

Hello!
Thanks for visiting! It's time for this weeks Word Art Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes (Family Friendly!)  We have a couple of great sponsors for this challenge.  Pink and Main ($20 gift card) and Sweet 'N Sassy (digital images).  Consider linking up and playing along with us at WAW, the challenge lasts for two weeks and you can enter 5 new projects a week for a change to win one of the prizes!
Here is my card:

I used the MFT Sketch for inspiration and the pattern paper is from Carta Bella called Fall Break, the card stock I'm pretty sure is Bazzill (not sure of the actual color names but it is a sea foam green and orange sherbert color), I've used a natural white Neenah 80# for the base.  Easy peasy! The die is the Stitched Circle from Simon Says Stamp cut twice.

Here is the sketch I used:

The Scripture Art is from Philippians 2:4 "Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others" that's the King James Version.  Here it is in the New King James Version which makes more sense, sometimes Old English is hard to understand.  "Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." It's definitely a good reminder on what kind of attitude we should have in regards to our neighbor, it shows the love of Christ by making sure we are looking out not only for ourselves but being a help to our neighbors and brothers and sisters in Christ.

But to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure of an occasion that I would use this Scripture in the KJV on a card to encourage someone, so I've adhered it with repositionable tape for the sake of the challenge and will replace it with another verse or an image.  Just being real! 

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a blessed week.

Birthday Fishes! Seize the Birthday challenge

Hello!

Here is a card I made for my son-in-law whose birthday is tomorrow. Happy Birthday, Ray!
We did some fishing over the 4th of July and so when I saw this stamp set, I knew I'd need it for all the "boys" in the family.  Actually we all love to fish! This stamp set is called Reel Great Guys from Art Impressions.  I'm entering this in the Seize the Birthday challenge with the topping "water".  This is my second card for the challenge.

I used my Zig Clean Color brushes for this and I got brave and made my own island in the background. The plaid paper is from Lawn Fawn and I've used Strathford 140# cold press water color paper and a natural white Neenah card stock base.  I stamped the images with Archival Watering Can ink and used Silver Black Velvet brushes (#4 and #8), I've popped up the watercolor paper with fun foam for dimension.

Update on my daughter and the Carr Fire:  The evacuation has been lifted for her town of Lewiston, however the road to get there easily is still closed.  Last time she went the alternate route is was over 3 hours from her work where normally it would be 45 minutes.  Yikes! Please continue to pray for the firefighters and the displaced people here in California.  It is a mess and so sad to see.  But God is greater than the mess and He will provide and show Himself strong on behalf of those who love and trust Him.

Thanks for visiting!! 

The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.  Jeremiah 31:3

What's at the Fair - card class August 16th!

Hi there!
Here is a sample of two of the cards I will be sharing in a class featuring the fun Lawn Fawn stamps Hay There and Coaster Critters.  The class will be Aug 16th at Scrapper's Edge in Eureka, Calif., I teach the CrafterNoon class twice a month! You can check out their website for more details.

If you are traveling through northern California, stop by and visit us at Scrapper's Edge!  There are many classes offered throughout the month, from altered art & journals, scrapbook pages and of course cards, too.  You can even sign up online ahead of time (we need reservations and payment 2 days in advance of the class.)

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.  Psalms 119:105

Best Fishes for a Happy Birthday! #Seize the Birthday

Happy Saturday to my Delightful friends and family!

Here is a card I just finished for Henry's birthday. (Henry is my daughter's fiance's son, so he is our future grandson who is turning 5!)  Today is his birthday but his party is next week and HOPEFULLY we will be able to attend. 
They are in Lewiston which has been evacuated because of the Carr Fire. Please continue to pray! The firefighters are working hard to keep the fire from advancing over the fire lines near the town of Lewiston, so please pray. 141,825 acres have burned and it's only at 41% contained. Lord help!

Here is a picture of Henry's card, who by the way is a pretty great fisherman at the age of 5 and his favorite color is blue!  I will be linking this at the Seize the Birthday challenge.  The topping this week is water, well this is a stretch but what lives in the water: Fish and I've added a layer in blue pattern paper from BoBunny called Escape to Paradise.

Here is the inside:

I've used 3 stamp sets for this card:

Whipper Snapper: First Fish; Art Impressions:Reel Great Guys set; Darcie's Heart & Home: JCS209 (inside sentiment)

I've colored the front image with watercolors and the inside fish was colored with Copic markers and added clear Wink of Stella to make it shiny like fish scales 😃. The sentiments were stamped with Archival Cobalt ink and I've used a Spellbinder die to cut the inside sentiment and frame.

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:19

Thanks for visiting and have a blessed day!

Fabulous Fuchias - Card Class

Hello!
I'm doing a class today at Scrapper's Edge, our local Scrapbook store in Eureka.
We will be making three cards featuring the Avery Elle stamp set called Hummingbird. 

Here are my card samples:

Class is from 1 to 3, so I know the ladies won't have time to finish all the cards, they are watercolored so I've done a lot of the prep work, such as die cutting, cutting the card stock to size, etc.  I've stamped and embossed the one card so it's ready to color.  The class includes all the supplies they would need to use including an envelope and an instruction sheet, for this class they just bring their watercolors and brushes as well as a Basic kit consisting of trimmer, scissors and adhesive.  If you are in the Eureka (northern Calif.) area or have plans to visit you should check out our website and see if there are going to be classes during the time you are here. You can sign up and pay online for your convenience and we like it if you would sign up at least 2 days before class so the instructors (like me!) have time to prepare for class.  Most of our card classes range from $15 to $18 which I think is really reasonable!  So check out the website here and see what we have to offer.

Praise the Lord.  Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in His commands.  Psalm 112:1

On the Calendar:

Next class that I will be teaching features Lawn Fawn stamps and dies and relates to what you find at the fair.  The local county fair is in August so I thought that would be a fun one to do.  I will post the card samples soon!  I'm working on September class samples this week!

Thanks for visiting and have a blessed week!

Celebrate the Work of the Lord - Word Art Wednesday #346 & #346

Hello!
Thanks for visiting! It's already time for the Word Art Wednesday Challenge can you believe it!  August 1st is here and it seems like summer hasn't really even started yet! Hope you will be able to join us and share your crafty Anything Goes - Family Friendly creation with us! Our two sponsors are Neat & Tangled ($25 gift card) and Cutting Cafe (digital prize). Remember you can link up 5 new projects each week (cards, scrapbook pages, Bible journaling, mixed media, etc.)

Here is my card this week and I did a lot of masking on this to give the banner more flowers around it.  It's all from one stamp set called "Best Buds" from Paper Smooches. I've colored it with Zig Clean Color Real Brushes (Kuretake) and I've also used Prima - The Classics watercolors.  The backgound paper is Carta Bella Fall Break and the watercolor paper is 140# cold press (Strathmore). I've stamped the images using Archival Ink Watering Can and embellished with a few sequins.

Our Scripture Art this week is Psalm 92:4

It's a psalm of thanksgiving! We do have so much to be thankful for and especially as we see the hand of God at work in our lives.  To give thanks to God is such a small thing when you compare it to His goodness towards us but it truly is our "reasonable service" not only to praise Him for His goodness but live so that others can see His goodness in us.  C.H. Spurgeon said, "When God reveals His work to a man, and performs a work in his soul, He makes his heart glad most effectually, and then the natural consequence is continual praise."  I say "Amen" to that!!

  Please keep California in your prayers!  We are being hit hard with fires this summer and it keeps hitting closer to home.  Many of our friends in Redding (Carr Fire) had to be evacuated, and we thank the Lord that most have now been able to return to their homes. Now that fire is spreading west into Trinity County and there is still the threat of more acres being burned.  Our daughter was evacuated from the town of Lewiston Sunday night and has been in contact with some of the residents who chose to stay and so far so good.  The fire is still a couple miles from the town but its in such a rural area it's a tough one to fight. Our specific prayer is that the winds would die down completely, that is one of the reasons for it spreading so rapidly in addition to the mountainous terrain. Please keep all the firefighters in your prayers, too. This fire has been burning for over a week.
We are on the coast about 2 hours away from the fire in Redding, then to the south of us about 3 hours is the Mendocino fire and three hours to the northeast of us is the southern Oregon fire in Grants Pass. It's just devastating. Worst fire season ever. So many affected. But we are praying for the Lord to be glorified through these tragic events and that people would realize how fragile life is and  turn to Him.

Thanks for your prayers!