God Is Faithful - TESC#154

Hello Delightful Friends and Family!  I finally made my way into the craft room after a bit of time off with traveling and having some fun with the family.  This is the perfect way for me to get the creative juices flowing again with a sketch.  This one is Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #154 and I've used my new stamp set called Faith in Bloom.  It has adorable flowers and some wonderful Scriptures for encouragement.  (you can see the set at the end of this post)

The paper I've used is from last months Key Ingredient Kit (My Minds Eye - Lost & Found) and Bazzill card stock.  The flower is paper pieced and the leaf is colored with Copic Markers G40 and G43.  The ink is Memento Tuxedo black.  The butterflies are punched out with a Marvy Uchida punch and then the edges darkened with Distress Ink - Frayed Burlap.  The faux stitching was drawn with a Sharpie Ultra Fine Point. I've used the Spellbinders Nestablilities Standard Circle to frame out the focal point. 

I won this set by participating in the Key Ingredient Blog Hop last month!!!

Thanks for visiting and taking a peek!  Have a great week.

"Sing unto the LORD; For He hath done excellent things:  This is known in all the earth"  Isaiah 12:5

From Fun in the Sun to Fun in the Snow!

Hello Delightful Friends and Family!

Can we talk about extremes here?! Last weekend I was in Arizona, enjoying the 80 degree weather, watching the Giants play against the Mariners and the Angels (see two posts ago).  This weekend we were playing in the snow on Horse Mountain here in Humboldt County.  We found a nice little hill for both little and old to enjoy sliding down.  I personally hate the snow but I love to hear the kids giggle and I enjoy taking the pictures of everyone enjoying themselves!  I shouldn't say I hate the snow, I just don't have the proper clothing for it to make it enjoyable. kwim? 

Jeremy Affeldt pitching last Sunday.

This is the view from the backside of the Hilton in Phoenix.

Here is the front view (so glad my mom has a time-share!!)

Couldn't resist taking a picture of this beautiful bush at the resort in Arizona.

 One week later in northern California about 45 minutes from home:  My oldest, Amy all bundled up!

Addy throwing a snowball at me!!! (she missed!)

Hubby Kerry trying to stay warm and Lady loving the cold snow, until it started to hail on us!

Daughter Kelly striking a pose

Body surfing on the snow?? No, there is a board under my son-in-law Ray (the hill is hiding it)

Jake loved it, as soon as he got to the bottom of the hill he said "That was AWESOME!"  It was so stinkin' cute!  But we had to cut our afternoon short due to the weather and concerns about the roads freezing when it began to hail. 

Mimi (Aunt Amy) and Addy.

Sad that we had to cut the day short...  even when he's pouty, he's cute!  However, a homemade pumpkin muffin made him smile, once we got loaded back into the Expedition.

Thanks for visiting and I'm definitely getting into the crafty mode, just need to stay home long enough to get started!

"O come, let us sing unto the LORD: Let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation."  Psalm 95:1

Paper Crafters One Year Membership Giveaway!!

Hello Delightful friends and family!
Here is an exciting contest which Paper Crafters is running for the next 9 months – They will be giving away a total of 18 ONE YEAR MEMBERSHIPS to the Paper Crafter’s Library – each valued at $200! They will announce 2 winners on the first of EACH MONTH – starting on April 1st, and ending January 1st, 2013. Just go to the link above and enter! Don't miss your chance to WIN!!! 
If you are new to crafting or just want to learn new and trendy techniques this is a great place to visit & follow!  I am new to this site and I'm loving the fun ideas!

"My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus"  Philippians 4:19

Fun in the Sun At Baseball's Spring Training

Hello Delightful Sport friends and family!!  I'm back from a mini vacation with my daughter, mom, sister and nephew.  It was my Christmas gift from them, a trip to Arizona to watch the San Francisco Giants Spring Training!  I just wanted to share a few of the highlights and I promise I won't show all 192 pictures that I've taken!  I have to admit it was just a little tough leaving the 80 degree weather and returning to northern California and the 42 degrees and rain!!

The first game was against the Angels in their field in Tempe, AZ.  My daughter Amy and I went to that game and when she purchased the tickets she didn't realize it would be a split squad (boo-hoo!) however our seats were behind homeplate two rows up!! Awesome!!!! Even if we were in "enemy" territory!  Glad there were quite a few Giant fans throughout the stadium.  There is a funny story to tell about us getting into the stadium but it's too long to share here!

Giants meeting together before the game on Saturday against the Angels.

Freddy Sanchez DH's in his return after his injury in the 2011 season.

Homerun!! Aubrey Huff hits one out!

Eli Whiteside behind the plate in this game. 

3rd baseman Conor Gillaspie

The Giants lost that game but we were excited to be there, even if new Angel, Albert Pujols didn't play!

Game 2 at Scottsdale Stadium: 

Getting into position to start the game.

Pablo (Panda) Sandoval, 3rd base

Ryan Theriot, short stop

Eric Surkamp on the mound

Now this game was exciting!  Buster was starting at catcher, Brian Wilson would be making his first appearance, Jeremy Affeldt and Javier Lopez each pitched an inning! The Panda was playing 3rd, the Baby Giraffe (Belt) was at first and Huff was DH.  Exciting lineup for us to see!!  Plus, one of the Mariners, catcher John Jaso is a local boy.  My brother, Dustin was his high school baseball coach so that made the game fun, too!

Posey warming up the pitcher.

John Jaso catching (Mariners) and Aubrey Huff (dh) batting.

Brian (of Fear the Beard fame) Wilson in to pitch for the first time in pre-season!  Personally, I'd love to see him trim the beard but it's turned into a trademark so I don't see that happening. 

Javiar Lopez with his sidearm delivery it's amazing to see him throw it for strikes! 

 Lefty, Jeremy Affeldt in to pitch.  I am a follower of his blog and will occasionally comment so I was hoping to meet him.  Amy and I did stick around while the rest of the family was trying to catch up with John Jaso but there are so many people around it's pretty crazy.  He was kind enough to stay and sign autographs after the game and I was close enough to say that I enjoyed his blog.  That was one of the highlights of the trip and so was getting Gaylord Perry's autograph! I remember watching him play when I was very young, my dad always had the games on (TV or radio), I grew up on Giants baseball!  Now my kids and grandkids are following the tradition.

Affeldt throwing a strike (of course!)

My nephew Will with a Gaylord Perry autographed baseball.

Hector Sanchez rounding 2nd base after hitting his 2nd homerun of the game!!

Both teams scored a few more runs but the Giants did win!!

Thanks for letting me share a little (or a lot) about my mini vacation, I think next year my husband says he's game and wants to go (Yay!!) He's not much for traveling so I was really happy he said that!  We hope to catch a game or two of the regular season but it's really difficult to get away with the responsibilites of church and family but it's always a fun time when we can get away for a little R & R.

God bless!!!

PS  We did do some shopping and girly stuff, too!

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #153

Hello Delightful friends and family!

Have to make this brief, I'm heading out of town in the morning and still have lots to do!

It seems like I've been making quite a few sympathy cards here lately and here is another one to share that I made for a dear friend of the family whose wife passed away this week.  My husband will be performing the service and if you would lift him up in prayer I'd appreciate it. It's difficult and yet a joy at the same time, knowing that she is with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I will be out of town and won't be able to be with him for a little moral support but praise the Lord, we can pray and know that the God of all comfort will be with all of them during this time.

Here is the sketch I used for inspiration, be sure and check out Karen's blog HERE:

(Inside of card)

Here are the supplies used:  Stamps: Taylored Expressions (Summer Afternoon and Care & Comfort) Designer Paper: My Minds Eye (Stella Rose) Bazzill card stock; Memento Tuxedo Black ink and Distress Ink, Broken China; Dies: Taylored Expression Medium Scallop border; Spellbinders Classic Circle; Ribbon (Taylored Expressions Key Ingredient kit)

Thanks for visiting and God bless!

Jakob's Birthday Party

Hello delightful friends and family,

Hope you'll indulge me while I share some cute photos of our grandson's birthday party.

Here is Jake's birthday cake, I'm so proud of my daughter's cake decorating skills!  She had Costco frost the cake with brown icing and the green piping, then she did the rest.  It turned out great (and yummy, too!)

Jake standing up in the "bed" of his F-150 Ford pickup.

His buddy Garrison is doing the driving.  Addy is the passenger.  They are having a blast.

Gift time!

Blowing out the candles.

Play time with the new Transformers.

The girls turn to "cruise" (Addy tailgating with Quincy driving and her sister Colby in the passenger seat.)

Our handsome young grandson, 5 years old!

Thanks for visiting!

A Special Thank You

Hello Delightful friends and family!

Happy weekend to you.  We are having a gorgeous day, spring is definitely around the corner but I know we can and probably will experience a few more winter storms during the month of March. That is usually the case in our "neck of the woods".

My card today is a thank you to Judy and Michael Phillips who were so generous in sending me 3 of the newest books written by Michael. Michael is a local author and recently wrote: Angel Harp, Heather Song and From Across the Ancient Waters which are fictional books based in Scotland and Wales with wonderful characters growing in faith, with lots of adventure, mystery and romance in the mix, too. To see an excerpt and more info about Michael's books please check out their website Father of the Inklings

  So with the inspiration of the heather found in Scotland and the music of the harp and the love of  our heavenly Father waiting on the prodigals, I tried to make a card that would somehow bring those elements into the design.  Well, let me tell you I searched high and low for a digital stamp of a Heather plant to no avail!  So this one is hand drawn and colored with Copic markers.  Do you know how many varieties of heather there are?!  So this is my own vision of what one of the Scottish Heathers would look like.  I hope I did it justice! 

inside

Recipe for the card:  

Designer Paper: Glitz; Card Stock: Bazzill and Watercolor Paper; Stamps: Thank You Inside and Out - PTI; Scripture inside card: ODBD;  Ink: Memento, Tuxedo Black;  Distress Inks: Vintage Photo and Worn Lipstick: Ribbon: American Crafts; Dies: Spellbinders (Scallop Circle, Ribbon Tag, Postage Border); Hand drawn heather using Copic markers.

Thanks for visiting!  Have a wonderful weekend.