Long Time...No Blog!

I'm sorry it's been a very long time since I have posted anything. Lots of things have happened, and I got sidetracked by this game called FarmTown on Facebook...when I have more time I will fill you in. In the meantime, I have made a few cards. Posted above is a thank you card that I made for a friend. I used a stamp by Leigh Hannan, which I purchased from Impression Obsession. The card really does look better in person...the photo doesn't do it justice. I used my copic markers to color it, and I popped up the carrots, the white background, and the blue background up on dimensionals.

Hello Wednesday!

I did a post last week with these pictures, but just when I was done, my internet cut out and I lost everything. I was so mad and disgusted I logged off and didn't redo my post. I know I haven't posted in ages, but I have been busy. Mostly I have been working out with Meghan, doing Algebra II with John, getting Meghan ready for college, and doing housework (as little as possible). Oh, and we are still meeting on Thursday mornings for our Christian Biography group.

Anyways, I have two cards that I like well enough to post. The first one features a verse from one of my favorite passages of Scripture. The Scripture passage is Lamentations 3:19-35, and it is written by the prophet Jeremiah, who is called the weeping prophet. I got the idea for the layout of this card from Amy Schaeffer's blog Pickeled Paper Designs. To get the antique look, I sponged Close To Cocoa around the edges of the verse, the pink and the designer paper. I used a pink Copic Marker to color the Faux Pearls a pinkish hue, and I sewed around the outside edge using a beige thread.

Recipe: Stamps: Scriptures 1 by Daily Bread Designs. Paper: Pink Pirhouette, Close to Cocoa, PTI White, DP from Michael's craft. Ink: Close to Cocoa. Accessories: Nestabilities Labels 1, Martha Stewart border punch, sewing machine, 3/8" pink grosgrain ribbon, Faux Pearls.

This next card, took me forever to do. I know that it is fall/halloween colors, but I wanted to match the oranges in the designer paper. I like the card personally, but I didn't get a very enthusiastic response for it on Splitcoast Stampers.

Recipe: Stamps: Scripture Collection 1 by Daily Bread Designs. Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, PTI White, Basic Grey Amrosia DP. Ink: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red. Accessories: Fiskars border & embossing punch, Spellbinders labels 4, black brads, sheer black ribbon.

Extraordinary Men & Women of Faith

A few weeks ago, I started a prayer & study group in my house, on Thursday mornings at 9 am. This group different than my other studies in that we are going through biographies and biographical sketches of followers of Christ. In the scriptures, we are encouraged by the apostle Paul to "follow me as I follow Christ", and we find the principles of discipleship and fellowship in the scriptures as well. We can do this be examining the lives of various believers in the Bible, as well as those saints that have gone before us. By doing this, we can see how God works in other people's lives, and we can see how they respond to the trials, testings and mercies of God. It is a great way to be encouraged in our faith, and it is another living example of how God works in the lives of his believers.

This study is not meant to take the place of time in the Word. That must take precedence in every believer's life over any other book. Also, we are only to follow other believers as they follow Christ, and where their behavior, experiences or beliefs deviates from or contradicts the Word of God we must part ways.

The first book we are going through is Faithful Women & Their Extraordinary God, by Noel Piper. It is a book of biographical sketches, covering the lives of five women...Sarah Edwards, Lilias Trotter, Gladys Aylward, Esther Ahn Kim, and Helen Roseveare. You can get the book at Desiring God Ministries, http://www.desiringgod.org/Search/store/?search=faithful+women+and+their+extraordinary+god&submit.x=7&submit.y=6.

I decided to go through this book first, instead of a full biography, to get the ladies used to this kind of reading. Afterwards, we will go through the Hiding Place and then The Life and Letters of Elizabeth Prentiss. At the beginning of the class, we share prayer requests and pray. Then we discuss the reading for the week and how it convicted and/or encouraged us. I also encourage the women to share Scripture relevant to what they learned. So far, it has gone well, and if I get enough interest I plan on doing it in the evening for any women who are unable to come in the mornings. I would encourage any woman reading this blog to find and read biographies of godly men and women, with sound doctrine. It is a great encouragement.

Lisa

A Touch of Elegance

I made this card yesterday afternoon. It took me forever to do, because I couldn't get it right. I got the stamp, which is by Inkadinkado, from Michael's the other day. There is also a hummingbird, butterfly, and tree from the same line. If you look closely, the patterns in the dragonfly's wings and body are actually birds. The other stamps are the same. They also have patterned pictures within the image. I wanted an elegant card for this stamp, so I chose the Bella Birds DP from Su. I coupled it with the Bordering Blue Cardstock and the Barely Banana Cardstock. I also added some elegance using my Fiskars border punch and some Faux pearls. The base is popped up on dimensionals, as well as the dragonfly. I think the Bella Birds DP has just been retired. If not, I am going to order more, since I like it so much.

Recipe: Stamps: Inkadinkado Dragonfly. Paper: Borderin Blue, Whisper White, Barely Banana, Bell Birds DP by SU. Ink: Not Quite Navy. Accessories: Faux Pearls, Fiskars Border Punch, dimensionals, 5/8" pink grosgrain ribbon.

Gorjuss Girls, "Sent With Love"

I tried out my new Gorjuss Girls stamp for this card. Once again, I got to fooling around with the image first and had it colored before I even thought about the card I wanted to make. Sooo, I had to fool around until I found some colors and a card that would compliment the image. My cards actually seem to work out better if I do it the other way around. I do love the image, and she was so fun to color. The card is not my favorite. I like the red & white, but I am not so sure about some of the rest. The one thing that is driving me crazy, which I just noticed but it's too late to fix, is that my layering is a bit crooked. Oh well, better luck next time. (I guess we'll just call it the "homemade touch" lol!).

Anyways, my daughter is in my closet making a card right now, so I will have to make another one later. At this time I do not have a dedicated room for card making, and the only table I have for crafting is the downstairs downing table, which is too far to drag all of my stuff. So, we sit on the bottom of my closet floor (which is somewhat large) and stamp there, but there is only room for one at a time. We''re not doing much the rest of the day. We were supposed to have dinner guests tonite, but my hiatel (sp?) herni acted up pretty bad around midnight, and I am wiped out. I never feel well the day after it acts up. So, we postoned to next week. While I was sitting up in the throes of painful spasms, I did have an opportunity to pray and really contemplate the suffering of Jesus Christ at the cross. In light of that, my discomfort seemed pretty minimal.

Hopefully today, I will be back and fill you in on my new Bible study group I started a couple of weeks ago. Until then, I hope you have a day filled with the blessings of God.

Recipe: Stamps: Gorjuss Girls "Sent With Love". Paper: PTI white, Ruby Red. Ink: Memento Black, Copic Sketch Markers. Accessories: Nestabilities Lavels 4, So Saffron Brads, Fiskars Border Punch, 3/8" Grosgrain ribbon from Jo Ann Fabrics, Nestabilities Ovals, Cuttlebug "Stylized Flowers" embossing folder.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Happy Thursday! Here's a new card I made the other day. I found this DP at Jo Ann Fabrics a couple of weeks ago and fell in love with them. At the time, my daughter Meghan was not too impressed with them, but she came over to my way of thinking after I made a card out of them. the DP is made by Cloud 9 Designs. The stamp is another one of my favorites by Whipper Snapper Designs. His name is Chester.

Stamps: Chester by Whipper Snapper Stamps. Paper: Purely Pomegranate, Pink Passion, Lovely Lilac, Confetti White, Enchanted Forest DP by Cloud 9 Design, Palace Walls by Coud 9 Designs. Ink: Basic Black, Copic Sketch Markers. Accessories: Dimensionals, 5/8" satin ribbon, Faux pearl embellishments

New/Old Cards

I made a couple of new cards the past two days, but it's been too cloudy to photograph them. So, I thought I'd post a couple you might not have seen before. The first one is a birthday card I made for my friend in May. I used one of my favorite Fluffles stamps for this card. I got the idea for the shape from someone's blog on the internet; I just can't remember whose it was. I used my scalloped Nestabilities to create the flower shape. The one thing I would do different is to use the circle Nestabilites for my base. Then I would cut out the flower shape using the scalloped circle Nestabilites. Next, I would paste that on my circle base. By doing it this way, none of the petals would be cut off and the card would sit straight. Next time I make the card, I will do it that way.

Recipe: Stamps: Fluffles & the grasshoppers. Paper: Baja Breeze, PTI White, SU's Parisian Breeze DP . Ink: Basic Black, Sage Shadow, Regal Rose, Copic markers. Accessories: Nestabilites circles & scalloped circles, Pearl embellishments.

This next card is one I made for a good friend of mine. I used one of my new favorite stamps sets by Whipper Snapper Designes. It is the cling mount set called "Sugar n Spice" designed by Shelley Comiskey. http://www.whippersnapperdesigns.com/store/shop/anna-wight-cling-mount-sets/shelly-comiskey-sets/sugar-n-spice.html

I colored the image first, so I was limited in my card color choices. I embossed the yellow with Floral Fantasy Cuttlebug embossing folder, and I used my SU mat & piercing tool set for the paper piercing.

Recipe: Stamps: Sugar n' Spice by Whipper Snapper Designs. Paper: PTI White, Yo Yo Yellow, Taken with Teal. Ink: Memento Black, Copics markers. Accessories: silver brads, 3/8" White grosgrain ribbon, Fiskars Border Punch, Floral Fantasy Cuttlebug embossing folder, Nestabilities circles and scalloped circles.