He Counts the Stars

Today's two faith based cards were created for Grace Klein here in Birmingham (@grace_klein_community). This is a wonderful faith based organization that has many charitable endeavors both locally and globally. Their goal is to give out 100,000 scripture based cards this year to be included with the food, clothing and school supply boxes, etc. They want cards in bundles of 25 which is daunting to our kind of card makers but my goal is to donate 100 cards by the end of the year. If you have any questions or want to join me, please send me an email or comment on this post and I will give you the details. 

I tried for a more masculine look on these two cards. Both use a mini cardstock piece from Reverse Confetti (no longer in business). 

I cut the star filled cardstock piece with a stitched edge die then stamped the Papertrey Ink Year of Psalms: December  (oos) using midnight ink them attached to a midnight cardstock panel. I added three sizes of stars cut from scraps using The Greetery Rustic Star Small die set. A few sequins finished it up. 

Products: Papertrey Ink stamp, Concord & 9th cs, RC cs, Spellbinders sequins, The Greetery and MFT dies, Concord & 9th ink

For my second card, I stamped the Verve (no longer in business) sentiment onto the starry piece using permanent black ink then placed onto a slate background panel. The stars were cut from saffron spice and white cardstock using The Greetery Rustic Star Large and Small dies and attached with foam dimensionals. 

Products: Verve stamp, Simon Says and PTI cs,  RC cs, The Greetery and MFT dies, Altenew ink

These two cards represent cards #21 and #22 of my bundle of 25 (because I found 12 cards in my stash that fit the scripture requirement). 

Gracious Words

Today's two faith based cards were created for Grace Klein here in Birmingham (@grace_klein_community). This is a wonderful faith based organization that has many charitable endeavors both locally and globally. Their goal is to give out 100,000 scripture based cards this year to be included with the food, clothing and school supply boxes, etc. They want cards in bundles of 25 which is daunting to our kind of card makers but my goal is to donate 100 cards by the end of the year. If you have any questions or want to join me, please send me an email or comment on this post and I will give you the details. 

For my first card, I used The Greetery Honey Jar stamp set using buttercup ink for the honey jar, fine line for the honey dripper, pernament black and soft stone for the bee and cut all with their matching dies. For the background I cut white cardstock using a die from The Greetery Nordic Frames dies. After stamping the honeycomb images from the Buzz Worth Sentiments stamped with (Simon Says) goldenlocks hybrid ink, I stamped the sentiment from Verve which is now out of business. All the stamped image were attached with a foam dimensionals. 

Products: The Greetery stamps and dies, Verve stamp, Doodlebug dp, Altenew, Concord &9th and PTI ink

I stamped images from the Reverse Confetti Happy Bee Day (no longer in business) including the honey jar, topper, dipper, bee and floral cluster, cut out with the matching dies and colored with Copic markers. The Verve Proverbs 16:24 was stamped onto a tag cut with the Paper Trey Ink Charming Tags 1 set. For the background, the The Greetery Honeycomb Corners Dies were cut from a white cardstock panel, then backed with a bright buttercup cardstock piece. All the images along with a flourish snippet from my die cut stash were attached with foam dimensionals. The sentiment is also from Verve which,  sadly, is no longer in business.

Products: Reverse Confetti stamps and dies, PTI linen cs, The Greetery and PTI dies, Altenew ink, Copic Markers

Copics: Jar-Y21, Y15, BG70, BG10; Jar Topper-BG01, BG02, BG05, RV21, RV17; Honey Dipper-E30, E33, E50; Bee-Y13, N3, N5, B0000, B000; Flower Cluster-Y00, Y13, RV21, RV06, RV17, YG01, YG03

These two cards represent cards #16 and #17 of my bundle of 25 (because I found 12 cards in my stash that fit the scripture requirement). 

I am submitting to the Word Art Wednesday challenge of Anything Goes - Weeks #655-656. 

O Taste and See

O taste and see that the Lord is good. - Psalm 34:8

The Psalm is a Verve stamp which to my sorrow is now closed. I stamped it with new leaf ink onto a tag shape cut from Neenah cardstock using a die from The Cat's Pajamas Holiday Window Duo CutUps. After adding a patterned paper border at the bottom, I attached a coffee cup with a layer of craft foam which was cut from patterned paper and cardstock using dies from The Cat's Pajamas Cups Duo CutUps. I cut another tag using the same die from patterned paper and tied together with 1/4 inch yellow gingham ribbon. The tag set was then placed onto a card front using a layer of craft foam. I am submitting this to the current Tag You're It! #84 Challenge.

Products: Verve stamp, The Cat's Pajamas dies, Lawn Fawn dp, PTI cs, May Arts ribbon, PTI ink

Have a blessed day!

Christian Valentine Tags

Good morning. I hope you are staying warm during these dreary February days. Today I have some Christian Valentine tags to show you. The photos were not the best but I only had a few minutes to get them done.

I created these for a special group of women from a shelter who attend our church on a regular basis. Our small group provided their lunch so I decided to add something extra this time. I limited my supplies to two patterned paper pads, three colors of cardstock and two ink colors. I used various Christian stamps along with several tag shapes from different companies. The stamps had to include the word love or heart. 

Each tag was attached to a single long stemmed rose using ribbon.

Products: Papertrey Ink, Reverse Confetti, Verve and Sweet 'n Sassy stamps, The Cat's Pajamas, Sunny Studio, My Favorite Things, Simon Says, Lawn Fawn and Papetrey Ink dies, Reverse Confetti and Doodlebug dp, Papetrey Ink and Reverse Confetti cs, Kaisercraft pearls, Michael's and May Arts ribbons, Reverse Confetti ink 

Have a great day. Thanks for stopping by.

Gracious Words

Today's card is for the August Viva la Verve Sketch Challenge. I am so happy Julee decided to bring this challenge back as it has always been a favorite. And although they aren't required, it encourages me to get out those Verve stamps which are also a favorite.


The faith Friday verse is from Proverbs 16:24:

Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.

I need to have this verse imprinted on my brain because it is a reminder that we all need to speak more kindly to one another. 

As per usual I had to break down the sketch to its simplest form to better suit my CAS style. I started out by creating watercolor stripes using a wide brush onto watercolor cardstock in blueberry sky, bright buttercup and new leaf inks. I then stamped the verse from the Verve Proverbs 16:24 stamp which is now retired along with a small bee image from the The Buzz set. I cut out the watercolored panel with a wonky stitched die. I then stamped the large bee from the The Buzz set onto Copic X-Press It cardstock, cut out with the matching die, then colored with Copic Markers. I also used the honeycomb die from the same set and cut it twice from yellow cardstock. After layering the two honeycomb diecuts, I attached it and the bee image to the panel. 

Products: Verve stamps and dies, Master's Touch, Bazzill and PTI cs, Simon Says and PTI ink

Have a blessed day and weekend.

Noel (#christmasinjuly2017 and Faith Friday)

Summer is a wonderful time of the year but then again so is Christmas so I am doing a Christmas in July series. My goal is to make at least 20 cards this month but I am not going to stress over the goal. The point is to get a jump start on my Christmas cards while enjoying the process. See below on how to participate too.

It's "Faith Friday" on my blog so today's card is faith based. Even though all my Christmas cards are not faith based on the front, they all hold a message of faith on the inside.

I stamped the nativity silhouette mage from the Verve Beyond Measure set onto an oval cut with a die from My Favorite Things Double Stitched Oval set using Versamark and then heat embossed it with silver embossing powder. I also stamped the sentiment directly to the dark indigo card base using Versamark ink and heat embossed with the same silver powder. I used the Verve Starry Die to emboss stars at the top of the card front, then attached the image piece with foam tape. The border at the bottom was cut with a die from the Verve Scalloped Trim Trio set layered a strip of silver metallic card stoci. I cut a star from the same card stock using a die from the Simon Says Holy Couple and Barn set.

Products: Verve stamps and dies, PTI and Recollections cs, Stampendous embossing powder, Versamark ink

If you feel like joining me to get a head start on your Christmas cards, please link up below. I would love the inspiration and  promise I will stop by to take a look and comment. If you post to instagram, use #christmasinjuly2017.

An InLinkz Link-up

Wise Men Still Seek Him (#christmasinjuly2017 and Faith Friday)

Summer is a wonderful time of the year but then again so is Christmas so I am doing a Christmas in July series. My goal is to make at least 20 cards this month but I am not going to stress over the goal. The point is to get a jump start on my Christmas cards while enjoying the process. See below on how to participate too.

It is "Faith Friday" here on the blog so today's card features stamps from the Verve Beyond Measure set. I stamped the wise men directly onto the card base using midnight muse ink and then again in Versamark and clear heat embossed. I framed the image by using the My Favorite Things Rectangle Peek-a-Boo die as an embossing plate and stamped the sentiment below with gumball green ink. I cut a star from silver metallic card stock using a die from the Simon Says Holy Couple and Barn set. A few rainstones finished up a clean and simple faith based Christmas card. And yay, this represents card number 10 which means I am half way to my goal of 20!

Products: Verve stamps, PTI cs, Recollectons metallic cs, PTI Rainstones, MFT and Simon Says dies, Versamark and Stampin' Up ink

If you feel like joining me to get a head start on your Christmas cards, please link up below. I would love the inspiration and  promise I will stop by to take a look and comment. If you post to instagram, use #christmasinjuly2017.

An InLinkz Link-up

Christ the Savior is Born (#thereasonfortheseason)

Welcome to my second installment of my #thereasonfortheseason series. If you missed the first one, it is here.

Afterall, Jesus is the reason for the season. 

I can't do a faith based series without using stamps from one of my favorite companies, Verve. The stable from the Weary World set was stamped onto Neenah cardstock and cut out with the matching die from the Starry Stable die set then colored with Copic Markers. After the sentiment was stamped onto a stitched rectangle the stamped piece was attached with foam tape and matted with silver metallic cardstock. I applied Ranger Diamond stickles to the edge of the star and than topped it with a star cut from the same silver metallic cardstock. The image piece was attached to an embossed background.  

Products: Verve stamps and dies, PTI and Michael's metallic cs, Ranger Stickles, Darice embossing folder, MFT ink, Copic markers
Copics: Baby Jesus-E00, E01, E13, E81; Stable-W00, W1, W2, W5, E40, E41, E42, E44; Hay-YR30, YR31, YR21, YR23, YR26; Sky-B91, B93, B95, B97

Blessings to you!

God's Masterpiece

This post will have to be short and sweet. I am so behind in all the things I need to do this week.

I created this card using the first September Viva la Verve Sketch for the general layout. The background was prepared by using a white distress crayon with a stencil on watercolor cardstock piece. When the crayon dried I stamped a sentiment from my newest Verve stamp set, Potter's Clay using black waterproof ink. I then lightly watercolored part of the background with Spun Sugar, Dried Marigold and Tumbled Glass distress ink and added a strip of patterned paper. The background was attached to a scalloped pattern paper background and the whole pieced was adhered to a white card base. The flower was stamped from the same set onto watercolor cardstock and cut out with the matching die from the Pottery Die set. I colored it with a couple of Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers and then attached it with foam tape. I slipped a leaf underneath which was cut from patterned paper using a die from the Loopy Blooms set. A trio of pearls finished it up.

Products: Verve stamps and dies, Lawn Fawn and PTI dp, PTI cs, Kaisercraft pearls,PTI stencil, Lil Inker Designs and MFT dies, Ranger Distress Crayon and inks, Simon Says ink, Zig Clean Color Brush markers
Zigs: 021-Light Carmine, 070-Orange

Off to fold some laundry. Thanks for stopping by.

Good Work

Good morning! How was your weekend? Mine included some time for crafting.

Today's card is for the Viva la Verve August Sketch 2 challenge.

I stamped the image from the Verve Good Work set onto a linen cardstock circle using Catkin ink and then stamped the sentiment in black ink. I stamped the Kaisercraft Distress image directly onto the card base using Aqua Mist ink to replace the vertical panel on the sketch and then added a strip of patterned paper. The image panel was attached with a layer of craft foam and I added a small piece cut with the Memory Box Sevington Border die. A couple of leaves cut with the Lawn Fawn Stitched Leaves dies placed with dimensional dots finished it up.

Products: Verve stamps, Kaisercraft stamp, My Mind's Eye dp, PTI, Stampin' Up and MFT cs, MFT, Lawn Fawn and Memory Box dies, PTI and Simon Says ink

I hope your week is off to a great start.

A Beautiful Soul

It has been crazy busy around here. We have literally been working since January to get our house on the market. We finally did last month but after all that frantic activity, it's been unnervingly quiet. I think we missed the hot selling period unfortunately.

Since I craft out of my dining room it was necessary to do a deep detash and get organized. I sold a ton of stamps and dies and donated some other stuff. Plus I made some hard decisions about what could be boxed away for the time being. So the ribbon, felt, buttons, Silhouette and a myriad of other things were packed and reside in an upstairs closet. I also have my holiday stamps and paper upstairs. There isn't a stamp or die that is not in a labeled storage pouch so I can easily get to them. Plus I have a rule that I have to clean up after myself after each project - something that I have never been able to do before!

So obviously it has been a long time since I have had the time and energy to just sit and create. That is why my blog has been so very quiet this all of 2016. Since things have settled down, at least for a little while anyway, I hope to be more creative. I know that I have missed it.

Today's card is for the Viva la Verve August Sketch 1. For the strips in the background, I stamped an image from the the Verve Better Together set three times using Hibiscus Burst, Bright Buttercup and Hawaiian Shores ink and then layered over it with a strip of patterned paper. The sentiment from the Beautiful Things set was stamped onto a stitched circle then matted onto a larger circle using a layer of craft foam. I used dies from the matching Beautiful Flowers set to cut the two leaf branches from patterned paper and then attached them plus the sentiment piece onto the background. A few enamel dots finished it up for a clean and simple design.

Products: Verve stamps and dies, My Mind's Eye and Doodlebug dp, PTI cs and ink, Doodlebug enamel dots, Lil Inker Designs die, Simon Says ink

Thank you for stopping by and have a great rest of the weekend!

She Took the Leap

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and this is my third card for The Hop to Stop which is designed to raise awareness about domestic violence, an issue that impacts 1 in 4 women. For more information about domestic violence, its impacts, and available resources, visit the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence.

Today's card also uses the Viva la Verve October Week 2 Sketch for the layout. Julee (the owner of Verve Stamps) offered an uplifting sentiment as a free digital in honor of The Hop to Stop. You can download it from her personal blog here. I printed it directly onto Wild Wisteria cardstock and then cut it out with Papertrey Ink Tag Sale #5 although I shortened it slightly. I stamped the butterfly from the Verve Happy Place set onto Copics X-Press It cardstock, cut it out with the matching die from the Happy Doodles set and colored with Copic markers. For the half circle on the sketch I combined a paper doily and a piece cut from patterned paper using a Spellbinders Nestabilties die, attaching to a textured cardstock background. The tag was secured with twine and the butterfly image was placed with foam tape. I added Ranger Stickles in Eucalyptus to the butterfly for a touch of glam.

Products: Verve stamps and dies, Lawn Fawn dp, MFT, Bazzill and PTI cs, Hemptique twine, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Copic Markers
Copics: BV00, BV01, BV02, BV04, BG11, BG13, BG15

If you want to participate in The Hop to Stop, create a card featuring the color purple which is the domestic violence awareness color, and link it up on Becca Dawn's blog through October 14. There is no limit to how many cards you link and there are many prizes up for grabs. If you would like, you may also send your creations directly to Becca as she has arranged to donate them to a shelter in her city (blank inside preferred).

You are SO Amazing {The Hop to Stop}

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and this is my second card for The Hop to Stop which is designed to raise awareness about domestic violence, an issue that impacts 1 in 4 women. In case you missed my first card, it is here.

For more information about domestic violence, its impacts, and available resources, visit the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence.

Do I think a simple blog hop helps? In and of itself, no. But it does bring awareness to a cause you may know very little about. And hopefully, it motivates you to donate to a local women's shelter which is what I am doing.

Today's card is also for the Viva la Verve October Week 1 Sketch.

I first cut a square using Spellbinders Nestabilites from Doodlebug patterned paper and then stamped the sentiment from the Verve So Fluttery set with Versamark ink and then heat embossed with white embossing powder. I then stamped the remainder of the sentiment onto a piece cut with the Verve Scroll die using Spring Rain ink and then attached to the sentiment panel with foam tape. I then stamped the butterfly from the same set with Versamark ink onto watercolor paper and heat embossed with white embossing powder. I colored up with a single Zig Clean Color Real Brush marker. I cut two background layers from cardstock and patterned paper using Lil Inker Designs stitched mats and then rapped with twine. The sentiment piece was attached with craft foam and then the watercolored butterfly was attached with foam tape. A few rhinestones finished it up. 

Products: Verve stamps and die, Doodlebug dp, PTI and MFT cs, Kaisercraft jewels, Divine Twine, Studio Calico and Versamark inks, Zig Clean Color Real Brush marker

Zig: Violet

If you want to participate in The Hop to Stop, create a card featuring the color purple which is the domestic violence awareness color, and link it up on Becca Dawn's blog through October 14. There is no limit to how many cards you link and there are many prizes up for grabs. If you would like, you may also send your creations directly to Becca as she has arranged to donate them to a shelter in her city (blank inside preferred).

Whole Latte Love

It's Monday so what better day to feature a coffee themed card for the Fall Coffee Lovers Bloghop. I also followed the September Week 4 Viva la Verve Sketch for the layout.

Julee offered up a coffee themed digital set in honor of the blog hop, Latte Love which is free on the Verve site until October 15th. I printed the sentiment from the set onto Rustic White cardstock and then cut out with an oval Spellbinders Nestie. I printed the cup onto Copics X-Press It cardstock, colored with Copic Markers and then fussy cut out. The Rustic White background was embossed using a Taylored Expressions embossing pad. After a layer of patterned paper was attached, I wrapped hemp cording vertically around it twice and then anchored with a button. After attaching the piece to a kraft card base, the sentiment piece was adhered with craft foam as was the coffee cup. I slipped a couple of patterned paper leaves cut with Lawn Fawn Small Stitched Leaves underneath the button and added a couple of enamel dots.

Products: Verve digital stamps, Doodlebug dp, Bazzill and PTI cs, PTI button, Doodlebug enamel dots, Hemtique cord, Taylored Expressions embossing folder, Lawn Fawn dies, Copic Markers
Copics: Cup-W00, E81; Lid-G40, G43, G85, YG91; Leaves-BG0000, BG000, BG01, G40, G43, YR30, Y11, Y31, YR23, V01, RV11, RV17


With this card I have completed all four Viva la Verve sketches this month.

With Heartfelt Sympathy

Today's card is for the September Viva la Verve Sketch Challenge (week 3). I didn't know how tired I was until I sat down to make this card Sunday evening. It was a long week due to various reasons, capped off with the Alabama/Ole Miss game being so late and losing my voice screaming at the television in a losing cause.

I first stamped the largest greenery piece from the Verve New Mercies set with Catkin ink onto a white Neenah cardstock rectangle piece. I then stamped the sentiment onto a black cardstock piece using Versamark ink and heat embossed with white embossing powder. I also stamped the Soft Stone cardstock background panel with a background stamp using Soft Stone ink for a subtle tone on tone look. The image and sentiment pieces were attached with craft foam. A scattering of black enamel dots were the only embellishments. I tried to keep things as simple as possible - sympathy cards are so hard to make. This one is going out to a church member.

Products: Verve stamp, My Favorite Things stamp, Glitz Design dp, Neenah cs, PTI cs and ink, Doodlebug enamel dots, MFT die, Versamark and Simon Says ink

You don't know how very tempting it was to skip church on Sunday morning as we were both so tired. But I am so glad we didn't because we learned a beautiful lesson. An Egyptian Christian minister spoke to us and it certainly put our lives in perspective. It is one thing to be ridiculed for your religious beliefs but something altogether different to have your life in mortal danger because of them. Pastor Paul is normally the picture of quiet and steady calm but even his voice cracked when leading the final prayer. The whole service was very moving.

2 Corinthians 4:6-9(ESV)

6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.