Declare the Works of the Lord

Hello! I hope you had a good day yesterday and for my American friends, were able to spend time celebrating Independence Day with those you love. It's time for another challenge at Word Art Wednesday. This week our focus verse is Psalm 118:17, "I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord." According to commentators, this Psalm was probably the dedication of the restored walls and gates of Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles in 444BC in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. During the rebuilding of the walls, the Jews were surrounded by enemies who first tried to discourage them through ridicule and then threatened them with violence. Our focus verse is a testimony that in spite of the enemies surrounding them, they did not die during the rebuilding but lived to declare the things the Lord had done for them. So often in our lives today, we face the same thing. We're trying to do what the Lord wants us to do and the enemy sends discouragement in the form of ridicule and, in some cases, physical harm. However, verse 6 of this same chapter states, "The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?" Like the Israelites of old, we must trust the Lord and keep doing the task He's given us to do.

For my card today, I chose to make my own background with stamps. Recently, on Instagram, Amuse Studio offered a stamp set for free with $2 shipping. I didn't have any of their stamps and I liked the looks of the set so I thought I'd give it a try. I am so glad I did. The set arrived very quickly in my mailbox. The red rubber cling set includes the flower image, two leaves and two sentiments. I used one of the leaf stamps and the flower for my background today. They stamped very crisply right out of the package. A Hero Arts Ombre ink pad gives the flowers some color variation. I stamped the flower randomly on some white cardstock and then filled in the spaces with leaves. After trimming the panel down slightly, two ribbons were layered across the panel and a separate white ribbon was knotted off to the left side. This panel was matted on green cardstock before being adhered to the card base. The verse panel was double matted and popped up with foam squares over the ribbon. Some small gems in the flower centers finish off the card.

I couldn't resist doing a little interior decorating with the flower and leaf stamps. I'll definitely be reaching for this set again!

Supplies:
Cardstock: The Paper Studio Heavy Weight (white for card base), Georgia Pacific (white), Bazzill (Pink and Green)
Stamps: WORDart by Karen, Amuse Studio (Dear Friend)
Ink: Memento (Bamboo Leaves), Hero Arts Ombre (Pink to Red)
Tools/Embellishments: Our Daily Bread Designs dies (Double Stitched Circle), Spellbinders (Standard Circle Large), The Paper Studio bling, Offray ribbon

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Dare 2B Artzy - Bright Colors
Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #192 - Tic Tac Toe (Diagonal top left to bottom right - gems, digi & stamp, and die cuts)
Make My Monday Challenge #49 - Summer Brights 

Thanks for visiting with me today. Please come back later today as I have a fun announcement and another project to show you.