But Without Faith

This week's focus verse at Word Art Wednesday is Hebrews 11:6, "But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is rewarder of them that diligently seek him."  This verse comes at the beginning of what is commonly called the "Hall of Fame of Faith." The rest of this chapter is full of examples of men and women in the Bible who showed a strong faith in God.  Pleasing God starts with having faith in Him.  I want to live in such a way that my name could be written in that Hall of Fame of Faith.  It's not easy but "without faith it is impossible to please Him."

This week one of our sponsors is Bugaboo Stamps.  They generously provided the DT with images to use.  I used Lil Girl Sign It for my card.  One of the features of digis that I really like is the ability to resize them to make them fit any project.  I layered this week's verse onto this little girl's sign and then colored the girl, sign and background with my Copics.    I used Mojo Monday's Sketch 221 as the inspiration for my card design.  As usual, I changed up a few things.  The edges of the patterned paper background were inked.

After coloring the image and the background with copic markers, a white gel pen was used to give the bow and top of the shirt some polka dots. I die cut some hearts for the upper right side of the image panel.  The girl's eyes, bow and the hearts were coated with glossy accents.  The blue button on top of the bow adds another touch of blue and completes the blue visual triangle with her eyes and bow.  Faux stitching and some die cut scallops complete the front of the card.

I did a little interior decorating to finish off the card.  I don't think you can see it but I added a die cut heart to carry that theme to the inside of the card.

Supplies:
Cardstock:  Georgia Pacific (image), Recollections (kraft), Bazzill (teal)
Patterned Paper:  My Mind's Eye (Remarkable)
Stamps:  WORDart by Karen (Hebrews 11:6), Bugaboo (Lil Girl Sign It)
Ink:  ColorBox Fluid Chalk (Chestnut Roan)
Tools/Embellishments:  My Favorite Things Die-namics (Petite Scallop Edge), Lawn Fawn Lawn Cuts (Hearts), Glossy Accents, button from stash, The Twinery baker's twine, Offray ribbon, Staedtler fine tip brown marker, Sakura Gelly Roll gel pen (white), Copic Markers (I'm sorry - my list of the colors used got lost)

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
PDE Linky Party - Stitching (Real or Faux)
Inky Chicks Challenge #38 - Anything Goes
Scrapbook Blessings Club #30 - Anything Goes
Sweet Stamps Challenge #188 - Favorite Embellishments (buttons and bows are two of my favorites)
Digi Chooseday Challenge #38 - Buttons
Cuttlebug Mania - Anything Die Cut (the hearts and scalloped trim)

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you'll go by the Word Art Wednesday blog to pick up your free digi and to see the inspiration from the rest of the Design Team.  I'm taking the Online Card Class Copic for Card Makers class.  It's fantastic!!  I'm off to do my homework.  I've never enjoyed homework so much in my life!!

Keep Thy Heart

It's Wednesday, so that means it's time for a new challenge at Word Art Wednesday.  This week we're focusing on Proverbs 4:23, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."  This verse carries the same thought as Proverbs 23:7, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..."  We need to be careful what we allow into our hearts and meditate about because those are the things that will establish how we act.  If we want to act in a Christ-like manner, then we need to guard our hearts and minds and make sure we're thinking about things that are true, honest, just, and of good report (Phil. 4:8).  Our world constantly bombards our minds with negativity, immorality, and compromise.  We need to be diligent in protecting our hearts and minds.

Deedee's Digis is one of our sponsors this week.  She generously provided the DT with digis to use this week.  I paper pieced the outline heart from Deedee's Digis From the Heart set.  This set also has some cute mouse images that would look cute with a verse in the middle too. While this is typically a Valentine's Day set, I enjoy finding ways to make sets like this work all year round. After all, love is never out of season.  :)

After paper piecing and fussy cutting the red heart, I coated it with two layers of UTEE.  The verse was fussy cut and then accented with a pale blue copic.  The verse panel was then popped up on the red heart.  Scraps of patterned paper were used to make a quilt background. The quilt was popped up off the background.  A zig-zag stitch stamp was used to make the stitches.  Some buttons, twine, and a bow finish it off.  The finished card is 5.5" square.  The quilted panel is 5" square.

Supplies:
Cardstock:  Recollections (black), Georgia Pacific (white)
Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye (Quilting Bee)
Stamps:  WORDart by Karen (Proverbs 4:23), Deedee's Digis (From the Heart), Sassafras clear stamp (Stitched Borders)
Ink:  Versafine (Onyx Black), Versamark
Tools/Embellishments: Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE), Copic Markers (B000, 100, Colorless Blender), buttons from stash, The Twinery baker's twine, May Arts ribbon

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Clear It Out Challenge - Crazy for Polka Dots
Inky Chicks Challenge #38 - Anything Goes
PDE Linky Party - Stitching (Real/Faux)

Thanks for visiting today.  I hope you'll come back soon.  If you stop by the Word Art Wednesday blog, you're sure to find lots of inspiration from the DT and a free digi.  Please play along with us for your chance to win some stamps from Deedee's Digis.

With Sympathy

I realized recently that when I post cards using Deedee's Digis, I've been using the pre-colored versions and not doing any coloring of my own.  I've been extra busy lately and that has been a big time saver.  While pre-colored digis are a great time saver, I've missed coloring.  So for this card, I broke out my Copics and colored away.  As usual, I used artistic license and my butterfly and flowers may or may not be colors you find in nature.  :)  The finished card is 5.5" square and *shock* I didn't use a sketch.

Deedees Digis is a sponsor this week for one of my favorite challenge blogs:  Tuesday Throwdown.  The challenge this week is to have a butterfly and a bow on your card.  This was a fun challenge to do and I hope you'll join us this week.

Supplies:
Cardstock: Georgia Pacific (white), Creativity Inc. (gray flannel)
Patterned Paper:  Simple Stories (Vintage Bliss 6x6 pad)
Stamps:  Deedee's Digis (Fluttering By, Rose Regards)
Copics: R20, 22, 81, 83, 85; BG000, 01, 05, 15; B23; Y000, 11, 13; YG 03, 05
Tools/Embellishments: Stickles (Star Dust), Spellbinders dies (Petite Ovals Large, Petite Scalloped Oval Large), pearls (Michael's, Want2Scrap), baker's twine (The Twinery), ribbon (Michael's), button from my stash, Fiskar's border punch (Apron Lace), Gelly Roll gel pen (white)

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
The ABC Challenge: Tic Tac Toe (I have the middle vertical column)
Scrapbook Blessings Club Challenge #29 - Anything Goes
Sweet Stamps Challenge - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you'll play along with this week's Tuesday Throwdown challenge.  It's a lot of fun AND you could win some free digis from Deedee's Digis.

Distress Watercolored Flowers

This card was stamped with Stazon ink on watercolor paper and then colored with Distress markers and inks.  After coloring the pink ring at the center of the flower, I decided to try a new technique I'd seen using Liquid Pearls.  For this, you squirt some Liquid Pearls on your craft mat (or other surface) add a little water, mix and then use a brush to paint with it.  I really like the look and shimmer.  The dots in the middle of the flower are courtesy of black diamond stickles.  After everything was dry, the blue parts of the flowers were given some Wink of Stella.

The sentiment was heat embossed on vellum and then wrapped around the image panel.  Black pearls accent the ends of the strip.  The finished card is 4.25" square.

Supplies:
Papers:  Strathmore Watercolor Paper, Bazzill, Recollection and Georgia Pacific cardstocks, WorldWin Transluscent Vellum
Stamps:  Simon Says Stamp clear stamps (Always & Forever, Banner Sayings)
Ink: Stazon (Jet Black), VersaMark
Distress Markers/Inks:  Shabby Shutters, Frayed Burlap, Chipped Sapphire, Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Victorian Velvet, Spun Sugar
Tools/Embellishments: Want2Scrap black pearls, Stampendous Opaque White embossing powder, Black Diamond Stickles, Petal Pink Liquid Pearls

Challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - SSS Stamp or Die (I used two SSS stamp sets)
Papertake Weekly - Repeat, Repeat (My flowers/leaves repeat and my pearls repeat)
Going Gray with Scrap Creations - Favorite Embellishment (pearls)
Delightful Challenges - Simple Times (CAS Design)
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Create Own Background
Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday - The more stamping the better

Thanks for visiting today.  I hope you enjoy your weekend.  It's feeling like fall here and I love that!!

Ears to Hear

 
Hi!  I hope your week is going well! As you know, Wednesday, at least on my blog, means it's time for another Word Art Wednesday challenge.  This week, we're focusing on Revelation 2:7, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."  When you were a child, and your parent told you to do something, did your slow (or lack of) response make them question whether your ears were working correctly?  "Do you have cotton in your ears?"  "Can't you hear me talking to you?"  That's what the first part of this verse makes me think of whenever I read it.  It's kind of like we're being told, "If you have ears, you should be listening."  I don't think this is referring to audible sound but instead to a heart that is willing to listen to what the Lord has to say to us thru the Holy Spirit.  In this verse, instead of a command or prohibition, the one who is willing to listen is rewarded by a promise of reward for remaining faithful.

This week, I chose to showcase the Scripture by layering various die cuts.  The base cardstock was embossed with an embossing folder and then spritzed with shimmer spray.  The patterned paper was also spritzed with the same shimmer spray.  I know it's hard to see in the pictures, but it's so pretty in real life.

The purple die cut is popped up over the black base and the Scripture panel and mat are popped up over the ribbon.  A pearl flourish and a button with an added pearl center finish off the front.  Ribbons and pearls are my favorite embellishments.

I gave the interior a little more decorating and added another die cut as a space for a message.


Supplies
Cardstock:  Recollections
Patterned Paper:  DCWV (Butterfly Garden 12 x 12 pad)
Stamp: WORDart by Karen (Revelation 2:7)
Tools/Embellishments: Spellbinders dies (Timeless Rectangles, Radiant Rectangles, Labels One, Decorative Labels One), May Arts ribbon, Want2Scrap pearl flourish, Michael's pearl, button from my stash, Tsukineko Shimmer Spritz (Frost), Cuttlebug embossing folder (Wicker Weave)

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Scrapbook Blessings Club Challenge #29 - Anything Goes
Cuttlebug Mania - Anything Embossed
Going Gray with Scrap Creations - Favorite embellishment(s) (for me that's ribbon & pearls)

Thanks for visiting with me today.  As always, I'd like to encourage you to stop by the Word Art Wednesday blog for your free digi and inspiration by the rest of the Design Team.

Great Outdoors

When I first saw the Great Outdoors set from Deedee's Digis, it moved to the top of my wish list.  I love cats, my cat is gray and my husband and son are fishermen.  No brainer...I *had* to have it.  LOL  I used the pre-colored version of the cat fishing in the boat but added my own sponged clouds and added some sponging to the water to extend it a bit.

The emphasized technique for the current challenge at the Scrapbook Blessings Club Challenge is to make a wiper card.  I'd never tried one of those but thought the time was right to change that.  If you've never made one, here is a good written tutorial for a Wiper Card on SCS and here is a YouTube video by Beate Johns.  They are really pretty easy.  I'll be making more of these!

My card is going to someone who loves fishing and has been looking for a different job for a long time.  Last week he was offered a position with a new company.  I used one of the sentiments from the Chalk Talk set for the wiper.  I thought this would make a fun "Congratulations on the new job" card.

Supplies:
Cardstock:  Georgia Pacific (white), Recollections (kraft)
Patterned Paper:  My Mind's Eye Collectable (Remarkable 6 x 6 pad), Three Bugs in a Rug (Frisky 6 x 6 pad)
Stamps:  Deedee's Digis (Great Outdoors, Chalk Talk)
Inks:  Stampin' Up (Bliss Blue), Distress Ink (Peacock Feathers)
Tools/Embellishments:  Spellbinders dies (Petite Ovals Large and Small), Creative Memories 1-1/4" and 1-1/2" square punch, Staedtler fine tip marker (brown), The Twinery baker's twine (cappuccino), buttons from my stash

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Scrapbook Blessings Club Challenge #29 - Anything Goes with an emphasis on Wiper Cards
The Kraft Journal Make It Monday Challenge #188 - Anything Goes
Inky Chicks Challenge #37 - Stitching (Real or Faux)
PDE Linky Party - Puns
4 Crafty Chicks Challenge #120 - Sewing Real/Faux
Clear It Out Challenge - Theme:  Fancy Folds, Stash Item:  Punches or dies (I used both)
Fan-Tastic Tuesday Challenge #52 - Anything Goes - Twist add a button or buttons

Thanks for visiting with me tonight.  I hope you'll give the wiper card a try.  Please come visit again tomorrow when I'll have a new Word Art Wednesday challenge card to show you.

Napkin Fold Card

Hello!  I hope your week is going well.  Since it's Wednesday that means it's time for a new challenge.  Psalm 119:160 is the focus verse for this week at Word Art Wednesday.  This verse states, "Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever."  Time as we know it doesn't exist for God.  He has always been and will always be.  As my husband frequently says it in his sermons, "God lives in the eternal present."  So when we read this verse, we have to try to wrap our finite human minds around the fact that there has never been nor will there ever be a time that God didn't exist.  Then to further boggle our minds, try to realize that His Word has been true from the very beginning (John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.") and His righteous judgments will never expire.  I love this aspect of God's character.  He is eternal (both past and future) and His righteousness never changes.  That is great security.

I saw the napkin fold card online a week or two ago so of course I had to give it a try.  It definitely looks harder than it is.  The ones I saw online would lay flat after you took off the belly band.  My card?  Well, no matter how many times I burnished the folds....nope, it didn't get the lay flat memo.  Tutorials for this card can be found on Dawn's YouTube, SplitCoastStampers (I didn't see this tutorial until writing this post), and the one I followed the most is found on Beccy's Place.

I liked the elegance of these papers and chose to embellish the belly band with pearls and lace.  I usually *have* to mat my patterned paper but am glad I skipped it this time.  The card would have had even more problems with closing properly with the extra bulk.

When the belly band is removed you can see the quilt like contrasts of the patterned paper. There is definitely room to play with pattern arrangement with this card.  Before placing my patterned paper and with the card closed, I made a small dot on each of the triangles that were showing when the card was closed.  This helped me plan the design and made sure that when I opened the card out completely, I had the papers just where I wanted them.

If you open the card completely, the base cardstock is an 11" square.  This allows for a large space to write a message.  Closed the card is 5.5" square.  

Supplies:
Cardstock:  Bazzill (brown), Recollections (cream)
Patterned Paper:  The Paper Studio (Bohemia 12 x 12 pad)
Stamp: Diane's Daydream Designs
Tools/Embellishments:  pearl rope (Recollections - It was a double row rope that I cut into single ropes and individual pearls for the belly band and sentiment panel), Spellbinders dies (Classic Oval Large, Lacey Oval), lace from my stash

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Chocolate Coffee & Cards Challenge #72 - Bingo (Green, Die Cuts, Lace)
Scrapbook Blessings Club Challenge #28 - Anything Goes (I used Challenge #13-Funky, Fancy, Fabulous Fold Cards & Challenge #21 - Digi Stamp)
 Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
Clear It Out Challenge - Anything Goes
Fan-Tastic Tuesday Challenge #51 - Anything Goes
Really Reasonable Ribbon #102 - Autumn Colors + ribbon/trim
CraftyHazelnuts Patterned Paper Challenge - Use Patterned Paper
Crafts Galore Encore Challenge #9 - Make a Card

Thanks for stopping by to visit today.  I hope you will make time to stop by the Word Art Wednesday blog for inspiration from the rest of the Design Team and to pick up your free digi.