God is My Salvation

Another week has gone by and it's already time for another Word Art Wednesday challenge. This week we're looking at Isaiah 12:2 which says, "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation." It only takes a small look around our society to see many things that could cause us to be fearful. However, when we remember that the Lord is our salvation, we don't need to be afraid. My husband (a pastor) often remarks that we're quick to trust the Lord for our salvation and eternal Home in Heaven and yet we don't trust Him to help us in the day-to-day struggles of life. When he puts it that way, our lack of trust sounds so silly. God is our Source of salvation. It's through Him that we can have eternal life. Therefore, we can trust Him and not be afraid. This will lead to our resting in Him for strength and being able to have a song in our hearts even when life is difficult. In this way, not only does He provide salvation to our souls for eternity but He also provides salvation (protection from harm) in our daily lives.

One of our fantastic sponsors this week is Lawn Fawn. After using Distress Inks for some ink blending on white cardstock, I used their Woodgrain Backdrops stamp with some brown dye ink to make the background panel of today's card. I then turned this background into a shaker card to showcase today's focus verse. An adorable little bird was colored with Copics and fussy cut before being popped up on the background panel. A few sequins finish it off.

This view shows a little peek at the interior decorating. I really like the way this woodgrain background turned out and wanted to carry the theme to the inside.

The shaker was filled with some great metallic sequins with a few white ones thrown into the mix for added interest.

Supplies:
Cardstock: Georgia Pacific (white), Creativity Inc. (Mink)
Stamps: WORDart by Karen (Isaiah 12:2), Lawn Fawn (Woodgrain Backdrops clear stamp set), Deedee's Digis (Little Birdie digi set)
Inks: Distress Inks (Tea Dye, Antique Linen, Walnut Stain), Memento Dye Ink (Rich Cocoa)
Copics: E25, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37; YR07; YG03, 05; Y11, 13, 15, 17, 38; B21, 23, 26; N3; 100; Colorless Blender
Tools/Embellishments: Spellbinders dies (Circles Large), Sequins (The Paper Studio, Darice Iridescent, V's Sweet Ideas Hologram Star, Pretty Pink Posh Marshmallow)

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Eureka Stamps Challenge #160 - Anything Goes
Sweet Stamps Challenge - Anything Goes
Crop Stop Linky #8 - Use something found in the Crop Stop store (Memento ink, Distress Inks)
Papertake Weekly - Take Your Pick (I used the Product Theme of Distress Inks - I used 3)
Outlawz Twisted Thursday Challenge - Anything Goes
V's Sweet Ideas Challenge #38 - Favorite Technique (making my own backgrounds with inks and stamps)
Scrapbook Blessings Club - Anything Goes w/Optional Twist of Your Favorite Technique (making my own backgrounds with stamps and inks)
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

My husband and I are closing on a house today (our first in over 30 years of marriage - can you say excited?!). So, the next few weeks are going to be filled with packing, moving and getting settled. I'll be taking a few weeks off but my good friend, Tamara Dixon, is going to be filling in for me at Word Art Wednesday. On Splitcoaststampers she is lovesheltercats and you can find her gallery here. Please be sure to stop by and leave her some love.

I also wanted to let you know that Deedee's Digis will be celebrating World Card Making Day this Saturday, Oct. 3rd with a challenge (you'll have 2 weeks to participate). There are free digis to be won so why not play along?  See the blog on Saturday for full details.

Thanks for visiting with me today. I have a few cards I haven't shared with you yet that I'm hoping to post during my Moving Break. Thanks for visiting with me and I hope you'll come back soon.

Faith is...

It's hard to believe that Simon Says Stamp's STAMPtember celebration is coming to a close! My card today features a new die, Quadrangle Frames, that they generously sent me to play with. It was so fun to use the inlaid die cut technique for these frames. Those small pieces in the corners did present a bit of a challenge. They liked to wander around my craft desk. This set is also a great paper saver because the small die will fit inside the larger one when you are running them through your die cutting machine. You not only save paper but effort since you are able to cut both sizes at once.

I used foam squares to pop the frame panel over the sentiment and sunflowers. The sunflowers were colored with Copics and a couple coats from a Wink of Stella Glitter marker add some shimmer. Some black pearls finish off the card front.

Supplies:
Cardstock: Georgia Pacific (white), The Kraft Outlet (kraft)
Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye (Remarkable 6x6 pad)
Stamps: Robyn's Fetish (Sunflower 2 digi image), Our Daily Bread Designs (Quote Collection 4 cling stamps)
Ink: Versafine (Onyx Black)
Copics: E25, 31, 35; YG03, 05; Y13, 15, 17
Tools/Embellishments: Simon Says Stamp die (Quadrangle Frames), Zig Wink of Stella brush glitter marker (clear), Queen & Co. pearls 

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Outlawz Monday Greeting Challenge - Anything Goes (as long as it has a sentiment on the front)
Digi Chooseday Week #39 - Use Something New (these dies are new to me)
Scrapbook Blessings Club - Anything Goes (Optional Twist - Use your favorite technique - one of my favorites is the inlaid die cutting technique)
Eureka Stamps Challenge #160 - Anything Goes
V's Sweet Ideas Challenge #38 - Favorite Technique (I really like the inlaid die cutting technique and I like copic coloring)

Thanks again to Simon Says Stamp for their generosity in sending me this die set and allowing me to participate in their STAMPtember celebration!

Peace and Encouragement

It's Wednesday and time for another challenge at Word Art Wednesday. This week we're focusing on Romans 14:10, "Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace and things wherewith one may edify another." Have you noticed that some people seem to really enjoy "stirring the pot" or being antagonistic? They seem to derive pleasure from stirring up trouble and tearing others down. According to the Bible this is NOT the kind of person we are supposed to be. We are to seek those things which bring peace and build up (edify) each other. I once read of a man who made it a practice to verbally encourage each person with whom he interacted even if he was only with them for a short time. How long does it take or how much effort does it require to remark to a clerk, "the colors in your shirt are really pretty"? I'm not saying be dishonest. However, it's rare that you can't find something positive to say. Wouldn't you rather people left your presence with a smile in their heart instead of dreading to see you walk into the room? Let's try to encourage those we meet this week and leave them with a smile.

Deedee's Digis is one of our wonderful sponsors this week. I used one of the pre-colored images in the Little Readers set on my card today. I had to use the little blond boy in honor of our grandson. I had the privilege of having him read to me for the first time a couple weeks ago. I added some shadows below the boy and on his book with various gray Copic markers. Two ribbons were layered along the left side and anchored with brads. I used Multi Medium Matte to attach the burlap ribbon. It worked great! Since it goes over the ribbon, the verse is popped up over the card base so that it would stay level. The entire matted patterned paper panel is popped up over the white card base.

Supplies:
Cardstock: Georgia Pacific, Bazzill
Patterned Paper: Christy Lyle
Stamps: WORDart by Karen, Deedee's Digis (Little Readers)
Tools/Embellishments: burlap ribbon (The Paper Studio), blue ribbon (Offray), brads (American Crafts), Ranger Multi-Medium Matte, Spellbinders dies (Classic Rectangles Large, Deckled Rectangles Small), Copic Markers (W1, N3, 5)

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Craft Your Passion Challenge #280 - Anything Goes
Shopping Our Stash Challenge #220 - Show us your smile (image with a smile or the word "smile")
ABC Challenge - R is for Recipe (I used the middle horizontal row:  ribbon, dies and/or punches, blue)
Outlawz Twisted Thursday Challenge - Anything Goes

Thanks for spending a little time with me today. I hope you'll have time to stop by the Word Art Wednesday blog to pick up your free digi and see the other Design Team projects.

Seek the Lord

Wow! There were over 300 entries in last week's Word Art Wednesday challenge!! That is fantastic. I would love it if one of my blog readers was one of the winners. That would be great!! This week's focus verse is 1 Chronicles 16:11, "Seek the Lord and His strength, seek His face continually." I don't know what the last few weeks have been like for you, but ours have been a whirlwind. At my mother-in-law's suggestion, we're going to buy a house with her and have been going through the house-buying process (a first ever for us), we've had family illness, a work promotion and transition for my husband, and various other normal life odds and ends. Whew! We have definitely needed the Lord's strength and have been asking for His wisdom. I am so thankful that we can go to Him, the source of all wisdom, when we don't know what we should do. When we're tired and discouraged, He is there with His strength to uphold us and encourage us. As I look back over the last 5 weeks, I am so thankful again for the Lord and all He does for us.

I tried making a truly CAS card this week. I just couldn't bring myself to make it only one layer...I just had to add a mat (one of my friends teasingly refers to me as the "Mat Queen" because I feel the need to mat almost everything). However, I did settle for just one mat, a few sequins and some stickles for the interior of the sequins. This beautiful Autumn Jar image is from one of our awesome sponsors, Bugaboo Stamps. It was so fun to color with my Copics. I tried a new (to me) paper for my coloring this time. It's Neenah Bright White (bought at Walmart). Definitely not the same as Neenah Solar White. It's OK but I think it bleeds a little more than Georgia Pacific (also bought at Walmart) and definitely more than Neenah Solar White or Papertry Ink White Cardstock. I'll still use it as a basic white cardstock and will probably try it again with more Copic coloring for further testing, but so far it's not in my Top 3 Favorite Papers for Copics.

Supplies:
Cardstock: Georgia Pacific (card base), Neenah Bright White (image panel), Bazzill (yellow)
Image: WORDart by Karen, Bugaboo Stamps (Autumn Jar)
Copics: G03, 07, 09 14, 17; YG03, 05; Y000, 11, 13, 15, 17, 35, 38; BG10, 15; B000, E07, 08, 09, 31, 33, 35, 37; N0, 1; Colorless Blender
Tools/Embellishments: sequins (The Paper Studio), Stickles (Cinnamon), Zutter Round-it-All

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Addicted to Stamps Challenge #109 - Autumn image or Autumn Colors
Craft Your Passion Challenge #279 - Anything Goes
Sweet Stamps September Challenge - Anything Goes
Incy Wincy Designs - Must use Digital Stamp (no rubber stamps - I used two digis)
Scrapbook Blessings Club - Anything Goes
Crop Stop Linky #8 - Use something from the Crop Stop Store (I used Cinnamon Stickles)
Mod Squad Challenge - Flower as Focal Image


I so appreciate you stopping by for a visit today! Please don't forget to pic up your free digi and see if you were one of the winners from last week's challenge over on the Word Art Wednesday blog.

Warm Christmas Wishes

This month Simon Says Stamp is celebrating STAMPtember. I was privileged to receive a couple products from their new release to showcase. I received the Warm Christmas Wishes stamp set and the coordinating dies. When I saw the set, I knew I wanted to use the penguin and a pink and green color scheme. I started with a blue patterned paper that has a subtle ombre pattern. White pigment ink was sponged over a cloud stencil on the background paper and then embossed with sparkle embossing powder. The die cut sand dunes are actually from the same blue patterned paper. They are a light blue instead of white. The back sand dune is popped up over the background so that the various images could be on different layers. The image panel is matted with a pink patterned paper and then adhered directly to the card base. The sentiment was stamped directly onto the top sand dune.

After coloring the images with Copic markers and die cutting them, some were attached flat the background or sand dunes and others were popped up. The lights on the trees were given some sparkle with yellow and pink stickles. The surf board and beach ball have two coats of Wink of Stella clear glitter. The lens of the penguins glasses were coated with Glossy Accents and her hat was given polka dots with a white gel pen. Some iridescent sequins topped with stickles finish off the card. The picture above also gives a glimpse of the interior decorating that includes another surf board and two more beach balls.

Supplies (Items available in the SSS store are linked):
Cardstock: Georgia Pacific (card base and interior writing panel), Neenah Bright White (images)
Patterned Paper: Glitz Design (Felicity 6 x 6 pad)
Stamps: Simon Says Stamp (Warm Christmas Wishes)
Copic Markers: Ball and Surfboards (YG03, 05; R81, 83, 85); Penguin (R81, 83, 85; N0, 3, 5; Y35, 38); Glasses (YG03, 05; BG10); Trees (G03, 07, 09, 14, 17; E31, 33, 35)
Ink: Memento (Tuxedo Black), VersaFine (Onyx Black), ColorBox (Frost White)
Tools/Embellishments: Simon Says Stamp dies (Warm Christmas Wishes), My Favorite Things die-namics (Snow Drift, Blueprints 1), Stickles (Yellow, Cotton Candy, Star Dust), Hampton Arts (Sparkle embossing powder), Darice Iridescent Sequins, Want2Scrap stencil (Clouds), Glossy Accents, Zig Wink of Stella glitter brush marker (clear), Uniball Signo gel pen (white)

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Craft Your Passion Challenge #279 - Anything Goes
Sweet Stamps September Challenge - Anything Goes
Scrapbook Blessings Club - Anything Goes
Papertake Weekly - Animal Magic (include a critter of some type)


Thanks so much to Simon Says Stamp for their generosity in providing me with these stamps and dies. I had so much fun playing with them and know I'll reach for them again and again.

200th Challenge Celebration = LOTS of Prizes!!!!

I've been sick all week so I was not able to get a project made for Word Art Wednesday. However, I didn't want to miss telling you about the celebration going on at Word Art Wednesday in honor of our 200th Challenge!! This week there will be 15 winners!! You are allowed to link up 5 projects and each project will earn you an opportunity to win one of our fantastic prizes.

Our Sponsors this week are:

Prairie Point Junction/Wool Felt Central

The Cutting Cafe

Simon Says Stamp

Top Dog Dies

V's Sweet Ideas

The Kraft Outlet

Crop Stop

Loves Rubber Stamps

Iralamija Shop

DL. Art

Bossy Joscie

Really Reasonable Ribbon

Scrappy Moms Stamp Store

Ginny Maxam

Please be sure to stop by the Word Art Wednesday for all the challenge and prize details and to pick up your free WORDart digi.

Blessed Be the Lord God

Happy Wednesday!! A new challenged started today at Word Art Wednesday. This week's verse is Psalm 72:18, "Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel who only doeth wondrous things." The psalmist is making sure that his audience knows exactly which god he's talking about. The God of Israel had done many wondrous things for the nation of Israel and all the countries around them had heard about Him. The psalmist spends this entire psalm reminding his readers of all the wondrous things the Lord had done for them. This verse is near the end of the psalm where he's summing up his previous statements and goes on in the next verse to say, "...blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen." As I know I've said on multiple occasions, we serve the same Lord that the people living in Bible times worshiped. He has also done many, many wondrous things for us and He deserves to be praised and honored by the whole earth. We can, and should, bring praise and honor to Him just by the way we live our lives. I know I fall short many times but it is a goal we should all be striving to reach.

My card today was made using a stamp set that I won in a giveaway held by one of our sponsors. Gloria Shirr is a Close to My Heart representative and she's giving away a beautiful stamp set this week. Please link up your family-friendly Anything Goes projects at Word Art Wednesday for an opportunity to win. Gloria is also having a celebration on her blog with LOTS of prizes. Be sure to visit her at Purpleglo Creations for info on how to win.

I have not made a gate-fold card in awhile so I adapted a sketch by Sweet Sketch Wednesday 2 (sketch from last week to make it work for a 5.5" square gate-fold card.

I stamped the cherries from the set onto 1.5" squares turning the stamp a little each time. The cherries were colored with Copics, highlighted with a white gel pen, coated with a Wink of Stella glitter marker and then matted with kraft cardstock. I didn't want to cover up the stamped cherries too much so I used baker's twine instead of ribbon. A few scattered red and silver rhinestones and some faux stitching finish it off.

Supplies:
Cardstock: Georgia Pacific (white), Recollections (kraft)
Patterned Paper: unknown piece from scrap basket
Stamps: WORDart by Karen (Psalm 72:18), Close to My Heart clear set (Sweet Life)
Ink: Memento (Tuxedo Black)
Copics: R22, 24, 27; G03, 07, 09; E25, 29; B000
Tools/Embellishments: Studio G baker's twine, Wink of Stella glitter brush marker (clear), Want2Scrap baby bling (red, silver), Spellbinders dies (Classic Ovals Large and Small), Creative Memories 1.5" square punch, Uniball Signo white gel pen

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Make It Colorful
Cuttlebug Mania - Anything Goes
Clear It Out Challenge - Anything Goes
Going Grey with Scrap Creations - Anything Goes
Hiding in My Craft Room Challenge #214 - Freestyle

I am so thankful you stopped by for a visit today. Thanks for spending some time with me.