A few of my roses

We have a wedding coming up very soon, less than 40 days away! (Just ask my daughter!)

For my friends, thought I'd share a few pics from the shower we had last weekend on Saturday. These are my girls!

A Blessed Easter to You!!!!

Happy Sunday stampers! One of the best Sundays of the year!! A blessed Easter to all of you. I hope you are enjoying Easter celebrations with family or church friends. Some time this week, if you get a chance, Stampin' Sisters in Christ is having our weekly challenge and our hostess this week is Rebekka, her chosen verse is Luke 24:46-47 ESV (46) and (Jesus) said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, (47) and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

Her challenge is to create an Easter card and it has to be round!~as you can see from the cards by the design team on the home page. Our sponsor is Serendipity Stamps, who is donating a QCL sized cling set of the winner's choice.

I am so filled with joy today and this entire weekend at the tremendous gift Jesus Christ gave to us through his sacrifice on the cross. Good Friday is gone, today we celebrate our Risen Savior, so I chose to make a card as bright and colorful as possible.

Rebekka has some great thoughts to share with you on the home page. I have nothing to add, just joy, joy, joy. He is Risen!!!

Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers
Ink: black, silver craft
Paper: Cosmo Cricket DeLovely, white, blue, green
Other: edge punches, prima flowers

Aqua Dandelion

There was an interesting sketch on splitcoaststampers today, thought I'd give it a try. I combined it with the CR84FN24 challenge to use aqua, light blue and cream. Hard to tell in the photo, there's a touch of glitter on the bee's wings. We've had storms all day, there wasn't any decent light.

Thanks for looking, have a great evening!

Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers Happy Pansies (bee and ladybug), Just Dandy
Ink: Ranger ink Vintage Photo, Antique Linen (distressing), Papertrey Ink Aqua
Paper: Cream, Aqua, light blue
Other: PTI impression plates, distressing tool, light blue ribbon, glitter, 3/4" circle punch

Frieda's Spring Garden . . . Card Patterns 111

Happy Tuesday!!! Its snowing~~~I need to go visit my friend in Oklahoma who tells me it is 97 degrees there. :)

I'm creating Spring in my craft room since it will still be a while before we experience it in real life! Frieda is picking flowers and wearing a short dress . . . something I wouldn't dare venture outside in right now. This is for the current sketch at Card Patterns, number 111 I think and for such a simple sketch I found it a challenge! I scrapped I don't know how many ideas for the three elements on the side of the card before I remembered my hat pins from Mark's Finest Papers. I think they kind of match the flower in her hand, what do you think?

Little Frieda there is available for you to win on Card Patterns this week, as The Craft's Meow, a new company started by my dear friend Lisa, is the sponsor! Three Frieda images will go to a lucky winner. And Lisa is also . . . drumroll here . . . giving away ALL of the four new sets being designed by Nina Brackett for her May 1st release as the new designer for The Craft's Meow, actually a complete set of four for every hundred fans of her new facebook page! I love Nina's designs, I'm actually eligible for that giveaway! Click on the link I provided to check it out. Thanks for looking. Hope your Spring weather is treating you more kindly in your part of the world!

Stamps: The Craft's Meow Little Frieda's Daisy
Ink: black
Paper: Prima Fairy Flora, cream, bright pink
Other: copics, MFP hat pins, MS edge punch, paper piercing tool

Challenges:
Card Patterns: Sketch 111
Ladybug Crafts Ink TT Challenge: Anything Goes
Make It Monday: Anything Goes
Kaboodles Doodles: Spring/Easter . . . I was definitely shooting for Spring with this!
By the Cute & Girly: cute and girly

Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge 85. . . Matthew 16:23

Happy Sunday stampers! It is time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ. This week's sponsor is Designed to Delight and one randomly selected participant posting their card on the home page will win a $10 gift certificate to that store. I am the hostess this week and I selected this verse from Matthew 16:23 "Jesus turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me satan!'" My challenge is for you to create a background on your card using tone on tone, either versamark on cardstock or purple on purple, brown on brown, etc. Please go to the main page for Stampin Sisters in Christ to see the gorgeous creations by the rest of the design team. My devotional is as follows:


Get thee behind me Satan. . .

Interesting choice of words to use with a follower, with a friend. Yet these are the words Jesus used with Peter when Peter pulled Jesus aside to admonish him for in the previous passages laying out the plan of salvation. Now it is true that Jesus would have to suffer and die on the cross and we don’t know the level of Peter’s shock or denial when he heard of this future suffering. We do know the reason Jesus said those words to Peter because of the statement immediately following, “for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Peter was trying to stand in the way of God’s plans. Lately this passage has been much on my mind, not only because Easter is approaching, but also because of personal challenges to get out of the way and let God’s will work in my life and those of my family members.

As just one example, my son feels led to enter the mission field, specifically feeling called to go to a remote part of the globe to help spread the gospel. I love my son and I’m proud of him for following God’s call. My mother’s heart, however, keys in on the word “remote.” And my vivid imagination has no trouble at all conjuring up poisonous vipers laced in every tree branch just waiting to drop down and bite him. Not to mention wondering when I’d see him again.

That’s just one example of where my quivering jellyfish insides worries about the what ifs, where I’m thinking of my agenda, of “the things of men” rather than being mindful of the things of God.

So what do I need to do? Support him, pray, trust God, and not pluck at my son’s sleeve telling him what a mistake he’s making, the way Peter tried to do with Jesus.

How often do we do that, even just in our thought life? A friend announces their intention to try foster care, to adopt an older child, to start their own business, or to downsize so they can serve the Lord better and what is our response? How often is it negative or instantly filled with doubts, with what-if scenarios? If the Lord truly is calling them to do these things, then our response should be to remember Jesus’ words, “Get thee behind me Satan.” Get out of the way. Let God work. And better yet, get on our knees to pray for their endeavors and look for any ways we can help.

---------------------------------

Thanks for looking and hope you can play along this week.

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Turning a New Leaf, Waltzingmouse Stamps (sentiment), Layers of Color (flowers)
Paper: pink pirouette, cream
Ink: versamark, black
Other: ribbon, watercolor brush, reinkers

In the category of exciting news:
Lisa, our dear SSIC sister and owner of a brand new on line store, The Crafts Meow, just announced that the talented Nina Brackett will be designing stamps for The Crafts Meow, and that Alice Wertz and Sarah Martina Parker will be joining TCM as kit designers.

Lisa has created a Facebook Page! For every 100 fans by April 30th, she will be giving away a set of the four new stamp sets that were designed by Nina and will be released on May 1st! So click on over to facebook and become a fan! Thanks Lisa for your generosity!

Design Team Call tryout

There's a new challenge blog opening up, it appears to be quite international and it would be fun to make more friends from around the globe! So I'm tossing my hat in the ring to be chosen as a designer, we'll see what happens! I like the fact the challenges are once every two weeks, that gives you time to think things over and come up with your best work.

Here is a link to their blog and their badge. They ask you to list your three best pieces of work for their consideration. I don't know exactly which three to pick, so I closed my eyes and threw a dart at the computer. (no, not really!)

Here are three that I like for different reasons. Looking forward to the first challenge on May 4th. Best of luck to all who are entering. They're giving away candy too; just leave a comment on their post.



This is a tent card, I haven't made too many of these but I do enjoy them. I also don't use digital images often, but Mo's (image from Mo's Digital Pencil) has such cute things. My printer tends to eat my paper when I try to print digis.




This card brings back special memories of time spent with family at the lake, inspired by a photo of my son walking along the sandy beach at sunset. The colored panel uses a wash of different shades of ranger distress inks to create the sunset look and then I overstamped and embossed the branch images with black craft ink, added a bit of glitter for the sun's reflections on the waves. Despite the amount of work on the panel, I still consider this an example of my CAS work. (image by PTI)



This uses a glitter window or stained glass technique, using different shades of glitter on a stamped image on acetate. So the image is 'colored' with glitter, then you flip it over when you glue it on your layout so the glitter won't rub off. The 'waves' behind the fish is a piece of DP positioned behind the acetate panel. (image by Inkadinkado . . .I think)


Thanks for looking and thanks for the consideration.

Mark's Finest Papers April release . . . Introducing Garden Fairies

Welcome to the MFP April Blog Hop! This month, we are releasing 4 NEW SETS!

Our New Sets are: In My Mother's Garden, Bearded Iris, Oh Boy, It's a Girl and Garden Fairies.For your convenience, all 4 stamp sets are available for purchase TODAY!
We have a NEW Blog Candy Contest! BE A GUEST DESIGNER!***
What do you need to do to qualify? Just comment on the Design Team blogs during the blog hop. The winner will be announced on the Mark’s Finest Papers blog on Saturday, April 16, 2011. ***See the MFP blog for all the contest rules and PRIZES!



Fairies don't often let us see them, you know, just a glimpse now and then so I made a shadowbox card using the Prima Fairy Flora papers, just a peep through the flowers at the fairy perched on a mushroom. Thanks for looking and happy hopping!!!

FRIDAY, April 15, 2011: Garden Fairies
Emily-
Karen-
Patty-
Roxie-
Vicki-
Liz:
Claudine-
Dawn-
Nicole -
Marilynn-
Peggysue-
Connie –
Emily N.-
Neva
Silvia
Patricia
Chrissy
Guest Designer, Lillian
Mark’s Finest Papers

Mark's Finest Papers April release. . . Introducing In My Mother's Garden

Hi everyone! I am not part of the official hop today, although you can see my card on the main page of the Mark's Finest Papers blog here, as well as the entire list of participating design team members.

All four sets are available for purchase today. I truly cannot pick a favorite out of this month's release, I had fun with all of them. Hope you are enjoying seeing them. Have a great day!

Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers In my Mother's Garden

Ink: black, pink

Paper: aqua, pink, white, Prima fairy flora

Other: scalloped nestability, prima flowers, cuttlebug edge folder, stickles, copics

Mark's Finest Papers April release . . . Introducing Oh Boy, It's a Girl

Welcome to the MFP April Blog Hop! This month, we are releasing 4 NEW SETS!

Our New Sets are: In My Mother's Garden, Bearded Iris, Oh Boy, It's a Girl and Garden Fairies.For your convenience, all 4 stamp sets are available for purchase TODAY!
We have a NEW Blog Candy Contest! BE A GUEST DESIGNER!***
What do you need to do to qualify? Just comment on the Design Team blogs during the blog hop. The winner will be announced on the Mark’s Finest Papers blog on Saturday, April 16, 2011. ***See the MFP blog for all the contest rules and PRIZES!



I had a lot of fun playing with this set. The thing I find easiest for me, to get the creative juices flowing, is a good stamp set and a good sketch. We have two babies expected this summer, two of my nieces are pregnant, due within a month of each other! We know for sure that one is going to be a girl, the other one is keeping it a secret. :) The sketch I found at the Card Pattern blog, sketch 110. Its hard to spot in this photo, but I used a Cuttlebug edge folder to impress 'with love' at the very bottom of the card.





For this second one, I wanted general, bright happy colors that are sort of universal, whether boy or girl. I used the Cosmo Cricket DeLovely papers and a very simple layout. I botched the inside sentiment but not so badly that I won't be sending this card out. Thanks for looking and happy hopping!

WEDNESDAY, April 13: Oh Boy, It's a Girl!

Lois
Vicky
Dawn L.
Anne
Peggysue
Connie
Claudine
Dawn M.
Nicole
Marilynn
Geri
Lynn
Emily N.
Patricia
Chrissy
Guest Designer, Lillian
Mark’s Finest Papers

Mark's Finest Papers April release . . . Introducing Bearded Iris

Welcome to the MFP April Blog Hop! This month, we are releasing 4 NEW SETS!

Our New Sets are: In My Mother's Garden, Bearded Iris, Oh Boy, It's a Girl and Garden Fairies.For your convenience, all 4 stamp sets are available for purchase TODAY!
We have a NEW Blog Candy Contest! BE A GUEST DESIGNER!***
What do you need to do to qualify? Just comment on the Design Team blogs during the blog hop. The winner will be announced on the Mark’s Finest Papers blog on Saturday, April 16, 2011. ***See the MFP blog for all the contest rules and PRIZES!




I love the color purple and don't often get the chance to use it in such abundance. I know iris come in other colors and I'm sure we'll see many shades of beautiful flowers on the hop, but I reveled in the chance to use purple!!!!

The small iris works well for highlighting one of the many sentiments included in this set and the large iris can be striking standing alone. If you notice on the sentiment in the second one, one of the beauties of acrylic stamps is you can ink up just one portion of the sentiment at a time to make it fit the space you envision. In this case, the Happy Birthday was stacked one on top of the other, but I wanted it on a narrow vellum strip to overlay the flower, so I inked up one section at a time, carefully wiping off any excess ink before restamping to avoid shadows. Thanks for looking and happy hopping! (2nd sketch came from Card Patterns 109 designed by Nina Brackett)

TUESDAY April 12, 2011- Bearded Iris
Lois
Vicky
Dawn L.
Anne
Peggysue
Connie
Emily
Karen
Patty
Roxie
Vicki
Liz
Geri
Lynn
Emily N.
Neva
Silvia
Patricia
Chrissy
Guest Designer, Lillian
Mark’s Finest Papers

Papertrey Peeps April challenge

Hey all! I finally finished my daughter's wedding invitations, whew! Now I can get to visiting some blogs and taking care of other stamping business.

Terri reminded me I'm hosting the April challenge for our blog group, the Papertrey Peeps so I've chosen (almost mid month here, but hey, weddings come first) to challenge the group to use black, either as a bold accent or the main color.

I found inspiration in a photo of a quilt in a magazine I bought. Lots of bright colors in the quilt that stand out even more vividly due to the black surrounding them. Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Quilter's Sampler
Paper: Black, purple, pink, orange, yellow, white
Ink: black archival
Other: copics, MS butterfly punch, cuttlebug folder

Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge 84 . . . Mark 15

Happy Sunday stampers! It is time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ! This week's hostess is one of our founders, Kristine (that makes her sound old, but she isn't!) who has selected this verse from Mark 15:17 "They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him."

Our sponsor this week is Simon Says Stamp. Please check the home page to see the stamp set that will be awarded to one lucky winner who participates in this week's challenge. The challenge is to use shades of purple as your main color and/or use wood paper or elements on your card.

I don't have any wood paper or wooden elements, so you can see its okay to use purple alone. I wondered what it would look like simply embossing in white a lily on purple paper and then adding purple accents with prismacolor pencils. I think it could use some tweaking. :)

Have you watched the Passion yet this Lenten season? Or are you following along in a special book of devotions? I hope you are, because it helps to bring a fresh appreciation of the precious gift we were given through Christ's suffering on the cross. I know Kristine will have some powerful words to share on the main page in her devotional, you can view it here, as well as the other gorgeous purple creations by the rest of the design team. Thanks for looking, hope you find time to play along this week.

Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers "He is the Lamb"
Paper: Prima Flora Fairy paper, aqua, pink, white, random DP
Ink: black
Other: paper piercing tool, cuttlebug edge folder, silver gel pen, sponge, stickles, prima flowers

Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge 83 . . . childlike faith

Happy Sunday stampers! It is time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ! I am late to the party, I was traveling all week, 2400 miles or more and now back home again. I would never make a good long distance trucker, that I know. But I am getting my post up this afternoon.

Our hostess this week is Miesje. She selected this verse from Luke 18:17 "Amen I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it." Her challenge is to make a card or project for a child. Our sponsor this week is Clear Dollar Stamps and they are offering a $15 gift card to one randomly selected winner who plays along with our challenge.

You can read Miesje's wonderful devotional here on the main blog page for Stampin' Sisters in Christ and also see the creations by the rest of the design team sisters. I am simply going to point you to Miesje's words and not add a single thought since I am barely scraping in on the challenge on time. I need to unpack and do laundry! :)

And for all of you who live in the southern climes we were recently visiting, we are experiencing a thunder-snowstorm currently, complete with large fluffy flakes, lightning and loud booming thunder all at the same time! Gotta love Springtime in the north!

I used a Patchwork Pal stamp created by this week's sponsor, you can find a selection of very cute animal stamps and all kinds of scripture and encouraging words at Clear Dollar Stamps. Thanks for looking and have a great week!

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps, sentiment from SU
Paper: Mark's Finest Papers white and colored cardstock, random DP from stash
Ink: Brilliance black
Other: ribbon, copics, SU star eyelets from stash

Other challenges:

CCEE Stampers: No buttons, bow, buckles or brads (knots, no bows)
Southern Girls: Add an animal
Creative Card Crew: For a child
One Stop Craft Challenge: spots and dots
7KidsCollegeFund: seeing spots