Christmas Card Club 2012 . . .September from Lydia

I am a little late getting up my post for our Christmas card club, but it is still Sunday so I'm within the timeframe parameters. I just love this little image that Lydia sent us for her turn at hostess! This is a photo and liust of supplies that Lydia sent out, thanks Meredith for always being so faithful as the group organizer to take a shot of all the supplies! Image - Stampin' Up! Wonderful Winterland - stamped in Memento on Neenah Paper: Candlelight DSP - Stampin' Up! Snow Festival Designer Printed Tags, Stampin' Up! Noel Notes laser cut note and liner - Stampin' Up! Champagne glimmer paper (which I am hoarding because it is just SO pretty, LOL!) Accessories - Designer Brushed Bronze buttons - Stampin Up! 1/8" Old Olive Taffeta Ribbon - Stampin' Up!

I loved the little image and the gold paper and for some reason the brown on one side of the patterned paper Lydia sent really struck me. I also felt very decadent using almost half a sheet of pearls for the one card! I'm the type sitting there with tweezers usually to make sure I don't waste any and put three or five tops on a any given card! So again, I saw the warmth of the browns and beiges that can accompany winter and focused solely on those colors and shades, didn't use the reds and greens, which are equally as pretty! For the top card I used my prismacolor pencils and gamsol, while the card below uses copics. I had a lot of fun with this kit! Need to make the rounds and see what everyone else created! Thanks for looking!

Other Christmas Card Club members:

Kelli
Lee
Lydia
Meredith
Misti

SSIC challenge 150 ... music

Happy Sunday stampers! It is time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ, where all of our challenges are based on scripture. This week's sponsor is Fred She Said! They are giving away a $15 gift card to one randomly selected participant in this week's challenge.

And our lovely hostess this week is the devoted MariLynn, who has a beautiful heart for the Lord. She has selected this verse from Ephesians 5:19-20 Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Her challenge is to create a card or project that incorporates music somehow. 

MariLynn often gives out her favorite hymns or inspirational songs on her blog posts and I bet today is no exception. I look forward to reading her thoughts on this morning's verse. 

I do know that if we followed that verse in Ephesians we wouldn't be sharing gossip or talking unkindly about other people because if we speak to one another with hymns and songs from the Spirit that would be eliminated from our speech. That is an area of struggle for many if not all of us I think. 

For my card I chose this image from Penny Black's 12 Days of Christmas set. I realized that I don't have a lot of song or music related stamps any more, I have given them to a friend who will make more use of them than I have. But I have this little dog playing the drums and I already gave this card to my youngest daughter, who is going to be starting fifth grade band playing percussion. 

The tone of my card is a bit 'greeny' maybe I can play with that later today to fix it. 

Thanks for looking, hope you can play along this week! 

Sketchy Owls

Good afternoon!

Ever have one of those weeks when each day of the week you were a day off? Arrive at the auto repair shop for your tuneup only to discover that you are a day early or day late? Go to get your hair cut and your appointment is next week? I've had a week like that and it happened again this morning! But when it did happen, I had to come back home and that gave me some time to stamp. :)

I was first going to put the owls on the top, but then when I looked at the sketch, their length really fit the bottom portion. So I have the sentiment on top instead and I like that better anyway.

Sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches, number 165.

Great sketch, love owls from Daydream Designs, especially this time of year. Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Daydream Designs Owl Always Love You, SU sentiment
Paper: brown, retired SU DSP, blues and aquas, speckled off white
Ink: black
Other: prima leaves, decorative sticky tape, rhinestones, copics, cuttlebug vintage die, spellbinders ovals

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop September 2012

Just squeaking into the September Papertrey Ink blog hop to use fabric in a package or as a packaging element. I was really scratching my head over this one and then I remembered this tea bag gift holder I made a few years ago. It is an 8.5x11 sheet of cardstock cut and scored to resemble a large tea bag and it holds either a bag on either side as the cardstock is folded to created two pockets, or you could hang a few in the middle. I tried to take a side shot so you could see that it is a 3-D item.

I used some flannel fabric for the cup on the front and the tea bag 'tag' on the back as well as the circle under the blue tea cup on the back. I think the flannel carries the warmth of the idea of tea. I am taking this photo late at night and I am not the world's best photographer. The red cardstock is textured, but looks flat in the photo. Anyhow, thanks for looking!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Tea for Two
Ink: black
Paper: poppy, blue, Fancy Pants DP, PTI DP
Accessories: silver cord, spellbinders petite scalloped circle, PTI cup die and tiny tags dies, white gel pen, silver pencil, silver rhinestones, PTI ricrac die, flannel, felt (black for ricrac)

Tea bag instructions: I originally found my instructions here.
The centimeters roughly translate into cutting an 8.5x11 sheet of cardstock to 10 x 6.
Score lengthwise at 1.5 inches and 4.5 inches.
Score horizontally at 4.5, 5 and 5 inches...these scores make the bottom part of the tea bag you see in the photo.

The original instructions have you scoring and then folding over the top corners but my cardstock is too thick, so I just cut them off.

VSN Goes Back to School

I didn't realize it was VSN weekend. I never do have enough time to participate in too many challenges, but last night I got to the first one. You had to use notebook paper or a notebook paper image in your card so I used this notebook stamp from Papertrey Ink on vintage cream paper stamped in Ranger Distress inks vintage photo, for the look of an old library card.

I used some retired Stampin' Up designer paper. I always love that paper, it coordinates so nicely and it is such a great weight. Because I paper pieced my image I had to rush the layout so I kept that very simple. I have found it is super easy to paper piece digitals. I just size the image on a word document, copy the image and have four or six up on a page. Print it out once on standard computer paper, then tape your designer paper over the various images and run it through the printer again, then cut out your pieces.

This is a Friday Freebie from Digi Garden, every Friday on facebook they post another adorable image that you can snag for free; I'm starting to build a little library of images. When I saw the VSN challenge I thought of this little image right away, she looks like she is bringing a flower in for her teacher.

Thanks for looking. Have a great day!

Stamps: The Digi Garden, Papertrey Ink (notecard and sentiment)
Paper: Stampin' Up DSP, kraft, vintage cream
Ink: Ranger distress ink vintage photo, black
Other: large scallop die, heart border die, PTI buttons, copics

Sketchy Owls

Great sketch this week at Splitcoast Stampers (#403). Perfect for this little owl guy from Daydream Designs.
Colored him with copics, popped up on some pop dots to raise him above the paper panels and voila! Quick and easy card to send to a friend. Thanks for looking!

Daydream Designs Blog Hop...Fall or Owls

We are so excited to launch our first Daydream Designs Blog Hop!  We have a fabulous line up of fun fall-themed projects to share with you.  We hope you will be inspired and enjoy the hop.  You also have several ways to earn a chance to win some great prizes:

 OUR SPONSOR:

THE PRIZES:

1.  Leave a comment on each of the blogs below.

One random winner will be selected to win one FREE set of choice (including digi paper packs)

from Daydream Designs.

Diane
MariLynn

Miesje

Amy

Helen

Michelle

Traci

Beth

Peggysue (that's me)

Jerusha

Vicki

2.  Leave a comment on each blog above AND create your own fall-themed project to link

on the last blog of the blog hop, Vicki's Pink Posh Cards.

If you participate in both of these ways your name will be entered

for random selection to win THREE FREE sets of your choice (including paper packs).

3. And for this blog hop EVERYONE CAN WIN!

Pick up the FREE digi at the end of the first blog in the hop:

Diane's Daydream Designs.

MY PROJECT:  

Good morning all! Should be pretty obvious by my image here that I chose OWLS and not Fall. :) Gotta love this little owl with the polka dots and bow. Polka dots automatically make a card happy!

You should have arrived at my blog from Beth and your next stop will be Jerusha! Enjoy the hop!

Image: Daydream Designs owl
Ink: black
Paper: Doodlebug DSP, white, PTI Hawaiian Shores, Raspberry Fizz, white
Other: copics, rhinestones, embossing folder, stickles

Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge 157 ...Fall

Happy Sunday stampers! It is time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ, where our challenges are based on scripture. Our sponsor this week is Sweet n' Sassy stamps and I am using one of their Fall digital images. I love the fact that coneflowers come in bright pink as well as yellows and golds, and I paired it up with Basic Grey Indian Summer DSP.

Our hostess this week is the blog's founding mother, Kris! who selected this verse from Galatians 6:9 "So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up." Her challenge is to make a harvest or Fall card.

If you look on our home page here you can see the rest of the creations by the design team and read Kris' thoughts on her chosen verse.

I printed out the image on kraft paper and colored it with prismacolor pencils. To match the DSP from Basic Grey I used PTI's kraft, fine linen and raspberry fizz papers, added a scalloped oval around the image and used a fiskars punch for the border underneath. Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge 156 . . .no neutrals

Happy Sunday stampers! It is time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ, where all of our challenges are based on scripture. This week's hostess is our northern sister Jerusha, who has selected this verse from Romans 3:23-24 " For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins." 

Her challenge is to use only bright colours, no neutrals, blacks, browns, etc.

I am excited to read her words and thoughts on this verse like the rest of you. When the devotionals appear, it is a treat for the rest of the design team as well since we don't see them before hand. We do see the lovely cards and projects as they appear in the photo files, so make sure you go to our home page for both devo and cards! 

Our sponsor this week is The Craft's Meow! which is offering a stamp set of the winner's choice to one randomly selected participant in this week's challenge. 

And for anyone reading this I have to apologize for my lack of commenting this summer. My husband has had health issues as has his mother, we have an exchange student here and school has just recently started. We've been to more doctors and medical professionals than I can count and then you top it off with the forms and the bills...it doesn't leave much time to spare!

I love this verse because there is so much you can glean from it. First and foremost every time I think of my own salvation I am filled with such happiness and joy. I have to say though that I didn't fully grasp, and don't think I grasp even today, the enormity of that gift. And I didn't grasp for a long time that I was included in that word "all." We all fall short, we are all sinners. 

One day a sermon on the radio really brought it home for me. I was driving along thinking ill of someone who had really hurt me through their own sinful behavior, listening to the sermon and imagining just how much that person needed to hear these words! How much they needed to change and be sorry for what they had done! 

Then the speaker, Erwin Lutzer, asked the congregation, which building in Chicago is taller, Moody church or the Sears Tower? At that time the Sears tower was the tallest building in the world, the answer was obvious. Then he asked, if two people left from the tops of those buildings, traveling at the same speed, which would be first to reach the constellation Orion? Stars are light years away from our planet, the difference in arrival would be infinitesimal compared to the total journey. THAT, he said, is the difference of our sin in God's eyes. Any sin, all sin, no matter what size, how it is packaged, is the same in scope when compared to God's perfection.

That is when I realized my sins are equal to anyone else's. I have no right to have those dark thoughts of who did what to hurt my feelings. Now, I still fall into that sometimes and yes, I can get my feelings hurt and suffer the consequences of sinful actions. But what are the consequences of my own sin? How great is my own sin? That is where my thoughts need to be and that is the wellspring of my gratitude to Jesus Christ, because without his sacrifice, there is no bridge for me to get over the gap of my sin and into heaven. 

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

Stamps: The Craft's Meow (butterfly), MFP retired sentiment
Ink: Carribbean Sea (?) kaleidacolor pad, black
Paper: white, assortment of greens, blue, Cosmo Cricket DeLovely pad
Other: silver cord, rhinestones, embossing plates and tools, MFP banner die

Digi Garden...digital gardening

I like this little image from Digi Garden as the little girl is gathering her garden produce, something we have been doing in our garden lately! We have potatoes, squash, beans, okra and a few pumpkins growing!

My friend Kris is designing these cute images and you can find more of them right here. http://thedigigarden.weebly.com/. I just colored the image with some copics and cut it out to mount it on a circle with some gardeny-type designer paper behind it. The sentiment is from a PTI mini tag set. Thanks for looking!

Stamps: The Digi Garden
Ink: black
Paper: Doodlebug, white, yellow, green, pacific point blue
Other: gems from Pizzazz Aplenty, copics

Happy 3rd birthday Stampin' Sisters in Christ!

This Sunday is SSiC's 3rd Birthday and we invite you to celebrate with us by way of a Birthday Blog Hop!! 

Helen is our lovely challenge hostess.  The challenge is to make a birthday card and is inspired by this Scripture:  John 3:3 "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Please be sure to read Helen's devotional on this Scripture on our challenge blog!

Our challenge sponsor is Verses, who is donating a $15 Gift Card to one random participant in our card challenge (please link your card in our Linky) and as always, we will pick 3 Shining Stars who's cards will be showcased the following Tuesday on our blog!

And now for the Blog Hop!  We will pick 3 random winners who complete the hop and who leave a comment on all our DT's blogs!  Hoppers do not have to make a card and enter our challenge, although we'd love it if they did!  Hoppers could win one of the following:

$20 GC to Daydream Designs,

3 Free digis from The Digi Garden,

and 3 digi sets from Carly's Cuties

Winners from the blog hop will be announced on Tuesday, Sept. 11th along with our challenge winner and Shining Stars.

Here's the order... Happy Hoppin'!!

SSiC -- Start Here

Candace- Creatively Candace  
Diane- Diane's Designs
Helen- Creative Jeans
Jerusha- I Love Paper Crafting

Kris- Ink Something 2
Laura - http://lozzapoppins.blogspot.com/

Linda- Lovely Linda's Craft Central
Marilynn- Mississippi McGyver
Michelle- My Papered Cottage
Miesje- Craft Room with a View
Peggysue- Roses by My Window
Sandie- Sandies Card Garden

Traci- Major Moments

Stampin Sisters in Christ

I used an image from My Daydream Designs digital set, Birds and Bees. I paper pieced this same image earlier this week to look like a robin in a folk art setting and this time I used cool blues, vanilla and some striped paper to give it a softer look. 

Thanks for looking and happy hopping!