Happy Sunday stampers! Its time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ. This week it is my turn to play hostess and I selected this verse from 1 Peter 1:23 (NIV) "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable , through the living and enduring word of God." For this challenge, since most seeds come up as tiny green shoots, use the color green somewhere in your creation, not all over green, monochrome, but some green somewhere.
I selected this verse a while ago and my thoughts about its impact keep shifting, especially in light of recent world events. I like the image of the seed. A seed is like a promise in a wrapper, a hope that given a bit of sunlight, earth and water will burst forth into new life. The seed itself has to die before it can become a plant or a tree, and in the same way, we have to die to ourselves before we can find new life in Christ. But when we do, that new life can be as green and abundant as the most lush forest or verdant grassland you've ever pictured.
This earth though, contains nothing but perishable seed. Living in an area with all four seasons, my family can see the plants start from tiny seeds, flourish, blossom and then wither and die when winter comes. But on a larger scale, plants are not the only created thing that withers and dies. Buildings can crumble, governments topple and thousands of lives can change in an instant, or be lost entirely, in the blink of an eye.
What can we hold onto when our foundations are shaken? I can think of only one thing--Jesus Christ. He is the imperishable seed. Through faith in Jesus Christ we have a hope beyond this world, we have the promise of eternal life through Him. Find and take hold of that imperishable seed and don't let it go.
This card uses a Northwoods stamp and the glitter technique again. I cannot seem to put my glitter down. I stamped the image on acetate with black memento ink, let it dry and then used four shades of green, a yellow, orange and brown for the image. I did paint the background behind it with a light blue, although you can't really see it once the acetate covers it. Next time I'll use a more intense shade.
I stamped the image also on PTI spring moss in Stazon Timber brown and the used just a portion of the glittered panel in a variation of the spotlight technique. I used images from PTI's guidelines one set on the blue background and a sentiment from Everyday Button Bits. This card is for my son's friend, who has been in and out of the hospital with a serious condition for months. Thanks for looking.
Yup . . . another card that could use some work. :) This is the second entry for the PTI anniversary birthday card contest. The free image in this card is the sentiment at the bottom. I wanted to see what it would look like printed on cream cardstock and I like that, just not what I did to it. 
While the title of my blog might be 'roses by my window' with winter in full bloom instead, floral scenes are hard to find. I've not only been craving spinach in my diet, I've been craving green things outside my window. The first one is easier to fulfill with a short trip to the grocery store. The second wish can only be realized in my dreams so I've been dreaming of sunflowers. I also had half of the stained glass sunflower panel I made a week ago and didn't want it to go to waste. A dear friend sent me some stamped images and I came across sunflower Tilda . . . so it was a great match for the sunflowers. 
Happy Sunday Stampers! It is time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ. This week's hostess is the lovely and talented Helen (Bo Belen) who selected this verse from Matthew 18:4 "Therefore whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." The challenge is to make a card with an image of a child or childlike things on it (such as a card with toys or a saying about children, but not a baby card.) Check out the main page on Stampin' Sisters in Christ to read Helen's thoughts about the verse she selected.
Today I learned that blogger only lets you upload five photos and I had six cards to share, so I paired them up to take pictures. I have talked about the glitter window technique and wondered how it would look with the little tiny treats stamps from Papertrey Ink. There also was a discussion on the boards about glitter explosions (I have a friend who has to avoid those) and I thought about a way to make a glitter card, glitter free. 