Second Blogaversary and candy . . .

Approximately two years ago my dad died. When he passed away, I did two things: first, I went out and got a puppy (DH had nothing he could say in defense, it lived in my lap for at least two solid weeks). Second, I also started a blog as a method of additional stamping therapy and what a great experience it has been to date. Who knew you could 'meet' such great people through the internet? Although I have to admit, I met my DH through an internet dating site. (shhhh!!! don't tell anyone!)

I love blog hopping and seeing everyone else's fabulous artwork and enjoy sharing my projects online here as well.

So to thank those who wander across this space once in a while I'm offering some blog candy that will end one week after my blogaversary. I'll choose one person at random (you know the drill) and what I have here is a yard each of ribbon roses in pink and cream, a pack of Frost 6x6 DP from Memory Box, a deep edge Martha Stewart punch Garden Gate and a stamp set I have never used from Close to my Heart called Seed Packets and it has, of course, a rose stamp inside it.

To win my blog candy simply tell me about someone in your life who you love or have loved . . .

Instead of talking about my dad, I'm just going to say a few words about my grandmother. I only saw her once a year when she flew to visit us but I looked forward to those visits all year long. She was the quintessential grandmother, big lap to sit in to hear stories or songs, arms always ready to hug you, a constant smile, a great cook and unconditional love radiating from every fiber of her being. I treasured my time with her and miss her still, but she taught me my very first lessons in life about love and what it looks like in one of its best forms.

Now its your turn.

Blog candy ends midnight on February 21st.

Stampin Sisters in Christ challenge 75 . . . without words

Happy Sunday stampers! It is time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ! This week's hostess is my dear sister in Christ in Florida Miesje! She selected this verse from 1 John 3:18 "Dear children let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." Our sponsor this week is Clear Dollar Stamps and one lucky winner will receive $15 in a gift card to their store. Miesje's challenge is to create a card or project that uses no words on the front yet signifies love.

For my project you see a trifold or gatefold card; these are two samples I am going to send to my oldest daughter for her to help decide on a wedding invitation. My oldest baby is getting married in June and her colors are . . . anyone want to guess? :)

I was working with white, silver and brilliant or royal blue. Love without words . . . since my thoughts are focused on marriage this week I have been thinking of the different love languages that speak to each individual. Have you ever read Gary Chapman's book on the Five Love Languages? For someone whose language is acts of service or physical touch, you can use words, words, words all day long to very little effect. Studying your marriage partner, your children and other family members and learning their love language, then putting it into action, can have marvelous effects on helping a relationship blossom and grow.

For Miesje's thought on this bible passage and to see the phenomenally amazing creations of the other design team members, you can click on the home page for Stampin' Sisters in Christ.

So . . . opinions solicited here . . . which one do you like better? As you can see from the way it unfolds (see directions on Sharon Johnson's blog here), the back panel on the interior that is now solid blue would have the actual invitation panel and on the left there is a handy pocket to hold the response card. I was thinking on the narrow panel on the right I would place my daughter's and future SIL's life verses from the bible. And I'll let you know which my daughter selects once she sees them. Anyone want to come over and help me make 125 of these before April??? Have a blessed Sunday and hope you can play along this week.

For the top card, that also qualifies for the Mark's Finest Papers challenge #41 from yesterday to use a handmade flower on your card. I made a chiffon flower, one of the few times that a stamper gets to play with fire!

Allsorts Challenge #89: Love, love, love

Crafty Calendar Challenge #17: Love

Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge #29: Valentine with no red or pink

Polkadoodle #5: With hearts

Claudia & Co. #73: Unique fold . . . I used a tri-gate fold with a pocket

Stamping Vacation February challenge: Pick 3 . . . I chose a border punch, vellum and heart (top card)

Crazy4Challenges #73: Valentine . . . the top card would make a lovely valentine

Card One --
Stamps: SU Belle Toile background, MFP Hearts, Hearts, Hearts, PTI Alphabet, WM flourish

Paper: Co'ordinations blue, white, vellum, silver

Ink: SU Brilliant Blue, silver craft, white craft

Other: MS edge punch, white EP, twinkling silver EP, chiffon, blue reinker, waterfall stickles, pearl beads, pearl embellishments

Card Two--

Stamps: SU Belle Toile background, PTI Fancy Flourishes and year two anniversary set (butterflies)

Paper: Co'ordinations blue, white

Ink: SU Brilliant Blue, white craft, bashful blue

Ohter: MS edge punch, irridescent ice EP, silver pencil, dazzling diamonds glitter, charm, pearls, clear rhinestones.

Glance at the Past PTI anniversary contest

Papertrey Ink is celebrating their fourth anniversary and asked their customers to choose one of their favorite projects from the past year using their stamps. I was deciding between one with very bold, bright colors but then thought I'd pick this one instead as when I stamp with their products, for me, the bolder colors come more naturally, but in this case I went with a softer look. This card Uses Giga Guidelines and the smaller guidelines stamp sets in the background. Thanks for looking.

Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge 74 . . . still waters

Happy Sunday stampers! Its time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ! This week's hostess is the lucky Lisa (she's going to CHA in California!) and she selected Psalm 23 for her inspiration. . . he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. And her challenge is to make a card or project that uses the colors blue (still waters) and green (green pastures). You can read her devotional on the main blog here as well as see the fabulous projects by the rest of the design team. I saw them in the gallery previous to posting and it is a soothing sensation to see them all in one place!

Our sponsor this week is Taylored Expressions. I had the good fortune to attend CHA Chicago last summer and got this stamp at the Taylored Expressions booth. Little did I know then just how well it would fit today's challenge but I believe God is in control of everything, even details as small as this one, buying a stamp months ago that would fit a challenge Lisa selected just week's ago, coinciding with the week that Taylored Expressions is our sponsor! That just makes me smile.

Psalm 23 is so comforting. I would urge you to take some time this week, find a quiet corner and read Psalm 23 and really let the words soak into your soul. There isn't anything I could say to add to the beauty of the words in that psalm.

Thanks for looking. Have a great day and hope you can play along with us this week!

Stamps: Taylored Expressions, MFP for sentiment
Paper: Bordering Blue, white, Cool Carribbean, random DP
Ink: black
Other: copic markers, nestabilities labels 14, SU punch, ribbon, cuttlebug embossing folder

Lavendar Gladiolus

I had a little extra time this week and found a chance to play in two challenges that are new to me. One of them is clean & simple stamping challenge 124. Believe me I NEED this!!! LOL! Most of my stuff takes me way too long to make, so a clean and simple sketch challenge is just the thing to help me out.

I also am very challenged when it comes to colors, I sort of freeze up at a color challenge, so these ought to help me out there as well, at CR84FN12, this week's colors are kraft, lavendar and pink.

Now, cutting out that gladiola did still take a bit of time, so I'm not there yet completely with cutting back, but getting there! Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink gladiolus, sentiment
Ink: black, purple
Paper: white, kraft, lavendar, pink
Other: cuttlebug embossing folder, Fiskars edge die, prismacolor pencils and gamsol, twinkling H20, stickles

Papertrey Ink January Blog Hop 2011

Its time for another Papertrey Ink customer blog hop. The challenge this month was to use a set you either haven't opened or one you hadn't used in a long time. I bought Friendship Jars last summer and never got a chance to use it, so this is the first time. I paired it up with the Tiny Treats: Valentine's because I had this image of the little goldfish you win at a school fair . . . those usually come in plastic bags, but I thought the jar would make a nice substitute.

For the jar I embossed the edges in black, wish I'd had some UTEE it would have made the lines a bit thicker! Then I drenched it with water and using three different shades of blue reinker, plopped some color down on the water and moved it around a bit with a brush. There is a name for this technique I know, its just escaping me at the moment.

It was fun to be able to use some very bright, primary colors. Thanks for looking and happy hopping!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Friendship Jars, Tiny Treats: Valentine's
Paper: SU Pacific Point, Cool Carribbean, PTI white, DP
Ink: Black craft, black
Other: Fiskars edge punch, Martha Stewart edge punch, rhinestone, Waterfall stickles, PTI button, cuttlebug embossing folder

Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge 73 . . . vintage

Happy Sunday stampers!! It is time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ. Our hostess this week is the lovely Linda from down under who selected this verse from Jeremiah 31:3 "The Lord hath appeared of old unto me saying Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee." Her challenge is to make a vintage card or project. You can read her devotional on the main blog as well as the other design team member's creations. Our sponsor this week is Designed2Delight @ http://designed2delight@blogspot.com. One random winner from the main SSIC blog posting will receive two free digitals from her store.

In this verse I am keying in on one word, 'everlasting.' How often do people discount God, try to ignore his existence, deny his deity? Sometimes it isn't really a deliberate turning, life gets hard or troubles mount up faster than solutions and you might feel like you are lost and alone, that God has forgotten you. But He hasn't.

God exists outside of time, He created time itself. Everlasting--there is no beginning nor any end to God and His promises are always true. Therefore when He promised Israel that His love for them was everlasting, in the verse from Jeremiah, they knew they could trust in that promise, even though the Israelites themselves turned their backs on God many times.

That same promise is true today. We all have sinned and in that sin have turned away from God, yet if we accept the gift of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for our sins on the cross, that sin can be erased and we can experience eternity in God's love; experience it for everlasting. He does love you and that love is printed on every page of the bible in every promise He ever made. The stories among our design team ladies all are different, but all of us have experienced the saving grace of God's love and you can ask any one of us how to find that for yourself.

I was inspired by the current VSN mini challenge to create a luminaria.
I also was inspired by the current Shabby Tea room blog challenge 'White and Bright' to use either white or cream only, plus one other color. I consider the gold a neutral, like black. The tough part actually was finding a vertical sentiment in a small enough typeset to fit my luminaria opening--I realized a lot of them are horizontal, but I found one among my PTI sentiments. Thanks for looking! Hope you can play along with our SSIC challenge this week!

Stamps: Rubber Stamp Tapestry 'Antique Garden,' PTI sentiment
Ink: gold kraft, pink pirouette
CS: PTI cream, pink DS scrap
Other: cuttlebug embossing folder, Spellbinders nestabilities labels 14 and ovals, prima roses, leaves, gold EP, MS edge punch