Thankfulness…

Good evening, friends.  Today’s post is a card I created for a group that has really been there for me when I needed them to pray for me, encourage me, rejoice with me in the good times and cry with me in the sad times.  Crafters of Faith is a group of Christian bloggers that met and bonded on SplitCoast Stampers.   Every month, on the last day of the month, we post a card with a theme chosen by a member of our group.  This month’s theme was chosen by none other than me.  Here is what I challenged them with ….

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." I Thessalonians 5:16-18 Wow, it's hard to believe that there is only 3 more months left of 2012...where has the time gone?? Some of you may know from reading my blog this week that Autumn is my favorite season of the year. In Southern Ontario it is quickly making its appearance and where I'm from the colour of the changing leaves can be quite spectacular. It's so inspiring--I just love it! Autumn also includes my most favourite holiday celebration--THANKSGIVING!! It's hard not to love a holiday that calls on us to give thanks for our blessings. I realize not everyone around the world celebrates this holiday, and our friends in the U.S. don't celebrate until November, so for this challenge you can choose to make either a card for thanksgiving OR a thank you card for someone who has been a blessing to you. Please use at least 2 designer papers and 1 embellishment, and most importantly, have fun! I can't wait to see what you've created!

 

Although my card is very simple and I’m a day early with my post, I am especially proud of it because it’s the FIRST card I’ve made using my new Silhouette.  The Cameo Silhouette is a machine that is jam packed with the possibilities of so many amazing ways to create.  I’m only just beginning to learn of all the magic it has in store for me.

 

With Hurricane Sandy looming, I whipped this card up just in time to beat the storm’s arrival in my town. Although we didn’t experience anything like our friends in the Eastern U.S., we did have some very high winds and bucket loads of rain.  I’m thankful that the only damage we sustained was a felled fence in our backyard. 

 

This card was made by taking one of the label shapes and welding it together to create the base for the card.  I added a couple of designer papers and an image that I found online and colored with my copics.  The label in the middle was created on the Silhouette as well.  Both the label and the pumpkin image were created with a feature called “print and cut”.  I printed the images on my home printer first and then the Cameo magically cut around it with a slight offset to give it the white border.  Pretty cool, eh.  I tied on a bow and called it a day. 

 

I’m thankful for so many things.  First and foremost, I am thankful for my Lord and Savior, sweet Jesus. I am grateful He makes all things new!! I am thankful for His presence in my Life and that He calls me into partnership with Him. I am thankful I am His beloved and He is mine!

I am thankful for my sweet husband and beautiful daughters.  I am thankful that God has bound our hearts together in love and that we can share our faith with each other as we all pursue God's universal purpose but also our individual destiny in Christ.

I am thankful that God has brought together women who have the same heart to minister to other women through this group!

I am so very thankful that there is always enough of whatever it is I need in Jesus.

And of course, I'm thankful for my online friends ~  I ♥ you!  May we all live each day with a heart of gratitude. 

My thoughts and prayers are with all who have experienced devastating losses, whether it be a family member or a personal possession, due to Sandy.

PS: If you want to view the cards from the other Crafters of Faith ladies, you can find them listed on the right side of my blog.

A Sunday Surprise

I sure hope you have had a pleasant and restful weekend and I pray that the Lord keeps you and your family safe if you are affected by this crazy “Frankenstorm”.  Here in Southern Ontario we are only experiencing bucket loads of rain so far and I’m hoping that it doesn’t turn to snow.

So what’s this “Sunday Surprise” all about you may be asking.  I’m excited to let you know that from time to time I will be posting a surprise freebie on Sundays.  This will not be a weekly thing because .. well .. where is the surprise in that, lol.   

I’m delighted to share today’s surprise with you.  It is a free printable bookmark made by me.  Keep it for yourself or share it with someone who loves to read.

This bookmark can be resized before printing if desired.  Just print, cut and enjoy *smile*

DOWNLOAD HERE or HERE

Digital clipart used was purchased at Digi Web Studio and is the artwork of Alice Smith

Keep checking this blog to see when the next “Sunday Surprise” will be.

The Friday Freebie…

Time again for another digital freebie.  I’m taking a different route this week and posting a card sketch for you.  I really hope you will enjoy it.  Just right-click on the sketch and save it to your computer.

Don't forget to come back next week for another Friday Freebie!

And the winner is …

ME *grin*

I want to thank Nicole Robinson over at Scraptastic Memories for nominating my blog for the Liebster Blog Award.  This is my first blog nomination since I started blogging a short while ago so I'm really excited to be able to share this news with you.  Please be so kind as to check out Nicole's blog.  She's an awesome card maker and has some clever ideas to share!

The Liebster Blog Award is an award that is given by the blogging community to new up and coming bloggers with less than 200 followers. It's designed to be a blog award in the pay it forward fashion to share your dearest and most beloved blogs.

RULES FOR ACCEPTANCE:

Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to their blog. Post the award onto your blog. Give the award to five bloggers who you appreciate that have less than 200 followers. Leave a comment on their blog letting them know that you have given them this awesome award!

PAY IT FORWARD:

So now comes the fun part! I am going to give out 5 nominations, which is very hard....I love so many blogs.   Here are the 5 fabulous blogs with less than 200 followers that I would like to pass the Liebster Award on to:

• Carolina Little at Cardolina Scrapolina
• Erin at CreatErin
• Emily at For The Love Of All Things Crafty
• Lynn B. at My Cards N Stuff
• Stephanie at Steph’s Scrap Happenings

Congratulations, ladies!  I will be leaving comments on everyone's blog to let you know you have won this award and I hope you will accept and cherish this award as I have.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to follow me!  I hope you have a great day!

Question Of The Day…

Good happy Sunday morning to you!  It’s a beautiful fall day here in Ontario.  The sun is shining and the leaves on the trees are so gorgeous right now.  As I drove my daughter to work earlier I started thinking about what an awesome artist God is to be able to paint those colors just perfectly on the trees and in such a spectacular way.  I’m seriously impressed, lol.

I have a quick question for you and I would absolutely LOVE to hear your opinions.  As some of you may know, before I got started in paper crafting I was a digital designer for many online scrapbooking stores.  I would love to know how many of you are interested in that area of crafting.  I am thinking about possibly creating digital items such as papers, elements and even card fronts to give away from time to time as freebies but I don’t want to put the time into that if there is no interest.  So please let me know if this is something you would like to see me offer.  Of course, handmade cards will still be my main focus so no need to worry about that. 

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and blessings to you and your family.

Look what I got!!

About a month and a half ago I posted about a giveaway that Kadie at In My Minds Eye Creations was having.  Well, guess what…I won!!!!  And just this week I received my prezzies in the mail.  Take a look at everything I won …

   

   

   

These pictures really don’t do the haul any justice.  The box was brimming with all kinds of wonderful items.  It cost over $30 just to ship it to me.  I’ve been so anxious for the weekend to get here so I could start using it all.  I don’t even know where to start … I mean, look at all that paper, ribbon, stamps, embellishments and so much more!

I’d really love it if you went over to Kadie’s fantastic blog and show her some love.  Thanks, Kadie!!

Let’s Dress It Down A Little…

I thought I would share another version of the card in the post below.  Sometimes life can get hectic and crazy (more times than not for me lately) and you don’t have a lot of time to sit and create.  Sound a little familiar? I’m sure I’m not the only one that experiences days like this from time to time.  Here’s a solution … for those days when you’re in a hurry and just don’t have the time to get your stamps & markers out but you still want to put that special handmade touch into your card … just dress it down a little.  Don’t worry, you will still have a lovely card to give away.

See…..

 

Happy creating!

Oh My…Clear It Out Challenge

I’m so embarrassed … I completely missed telling you about the new challenge that’s happening over on the Clear It Out Challenge Blog.  I guess better late than never, right?!Many of us are gearing up to start our Christmas cards, have you started? Maybe this challenge will help you. (Don't celebrate Christmas? It's ok, keep reading.)

Theme: The GIFT Challenge (Focus on the word gift. Your project may have a gift on it,  or maybe you'd like to showcase a gift you have, be creative!)
Stash: Anything goes (let us know what you've used

Below is what I came up with.  My gifts can be found in the paper (Recollections Bright & Jolly) and the image (Melonheadz Illustrations).  The cute little fella is colored with copics #R29, #YG61/63/67 & #E000/00/11.  I made the red string by taking some twine and coloring it with my red copic marker (R29).  I love this trick when I’m in a bind and can’t find the color I need.  I used some snowflake brads by Recollections and a die cut (sorry, can’t remember the name of the company that made it) from my stash.  The sentiment was created with my HP printer on white cardstock (CK Alis Hand font) and colored in with copic marker #BG000 (another great tip when you don’t have just the right color cardstock on hand)

Isn’t the inside just the cutest …

 

Our sponsor this week is the talented Nikki from Melonheadz Illustrations.

The winner this week will win a $15 gift certificate to her etsy shop

If you haven't seen her work, or perhaps would like to snag a freebie to use in your creation, head on over to her blog, you'll love it!!

Need Opinions...

I'm thinking about selling my cricut and getting a silhouette. I've heard a lot of good things about it but I'm wondering about what you guys think. Do you own one? Would you like to weigh in on the pro's/con's of the machine or give me your thoughts on the cricut vs silhouette?

Something A Little Different Today...

I love to read.  It's one of my favorite past-times aside from card making.  That's why today I decided to post something a little different.  I've composed a list of my top ten favorite books that I've either read in the past year or have on my must read list.  Take a look (click on the book for more information):