SSiC Challenge: Flags/Banners

Today begins yet another challenge at Stampin' Sisters in Christ! I hope you decide to join us! The sample I have done is in honor of the birthday of our great nation, the United States of America. July 4th is less than 2 weeks away! As always, there will be lots of fireworks, parades, picnics, speeches and family gatherings. Our nation was at one time considered a Christian nation, founded on God's word and principles. We can no longer make that claim because man has made a god of himself...or nature...or science...or power...or wealth. But the true God, America has relegated to a dusty shelf in the library, just part of our colorful history. And even that is being rewritten to exclude God! But as our theme verse this week says, "I will be exalted among the nations..." God IS alive and remains all-powerful and in control of all the earth. He does not NEED our praise and acknowledgement but has decreed it and is certainly worthy of it. In His own perfect time He will reveal His power and authority over all creation. At that time..."Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess to God"- Romans 14:11.

My prayer for America is that before we drift even farther away from the Living God that He will send revival and repentence to our land. And, yes, I still pray continually that God will bless America! And not just America, but all the nations of the world...that Jesus Christ would reign supreme in the hearts of the peoples. "What the world needs now is Love, Sweet Love..." and His name is Jesus.

Our hostess this week: Kris, our wonderful DT leader!

She chose our theme verse:  Psalm 46:10

  "Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the antions, I will be exalted in the earth."

Our generous sponsor: KL - an anonymous great gal!
The prize she is offering to one randomly chosen participant:

               A Grab Bag of Stamps! Wow! Thanks, KL!

Now here is the challenge that Kris has chosen: Use flags/banners in your creation

For my creation I used just two small flags and placed my sentiments on them: "Happy 4th!" and "God Bless America!" I entered this card in few other challenges as well. The sketch I followed was one of the challenges, and using a Magnolia stamp was another. If you want to see which challenges I entered just scroll down to the previous post. My list of items used for this card is there too.

I do hope you will join this challenge and show us your project with some flags or banners on it! And you just might win a nice prize too! Please check out my DT Sisters' samples too for some more inspiration! You can see their creations at SSiC or click on their names in my sidebar.

Thanks for stopping by today!

God bless you! God bless America! And may God bless all the nations of the world!

Happy 4th of July!

Every once in a while I go “challenge crazy” and try to include a bunch of challenge requirements in one card. Well, this would be one of those cards! I think I made it fit four challenges

 (for me, that's alot!). Originally I had 2 other challenges included too but misread the requirements so I've removed them.

http://thedutchmagnoliachickies.blogspot.com/ - #25 “Holiday” (4^th of July)

http://magnoliastamplovers.blogspot.com/ – “Distressed” (background & edges)

http://ourcreativecorner6.blogspot.com/ – “Buttons & Burlap OR Bows” (buttons & bows)

http://ourdailybreaddesignsblog.blogspot.com/ - #112 “Summer”

And there is one more but I need to wait a few days to reveal that one!

And on top of all that I might switch out the 2 little sentiments and make this a birthday card for a good friend. The Happy 4^th will then say Happy Birthday and the God Bless America will then say God Bless You! OR I may just leave it like it is and send it to my Wisconsin family and make a whole new card…more feminine…for my friend. It will all depend on how much time I have.

I had fun making this card but every time I do this…make a card fit several challenges…I find that by the time I’m done I think the card is too “busy”. But since its for a celebration I guess that might be okay (?).

Ingredients:

Magnolia stamp – “Edwin ?”*

    (colored with colored pencils)

I added the sparklers!

Market Street Stamps – “Grungy Border” (background)

Sentiments – computer generated

Cardstock/paper – all from my stash 

Buttons & ric-rac - also part of my growing stash!

StampingScrapping Design twine – red & white twist*

Stickles glitter glue – “Icicle” & “Gold”*

Pop Dots – white foam squares*

*All starred items I got at www.StampingScrapping.com   

Thanks for stopping by today!

God bless you! And God bless America!

The Inside of the Card!

 At Word Art Wednesday the challenge this week includes the Bible verse Phil. 4:6. I love that verse and the one that follows it also, so for my card I added verse 7 as well. I used the same format as the "freebie" this week. So, Thank You to Word Art Wednesday for the idea and the inspiration!

I am entering just the inside of this card in the challenge! The outside was posted a few weeks ago as my DT sample for Stampin' Sisters in Christ...but I never finished the inside. I want to give this card to my neighbor, a young lady who is fighting cancer. I almost feel flippant putting that verse in there that says "Be anxious for nothing..." when sending it to a cancer patient. I'm a little afraid she might say, "That's easy for you to say!" But the peace and comfort she needs (that we all need!) can ONLY come from God, so I hope she just sees this as a beautiful reminder to fix her eyes on Christ.

No list of ingredients right now...my son needs the computer!
I'll add that later!

So, quickly, the challenge being entered is: http://wordartwednesday.blogspot.com/ - #32 Phil. 4:6

Below is the front of the card that was previously posted on my blog.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a lovely evening!

SSiC Challenge #144 "You are God's Masterpiece"

         

 Greetings, on this glorious Sunday!

This week we, the "sisters" at SSiC, have another very interesting challenge for you! And it will reveal something about you to all who see your creation/craft/card. Sure hope you decide to participate! For more info and to read a little devotional about this week's challenge verse go to the main blog: Stampin' Sisters in Christ. Our hostess this week, Jerusha, wants us to be aware that each one of us is a masterpiece created by God to do His good works! Each of us is unique and uniquely talented. As you think about what makes you YOU, think about how God has gifted you with your own likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, preferences, personality traits, talents....even looks....all for the purpose of glorifying Him by your actions & words....by your very life!

This week, make a card or project that reveals YOU...tells others something important about who you are.

Happy Hostess: Jerusha

 Theme Bible Verse:

  For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10

Challenge: Create something that reflects you - you are God's masterpiece! 

Sponsor: Clear Dollar Stamps

Prize: $15 in digital images, for one randomly selected entry 

The two pictures above are my "backyard"...we live in a woods and the trees are about 90 feet tall or more! I absolutely love trees! Always have! I love all the things associated with them too: their leaves and how they change color with the seasons, their branches and trunks that contrast with the snow each winter, the coolness/shade they provide all summer, the fresh smell after a rain, the way sunlight filters through the leaves, and the many, many birds that enjoy life in their branches, singing and chirping throughout the day.

Whenever I look at my woods...or ANY trees, for that matter!...I am always amazed at the variety, beauty, and the perfect, intricate design of each one. As Ogden Nash once said in a poem, "Only God could make a tree." Trees point my heart to the Creator, as they lift their branches upward toward the sun they remind me that is what I need to do: seek Light and Life from above. As they grow their roots deep in the earth I am reminded that I too need to dig deep into God's Word for sustenance and Living Water.

  

So the card I made HAD to include something about trees! Or leaves! And since our sponsor is Clear Dollar Stamps, and I actually have just a few little leaf stamps of theirs, I decided to use them! They are perfect for this project. I made a background paper out of them, stamping them in 4 different colors and lightly "smudging" the same colors in a few spots so I didn't have just a white background. This card shows several of my very favorite things: 

• the color green
• leaves
• embossing
• die cuts
• sheer ribbon
• a clean design
• Stickles (!)
• Plus, the card is for my best friend, by hubby, for Father's Day!

Ingredients:

Clear Dollar Stamps- "Leaf Trio, clear acrylic"

StampingScrapping Design Stamps- ('With Love') "Lacey Circles" set

Spellbinders Die Cut- Shapeabilities "Fleur de Lis Accents"

Cuttlebug- Embossing Folder "D'vine Swirls"

Pizzazz Aplenty- Twine "Dream String, Olive"

Michaels flat brads- "Stud Embellishments"

Cardstock, Ribbon, Button- from my stash

 Well, that's about wraps it up! Thanks so much for visiting my blog today!

For more inspiration check out all my Design Team Sisters' blogs. They are all listed on my sidebar: just click on their names!

"So Fruity"- Magnolia Stamp Lovers Challenge

Just a really quick post today! Lots to do and my motivation is lagging! More coffee and a few minutes to update my planner then I will HAVE to get going! So, here goes, short and sweet:

This birthday card is being entered in the challenge at the MSL challenge blog:

http://magnoliastamplovers.blogspot.com/ - "So Fruity"

Ingredients:

Magnolia stamped image- "Tilda in Swim Suit"*

(colored with colored pencils)

"Happy Birthday" stamp- Stampin' Up

"A Cherry on Top"- SSD, 'Scent My Cards': "100 Per Scent Party Time"*

Cardstock- K&Company, "Citronella"

Die Cut- Spellbinders, StampingScrapping Dies: "Anglaise Lace"*

Red & Pink 2mm flatback rhinestones- Pizzazz Aplenty

Ribbon trim w/cherry- from my stash

* Starred items are available at www.stampingscrapping.com

Thanks for stopping! Have a lovely, productive dday, friends!

SSiC Challenge #143- "Show Action" OR.....

Yes, the new challenge this week at Stampin' Sisters in Christ has 3 options:
 1) use an image showing action OR...
2) just an image on the front of your card (no sentiment) OR...
3) make an action card (make it move) -use "real" action, like it has moving parts.
That's what I did...the "moving parts". The sunflower on my card is attached with a wobble spring and it "wobbles" when touched! It actually moves so fast it looks like it is vibrating...almost! It is soooo cute! But the other option was to have an image ONLY on the front of your card (no sentiment on the front). I would like to try that one sometime too...don't think I've ever done that! 

Our hostess this week is the very creative Helen and the Bible verse she chose for her inspiration for this challenge is 1 John 3:18

"Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other, let us show the truth by our actions" NLT

If you go to our challenge website (SSiC) you can read a little devotional Helen wrote about this verse...and you can see all of the other DT samples for inspiration too!

And our generous sponsor for this challenge is The Paper Shelter !!  They are offering as the prize a $20 Gift Certificate to their online store to one randomly chosen participant! Their adorable images would make a wonderful addition to your digital  image library! They also sell lovely digital paper packs! Check them out at http://www.thepapershelter.com/ ! Oh, one more perk about The Paper Shelter images: when you buy and download the images, they come colored already OR just the outline image to color yourself. This time I used the "already colored" one to save time! Isn't that cool!

Now I will show a few steps in making this card.

After printing the color image I added the birthday sentiment (from Woodware USA) and trimmed that pale yellow paper to the appropriate size. Then I layered it with a white layer and a black layer behind for a little contrast and definition. I had printed 2 of the same sunflower images so I took one and trimmed around the flower head so I could attach it with the action wobble spring directly over the first image. Here is a close up of the action wobble. I got mine at http://www.stampingscrapping.com/. (just do a search there for "action wobble")

 I removed the paper to expose the adhesive (it tells you which side to put "down") and placed it in the center of the first sunflower, then removed the paper covering on the top of the wobble spring.

Holding the 2nd flower head just above the 1st I matched up the images, pressed down and ...

Voila! Its done!

The little butterfly, I also trimmed the 2nd one and attached that one with two "pop dots" stacked up.

Like I said earlier, this was a fun card to make! It went together easily and I am actually quite pleased with it! Since I am usually overly critical of my own cards, that's saying alot! LOL

I gave it to my oldest daughter Friday night at our Family Night where we celebrated 3 birthdays: her's (Kate-33) and son-in-law David's (31) and mine! Its official...I'm now OLD (ask my 13 year old granddaughter!)...I'm now 60! Not at all sure how that happened so fast! I'm not really complaining...I know I have so very much to be thankful for. Sixty years of God's blessings! Isn't that just amazing!?

Oh, and here is the inside of the card:

Hope you can join us at SSiC with your own creation! Why not enter our challenge this week for a chance to win the gift certificate to The Paper Shelter ?!

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed week!

"Let your light so shine..."

Let your light so shine before men,

that they may see your good works,

and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 5:16

This verse has always been so challenging and encouraging to me!

Challenging because it reminds me that people are watching me...my actions, behavior, attitude...and it can speak to them of God.......or not! Awesome responsibility!

But also encouraging because the light I am to let shine does not originate from me. The origin of that Great Light is Jesus Christ Himself, living in me, indwelling me by His Holy Spirit. Awesome priviledge!

So I wanted the Bible verse itself to be the main focus on this card. The lighthouse stamp always makes me think of Jesus, our Lighthouse...our guide who sheds light on our dangerous path, keeping us safe.

The stamp is one that I bought at that lighthouse: the Big Sable Point Lighthouse at Ludington State Park in Michigan. Its great for men's cards, graduation cards, and encouragement cards.

The little ivory half pearls are from Pizzazz Aplenty.

The verse is a copy of the FREEBIE available this week at

http://wordartwednesday.blogspot.com/

and I am entering it in their challenge this week, #30.

I am also entering it in the challenge at Stampin' Sisters in Christ because the verse mentions "heaven" and that is part of the theme this week at SSiC, challenge #142.

http://stampinsistersinchrist.blogspot.com/

The last challenge I am entering this card in is the one at Our Daily Bread Designs, #110, a color challenge which includes the colors pink, black and/or grey, and white/vanilla.

http://ourdailybreaddesignsblog.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great week! May the great God in heaven bless you!

SSiC Challenge #142 - Isaiah 40:26

Good morning, Friends! Today, this beautiful Sunday, begins our new challenge at Stampin Sisters in Christ!
The delightful hostess for this week is Diane and she has chosen the theme of "any elements of heaven"...which could include angels, music, clouds, sun, stars, blue, glitter, etc. The Bible verse that inspired her was Isaiah 40:26 which says:

“Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.”

Our sponsor this week is Market Street Stamps who is offering a $20 voucher to their store to one random winner just for playing along in our challenge! I have used one of their background stamps to make my card. It is called "Grungy Border". I thought it made a great "sky" background. (so sorry Kris, I forgot to tell you I was using a MS stamp! Its been an extremely busy week!)

The verse I used on my card is what I so often think ("hear" God saying to me) when I look up at the stars in the sky on a very dark night and remember just how small I am and how powerful and magnificent my God is. And I'm so glad He is in control and not me!

Please stop by my "sisters" blogs too to see all of their amazing cards and creations...and see how they interpreted this challenge. You can find them all on my side bar to the right. Enjoy!

Well, I hope you all have a very blessed Sunday! I'm off to church to worship this amazing God!