Sunday, September 30, 2012

Sunday

Wow! Can you believe it? First day of October is tomorrow. It won't be long until Thanksgiving is here. Several of Dawn's Glitter Queens are having a Festive October Blog Hop starting tomorrow. You don't want to miss out on any of the super ideas all of these ladies will have. Come back tomorrow early so you can get in on all the great ideas!
Lisa Harper is going to be at the Women of Faith conference in San Antonio Oct. 12. I'm looking forward to hearing her speak. I am involved in her Bible study, Malachi at my church right now. Here's a sample of her for you to listen to.

Here's something to give you a Sunday laugh. Have a dose of Tim Hawkins.


Tim Hawkins is so funny! Jesus loves him & so do I. My grandson, Jonathan, introduced me to Tim Hawkins. You want a good laugh? Watch this video (or any Tim Hawkins video)




Friday, September 28, 2012

Wilderness

Certainly Celery cardstock
Comfort Cafe DSP (#126898)2 x 3" and 2 x 4" The patterned paper is 2 sided. I used one cut for one side & the other cut for the opposite side.
Really Rust cardstock 2 x 2"
Night of Navy cardstock 1 x 2"
Creamy Carmel classic ink
brads

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Out My Window

Cottage Window stamp set (#127282)
Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set (#115370)
Floral District DSP (#126919) 2 x 5"
3/8" Satin Stitched Raspberry Ripple ribbon (#126846)
Tangerine Tango cardstock 4 1/4 x 5 1/2"
Night of Navy cardstock  1 1/2 x 5 1/2"
In Color Printed Designer Brads (#122940)
Modern Label punch (#119849)
Word Window punch (#119857)
Early Espresso classic ink
Raspberry Ripple In Color ink
Old Olive classic ink
Pumpkin Pie classic ink
Midnight Muse In Color ink

Hint*** To stamp the items inside the window, I made a mask of the window and used it when I stamped inside the window.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Dinosaurs Birthday

Comfort Cafe DSP (#126898)
Dinoroar stamp set (#122537)
On Your Birthday stamp st (#111664, retired)
Scallop Oval punch (#119856)
Old Olive classic ink
Really Rust classic ink
green cardstock cut 2 3/4 x 4 1/4"
Night of Navy cardstock cut 1 1/2 x 4 1/4"
Pinking Hearts Border punch (#119275, retired)

Sunday, September 23, 2012

The Living Bridge

I found this video on Living Bridges very interesting. The living bridge and the living water in my life is my Lord Jesus Christ.
John 4:9-11

New International Version (NIV)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.[a])
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?
John 7:38
Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

Here is a fun video called Senior Moments. If you are a little bit older, like me, you might find this hits a little close to home.






Friday, September 21, 2012

Scallops & Piercing

I do like to play with my tools. SU! has some of the best tools available, IMO. Here's what I used on this card.

3/8" Midnight Muse satin stiched ribbon (126847)
Adornments Dahlia Assortment (#127556)
Framelits Window Frames Collection (#129021)
Festive Paper Piercing Pack (#127857)
Paper Piercing Tool (#126189)
Field Flowers stamp set (#122762)
Eyelet Border punch (#113692 retired) You could use the Scallop Edge Border punch (#112091)Comf
Comfort Cafe DSP (#126898)
Twitterpated DSP (#125406)

Quick tip for Paper Piercing: Pierce your piece from the back for the piercing to show up better on your paper.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

The Sky's the Limit

I wanted to make a manly card to send to my grandson who is in Marine basic training. This is his second week. We've been told that every week gets harder. He can't receive any phone calls, text messages, emails, etc. The only way we can communicate with him is through regular mail. We can send him nothing except cards & letters. Anything other than that that he receives will be taken from him & put in storage until basic is over. I've been told & I believe it that the Marines is the toughest branch of service in the US. My grandson is a strong young man & I know that he can do it!

2 different patterned papers from Comfort Cafe DSP (#126898), one cut to 5 1/2 x 4 1/4", the other cut to 4 x 3"
Early Espresso cardstock 3 1/2 x 2 1/2"
Sahara Sand cardstock 2 1/2 x 2"
Up, Up & Away stamp set (#122757)
Need for Speed stamp set (#122717)
Bordering Blue classic ink (retired color)
Creamy Carmel classic ink
Crumb Cake classic ink
SU! Dimensionals (#104430)

There is plenty of room on the inside to write a note of encouragement.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Picture to frame

Ok, I'm going to do a class on making this next month but all of you will get an early preview.

This is actually pretty easy to make.
Start with an 8 x 10" mat like you would use for pictures. They can be purchased at many craft stores, like Hobby Lobby, and others.

Cut nine 2 1/2" circles from patterned paper. I used the SU! 2 1/2" circle punch (#120906) and paper from Polka Dot Parade DSP (#126902).

Use the Top Note Die (#113463) to cut the center from Twitterpated DSP (#125406)

After you cut your circles, use a pencil to draw a spiral on one side.













With your scissors, cut the lines of the spiral. It doesn't have to be perfect. Just make the spiral about 1/4" wide.

 Now, begin to roll the sprial paper. If you have a quilling tool, that is great to use to get the roll started. Just roll a bit & then pull off the tool. If you don't have a quilling tool, just roll with your fingers. Roll the complete spiral until you get to the end piece.


On the end piece (the tail) of the spiral, put 2-3 glue dots (#103683). Let the rolled flower go to loosen it a bit to whatever amount you think looks good. Then turn the flower so that the bottom will stick on to the glue dots on the end of the spiral.












You now have your completed flower. Do that with all nine circles.

Cut leaves, vines or stems out of Wild Wasabi cardstock. I used a 3 leave stem die from the Original Sizzix dies that I've had for about 8 years. You will need 3 sets of leaves/stems/vines for your project.

Adhere 2 of the leaves to the top right hand corner and one set to the bottom left corner.

Tie a bow from Marina Mist 1/2" Scallop Dots ribbon (#122986) and adhere near the bottom of the frame. This ribbon is now retired so if you don't have this one available, SU! has many other ribbons that will coordinate with your project.

Use glue dots to attach the flowers you made to the mat board. Place 5 in the top right corner, 3 in the bottom left corner, and one in the top left corner. Remember, it's always best and more pleasing to the eye to use odd numbers in your groups.

Adhere the top note die cut to the center of the mat board. You can use any type of lettering that you have available for your word on the top note. Here, I cut the word "Family" with my Cricut. There are many other letter stickers and dies available to make words.

Some other words that you might want to use could be mother, father, sister, love, faith, believe, your last name, etc.

Place the finished project in a shadow box type of frame so that you will have room for the dimensional flowers. If you can't find a shadow box type frame, you can get a regular frame and use it without the glass. I personally like the shadow box frame best. You might be able to find one at a local craft store. 

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Glorious Day

WOW! Has it been an eventful week. We now have a young lady from Columbia living with us. Her name is Noris & I don't think that you could find anyone sweeter, anywhere! She is really a doll. And of all things, she likes to wash dishes. Oh my, I guess I can sacrifice and let her do that. lol Duh!
She used to work at the day care center at our church and David had kind of taken her under his wing while she was there. She had a few problems and David helped her with them. She decided to move to Dallas with some friends. When they got there, no one could find a job so she came back here. She got a job with Temple ISD in their child development center and she's loving it. Well, she was staying with a "friend" and was paying her $400 a month to sleep on the couch & still buy all her own groceries, etc. The lady has a 2 bedroom apt but the 2nd bedroom is for her daughter, which would be ok but Noris was paying 1/2 the rent. Anyway, she called David &  talked to him about it. He talked to me & we prayed about it. She is now living in our guest room. The only problem is that she doesn't know how to drive so transportation to work & back is a problem. She's trying to find someone who will let her ride for gas money but in the meantime, I'm taking her every day. She's willing to ride the city bus but the nearest pickup is 2 miles away. We are all trying to work this out and I know that we will. It will just take a little time.
God is so good! I know that He will show us what to do.





I remember singing this song when I was a kid. I love the way Casting Crowns has done it.



I have a question for you. If we're not supposed to have midnight snacks, why then, is there a light in the refridgerator?

Friday, September 14, 2012

Be the Star

I used some of the stamps in Every Little Bit stamp set (#120558) to create a Rebus message on the front to this card to encourage a friend in her weight loss effort.

In our TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) chapter, we have buddies that we try to encourage each week in our weight loss and just in life in general. TOPS is a great group for encouragement and support in weight loss. For more info on this international group, just Google TOPS.

On a strip of white cardstock that I used the Scallop Edge Border punch (#119882) on, I stamped the bee and star in Pacific Point ink and then inked the edges.

Next, I stamped balloons in Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango and Gumball Green. I used the Up, Up & Away stamp (#122757) set for this. Use Early Esperso ink for the strings. The greeting on the front is from the same set and cut out with the 1 1/4" Circle punch (#119868).

The background paper is from the Twitterpated DSP (#125406).

On the inside, I wrote a note of encouragement for my buddy.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Birthday Cupcakes

This birthday card goes to my granddaughter, Victoria, who will turn 17 this week. I used the Create a Cupcake stamp set (#121915) and the Cupcake Builder punch (#121807) for this.

For the background paper, I tore a page from an old computer manuel to adhere to my cardstock. I stamped cupcakes & sprinkles on the manuel page in the In Colors Gumball Green, Primrose Petals and Midnight Muse.

The saying is stamped on blue cardstock and punched out with the Fancy Flower punch (#118073).

Sunday, September 9, 2012

A New Sunday

Here's an update on how I'm doing. Last week end, when I hit the lower doses of predisone, I broke out again. I was really hesistant to call the dr because I didn't want to go back on the predisone again. It made me feel so awful! Google predisone side effects & you can see the long list. I had most of them! Well, I finally decided to call the dr & I told him right away that I didn't want predisone again, if it could be avoided. He put me on high doses of 2 OTC antihestimines. I've been on them almost a week now & the rash/hives are now completely gone. I have to call him tomorrow as he wants to know what's happened with it. I'll ask him how much longer I have to take the antihistmines. Hopefully, I can get off the them soon & the rash/hives will not come back! I'm praying for that anyway!



Click on the link below to read some funny signs. Be sure you have your speaker turned on for the music.


http://www.godvine.com/More-Funny-and-Clever-Church-Signs-Part-4-316.html




Remember Jason Castro, from American Idol, a few seasons ago. I has some wonderful Christ center songs out there. I may put another one on next weekend. Come back to see.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Fall Mason Jar

Well, with September here, are thinking fall yet? I'm hoping it will come soon but it's hard to really know here in Texas. We are still having 100+ degree days. Maybe will have some cooler weather soon.

This is made using:
Orchard Harvest DSP (#126895) from the Holiday catalog
Bravo Burgundy cardstock
Perfectly Preserved stamp set (#126692)
Framelits Cannery Set (#127822)
Framlits Bitty Banners (#129267) for the "just for you" stamp
Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch(#119275)
Modern Label punch (#119849)
3/8" Designer Printed Brads (#122940)

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

She thinks my tractor's sexy

Well, maybe not sexy but tractors are fun! Using this tractor stamp is great for a fall card or something more masculine for the men in your life.

The tractor and the saying is from the Harvest Blessings set (#126452). I love this saying with this set, "You are the seed that decides the harvest around you." To me it says so much about what each person is able to do when they just try. Sometimes all you can do is plant the seed of the love you want to share and you never get to watch it grow but sometimes you are able to water it and watch it grow as you add more love to it. Sometimes the result takes many years but it's always worth the outcome when you share love, especially if you're sharing the love of Jesus.

Here is a close up of the curly label behind the saying.

The Paper Piercing Pack (#126187) can add just an extra touch to your cards.
The background paper is from the Orchard Harvest DSP(#126895) found in the new holiday catalog.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Paper Piercing Flowers


Every time I get some new goodies from SU!, I have loads of fun playing with them. Just got the Paper Piercing Pack Essentials (#126187) and Paper Piercer (#126189). The Essentials pack is 3 sheets of heavy plastic with many of the SU! punch & tools shapes on them. For example, the scallop oval punch (#119856) is on there with an oval of dots to punch on the inside of the paper punched out. It also has a heart, curly label, decorative label, extra-larger tag, several edgelits and framelits. It also has circles and straight lines so you can do punching on or around most any shape that you want.

Here's an end of summer card for you with the paper piercing along the bottom and on the scallop oval. The paper ribbon is made with the dotted scallop ribbon border (#1199275) punch. The stamped images are from the Fabulous Florets stamp set (#123027).

Have a fun labor day and take time to play with your paper crafts.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Summer's Over

It's hard to believe that summer is over now. Of course, it's not offically over for another few weeks but everyone always has the attitude of summer being over once school starts. Tomorrow is Labor Day and I don't know about other states, but in Texas school is going strong now. I have 3 grandsons in college now, 2 at the University of Mary Hardin Baylor in Belton, Tx and one at Baylor University in Waco, Tx. My other grandchildren, except one, are all still in regular school, well, sort of. 2 of them are homeschooled but they are a junior and 6th grade.

Anyway, I was going to talk about my summer here. It was very busy but not in the ways that I had planned. In June, I did a lot of work for and to get ready to go on a mission trip to Galveston. I wrote a 2 day curriculum to use for a street camp that I would be doing in the inner city with Galveston Urban Ministries. That trip was to be at the end of July. I had a minor surgery for a trigger finger release on July 13(my birthday). I was excited about it because it would be healed and I'd be ready to go by mission trip time. Well, 6 days after the surgery, I broke out in a terrible rash/hives all over my entire body, including my face and scalp. It was determined that I had an allergic reaction to penicillin that I was given to prevent infection from the surgery. I was in terrible pain and the itching was really bad. Nothing seemed to help. The dr put me on 50 mg of predisone a day. That is a great drug in that it cures whatever it's supposed to cure but it is horrible with side effects! Within a week I was over the rash but I had to take the meds for a whole month so it wouldn't come back, plus you have to taper off the predisone. I felt almost worse from the side effects than from the hives! I was dizzy, light headed, had trouble focusing, upset stomach, constipated, starving all the time, craving carbs like crazy and was so wired up I couldn't sleep even when I was exhausted!

After a few weeks, I was down to just 10 mg a day and then I broke out again!! The dr put me back on the big dose of predisone for 4 days & I had to start the tapering off all over again. That really made my summer bad. At this point, I'm off the meds but the rash has come back. I'm going to have to call the dr again to see what's going on. This time, I don't just want more meds, I want to find out why I keep breaking out! The hives are not as bad as the first time & not progressing as quickly but still there and still progressing in amount.

It made sort of a rotten summer but I do know that things could have been so much worse for me. I don't have any tumors or cancer or a heart attack or anything like that. I am still fairly healthy, except for the hives, and not really in any serious danger. A dear friend of mine just had surgery this week and had to have here entire large intestines removed. They are testing for cancer. I'm praying for my friend & her family. I know that I am so much better off than she is right now & I do praise God for that. God is still in control in my life & in my friend's life. I don't know how things will turn out but I know that God knows & He loves us and will take care of us.

Thank you for putting up with my rant for a bit today. Here is a video & song by Mercy Me that I hope you will enjoy now.

Here's a video of one of Mercy Me's great songs. Enjoy listening.