Finding my voice...

Hello friends,
I am in one of those soul searching moods and have been praying to find my own style, my own art, my place where I feel satisfied. And then this morning in my devotions, I was struck by the beauty of the morning, the colors in the sky, the beauty of the birds' song...God IS THE ULTIMATE BEAUTY CREATOR. We are ALL gifted in many different ways to make beauty around us. He made us like HIM and we long to create beautiful things to reflect HIS glorious creation. We long for fulfillment, to be satisfied, to find a way to release that creativity that God has gifted us with.

But the truth is, we live in a fallen world.
Not everything here on earth is beautiful, or just, or loving, or kind.
We are pilgrims in a place not our own. We long for HEAVEN!
Our hearts are set on eternity and being with the ONE who gave us LIFE and LOVE, and JOY!!!
And so here is the dichotomy, we long for what is non-existent here on earth.
We will not find true fulfillment.
We will not find perfect relationships, perfect love, or perfect peace.
We WILL struggle, have pain and LONG for HEAVEN!!!

It's OKAY!!! It brings me joy just to know that one day, we WILL have all hearts long for!!!

In the meantime, I ask God to fill me with the gift of blessing others.
That my art is grace to the receiver and they are blessed to know that God cares about them and I do too.

So with that, here is a card I created and I am going to use it to enter the Hero Arts challenge for July.
The theme is "summer".

The leaf stamp is a Hero Arts stamp.
The window is cut out and outlined in black ink.
The inset in the window is a card I received from a friend.
I love the colors of the flowers on that yellow/green background.
The leaves are black and silver, but the inset tells me that there are brighter days coming.
http://heroarts.com/blogs/club/july-2011-contest-details/

Thank you for reading the transparency of my heart.
I have to share what's on my heart...
I would love to read any comments you might have.

Be blessed today!!!! and tomorrow, and the days, weeks and years after that!!!

Love,
e

It's JULY already!!!

I know I speak for most of us...where has June gone???
We are having a wonderfully BLESSED summer with family this year!
Our granddaughter came to be with us (she is 15!) We had such a great time!!!

Here she is with her bunny (Nemo)...can't leave home without him.
Then the rest of Kirstin's family came and we have a FULL HOUSE!!! (Fun, noisy, never boring, busy house). I LOVE IT!!! I hate it when they leave, our house gets so quiet!!!

Here is a picture of their youngest son (Eli, 6) petting a horse at the July 4th celebration.
Those police officers were so friendly, it was great for the kids to get such a wonderful impression of them.

Anyway, today I have a new card for you. A bit of a different take because I am trying out a new idea (for me anyway) of having a minimal card with many layers. I really like the look.. it speaks to me on a personal level because I used elements that I really loved. I am not giving this one away because the dangling shell is one I have enjoyed for a long time and don't want to really part with it.

The card base is an off-white cardstock, covered on top with a designer paper I had in my stash.
The embellishment paper is a design I made with alcohol inks on shiny cardstock. I make several pieces and then use them to cut into designs or use like I have here.
The half circle is a Heidi Swapp rub-on, cut in half.
The shell ornament is hanging on a metal loop hanger attached with a large pearl brad.
I wrote "Life is...." by hand and attached a little gold and tan butterfly that I cut out of a Mariposa 8x8 stack.

I am entering this card here http://ourcreativecorner6.blogspot.com/2011/06/your-style-and-design-team-call.html for a DT call.

I really like the look, hope you do too.
It feels "artsy" to me and that's what I was going for this time.

Thank you so much for looking,
Come back soon,
e

A beautiful Fathers' Day!!!

Hello everyone...what a GORGEOUS day here in Michigan.
It's warm and partly sunny...it's beautiful to me!!!
AND it's Fathers' Day...but unfortunately my hubby is sick with what we think is a kidney stone. Very painful!!! So he is not having a fun day and there's not much we can do about it.
AND we can't go anywhere either.
All our kids are out of state so we can't even have anybody come over (sigh). For me, that's the worst part, except for hubby being sick of course!

So, we've spent the weekend at home and except for taking the time to make dh comfortable, I have pretty much  spent my time making a card and re-doing my stamps.
I LOVE to organize and when my stash kind of outgrows its designated space, I love to re-think and re-do. I found a wonderful scrapbook outlet store that opened just a few months ago. It's a few miles away from me but OMG the deals!!!! She has tons of stuff..and everything is at a great price!!! IT'S LIKE GOING TO A GARAGE SALE!!! I spent several hours in there the other day and came out as happy as a kid with a whole bag of new toys...

So anyway, I bought STUFF... and now I'm reorganizing my stamps and a few other spaces to make it all work the way I like it. I am a very messy stamper...but I have to start with a clean slate. When I get done with a project I clean everything up and then drag out all the stuff I will need for my new art.

So that's me, working in my little corner of the world.

On to this card: My inspiration came from Peet Roeven (http://scrapalbum.blogspot.com/)  I want to give credit where credit is due. I loved her card so much. 

The first layer is white but I colored the design with blue chalk ink (Cuttlebug folder)
The next layer is matted with orange cardstock and the background stamp is Hero Arts,
stamped with Stampin' Up's soft suede. That is the best background color ever!!!
The next layer is kind of an off-white design paper that I stamped and embossed with white flourishes
on the bottom and top. Cut out and then edged with magenta chalk ink. I was disappointed because the embossing is not very visible but looks much better in real life.
The two hearts are stamped with a stamp from Stamps by Judith.
I stamped by putting orange and magenta on the stamp.
I used the same technique on the stalks and leaves. They are stamped with two colors of green.
A hand cut strip with the sentiment stamped in navy blue. (stamp is from my stash)
The little ribbon is one I had from long ago with orange, magenta and blue on it.
How appropriate is that?

Here's the challenges:
http://embellishmagazine.com/blog/
http://theplaydatecafe.blogspot.com/
http://simonsaysstampschallenge.blogspot.com/2011/06/simon-says-lets-play-bingo.html
I chose shape, ribbon & sentiment.
http://www.lilypad.inlinkz.com/2011/06/10/may-arts-presents-a-ribbon-challenge/

Thank you so much for stopping by.
Have a blessed week,
e

Proud Grandma to a Michigan Tech Grad!!!

Our oldest grandson graduated with honors from Michigan Tech.
We are so PROUD of him... He is a really outstanding young man and because of that we know that not all our country's young people are having trouble finding their place in life.
He graduated Summa Cum Laude and is going on to MIT in Massachusetts to get his PhD as a chemical engineer.  He is only 19!!!  I never even went to college, but our daughter and her hubby have done a wonderful job with their kids and all of them are pressing forward to go to college...YAY!!!

Soooo, I am making him an 8x11 album with his graduation and Open House photos...
Thought it would be a good thing for him to be able to look back later and remember this wonderful time in his life. He really enjoyed college, even though he really worked hard. It was his first time away from home too...but most of the time kids need to be away so that they can learn to be on their own. I know some kids aren't ready right away like that, but he was.

Well, enough bragging...now about this layout:

Background is a beautiful flourished,blue design paper.
Picture is on a blue mat with a CONGRATULATIONS stamped in gold on the side.
I have had this stamp forever.
Under the picture is a stamp in gold with the words: "Nothing is impossible with God".
The colors of Mich Tech are gold and silver so I put a Martha Stewart edge around the navy mat.
The edge was cut in white and inked in silver.
There is a Hero Arts flourish on the side. I LOVE it...looks very rich.
It is stamped in navy and colored over with Sakura glitter pen in silver.
The left corner flourish is a Cricut cut from "Storybook".
I did some writing on the side and bottom between the gemstones.
The writing says: "Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God"

I entered this into the Hero Arts challenge for June (congratulation)
and http://stamptacularsundaychallenge.blogspot.com/ which is for Dads & Grads.

I am still working on his book, so I will probably have a few more favorite pages to show.

Thank you so much for stopping by,
please leave me a note and let me know you were here.

Be blessed,

e

The Ideas are just flowing or.........

is it just because I am so behind????
It doesn't matter, because I am creating and LOVING EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!!
It's so much fun when ideas just ramble through my head and I can't wait to start on the next card or LO.

So, here I am with the card I created for the Stamp Man Challenge and the Simon Says Challenge.
I needed a card for my son-in-laws Birthday and these two challenges were just the ticket.

Here's my card:

http://simonsaysstampschallenge.blogspot.com/Challenge was to use stars and stripes.
http://thestampmanchallenges.blogspot.com/Challenge was a recipe and I chose blue, torn and a die cut.

So here's the deets:
I distressed the background blue striped paper and pulled back the corner to show some stars from a     sheet I inserted behind the stripe.
For the flourishes on the stripe, I used several stamps and stamped them in Versamark, then embossed in white. It's quite subtle but that's the look I was after.
The die cut on the bottom is the Tim Holtz on the edge cut. I just got it and I LOVE it!!!
The frame is a stamp I just discovered in my stash and I don't think I had ever used it before. I don't even know when I got it. But I love it...it fits perfectly with all the frames that are being used now.

So there you are...my little piece of art in my little corner of the world.
And oh, by the way...remember when I said I would do something new every time I made something?
I have not forgotten...and even though some of the items were pretty small and I had not brought attention to them, I HAVE been doing them.
In this card that torn corner was my first time doing that...and then going through my stash and finding a stamp I had not used was a part of making sure I do something new EVERY TIME!!!

Thank you for stopping by....
Be extremely blessed TODAY!!!

e

It's a beautiful Memorial Day!!!

First of all, I want to thank every person who is connected with the US Armed Forces. Especially those who are on active duty. Our thanks is not enough, I know, but it is from the heart. I pray God's mightiest blessings over you. That our God will keep you SAFE...physically and mentally. May God send His angels to build a hedge of protection around ALL of our service men and women. And may you know His GRACE!!!!

Our son-in-law is in the Navy and I know from personal experience that it is a very difficult time for the families of these men and women. The dedication of the families are a gift of love to this country also. It is not an easy life. But thanks be to God for them all.

At this time, our hearts also go out to all the families suffering loss from the tornadoes that have devastated our land. It is a huge tragedy that will affect so many for years to come. We pray that God's grace and love will be made visible through all those who have stepped forward to help in this time of need.

Now, on to my card for this Monday.
I am grateful for all the challenge blogs that are available on line. It makes it fun to share our creations with others and be inspired by their DT teams. I don't know who started the ball rolling, but my hat is off to the one who was inspired to take a chance and start something new. We are all grateful participants.

Two of my favorite challenges are the Play Date Cafe and the Top Tip challenge.
The Play Date is saying goodbye to one of their co-founders and they chose the colors black/white and green because that was Sarah's favorite combo. The the Top Tip it was to use 2 or more stamps. So these two challenges went together really easily. I made this card to enter:

I love black and white, but green is not my favorite color. But it works with any kind of foliage so that's what I chose. Maybe I should have colored that little bird a different color, but I didn't want to introduce something else to the mix. Isn't he the cutest though? He came in a stamp set a long time ago, I don't even know what company made it. But he has been a favorite whenever I need a little bird for something. He just has the cutest little look. I don't know if you can tell, but his little belly is small flourishes. I LOVE it!!!

On to the deets:
My frame is from a huge 12x12 pad of paper that was all black/white and silver. I have used tons of it.
The card itself is black and I use a white insert so that I can write on the inside.
I cut the black/white to leave a little 1/8 inch edge around and then cut the inside out to make it a frame
Four thin pieces of black are used to finish off the edges.
The filler in the middle is from a white Hallmark card my husband gave me that has beautiful dotted swirls on it (like from a cuttlebug) and it is just stunning.
The cut tag is the back side from the one used on the Hallmark card. I used 3 different small foliage stamps to make the foliage in different shades of green and then stamped the little bird.
The black swirls and hearts are from K&amp Company. They are just gorgeous and are called "Pillow Stickers"
A little bow from black see-through ribbon finishes the look.

http://theplaydatecafe.blogspot.com/
http://toptiptuesday.blogspot.com/
My TIP for the Top Tip blog is to save the cards and advertisements you receive. There are many beautiful papers, inspiration, or colors that can be used in your art. Look at your cards & such with a critical eye. Sometimes cutting out small images from a beautifully colored piece of paper can be stunning. Hearts, butterflies, stars can be just gorgeous and you don't need a large piece to cut those.

Thank you for looking.
Have a wonderful, fun filled day!

A quick post...

I am having to hurry up and get this blog rolling so that I can enter this card into the http://stampinsistersinchrist.blogspot.com/ challenge blog. I forgot that this is Friday already and I made this card just for the two challenges that I am entering this card into. The other one is http://letsinkitup.blogspot.com/2011/05/challenge-15.html

When I saw those two posts, my thoughts just clicked and I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I've been cleaning up my craft room AGAIN...still moving things around because I have added supplies and am having to reorganize my space. I love to organize and I like things very near me so that I don't have to hunt around when I need a particular item.

Anyway, I am very blessed to be able to shop around and buy new dies, etc. every now and then so that I feel like I have something new to work with. I always seem to be seeing something that I just "want"!!!

Anyway, here's my card:

The color of the card is actually red and so is the flower, but somehow I just couldn't get the color to come through. This is much more simple than I usually do, but I just really felt like this is all it needed.  Sometimes you just don't need much more.

Here's the deets:
The background paper is "Mariposa"
There's three different flowers put together.  They're from my stash.
The silver border around the sentiment is something I picked up a long time ago. They came in a pack and I have used these sparingly because I love them so much.

http://stampinsistersinchrist.blogspot.com/ challenge is to make a card with an uplifting sentiment and something silver.
http://letsinkitup.blogspot.com/2011/05/challenge-15.html This challenge is to make a card with a sentiment and a 3D flower.

Hope you enjoy seeing my creation.
Please leave me a note...we all LOVE comments.

ttfn
e