Wrapping Up Halloween........

I know it's the day after Halloween, but there were so many projects that I wanted to share - I decided to do a post today.

Here are 2 projects from Anastasia:

A card:

And here is something you can do for every holiday.  Take solid color napkins and run them through your holiday embossing folder for an easy decoration:

Here is a hat that I made using a cut file from SVGCuts.com.  I wanted to make the pumpkin too, but I ran out of time.  The hat is from the Jack'Olantern from Haunted Forest SVG Kit.

I made these bags for the contractor's at work for Halloween.  You can decorate bags by using stamps for any holiday or occassion.

I hope that you've gotten ideas for the upcoming holidays.

Tune in next week for caring and sharing which includes gift card holders.

Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Have a great day and make it, live it and share it.

April

1 John 1:7  But if we walk in the light; as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

Happy Halloween and New Year's Resolution Quarterly Review

Another quarter is ending in the year 2014.  Here is how I've done on my New Year's Resolutions.

1)  Only buy what I need and not EVERYTHING I want.  This quarter I've been better, but not as good as I should have been.

2)  As far as crafting:

                    Keep up with  Project Life - Epic FAIL!  And that's all I have to say about that.

                   Catch up on my scrapbooking of vacations and trips - I haven't been doing as much
                    scrapbooking as I have card making.  But I did finish an album for my Preacher and his                       wife.  They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary and I took pictures and put                                 together their album.  I've also been working on school albums for my 4 nieces and 1                           nephew.

                  Make lots of cards for Operation Write Home - I've made all kinds of cards.  I haven't                           focused so much on OWH as I have cards for kids.  I want to send a box of cards to Send                     a Smile 4 Kids.  I've also been doing more box cards.  And I've sent more RAK cards than                   previously.

                  Use up my stash!  I am still using my stash.  But I need to get it organized.

                  Participate in challenges in order to accomplish my goals.  Still a BIG ZERO.  I seriously                     need to look at my goals more than once a quarter.

3)  Get organized.  I am still cleaning out and donating to Goodwill as well as selling things on Ebay.  However, my progress is not what it was.  My daughter has moved to the basement and that is where my stash is.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

4)  Spend at least 5 minutes a day (not nearly enough) nurturing my faith either by devotion or reading the Bible.  I have kept up on my Bible Study Plan and am 78% done.  So I have kept up with this goal.

That is my progress report.  Thank goodness next quarter will require new New Year's Resolutions.  I may have to tone down my resolutions for next year.  Goodness knows I haven't been very successful in keeping them this year.

If you made new year's resolutions - are you keeping them?  Have you done a check up?  Tell me how you're doing on yours.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great day and make it, live it and share it.

April

Psalm 59:16  But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love;  for you are my fortess, my refuge in times of trouble.

It's Almost Here!

Tomorrow is Halloween and we've been celebrating all week long.  Unlike the Halloween movies, creating Halloween projects on the blog this week has been anything but scary.

Here are some layouts that Diane is sharing in honor of Halloween:

I hope you've enjoyed the projects this week.  Now go get out your supplies and create some of your own.

Stay tuned tomorrow for my quarterly update on how I am doing on my New Year's Resolutions.  I can't believe the end of next quarter will be my new resolutions.  Time flies when you're having fun.

Have a great day and make it, live it and share it.

April

Galations 5:1  It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

WOYWW 282 - It's Halloween Week - Trick or Treat

This week we are celebrating Halloween on the blog.  And today is Wednesday which can only mean that I need to take a picture of my desk and share it on Julia's Blog.

Here is my desk this week.

Now I am off to see the desks of fellow crafters.

Tune in tomorrow for more boolicious fun.  :-)

Have a great day and make it, live it and share it.

April

John 3:36  Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them.

BOO!!!!

This week's theme is Things that go Boo!  It's a celebration of the Day of the Dead and Halloween.

Day of the Dead:  A holiday observed around the world on which people gather to pray for and remember family and friends who have passed.

Halloween or All Hallow's Eve:  A day to remember the dead including saints, martyrs and departed faithful believers.

We celebrate with trick or treating and pumpkin decorating and dressing in costume.  But as you're dunking for apples or eating that snicker bar from the pillow case - take a moment to remember what Halloween and Day of the Dead really mean.

Here is a Box Card that I made using a cut file from SVGCuts.com.  I can use their files on both my Cricut Explore and my Silhouette Cameo.

I hope you are inspired to create some of your own Halloween projects.

Stay tuned tomorrow for WOYWW.

Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Have a great day and make it, live it and share it.

April

Galations 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Things that go BOO!!!

That is this week's theme.  This week is dedicated to the celebration of Halloween and all the fun, scary and spooky things that go with it.

This is Anastasia's contribution to this week's theme.  She used some Penny Black stamps to create the following cards:

And here is the envelope that goes along with the cards:

Here is a cute gift bag with a Halloween theme.  You can use Spellbinders dies and any vintage Halloween paper to create this gift bag.

Stay tuned tomorrow for some more creepy crawly projects for this week's theme - things that go Boo!

Thank you for stopping by.  Have a great day and make it, live it and share it.

April

Acts 4:12  Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name in under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.

More Love.........

This week's theme is bunches of love.  This particular card has a sentiment that kind of fits within that theme.

I used a Unity stamp from their stamp of the week club along with some Tombow markers and some water to color the stamped image.

Here is the card.  I used a die set from Spellbinder to cut out the image and the coordinating backgrounds.

Tune in next week for a a new theme - Things that go BOO!

Thank you for stopping by my blog today.  I hope you found some inspiration.  Have a great day and make it, live it and share it.

April

John 7:38  Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.

Let's talk about love

This week is just flying by.  We're already halfway through this week's theme - bunches of love.

Diane has been working on bunches of lovely flowers.  Here are her projects:

The jar looks so realistic with the glossy accents.  And she used silver gel pen to get the look of real metal bands on the jar.

Love these colors.  And there are two bunches of flowers on this card.

Tulips are one of my favorite flowers.  They're like 'bunches of love.'

I hope you are inspired to create some of your own 'bunches of love'.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.  Have a great day and make it, live it and share it.

April

James 3:16  For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

WOYWW 281 - Love love love

It is once again Wednesday - can you believe it!  Do you know what that means?  It means that I need to take a picture of my work desk and share it on Julia's Blog.  And then the fun really begins because I go visit other crafter's desks and get inspired.  Or jealous.  :-)

Here is my desk this week.  Probably looks a lot like it did last week.  I have been working a lot lately which is cutting into my crafting time.  That needs to change!

I have the RAK gift from my friend in France sitting on my desk - ready to wear as it is getting colder.  And my new mason jar holder with 3 jars.  I couldn't pass it up at Pier One.  It will now hold my Tombo markers and water pens.

I'm off to visit some desks.  

Stay tuned tomorrow for more bunches of flowers projects.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.  Have a great day and make it, live it and share it.

April

Psalm 73:26  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

This week's theme - Bunches of Love for Flowers

Since the theme is a little vague - you will be seeing lots of flowers from me this week.  You know how I LOVE flowers.  So I have 'bunches of love' for flowers.

Today's card is a test using Bic Mark-it markers.  I found the set in Target and I've heard about people using them as a lower cost alternative to Copic markers.

Here is my project:

I used a digital image that I printed some time back.  I used a Lil Inkers rectangle die to cut the image out.

Here are the markers:

Here is my opinion.  I LOVE giving my opinion almost as much as I LOVE flowers.  If you're not a serious colorer (is that a word?) then I think you will be perfectly happy with Bic Mark-it markers.  You might have to play around with the colors to find 3 in a color family that blend well together, but I think it's doable.  What might even be more doable would be to use just 2 colors because those seem to be placed together in the package.  It is definitely a lower cost alternative as the package of 36 markers was $19.99.  36 Copics would be at least $180.00.

I also have a confession to make.  I took a Copic yellow and blended out the yellow of the Mark-it markers.  I couldn't help it.

I hope this was helpful.  Stay tuned tomorrow for WOYWW.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great day and make it, live it and share it.

April

Psalm 18:30  As for God, his way is perfect:  The Lord's word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.

Bunches of Leaves - Kind of Like Bunches of Love

This week's theme is 'bunches of love'.  So I'm pushing the envelope on this one.  I love bunches of leaves this time of year.  So that's my justification.  And since it's my blog - I get to do what I want!  ;-)

I used a stamp set from Fun Stampers Journey to create this card along with some brown embossing powder and some Tim Holtz Distress Ink.  I also used a die set from Fun Stampers Journey.

I outlined the leaves using a gray pencil and then used a stub to blend that gray chalk ink in.

The 'fall' sentiment is part of the Fun Stampers Journey die set 'Holiday Polaroids'.

I really like fall so I have lots of plans for these sets.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's 'bunches of love' projects.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.  Have a great day and make it, live it and share it.

April

Proverbs 27:5-6  Better is open rebuke than hidden love.  Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.

Happy Birthday with Candles from the Stamps of Life

My daughter requested that I make her friend a birthday card.  And since I work better under pressure, she told me about it Saturday afternoon.  She needed the card Saturday evening.

So I set to work and used the set from Stamps of Life that I received a couple months ago.

This set is so cute.  I found some purple animal print paper and started from there.  I used some glitter spray to get a little sparkle.

The purple ink is from Fun Stampers Journey.

I like the way the card turned out.  I will be using this set again and again.

If you're interested in the stamp and die set go to Stamps of Life website.
If you're interested in any Fun Stampers Journey products go to Fun Stampers Journey

Thank you for stopping by the blog.  Have a great day and make it, live it and share it.

April

2 Corinthians 10:17  But, 'Let the one who boats boast in the Lord.'  For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

Coloring flowers with Tombow Markers - Fun!

I watched a video this weekend by the frugal crafter.  She reminded me of a way to use my Tombow markers that I'd forgotten about.

You can see her video here:

So I used a stamp I had, but you can be sure I'm headed over to Rubbernecker's to find the stamp she used.  :-)

Here is the card I made:

Here are the products I used to create this card:

I hope you are inspired to use your watercolor markers.  They can be loads of fun to use to create a masterpiece.

Well, that's it for my week of posies.  I had lots of fun creating the different projects, but I didn't even scratch the surface of all the projects I had in mind.

Stay tuned next week for the theme 'Bunches of Love'.  I think I can slip in a flower with that theme.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.  Have a great day and make it, live it and share it.

April

James 3:10  Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.  My brothers and sisters, this should not be.

Fun with Flowers......

This week's theme is pocket full of posies.  One of my favorite things to cut out, stamp or color is flowers.  I am a sucker for a pretty flower.

Here is my latest flower project.  I used a set of stamps that I picked up at the Stamp Away convention in Cincinnati.  I stamped the flowers in Versamark ink and heat embossed them in black.  Then I colored the images using Tombow markers and a water pen.

The background stamp is by Inkadinkadoo and is stamped using Fun Stampers Journey Oatmeal Cookie ink.

The little black frames are from Taylored Expressions.

The background of the card is cardstock by Fun Stampers Journey in Oatmeal Cookie.

The center flower is popped up on foam tape so it stands out on the card.

I did one card with the flowers askew and the other with the frames straight up and down.  The inside is blank for a general purpose card.

I hope you enjoyed these cards.  I am enjoying exploring the options for my Tombow markers.

Stay tuned tomorrow for another way to use your Tombow markers.  They are so versatile.

Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Have a great day and make it, live it and share it.

April

1 John 4:15  If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.

WOYWW 280 - Flowers, flowers and more flowers

It is Wednesday - AGAIN!  These weeks just fly by.  Since it's Wednesday, it's take a picture of your desk day.  The it's off to Julia's Blog - the Stamping Ground and sharing the picture.  But the most fun is going desk hopping.

Check out my desk this week:

Stay tuned tomorrow for more flower projects.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.  Have a great day and make it, live it and share it.

April

Psalm 16:8  I keep my eyes always on the Lord.  With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Pocket Full of Posies - A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

More flowers for this week's theme.  I used some picture frame dies to create this card along with products from all kinds of different companies.

The sentiment is from the Stamps of Life.  The stitching brought out the edges of the die cuts.

The little yellow flower was cut out using a Fiskars punch.  The flowers are stamped using the Stamps of Life tiny flowers with Stampin Up and Fun Stampers Journey ink.  The center of the flowers are yellow pearl pen.

I hope you are inspired to create a flower project of your own.  And if you use Pearl Pen - let it dry before you handle the card much.  I speak from experience.  LOL

Stay tuned tomorrow for WOYWW, the around the world weekly desk hop.

Thank you for stopping by my blog.  Have a great day and make it, live it and share it.

April

Psalm 34:8  Taste and see that the Lord is good;  blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

Pocket Full of Posies

This week's theme is one of my faves.  I am obsessed with flowers so it was overwhelming the number of projects that were running through my head for this week's posts.  But since there is only so much time in a day............Well you know how it is.  :-)

Here is the first project for this week.  I am obsessed with flowers and box cards.  So this project satisfied both my obsessions.

This box card is from SVG Cuts.  And I cut it out using my Cricut Explore.

I used some paper from Doodlebug from last year.

I inked the all the edges with brown chalk ink.

I used enamel dots from Reflections for the center of the flowers.

 I used a sentiment stamp from Fun Stampers Journey.

 Isn't this fun?  I LOVE using cut files from SVG Cuts.  And when I pull them into the Design Space software - I just resize and cut.  If you have a cutting machine whose software allows you to import SVG files - check out SVG Cuts.

Stay tuned tomorrow for some more flowery projects.

Thank you for stopping by.  Have a great day and make it, live it and share it.

April

Isaiah 26:4  Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.