To Everything There Is A Season

Today I'm sharing the second of the two cards I made for the Scrapbook News & Review feature back in April. It's Divine Design day, too, a day set aside each month to share a papercrafting project that helps us commit more of God's Word to memory. (I haven't played along in a while.)

I don't share a lot of personal stuff on my blog, but I am today - a little Sunday sermon of sorts. The week before last, I had a particularly tough week. I was cranky, stressed out, and feeling especially frazzled trying to keep up with my super curious, strong-willed, tw0-year-old mess-maker. You know it's bad when it's only Tuesday and only 9:30 in the morning at that, and you're already silently vowing to yourself, "I will not yell at anyone today, I will not yell at anyone today, I will not yell at anyone today." Have days like that? Weeks like that?

Many years ago, when I was similarly frazzled by my now-8-year-old (is it a boy thing? my dd was so EASY), I happened upon a wonderful devotional that I can't even think about without choking up. It spoke that powerfully to me. It was an excerpt from Cheri Fuller's Quiet Whispers from God's Heart for Women, and it had to do with feeling like your days as a mom of young children are like stringing beads all day only to find out at the end of the day that you forgot to tie a knot at the end of the string. I can relate ... beds that are made get slept in, floors that are swept clean get spilled on, toys that are picked up get strewn around again. The week before last, I needed God's gentle reminder (through re-reading this devotional) that by serving my little ones, I am serving Him. This is a season, and one that will pass far too quickly. I am so blessed that I get to make beds, fold clothes, prepare meals, clean up spills, pick up toys, wipe runny noses, etc. - though those things may not always look or feel like blessings at the time. I never want to take for granted this amazing responsibility God Himself has given me - being mom to these three precious children of mine.

Thanks for visiting! Hugs!



Stamps: Scripture Collection I (Our Daily Bread Designs)
Paper: Prismatics card stock, K&Co dp, Stampin' Up Always Artichoke, Papertrey Vintage Cream
Ink: Stampin' Up Always Artichoke
Accessories: May Arts satin ribbon, Michael's brad (wedding section), Kaiser Craft adhesive pearls, yellow flowers (Michael's floral dept), Martha Stewart punches, Spellbinders dies, sewing machine, paper piercer, foam adhesive

Melinda With Bouquet

Happy Saturday, friends! Are you ready for another Sketch for You To Try? Jen's got a fun one this week (okay, they're fun every week), so have a look over at i{heart}2stamp. You'll also find Jen's sample and August guest designer Megan Lock's sample. I hope you'll visit the rest of the sketch team for even more inspiration: Amy Rohl, Carole Burrage, Kelly Lunceford, and Susan Liles. If you're inclined to play along (and we hope you are), remember to link up your creation to Jen's post and/or use keyword SFYTT if you upload to Splitcoast.

Today I'm showing a card I made using Melinda With Bouquet by Whiff of Joy. I colored first with Copic markers, then added some extra shadowing and depth with Prismacolor pencils. Her wings are lightly colored, then coated with Frosted Lace Stickles. The pink and blue papers are from the Breaking Free collection by My Mind's Eye. I embellished with a few different punched borders (the blue is with Spellbinders Lattice Borderabilities, the black is with Fiskars Lace Border, and the cream is with Stampin' Up's scallop border), some Kaiser Craft adhesive pearls, Prima mini roses, Teal 5/8" sheer ribbon (May Arts), and some paper piercing. The finished size is 4 3/4" wide by 5 1/2" tall - I know, odd, but that's the way it ended up working out :)

Got any fun weekend plans? We have the new Harry Potter and some swimming on the docket here today. Whatever you're doing, have a good one!

Some Thoughts on Chocolate

I get such a chuckle out of this cute sentiment in My Favorite Things' new Flopsey Chocolate Bunny set. It won't make sense until you see the inside ...



Can you relate?? ....

I used this week's MFT sketch for my layout, which you can find HERE, along with the weekly My Favorite Challenge. (Remember, there's a $5 MFT gift certificate prize for the winners of each challenge each week.) Coloring is with Copic markers. The paper I used for the background and to piece Flopsey's recliner is from MFT's Summer Paper Pack. For the border stitching on the background panel, I hand-stitched using some May Arts burlap string. I'm liking the look of the heavier string (as opposed to my usual thread). The sentiment comes as one stamp, by the way. I inked it in portions and added the ellipses so I could break it into two parts.

Thanks for visiting!



Stamps: Flopsey Chocolate Bunny (My Favorite Things)
Paper: MFT Summer Paper Pack. Papertrey Vintage Cream, Stampin Up Kraft
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Antique Linen Distress
Accessories: Copic markers, SU ribbon, label punch, and scallop border punch, PTI buttons, May Arts burlap string, paper piercer, edge distressing tool, corner rounder, foam adhesive

Always Look on the Bright Side

A few months ago, I had the honor of being Featured Cardmaker in the April issue of Scrapbook News & Review. Thanks Anne, and thanks SNR!! As part of the feature, I got to answer some fun interview questions and share two projects. This is one of them. (I'll post the other one another time.)

Here I've used stamps from three different Verve sets: Miracles Blossom for the flowers, Beautiful Kindness for the butterfly, and Fluttering By for the sentiment. The papers are from Basic Grey's Porcelain 6x6 pack. The Top Note die shape is popped up with foam adhesive, and the flowers and butterfly are each popped up again.

Before I go, I want to say thanks to all the participants in Verve's recent Anniversary Blog Hop. The projects were all incredible, and everyone's comments were so very much appreciated! I {heart} all the Verve fans out there in blogland!! Two of you have won the entire August release (a $117 value) - congrats to the winners!

Grow Love

Welcome to MFT's August Release Blog Hop! For those already hopping with us, hopefully you've arrived here from Frances. If you just happened by, then you may want to go back to the beginning with Kim.

My Favorite Things will be releasing four really fun new sets, plus a new Spooktacular Ribbon Nest and matching Adornments, tomorrow night (August 5) at 10 pm. Just prior to that we'll have our monthly New Release Cocktail Party, which begins at 8 pm in the MFT Forum on SCS. Hope you'll join us!

I was so excited to see the new set Grow Love, Plant a Tree. So adorable and good for such a wide mix of fun styles. I wanted to go with a sort of homespun, quilted look for this card, so I created a scene with different patterns from Basic Grey's Lemonade pack. Love the whimsy of the Lemonade collection - a perfect match for these sweet little trees. The hills are created with torn strips of dp, and the trees are stamped and paper pieced. To continue the look, I attached pink buttons for apples and used embroidery floss to stitch a border around the trees, an idea I'm sharing in this week's How'd They Do That? tutorial. At the beginning of every month, 3-4 design team members each share a quick tip or trick for working with the new sets. This month, it's a "card medic trifecta" - Jessie is performing a bit of stamp surgery, Cindy is dressing boo boo's, and I'm putting in stitches - hope you'll check it out!



To continue hopping, head over to Carole at Mother's Little Helper. She's sure to have something scrumptious for you!!



Stamps: Grow Love, Plant A Tree (My Favorite Things)
Paper: Stampin' Up Bermuda Bay, Papertrey Vintage Cream, Basic Grey Lemonade dp
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Antique Linen Distress
Accessories: embroidery floss, buttons, SU ribbon, May Arts burlap string, edge distressing tool, sewing machine, (and not one bit of foam adhesive, can you believe?!)
Size: 5 1/2" square

Photo Ornament

[If you're looking for Verve's Anniversary Blog Hop, please scroll down one post or click HERE - thanks!]

Now that it's August, I'm hoping I can get away with posting a Christmas project :) I know some of you organized types have been working on Christmas stuff all year - I'm not one of those! So ... ta da -- my first Christmas project for 2009! I love adding photo ornaments to my tree, one for each child each year. They love their ornaments, too! When I saw this Holly Berry House Round Medallion Ornament stamp, I knew it would be perfect for this year's photo ornaments.

The image is so easy to work with. Here, I stamped it onto various different patterns from Basic Grey's 6x6 Wassail Paper Pad in Versafine Onyx Black and clear embossed. Then I just cut the different patterns apart and layered them using foam adhesive for dimension. To make it extra sturdy, I adhered the Wassail dp to heavy card stock before stamping and trimming.

For accents, I added some branches punched with the Martha Stewart branch punch, Dew Drops, and some tiny white self-adhesive pearls.

Another look at the complete ornament:

I have so many more ideas churning for this image - can't wait to make more ornaments!



Stamp: Round Medallion Ornament (Holly Berry House)
Paper: 6x6 Wassail Paper Pad (Basic Grey), Neenah 80lb cardstock
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)
Accessories: branch punch (Martha Stewart), Poinsettia Drew Drops (The Robin's Nest), white self-adhesive pearls (Kaiser Craft), gold cord and vanilla taffeta ribbon (Stampin' Up)

Happy 2nd Anniversary, Verve!

Hi everyone! Today, Verve is celebrating its second anniversary with a special blog hop. If you came here from Janelle at Rain Puddles Design, then you already know all about it. If you just happened to stop by, you can find the beginning over at the Verve blog. To make this party a real shindig, there’s a mystery jackpot hidden at one of the stops along the hop. One lucky commenter on that blog will win Verve’s entire August release! But of course, it wouldn’t be a mystery if you knew which blog, would it? So if you’re feeling the love, give a little shout out to the bloggers in the hop and you just might have a reason to jump for joy!

For my project, I'm excited to give you a super early peek at one of the August Plain Janes (you know how much I love these little gems!), called To Risk. Love this quote! I've created a cozy little home for it using a new favorite, Basic Grey Lemonade dp, and many of my old favorites - stitching, buttons, ribbon, and the Blossom Nestabilities.

Hope you're enjoying the hop so far! Your next stop is Teresa at Enjoy the VA Sunshine. She works magic with Verve, so I'm sure you're in for a treat!

Today's card also doubles as my sample for Jen's Sketch For You To Try. Jen has the sketch posted on her blog, i{heart}2stamp, along with her sample and a sample from our brand-new August sketch girl - woohoo! Be sure to give her a warm welcome! Visit the rest of the SFYTT girls for more ideas to jumpstart your creativity: Amy Rohl, Carole Burrage, Kelly Lunceford, and Susan Liles. We love to see you play along! Link your project to Jen's post and/or use keyword SFYTT if you upload to Splitcoast.

I did just a little bit of decorating on the inside:



Have a wonderful weekend!



Stamps: To Risk Plain Jane (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Basic Grey Lemonade dp, Stampin' Up Crushed Curry, Prismatics Medium Island Mist
Ink: Ranger Vintage Photo Distress Ink
Accessories: Spellbinders Blossom Nestabilities and flourish die, Martha Stewart butterfly and flower punch, Stampin' Up Crushed Curry ribbon, Papertrey button, May Arts burlap string, sewing machine, foam adhesive