Bells and Boughs -Joy Fold Card

This card was selected by the Nacho Average Stampers as one of five for our Holiday Card Stamp Camp last Saturday. I CASED the Joy Fold design from Split Coast Stampers.

We adapted the card on the right using Elizabeth, from a design by one of my fellow Nachos, Rose, by adjusting the measurements of the small card. 

Supplies:

Bells and Boughs Stamp Set, Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper, Vanilla Seam Binding from SU Holiday Mini.

Elizabeth Stamp, Cherry Cobbler and Always Artichoke card stock, Early Espresso and Soft Suede ink, Pearls, Pastels, Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Tag Corner Punch from SU Idea Book and Catalog.

Devotional for today - Lingering Damage

Read: 2 Samuel 12:1-14

A young teen who was constantly getting into trouble always apologized when his parents confronted him. No matter how much he hurt his parents with his previous wrongdoing, he would soon turn around and do something else wrong - knowing he would be forgiven.

Finally, his dad took him out to the garage for a talk. Dad picked up a hammer and pounded a nail into the garage wall. Then he gave his son the hammer and told him to pull out the nail. The boy shrugged, grabbed the hammer, and yanked out the nail.

"That's like forgiveness, Son. When you do something wrong, it's like pounding in a nail. Forgiveness is when you pull the nail out." "Okay, I get it," said the boy. "Now take the hammer and pull out the nail hole," his dad replied. "That's impossible!" the boy said, "I can't pull it out."

As this story illustrates and King David's life proves, sin carries consequences. Even though David was forgiven, his adultery and murder left scars and led to family problems (2 Sam. 12:10). This sobering truth can serve as a warning for our lives. The best way to avoid the lingering damage of sin is to live a life of obedience to God.  -Dave Branon

Apply your heart to instructions, and your ears to words of knowledge. Proverbs 23:12

The Bible in One Year

·         Jeremiah 20-21

·         2 Timothy 4

On another note: I awoke this morning with an idea for a color combination and headed into my craft room to check it out. Well, my left "little piggy who got none" headed in a different direction right into the leg of a chair. Little piggy has taken on a shade of Not Quite Navy and is sending shock *!@?;o( waves to my brain. I had plans to run errands today and vote early, but I think I will be sitting at my desk stamping away instead. It is another lovely autumn day and I can enjoy the sunshine and breezes from the window. Oh, and the color combination didn't work for what I wanted to make-but I have another combination that will work and ironically it involves Not Quite Navy!

Day of Gratitude Delft style

  ". . .whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many."

Matthew 20:26b-28 

Dear Jesus, forgive me for having this turned upside down, for trying to put myself first.  I want to serve because You serve.  I love You.  So teach me to serve.  Teach me to give my life for the ones You've given me to serve.  You have been the Ransom once and for all.  But perhaps the ransom I will give is my time, or my pride, or some luxury to show someone else Your love.  Whatever it is, it's Yours.  Just show me what to do. 

Apply your heart to instructions, and your ears to words of knowledge. Proverbs 23:12

The Bible in One Year

·         Jeremiah 18-19

·         2 Timothy 3

When I first saw this stamp set my imagination immediately went to beautiful Dutch Delftware. I can see it in reds and yellows as well as this Pacific Point Blue.

Supplies:

Day of Gratitude stamp set 120835 (wood) 121148 (clear) Holiday Mini pg.13

Sahara Sand cardstock 121043 Idea Book and Catalog (IBC) pg. 169

Blueberry Crisp DSP 117392 IBC pg. 174

Pacific Point Classic ink pad 111837 IBC pg. 166

Clear Embossing Powder 109130 IBC pg. 196

VersaMark ink 102283 IBC pg. 195

Night of Navy 1/4" grosgrain ribbon 109036 IBC pg. 168 

Antique Brads 117273 IBC pg. 187

Base card stock is 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4". Piece  1 1/2" x 5 1/4"strips of Blueberry Crisp DSP to create a mat that measures 4" x 5 1/4", cover seams with Night of Navy grosgrain ribbon folding ends under; then adhere to Sahara Sand card base. Ink up your image first into Versamark ink then into Pacific Point ink. Stamp onto a Sahara Sand scrap, cover with Clear embossing powder, heat set then cut out. Here's an important TIP: Clean yourstamp between images if you are making more than one card or your Versamark pad will look like this! Now I have two Versamark stamp pads, one for these sort of projects and the other for unmessy projects.

Make a hole in the center of your "flower", add a vintage brad and adhere to card with Stampin'Dimensionals. A bit blurry, but the embossing creates such a lovely effect.

The chilly days of autumn and the coming winter are upon us here in New Mexico. Today is a sunny day, but I am glad for my warm fireplace and that my hubby turned on the boiler so the radiant heated floors keep my toes warm. Hope your day is lovely in your part of the world.

Holiday Bundles

Holiday Bundle Bargains

October 19-December 16 

 

Vintage Christmas Bundle #124067 wood $23.92

Vintage Christmas Bundle #124068 clear $19.92


Contempo Christmas Card Bundle #124071 wood $20.72
Contempo Christmas Card Bundle #124072 clear $17.52


Tags Til Christmas Bundle #124077 wood $38.32
Tags Til Christmas Bundle #124078 clear $31.92


Gift Packaging Bundle #124083 wood $26.32
Gift Packaging Bundle #124084 clear $19.92

Simply Adorned Gift Bundle #124076 $39.88

Frame Gift Bundle #124075 $19.92

• Additional products from current catalogs may be purchased on the same order.
• There is no minimum purchase required to participate in this promotion.
• You must use the bundle item codes provided. The 20 % discount will not be applied if individual item numbers are entered separately.
• This discount offer is available from Tuesday, October 19 through Thursday, December 16, 2010.
• Shop now at my Stampin' Up store http://www.looksstorebought.stampinup.net/

Prayer for Today

 22Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowd. 23After He had dismissed them, He went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone, 24but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 25During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.

Matthew 14:22-25 

Hallelujah!  Praise to the King of Kings!  Jesus, thank You for always knowing where I am, and knowing I will need You in a storm.  Thank You for coming to me, for staying with me through the storm.  You are by my side, wherever I am, even in the darkest time of night.  I love You. 

The Bible in One Year

·         Isaiah 34-36

·         Colossians 2

Clearance Rack Blitz

Stampin'Up has added over 200 retired items to the Clearance Rack to make room for new merchandise. From now until October 18 new items will be added daily--at as much 80% savings!

      
 Important things to know:

• Orders for Clearance Rack items can be placed through my online store at http://www.looksstorebought.stampinup.net/
• Qualifying orders are eligible for hostess benefits. 
• All items in this sale are available only while supplies last.
• All sales of discontinued items are final.
• Receive the preferred price by shopping at my online store
• Save on shipping by shopping at my online store
• There are more than the 10 pages, continue clicking on the gray arrow on the right side

Wedding Card

The wedding was lovely and I successfully kept the bride and groom out of each other's site until Stacey came down the aisle on her proud Papa's arm. I mentioned yesterday that her Papa is also our pastor and he officiated their marriage covenant. I wondered how they would choreograph that. Her grandfather is also a pastor and he began the service. When it was time for Pastor David to give Stacey to her intended they played some music along with a photo montage while he took his father-in-law's place. A great transition with little distraction.

I made a card for Stacey and Chris:



The card base is 5 1/2 " sq. SU Whisper White (100730), followed by a mat 5 1/4" sq. SU Blushing Bride (119796), then a DSP layer 5 1/8" (that paper has been in my stash for years, no idea where it is from). Next there are four 2 3/8" sq. of Blushing Bride matted under four 2 1/4" sq. of that same mysterious DSP. Next I cut a scallop circle of Blushing Bride using the SU Scallop Circle Die (113468) and a circle of SU Shimmery White (101910) using the SU Clear Circle Die (114533) and the SU Big Shot (113439). The cut out rose is a Stampendous stamp, in my stash for years-I believe it is one of the first stamps I bought. It is watercolored using SU classic ink refills and SU Aqua Painters (103954) I used Blushing Bride, Regal Rose, and Blush Blossom (retired, but available as a marker [100037], good for skin tones, too) for the flower; Old Olive and Always Artichoke for the leaves; Early Espresso for the stem. The scalloped circle and flower is popped up using SU Dimensionals (104430) and the pearl accents on the four corners are SU Basic Pearls (119247).  

I'm still getting the hang of water coloring, but I'm fairly pleased with this outcome, if I might say so myself. I think I've been in too big a hurry with previous efforts.  About sentiments: I've heard others musing about inspiration for brilliant wisdom to write in cards. I've pondered the same thing. Recently, I've done Google searches for appropriate poems or found scripture verses that were meaningful or consulted poetry books on our shelves at home. I type them out on my computer, adjust margins, select font and color then print them on SU cardstock.

It's a lovely autumn day here in NM, the windows are open and I can hear the breeze rustling in the grasses around our house. Hope you are enjoying a lovely LORD's day in your part of the world, too.

Marge

What are you looking for?

1A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that He had come home. 2So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and He preached the word to them. 3Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." 6Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7"Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" 8Immediately Jesus knew in His spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and He said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? 9Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? 10But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ." He said to the paralytic, 11"I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." 12He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

Mark 2:1-12

Precious Jesus, there is no one like You!  This man came to you hoping to walk, but You gave him something he never expected. .  .forgiveness of his sins.  You met this man's greatest need, and he was never the same.  For whatever we all come looking, meet our greatest need, so that Your glory is shown all across this world.

The Bible in One Year

·         Isaiah 17-19

·         Ephesians 5:17-33

Guest favors

Today I'm off to help at the wedding of our pastor's daughter, Stacey, to her beau, Chris Jogi. My mission is to help the photographer with photographing the families whilst keeping the bride and groom out of each other's view. Should be fun!

I made 150 little wedding favors that hold 4 Hershey's nuggets. See the example to the right in this photo. I used the new Bigz die in the SU Holiday Mini (120903) to create the top and bottom scalloped pieces. The box is a 3 1/4" by 5 1/2" piece of card stock scored at 1/2" around three sides and at 2 3/4" and 3 1/4".  The mats are square: 2 1/2" of DSP, 2" black, 1 3/4" pink, and the art piece is 1 1/2". The stamp is from Stampendous, found at a local craft store, stamped with Jet Black SU StazOn (101406). I cut little strips of DSP, 1" x 3" to wrap around the candies, then sealed the box with 3" of ribbon as I assembled it.

The card was for Stacey's shower, made with a retired color of SU card stock cut 4 1/4" x 11" with a top fold scored at 5 1/2". I ran the top portion through my SU Big Shot (113439) using the SU Elegant Lines embossing folder (119277), embellished with SU Black Flourish Designer Jewels (120987) and SU Black 5/8" Satin Ribbon (117285), stamped with SU Black Classic Ink (101179) using SU Teeny Tiny Wishes (115370).

It took me quite awhile to wrap my brain around the Big Shot. I had to understand how it worked and I had to justify the cost. I didn't want to invest in something that, initially, I thought I'd only use occasionally. Well, I use it on almost every card I make now. My husband, Cecil, often comments on how handy it is to have the right tool for the job he's doing; whether it's fixing the car or for a home project. I really understand what he means by that as I create my different projects, and I'm so glad to have that Big Shot.

A tip for using jewel embellishments: Use a pair of tweezers to pick the jewel off the paper using a little twisting motion. If you pull straight up sometimes the sticky stays on the paper rather than coming with the jewel. If the jewels are on a strip of adhesive, snip them apart with little scissors as you pick them up.  I have a 6" curved tip tweezer that came with my serger. I've seen these tweezers in the sewing or yarn sections of local sewing or craft stores.   

Have to wash that ink off my fingers, make sure the glitter is off my nose and head for the wedding. Hope you are enjoying this lovely autumn weather in your spot of the world.

There's An "App" For That (From Our Daily Bread Devotional)

Read: Ephesians 5:1-7

Remember when phones were for making phone calls? With the advent of the smart phone, what was once a way to talk to someone has become a storehouse of data. Add cell-phone applications (computer programs) to that, and you can read sports reports, play games, plan trips, find an apartment - or any of well over 100,000 other tasks available with an "app".

That's pretty amazing, but the "apps" for phones are nothing compared with the kind of "apps" Scripture gives us. The "applications" of the Bible are direct notes from God telling us how to apply the truth of His Word to all of life.

Take Philippians 2, for instance: The unity "app" (2:2), the humility app (2:3), the no-grumbling app (2:14), the shine-as-lights app (2:15), Or look at the apps" of Ephesians 5: The imitate-God app (5:1), the walk-in-love app (5;2), the purity app (5:3), the tongue app (5:4). And the book of Proverbs? It's teeming with applications.

You don't have to wait for someone to offer these on the Internet. Just open the Bible and see the hundreds of ways to apply Scripture in your life. Got a question about the Christian life? Search the Bible. The answers are there, waiting to be discovered. -Dave Branon

Apply your heart to instructions, and your ears to words of knowledge. Proverbs 23:12

The Bible in One Year

·         Isaiah 14-16

·         Ephesians 5:1-16