Up Up and Away

Here is another entry for Simon Says Stamp Challenge Monday Challenge ~ Sunshine. It takes my brain a while to get the design going in my head but once I get started then it is not too bad putting it together.

Background Paper: Citrus
Sun: Hero Arts CL377
Hot Air Balloons: Lawn Fawn Blue Skies &  Coordinating Dies ~ colored with copics
Banner: Hero Arts Stamp & Cut D1074 Banner/Pendant
Sentiment: Hero Arts CL184 Sayings & Quotes

Thanks for stopping by. Blessings to you!

"So we fix our eyes on not what is seen, but what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

2 Corinthians 4:18

Once You Choose Hope . . .

I know each of us have been in a place in our life where if we had not held on tight to the HOPE that things would get better we would have absolutely given up. I know also that in those situations if I had not had others surrounding me with prayer and encouragement I might have given up. BUT they didn't and I didn't give up in those situations. Think about how many times we use the word ~ HOPE.

I used this sentiment from The Craft's Meow ~ Hope Blooms: "Once you choose HOPE, anything's possible ~ Christopher Reeve"
Background is Sizzix Paisley embossing folder and flowers are Prim Poppy from Memory Box.
Sending this to a couple of my friends who I want to encourage to not give up and remember that they are not in this alone.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not see."

Hebrews 11:1

You Are My Sunshine

This week's SimonSaysStamp Blog Monday Challenge is "Ode To Sunshine". Take a look at the design team's inspiration. Such beautiful cards.

This one was a fun challenge for me:

The background is Darice Embossing Folder Honeycomb

My Sunshine is Hero Arts Starburst Background stamped in Hero Arts Shadow Ink Mid-Tone Butter Bar.

Sentiment: Technique Tuesday Bring on the Sun

Hearts: Sizzix Heart Dies on pattern papers; top heart has glossy accents.

Thank you for stopping by!

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

2 Corinthians 5:21

Layered Stamp Technique

I am always learning some amazing techniques during these Online Summer Card Camp Classes. One of today's technique was to layer one background stamp in opposite directions and it is amazing the result of this technique. I am loving it. It took me some practice before I got something I liked.

These are the colors that we are working with:

Here is my layered stamp card:

Top Background: Hero Arts S5654~Tweed Pattern - stamped it first in Memories Pigment Unicorn Pigment Ink and then turned the stamp and stamped it in Hero Arts Shadow Ink Mid-Tone Wet Cement

Bottom Background: Lawn Fawn Interlocking Backdrop: Stamped it first in Memories Pigment Unicorn Pigment Ink and then turned the stamp and stamped it in Hero Arts Shadow Ink Mid-Tone Wet Cement

Sentiment: Hero Arts CL499 Special Note of Thanks

Paper for circles: Soft Shades Double Dot Bo Bunny 6x6 pad

Butterfly: Martha Stewart Punch

Enamel dots on circles

It took me a while but once I got the hang of the stamping of the background I was good to go :)

Blessings to you!

"I leave you peace; my peace I give you. I do not give it to you as the world does. So don't let your hearts be troubled or afraid."

John 14:27

Online Card Class Week 3 Day 1

I have been behind in my "homework" for this class so I decided to start with this week's techniques and play catch up later.

Our colors to work with are 2 shades of  brown, blue, and 2 shades of  purple. Yep, purple - that was interesting :)

And our sketch choices are:

Here is my card:

I used sketch 3. I only used one stamp and the rest is pattern papers and punches. Sentiment is Hero Arts CL613.

Thank you for stopping by!

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:18

By The Sea

This week's challenge at Simon Says Stamp Blog is By The Sea. We love to go to the beach and recently returned from a trip to Fernandina Beach in Florida. It has been one of our favorite places ~ very family oriented and the beach is very nice. Think I could sit and watch the waves roll in and out all day.

Here is the card I am entering for the challenge:

Stamp: Hero Arts CL383 Antique Engravings

Sentiment: Hero Arts Hero Arts CL493 Live LIfe

Background: Tim Holtz Distress Ink Broken China and Memento Bahama Blue

Pearl Bling 

I think I hear the beach calling my name again :)

Enjoy your day!

"Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance."

Psalm 4: 2-3

Ink Carving

I am loving this "technique" that Jennifer McGuire showed us during Online Card Classes~ SummerCardClass2. Since you have access to this information even after the actual class time, you can still register here. It is filled with all kinds of creative ideas and tips. Check it out.

So here is my card using "ink carving". I didn't follow the design that Jennifer used. Since I stamped so many flowers there was lots of masking - but so worth it.  Here is my version:

Stamps: Simon Says Stamp Petal Pieces ~ flower and leaves; Simon Says Stamp Flower Friend ~ center of the flowers

Sentiment: Hero Arts CL129 Anytime Message - I had cut it up for a previous card so it worked perfectly for this one too.

Inks: Stampabilites Pigment Ink ~ Bright Pink; Orange; Light Green; Color Box Pigment Ink ~ Sky Blue; Hero Arts Shadow Ink Mid-Tone ~ Butter Bar

Enamel Dots

Have a glorious day!

"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God."

Psalm 42:1

Woo Hoo

Back in the late 70's, owls were the thing to decorate with. I had them all over my house. I am still somewhat partial to them and I am seeing them resurrect themselves lately - Woo Hoo :)

This particular stamp is from Whipper Snapper Designs.

Background: Embossing Folder by Darice ~ Honeycomb

Banner:  Cut it out and stamped with Lawn Fawn ~ LF429 Interlocking Backgrounds

Owl: Whipper Snapper Mosaic Owl - colored with copics

Sentiment: Hero Arts

Cute little "googly" eyes from Michael's

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings to you ~

"My flesh and my heart falls, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

Psalm 73:26

Circles, Circles, Circles

I used my new Zig Zag stencil from Heidi Swapp to create this background and then used circle punches to create the concentric circles - a little bling and VOILA - a birthday card!

Stencil: Heidi Swapp ~ got mine at Michael's

Used Memento Dew Drop Colors Tangelo and Dandelion for background

Sentiment: Hero Arts

Have a blessed day!

"Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation."

Isaiah 12:2

Party Hat

Playing around with one of my new Tim Holtz sets: Birthday Blueprint. So many fun stamps to use. Here is one of them

Layered several papers. Colored with copics. Sentiment is Hero Arts but have no clue the stamp set it came out of. 

Blessings to you!

"Now faith is the asssurance of the things hoped for, being the proof of things not seen and the conviction of their reality."

Hebrews 11:1

One Layer Card

Hero Arts Challenge is one layer cards through July 15th so I am getting this in just under the wire. I love them but they are difficult for me because I am so use to layering and popping things up :)

Here is my attempt:

Flower stamp: Hero Arts CL450 - Inks: Stampabilties Orange; Hero Arts Shadow Ink Mid-Tone Butter Bar; Memento Bahama Blue
Leaves: Verve Bloom & Grow - Inks: Hero Arts Shadow Ink Mid-Tone Green Hills
Sentiment: Hero Arts CL499 - Special Note of Thanks; stamped with Hero Arts Shadow Ink Soft Granite

Learned a wonderful little technique from Jennifer McGuire in our Online Card Class concerning those three little dots - used the tip of an eraser :)

Thank you for taking time to stop by!

Blessings to you ~

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

2 Corinthians 12:9

Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Pin

This week Simon Says Stamp is Challenging us to create a card with the focus on "Pin". There are lots of creative ideas there. There were several of the cards from the Design Team that used "clothespins". When I saw Melissa's card, I remembered that I had purchased some heart clothespin from their $1 bins. (I LOVE Michael's $1 bins.)

Here is Melissa's card:

Let me forewarn you, mine is a little busy in comparison to what I usually do with a card. It just seemed to keep growing :)

Here is the back of the heart so you can see the clothespin:

Flower: Stampendous Cling Zinnia CRQ170 (Stamped on pattern paper and heat embossed with black embossing powder)

Sentiment: Hero Arts CL520 Live and Laugh

Butterflies: Martha Stewart Punch

Used a White Gel Pen to write on the hearts

Thanks for stopping by and blessings to you!

" . . . Do not be afraid or discouraged of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's."

2 Chronicles 20:15

Summer Card Camp Day 2

Well, if you read my post from yesterday, you know how discouraged I got with myself with the watercolor technique. However, I did not give up. I literally pulled my background out of the trash to see if I could possibly "save" it. Once I added the other elements, it did not look nearly as bad as I thought. It still does not look quite like Sally's watercolor technique but I guess you could say it is "Pam's" version :)

Thank you ever so much for stopping by! If you are interested in the class, it is never too late to sign up.

I think my problem of getting the soft texture that Sally got is that I used  a heavy Watercolor cold press paper.

Faber-Castell Gel Sticks

Sentiment: Simon Says Stamp HAPPY

Paper Smooches Die: Love - cut 4 in white and layered under the 1 cut in the dark pink (Jennifer's technique Day1)

Wood Hearts colored in copic marker and glossy accents added to top

I am kind of glad I pulled it out of the trash now :)

Blessings to you!

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

John 13:34-35

Stamping Techinques

Well, Day 2 of my Online Card Class Summer Card Camp 2 proved to be too challenging for me. I feel like Alexander in the book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. I tried really hard to make at least one card using one of the two techniques. Loved the multicolor sentiment technique Jennifer shared BUT I did not have a large enough sentiment stamp to work with to make each line a different color. AND the water color technique Shari demonstrated was not a fit for me either. I found out that water coloring techniques do not work well for me -  I even had Gelato Gel Sticks - at least right now they are not working well for me.

So after about 2 hours of frustration, I went back and did a card using yesterday's Sketch 1.  I will not give up on the Stamping Techniques; they will just have to wait for another day :)

STAMP: This is a new Tim Holtz set and I am going to love it!
EMBOSSED BACKGROUND: Cuttlebug Happy Birthday
PATTERN PAPER: Bo Bunny Double Dot Designs Soft Shades 6x6 pad

Maybe tomorrow will be a better day for me :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

"You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever."

Psalm 30:11-12 (NIV)

Sketch 2

So, I am working on my "homework" for Summer Card Camp 2. As I wrote in my previous post, if you are interested in being a part of this inspiring class check it out here: Online Card Classes.

This card is based on sketch 2:

Basically I used different shapes as per the sketch and used two sentiments.

I had to cut those precious stamps to come up with this. I know a lot of you do this all the time but every snip made me anxious. BUT I love that I could create this "sentiment" on my card :)

The background and the banners and circle have pop dots to give dimension.

Sentiments: Hero Arts CL491 and CL129

Background: Cuttlebug Embossing Folder

Enjoy your day!

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Romans 12:2

Summer Card Camp 2

Today is Day 1 of our Summer Card Camp 2 online card class. If you are interested, it is not too late to sign up here: Online Card Classes

We have three sketches and I chose to try my hand at Sketch 1 for today. Here is my card:

Background paper: Recollections Flat Cards - ran through one of my Sizzix Embossing Folders.

Background stamp: Lawn Fawn Interlocking Backdrops LF429 was used for the background on the tag.

Inks: Stampabilities Pigment Ink Orange; Stampabilities Dye Ink Yellow and Hero Arts Shadow Ink Mid Tone Bubble Gum

Sentiment: Inkadinkado Clear Stamps - Hope

Flower: Stampendous Cling Zinnia CRQ170 (Stamped on pattern paper and heat embossed with black embossing powder)

A little bit of orange bling

Thank you so much for stopping by and have a blessed day!

" I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."

John 15:11

Card With Texture

CAS-ual Friday's Challenge this week is Material Girl. We are to create a CAS project that has some sort of a material, i.e. fabric, felt, canvas etc.

Masculine cards are really hard for me but I found this digital deer image and downloaded it and cut it out. I layered it on some cardboard. You can buy corrugated paper or buy a crimper but I wet the back of a piece of cardboard, let it sit and then peeled off one of the layers. I wish I could give credit to the person who shared this online but I cannot find it now.

Sentiment: Simon Says Stamp SQUARE SAYINGS

Paper: My Mind's Eye Bramble Rose

Blessings to you!

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple."

Isaiah 6:1 

Thankful For You

Simon Says Stamp Challenge for this week is Patriotic. Hop on over there and take a look at the inspiration from their design team.

Here is another card I am submitting:

Combination of Pattern Papers
Sentiment and Star: Operation Write Home Hero Arts CL582; Star stamped in Memento Lady Bug
Glossy Accents on Star (Difficult to see in picture)

As always, thanks for taking the time to stop by!

Blessings to you!

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

Numbers 6:24-26

Red, White & Blue

Most of us in the United States usually relate the colors red, white and blue to our flag and our celebration of July 4th. Simon Says Stamp Challenge this week is all about patriotism. I am using the colors red, white and blue on several of my cards this week.

Stamp: Stampingbella~"phoebe KETTO"

Sentiment: Paper Smooches Chit Chat

Thank you for stopping by! Enjoy your weekend. :)

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit."

Jeremiah 17:7-8 (ESV)

Simon Says . . . Patriotic

This week's challenge on the Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog is Patriotic. Here is one of my cards I will be submitting:

This is a very old Stampendous stamp that I have and have not inked it up in a while. Thought it was perfect for this week's theme. 

Stamp: Stampendous Biker Bee

Background: Hero Arts CG517 Hexagons -  embossed with Blue embossing powder

Hexagons: Paper Smooches Hexalongs

Sentiment: Paper Smooches Chit Chat

And yes, the USA is blessed. We may not think it all of the time but we are.

Thank you for stopping by!

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name."

Psalm 100:4