Back to Work

Good morning!  I hope that you are successfully recovering from your holiday weekend - if you had one!  Myself, I spent the majority of the day being a nurse, but was blessed enough to spend time with family at a BBQ as well!  I think of Memorial Day and why we celebrate, all the men and women who have fought for our freedom - and for me personally, our Holy Father who has given us the ultimate freedom, by sending His Son to take our place!

Today I decided to jump back in the swing of things and play along with Sweet Sunday Sketch SSSC185 ontwo of my creations creations, as well as The Play Date Cafe (183) color challenge on the top card!  The last card is playing along with the sketch from Sweet Sketch Wednesday #207).

All of my supplies came from either Taylored Expression's or PaperTrey Ink with some CTMH ink, miscellaneous copics, ribbon, and bling tossed in!

Thank you for stopping by and letting me be part of your day!  Your kind words and comments bless me immensely!

Mary   

June Already....

Wow!  I cannot believe that June is already here!  Why, this month is cram packed, with Relay for Life events this weekend, Abby's Dance recital this weekend, our big Relay event and Church picnic next weekend, Father's Day the one after that, then California bound the following week!  Wow!  Just thinking of it all makes me look forward to July already!
A big Happy Birthday goes out to my Father-in-Law today, so today's project is in honor of him :o)

Abby was totally wore out after swimming on Sunday and decided a nap snuggled up to Grandpa on the boat ride back was just what she needed!

Happy Birthday Grandpa, we love you!

God Bless You,

Weekend Creations

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend.  Here are my cards I have to show you today.

First up is a Christmas card for mom and dad...shhh, don't tell.  The Fun on Friday challenge at Christian Paper Crafts on Friday was to make a card using a photograph.  I decided to combine it with a couple more challenges, like the Bible Verse Thursday challenge, the sketch challenge at Sweet Sketch Wednesday, inchies to represent the challenge at Tuesday Throwdown, and the wonderful color challenge at Color Throwdown to get what you see below:

 (Paper: PaperTreyInk, BasicGrey; Ink: Close to my Heart; Images: PaperTreyInk; Accesories: Cuttlebug)

Next up is a little card that I did for today's Clean and Simple challenge at Christian Paper Crafts.  By combining it with the awesome sketch at 2 Sketches 4 You and adding the colors from Color Dare in, I am so tickled with the cute response!

(Paper: PaperTreyInk; Images: PaperTreyInk; Ink: Close to my Heart; Accessories: bling, ribbon)

God Bless You,

Abundant Blessings

Sometimes in this busy life, we tend to get so wrapped up in everything going on in the world and have to remind ourselves of how abundantly blessed we really are.  For my Facebook friends and I, we have challenged ourselves to post a thankful post everyday!  It really helps put things in perspective when you read back upon what you have written.

On the same topic of those posts, they got me to thinking of a cardfor today's Sketch Tuesdy at Christian Paper Crafts, so I decided to go with a blessings card.  The colors are from the wonderful Color Combo this week found at Stacey's Stamping Stage Curatin Call Color Challenge.

(Paper: PaperTreyInk, Basic Grey; Ink: PaperTreyInk, Close to my Heart; Images: PaperTreyInk; Accessories: bling, stickles, cuttlebug swiss dots folder, ribbon)

I hope your week is going splendid!  Remember to count those blessings!

God Bless You,

Falling into Winter

It seems as if we have skipped Fall here in our little neck of the woods and went straight into Winter!  The cold temperatures we have been getting in the nights are already down around the 20 degree marks which is much too cold for my liking!

Thankfully there is a nice, warm fireplace right outside the doors of the scrapbook room that makes everything nice and toasty for some warm paper-crafting days!  First up is the 2nd CAS (Clean and Simply) Challenge at Christian Paper Crafts.  I thought a little Christmas card would be cute since I never seem to get all of mine made!

(Paper: PaperTreyInk, Misc; Images: PaperTreyInk; Ink: Close to My Heart)

Next up is today's Color Monday challenge at Christian Paper Crafts, combined with the Sketch from Sketch Saturday!  What a cute (and sparkly) combination they make when combined together!

(Paper: PaperTreyInk, Misc; Images: PaperTreyInk; Accessories: stickles, nestabilities, buttons)

Have a wonderful week, and try to stay warm!

God Bless You,

Middle of the Work Week :o)

You've gotta love those times when no matter how your turn your camera or how many times you reposition your card, it is STILL crooked!  May as well laugh over it :o)

Today is Case Artist Wednesday over at Christian Paper Crafts and our featured artist today is ceehowicraft!  I fell in love with the sweet layout of this card in her gallery, and it inspired me to create this:

(Paper: PaperTreyInk, misc designer papers; Image: Ippity What Matter's Most; Ink: CTMH; Accessories: lace, jute, button, pin)

So, what will you CASE today?

God Bless You,

May I Have Your Attention Please....

I have an announcement! (I actually did this Friday night for my Relay Team and have been waiting until this morning to announce it to the rest of the world!)

I have been accepted into graduate school!!!! Thank GOD!!

This news has totally sent me over the moon! My mood is totally in the mode of nice bright colors, much like the ones on the color challenge at Christian Paper Crafts for Color Monday today!
The challenge, pink, yellow, orange, blue, and neutrals - either a combination of some or all... I just had to take a go at all of them and managed to fit it in!

I used PTI cardstock and patterned paper, bling from The Robin's Nest, Ippity What Matter's Most stamp set, misc lace trim and some Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist to spruce up my trim! The sweet little birdie is colored with copics and the wonderful sketch is from Card Positioning Systems - way too long since I have played over there!
So let's see, there's obviously pink, blue, and neutrals there, the little birdie's beak is yellow and all my edges are inked in orange!
Have a wonderful day! Hopefully my happy news will keep me on cloud nine even if it is a Monday!! Special thanks to everyone who kept me in their prayers! I truly appreciate it and ask that you continue to pray for me as I begin this new journey!

God Bless You,
Mary

Certification Sunday

Yup, you read that read - Copic Certification that is! I am so excited and can't wait to know more about my much loved markers! Charleston, West Virginia - meet Softangelkisses!

Die Cuts R Us has the sweet little creative space of A Crafty Little Place and their challenges alway allow me to "think outside the box"! This week was a sketch, and I can honestly say I have not done a border quite like that before!

I used Cosmo Cricket papers along with PTI stamps and CTMH ink!

Have a great Sunday!

God Bless You,

Pretty Toes and Headache Woes

Hello and Happy Saturday everyone! I hope that everyone's weekend is off to a wonderful start! Although I have been dealing with a headache, I have to say it has been a great weekend so far! Right now I am blessed to be getting a pedicure as I type this blog...well, my hubby is the one doing it, but that's the best :o) I love having some pretty toes to peep out of new sandals!
This yucky headache has lingered for a couple of days, therefore so did this card. I still don't think I am totally satisfied with it, but as much as I will ever be, I suppose. Since I didn't feel too well, I tried to combine as many things as possible! The sketch is from the lovely 2Sketches4You, while the Bible verse using the word "paths" is from the Bible Verse Thursday challenge #55 over at Christian Paper Crafts. Also, the heart is colored using copic markers, the challenge for Fun on Friday #54 over at Christan Paper Crafts as well!
Supplies: PTI cardstock, Georgia Pacific cardstock, Basic Grey pp, Wright's Creative Classic Trim, American Crafts Slick Writer, Ippity Stamps (Music of My Hearts), SU Real Red Ink, PTI Hibiscus ink, Bubblegum glimmermist
Also, this card was my first ever attempt at using glimmer mist.
With that being said, it led into this:
Now this was F-U-N and right up my ally!! The Scripture 1 Timothy 2:1 is for Scripture Saturday #47 also at CPC. After using the glimmer mist on the card prior to this one, I had to break it out again and spritz some around! Add some jute, trim, and a button, along with distressing the edges of the stamped image to shabby it up a bit! The stamp of the birdhouses is from a Unity KOM from this year, although I cannot remember which month, and the background is stamped with music which is the challenge over at Stampin' Sisters In Christ this week! I used CTMH inks Pansy Purple and Sunflower. This sketch is from MOJO Monday, Sketch 139, and although I always want to play along, I usually forget the sketch and use it too late to add it to the link list - not this week...almost, but I'm making it in time :o)
Well, I'm off to add these cards to the Prayer Shawl Ministry Basket! Thank you for stopping by, I sure hope you come back soon!

God Bless You,

SONshine for the Soul

You know, sunshine really is good for the body. Lately we have had so much sickness in our community, it got me to thinking. Although there is sickness around and the dreary weather seems to only add to the feeling that brings, there is something better. SONshine is good for the soul. Right now, the pastor of our church is sick and in the hospital. As a Christian man, he desires your prayers for healing so that he may continue to do God's work. Please join me in praying for Brother Donnie.
Today is Sketch Tuesday over at Christian Paper Crafts! I used Basic Grey blush pp, PTI cardstock, Ippity Stamps, Copics (of course), jute and a button!
The edges of the scripture and heart image are lightly distressed with an edge distressing tool and the stitching, why that's fake sweetie :o)

God Bless You,

Office...Sweet...Messy...Cozy...Office

For some reason, my office currently looks like an explosion happened in here LOL. I tried to take a few minutes to pick up, and I think I just made matters worse!! Thankfully the french doors will be up by the end of the Summer, then I will be able to just close it off from the rest of the (messy) house :o)

It's time again for Scripture Saturday and CASE Artist Saturday over at Christian Paper Crafts! I am excited to show you my little creations today, as always...

First off, our featured artist today is twin2u2. You can visit her gallery by clicking her name, or clicking here. I am sure you will find lots of inspiration there, remember, keyword CAS52 if uploading into a gallery at Christian Paper Crafts and CPC-CAS52 if uploading somewhere else.

This card uses cardstock from PaperTreyInk, along with patterned papers from Hobby Lobby. The stamp is from Unity, in the Ippity line of stamps, which I sell for Relay for Life. You can find out more about that here. I colored the sweet little bird in with Copic Markers and the flower in the corner is handmade, too! The lace, now that lace is pretty special to me. You see, my three year old Abby has a new fascination. Wanna know what it is? She is truly a girl after her momma's heart, as she has taken up the hobby of "tea staining" and LOVES it!! Seriously. To keep her entertained for hours, brew a cup of tea, allow it to cool, and supply her with lace, ribbon, etc to "color"! My husband is truly amazed that I constantly find ways to keep her involved!

Next up, is my project for Scripture Saturday today (Keyword SS45 at CPC and CPC-SS45 everywhere else). The scripture for today is 2nd Chronicles 7:14 - "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." With the way things are in the world today, isn't it amazing that there in the Bible is the solution, but mankind as a whole will not follow it?

The cute layout comes from the sketch over at 2Sketches4You this week. Today I used PTI cardstocks as my base, and layered on some of the same Hobby Lobby papers that I used in my card for CASE Artist Saturday. I also added a prima that has pearls for the center. I went for the older papers because they remind me of my grandmothers. They were so true to this verse, and apparently people of their generation were truer to it than those of the current generation.

I hope you have a wonderful Saturday!

God Bless You,

Finally Friday :o)

I am so happy that it is Finally Friday!! I have been so busy with work this week, I am actually excited about the chance to catch up on some homework :o) Oh, and some housework too LOL!
My first card today is made following the sketch over at Die Cuts R Us' A Crafty Little Place! I love their sketches, they are always such fun to work with!

For this, I used PTI carsdtock along with My Mind's Eye Papers. Hawaiian Shores Ink (by PTI), buttons, lace, and jute!
Next up is Fun on Friday over at Christian Paper Crafts! And guess what, we have a guest hostess today so hop on over and check it out! Today's challenge....Anything altered! Everyone who knows me knows that one thing I love to do is write! You would think that as much as I do write, my handwriting would be better than it is LOL... I write all the time, making notes, writing lists, etc... Papers are PTI and Cosmo Cricket, I used Copics, PTI Vintage Picnic and Take Note Stamp Sets, and CTMH inks!
This is the first time that I have played along with the SplitCoastStampers sketch challenge. All the stampers over there are so wonderful, it can feel intimidating at times! I don't know why I chose to start with this one though, I have such trouble having anything crooked on purpose :o)

SC280. All papers are PTI, lace was tea stained by me and Abby :o) and the Ippity Butterfly was colored with Copics :o)
Have a great weekend!

God Bless You,

Rockin' Thursday

As busy as my agenda is for today, I didn't know what to call Thursday, but I thought since I am starting it off crafty, it must be pretty 'rockin'!

The Christian Paper Crafts Blog Hop yesterday where we featured Magenta Style Products was a total hit! If you missed it, just scroll down one post, or click here.

I usually do not like to use my own handwriting on a card if it is a whole verse or something more than one word, however I decided to go ahead and give it a whirl on here. All of my cards lately are going to the Prayer Shawl Ministry at our church, so I think a little personalization might be just the key :o) Plus, making all of these cards for the shawls has been an EXCELLENT excuse to paper-craft and buy more supplies!

As you see, the verse on the card is Matthew 8:3, which is talking about Jesus' healing hand. The Bible Verse Thursday challenge over at Christian Paper Crafts today is about "hands", so I thought this would be a wonderful verse to use on a card accompanying a Prayer Shawl. My wonderful sketch came from DigiDoodles and the colors are from the Stampin Sisters In Christ blog.

Items used: Randon Paper Scraps, PTI Kraft, Brown, and Rustic Cream CardStock, fabric trim, cuttlebug, CTMH ink, Ippity Stamp, bling, edge distressing tool.

Have a wonderful day! Remember, it's almost Friday! :o)

God Bless You,

Saturday Joys...

Today I have a couple of little creations to share with you. The Prayer Shawl ministry at church is such a blessing not only to those of us who are creating the shawls, but also to those who are receiving them. Here is another shawl that I created with prayer this week. I am not sure who it will go to, but it is full of prayers.

I created it using Peaches and Cream brand yarn. I had never worked with it before and it was oh so easy to use!

Over at Christian Paper Crafts, today is both Scripture Saturday and CASE Artist Saturday. For Scripture Saturday, our verse is Psalm 29:11. I decided to make an ATC for my ATC holder that sits on my desk at work. I thought this little verse is a great reminded of what God does for us, especially on days we need reminded the most. "The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless Hid people with peace".

The featured artists today for CASE artist Saturday is Rose Miller. You can see Rose's gallery at CPC by clicking here. The card I decided to CASE today can be seen by clicking here.

After I started on this card, I realized that I used the same color combo and papers that I did for last weeks CASE that I did!! I guess it just shows that I am in a "Summer time" mood and these colors scream Summer to me and beg to be used!!

Last, but definitely not least is something that I did not get to do as often as I would have liked while in school... Play with the sketch over at 2Sketches4You!! It was such fun to create with them again! :o)

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all of the women out there! My mommy's gift is sitting in my bedroom, begging to be given to her today, but I will *try* to wait until tomorrow ;o)

God Bless You,

Happy Graduation Day!

Yes, that would be today! I am officially a graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University with my Bachelor's of Science in Nursing degree. Although I have been a nurse for years, finishing my Bachelor's degree was the first step in achieving my dream of obtaining my Masters to be a Nurse Practitioner! IWU is a Christian school, which was so cool because the first college I went to also had a Christian emphasis. If you couldn't tell, I'm a little excited!

Being in school, having a family, and working full time was enough to make the blog take a back seat every now and again, but when you coupled that with the fact that I decided to take all accelerated courses to finish quicker (what was I thinking?) and having technical issues, well.... The techno issues won out and I didn't have as much time to fight with them :o( Back now though :o)

Some things that have been going on before we get to the crafty business of it. The church where I attend now has a Prayer Shawl Ministry that I am blessed to be a part of. Here is one of the shawls that I crocheted for the ministry. We present them to those who have a need, whether it is physical sickness, emotional, those suffering loss, etc. This one is made for a special friend's sister-in-law who is fighting breast cancer. She is a courageous Christian and is trusting in God for her healing. Please join me in praying for her, especially as she is only 35 and has three young children as well as a spouse.

And my scrapbook room got an updo! I never really knew what to call it to be honest because it didn't have a door or even a doorway, it was just sort of an extension or bonus space off to the side of our family room that the contractor never finished converting into a bathroom (before we purchased the house), so my sweet hubby decided to build me a wall and buy me some french doors for the place and call it my office! He thinks office is a good term since I am waiting to hear whether or not I am accepted into grad school for the fall! I love the new color and furniture! Finally, everything matches and it is not a messy hodge podge of stuff! (I looked for a "before" picture, but was unable to find one....it was a horrid mess, so I am not sure I would have wanted to post it if I would have found it!) The area is very small as you can tell, I think the room is around 8x8, but it is serving it's purpose :o)

Now, on to the paper-crafty goodness! Today is of course Scripture Saturday and CASE Artist Saturday over at Christian Paper Crafts! If you have not stopped by and become a member, I urge you to do so. If you are unfamiliar with CPC, check it out, you will not regret it!

Our featured artist today is Bernadette. The card of hers that I decided to CASE can be seen by clicking here. When I saw the little squares, I immediately thought of quilting and fell in love! This card also follows along with Cindy's Fun on Friday challenge for yesterday (FOF51). You can read all about that here.

In the picture below, you can see a better close up of some of the detail! I used PTI cardstock along with Cosmo Cricket! Unity Stamps and copic markers.

Next is what I created for Scripture Saturday. I love to keep verse close by whether in my office at work or my new office at home. I find that if I begin to get aggravated, I can grab my ATC holder and look through it... A smile and prayer comes up in no time after that! Today's Scripture is Proverbs 3:13, from any version you chose. I am more familiar with the King James or New King James version, so those are what I use the most. I also decided to use a little Fun on Friday theme on here as well! I hope you enjoy!

Have a wonderfully blessed weekend,

God Bless You,

Oh What A Day...

And it isn't over yet. I apologize for this blog post being so late, but the day has just went nonstop unscheduled!!

This first card is for Fun on Friday over at Christian Paper Crafts yesterday and follows this week's 2 Sketches 4 You sketch!

The scrapbook page, well just imagine there is a picture there. I could not find the one I was looking for at all, but there is going to be a picture of me and my daddy there as soon as I do find it :o)

Supplies used today include My Mind's Eye cardstock, PTI cardstock, CTMH ink, {ippity} stamps, and Unity February Kit of the Month stamps! The scripture under the stamped sentiment on the scrapbook page is Psalms 119:1 from Scripture Saturday today at Christian Paper Crafts!

Have a wonderful day!!

God Bless You,

Mary

Happy Birthday Princess Abby

Well, Princess Abby is still in the bed, but it is her birthday! We will {hopefully} be celebrating with cake, cookies, ice cream, pizza, etc... later today if the snow stops :o) We're so tired of snow here in Eastern, Ky!

Today is Scripture Saturday and CASE Artist Saturday over at Christian Paper Crafts! Our Scripture today is Proverbs 4:23 and our featured artist is GCGirl57! Here is my project for CASE artist Saturday! It also follows this weeks Tuesday Sketch, and the PaperGarden challenge for this week - let's kiss Winter goodbye!!

This card also uses one of the NEW stamp sets from {ippity} - Musice of My Heart! To get yours AND help the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, click here!

God Bless You,
Mary

Happy Me!

Today I am very happy! Up very early, after going to be very late, snow in the forecast (I strongly dislike snow)...but still VERY happy! You see, this week I had what I consider to be a WONDERFUL apt at my hematologist! Cleared for another 6 mos and I am praising God!

I hope to be back to our nice, warm home before the snowfall begins...hopefully we will not lose power this time and I will be able to fit in a whole lot of paper-crafting with a little bit of homework. Thankfully the housework got done last night...

This little number today follows three challenges! First - albeit very basic, is the square you see! Cindy's challenge over at Christian Paper Crafts today for Fun on Friday is all about die cutting machines. I really wanted to play along, but this card simply needed a square! I guess that goes to show you that even the simplest of functions can be done on the good ole' Cricut! Next is the ribbon! When I saw that the challenge over at Die Cuts R Us this week was to use ribbon, that had me hooked! With a little button and some jute - well, that's right up my ally (and yes, it was hard for me to NOT add lace in there somewhere!)! Lastly, this wonderful sketch is from none other than 2Sketches4You! The cardstock is Gina K, and the patterened paper is from the Blush line by Basic Grey. Wal-Mart is responsible for the silk ribbon, button and sentiment (Heart Prints Sentiments) are from PaperTrey Ink! Oh, and I used the Victoria folder to emboss my square on my cuttlebug!

Just since it's Friday, here is a little sneak peak at something special I am working on for Valentine's Day! I'll tell you more about this project NEXT Friday - which give you plenty of time to try it for Valentine's, too!

Have a wonderful weekend & God's Blessings to You,

Scrapping Sweets

The month of January is quickly coming to an end, but we have had so much fun playing with GinaK goodies at Christian Paper Crafts.

When it comes to Valentine's this year - why not think of someone other than your normal sweetheart? My favorite scrapbooking buddy is my mom - and what scrapbooker wouldn't think this kind of candy is not better than chocolate?
The box is a timeless template purchased at PaperTreyInk and the stamp is Gina K from the Festive Labels collection. The small pillow box of buttons is also from Gina K and can together with scrap paper to make a small gift. All the fabric flowers are handmade by me.

Well, I must run - it will be a long day at work with an evening meeting and snow on the way tomorrow! I'm happy to say that next week I hope to have my new blog more up and running and be more recovered from the battery issue :o)!

God Bless You,