Cards, Cards, Cards

So busy finishing cards to mail to The South Carolina Juvenile Justice System. That is just one of the places I send cards to encourage others. I am so thankful that God has given me the gift of encouragement. I love to learn new things and apply them to my card making skills.

This card is called, a gate fold card. I just loved this set of stamps and the paper I used. Sometimes it's the paper I begin with and other times it's the stamps.  It's a process that usually for me doesn't have a set plan in my head. The card takes shape as I go along.  Sometimes card making starts from seeing a fellow stamper's work. Then I take it and change things to make it my own.
 Other times, I design the card from a starting point.

This is another gate fold card, but a bit different. The sentiment is on one of the sides, I love this paper and thought it would make a cute card.

This is a challenge card from SCS. The idea was to make a clean and simple card with bright summery colors. We were to make a card that said, "summer" to us.
For me, summer is all about beautiful flowers and butterflies and hummingbirds enjoying those flowers.
Our butterfly bushes are beginning to bloom. I can't wait to see the butterflies enjoy those flowers.

This card was for today's color challenge. We were to use eggplant, watermelon and soft sky. The challenge further stated to make something other than flowers with this combination of colors.
I love to make quilt cards and found this here.

This card for for the 'featured stamper' challenge Sunday. The pink card was my inspiration. I changed the stamp, colors, and sentiment to make it my own. I used ribbon instead of card stock behind the sentiment.

The next card was for the inspiration challenge Saturday. The inspiration is first, then the card I made.
I used the punch for this shape and put the pieces together like a quilt. Then I dry embossed the card front. Then I added the sentiment.

This card was from the Inspiration Challenge as well where the inspiration was triangles.

More babies have arrived! Tim found another nest Monday in our front tree.  We watched as mama robin brought a worm to her little ones in the nest. I felt like a little kid watching this. The beauty and wonder of nature is always amazing to me. God is all around us,  bringing such beauty into our lives.

Verse of the Day: Fruit of the Spirit-How do you show you are a Christian? Do you have fruit that is a result of Jesus in your life?

This is a wonderful version of this song. Jesus is the name we should magnify. Take a listen and see what you think. I kept singing this when I first heard it.

Blessing of the Day: Tim and I rearranged the furniture on the back porch and found a new place for things and agreed on it instantly! That's not something that happens too often! LOL

I was tired today and took several naps on the back porch. I guess that's what retirement is all about.

Thank you for stopping by.

Blessings,

Summer, Flowers, and Happy Dance

                                             
When it comes to Summer, two of the prettiest things to see are butterflies and hummingbirds.  Our butterfly bushes will be opening soon. The bushes get about 5 feet tall and fill with gorgeous flowers. The hummingbirds have been hanging around here since May. I never get tired of seeing them.

                                                  
This is a card I made with Jane's stamps. I toyed with getting this stamp set and didn't get it. Clearly I should have. It was so easy to make a beautiful card.

This is a three-step stamping set. I'm not sure I did it well, but I gave it a shot.  I should try this again and just use the detail stamp and color the flowers myself instead of stamping the color onto the flower and leaf areas.

This is the same set as the first card. This is one of my favorite stamps in that set. I love purple flowers.

This card was made for the sketch challenge I am not sure I like it but I gave it a shot.

This challenge was to use old wood.  I weathered the chairs and deck. I broke a few rungs of the chair too. I sponged the water and sunset with distress inks. I added clear Wink of Stella to the water.

Verse of the Day:

This is my kind of song. The different dancers used were funny. I hope you enjoy it. MercyMe said they made it to have fun. They love seeing their kids dance to this song.

Blessing of the Day: I got to make lots of cards today. Jane came to stamp today. I got to spend coffee time on the porch with Tim.  It felt like we were on vacation somewhere. We were watching the birds, having coffee and had a quiet breeze going past us. Thank you God, I know it was all you.

Thank you for stopping by.

Blessings,

Kitten, Cards, Fireflies, and Trusting God

Here's our silly Chloe all curled up in the Stampin' Up, pop up garbage can on my desk.  She had enough room to go in and turn around. We never know what she is going to do. LOL

 Today the challenge was to make a beach scene.  I sponged the beach and added grass. Then I added the water. I applied transfer gel to the water stamp with a sponge, then stamped. The foil sticks to where the glue is. I sanded the foil a bit to soften it.
I sponged the sky then added the sun's color. Lastly I added the birds. I know the beach isn't in my immediate future, but I can dream!

This is a stamp from Jane's stash. I stamped it Saturday then colored it and made it into a card over the weekend.

This is Stampin' Up's birthday die. I cut it on double sided taped paper, then added dazzling diamonds.

This is another card I made from Jane's stamp. I'm trying to use as much designer series paper as I can. It sure does add interest to the card.

Tim and I sat out on the porch just enjoying the cooler evening when we began to see lights in the woods behind our house.  This is similar but not what we saw. We saw lots of lights going on and off in the woods. It was like an incredible light show just for us.  It was just amazing! We'd never seen that many fireflies in one place. Thank you God for the beautiful light show.


Verse of the Day:
Zephaniah 3:17, “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” (NIV)

Have your ever thought of God taking 'Great Delight' in you? The God of the universe would even care about me is mind-boggling. This is what I come back to when my mind hears Satan's lies. God loves me and I am his no matter what!


If I Trust In You is a new song and artist for me. I've included the lyrics below the video. Give it a listen and think about those words.  God is the only one to trust, over and over and over again.


If I Trust In You” Lyrics
Can I trust you with all my tears,
with all of my hope and all of fears,
Can I trust you with all of this pain,
the beat of my heart the blood in my veins,

And oh….
I’m barely hanging on

Will your arms reach out to rescue me
And pull me from the violent sea
If I trust in you? If I trust in you?
Will the hands that shaped eternity
Restore the light inside of me
If I trust in you? If I trust in You?

Can I give you the rest of my life
The best that I am
The sacrifice
Can I give you the last of my doubts
Will my faith hold up or will it drop out

Cause oh,
I’m barely hanging on

Afraid that I will fall apart
I’m under fire over and over again
But you pursue with all your heart
I’ll learn to trust you over and over again

Blessing of the Day: Tim helped me transplant flowers and plants on the back porch. We hung the macrame plant holders too.

We had our conference call with the lawyer. Not sure what will happen there. Praying God will bring our family together some day.

Thanks for stopping by.
Blessings,

The Simple Woman's Daybook Thursday, June 22, 2017

 

The Simple Woman's Daybook started here: 

 For Today June 21, 2017

Looking out my window it is cloudy and hot and humid.

I am thinking I should enjoy the pool before it rains.

I am thankful that God is right beside me calming me with all the things that I'm dealing with right now.

One of my favorite things is spending time alone with Ben or Sarah. Today Sarah and I spent time together celebrating her graduation from a 2-year college.

I am creating cards to be sent to the South Carolina Juvenile Justice System.

I am wearing pj's. Might be a PJ day!

I am listening to Christian music. It helps so I can find songs for my posts. I can also hear the ice cream truck slowing going down the street.

I am hoping that Ben and Sarah work things out between them.

I am learning that I have to 'let go' and 'let God'.

In my kitchen I haven't felt like cooking lately.

In my garden the tomatoes and strawberries are growing well in their protected cage made to keep the deer away from them.

A moment from my day-Chloe climbed in my Stampin' Up wastebasket and made it hers.

Today's challenge was to go to the beach.

Verse of the Day: I know this is well-known but it's a good reminder who gets the glory. There's nothing we can do on our own. Nothing.

I Will is sung by Citizen Way. Just listen to the lyrics. God shows how much He truly loves us. He loves all of us.

Blessing of the Day: We had our phone conference with the lawyer this morning.

Please continue to pray for Tim as he still doesn't have a job. It is very hard for him.

Blessings,

Lawyer, Cards, Word of Life

Tomorrow morning we meet with the lawyer to discuss things siblings have done to 4 of us. It's so sad that they have done and hidden so much from us. I'm praying for an act of God to help this family move through this and heal.  I saw this today and claimed it for myself today.

I saw this and thought it would be a pretty addition to any garden except mine. The deer would think I was catering meals for them! LOL Some day I hope to have something so pretty in my yard.

This is the card I made for today's sketch challenge on Splitcoaststampers. Not sure I like it. It was difficult to put this together. I kept changing my mind.

This is the card I made for a guy named Robert who is going through rehab and needed cards.  The inside reads,  after therapies, life is good. Work hard!

Today's Verse: What a beautiful prayer.


Here's a new one from Jeremy Camp. I loved the words and the beat. See what you think.


Blessing of the Day: Sarah and I spent the better part of today together. We were celebrating her graduation from Tri-C. It is a 2 year community college here in town.  She worked hard and now has a 2-year degree.  She's not sure what's next. We're praying for her that she finds something that moves her like being a teacher did for me.
I'd never  tell her to be a teacher now. Whew, what teachers are treated like, paid like, blamed for, isn't worth it at all.

Please pray for Tim and a job. He continues to apply and go to interviews.

Thank you for stopping by.
Blessings,

Cards, Cards, and More Cards!

Lord, I continue to trust in you  even though Tim still doesn't have a job, and my siblings continue to be hurtful. I come to you to lay my problems at your feet. I thank you for all you do for me and my family.
I know you have a purpose for me Lord. Right now I'm encouraging others by making greeting cards for them to receive or use. Thank you for allowing the desire to continue to do this to be so strong.

What's YOUR purpose in life? Have you discovered it yet?

This is one of those things where you just sit and absorb it for a minute, then you go, "Yup."

I've been playing with different ways to use my new distress oxide inks.  For these cards I used watercolor paper. I spritzed the paper then added ink with a brush and watched the ink spread out on the water and even mix.
I used my heat tool to dry them, then added stamping to them. I'm pleased with what I came up with.

Here is one more bird using the distress inks and a sponged background. I finished some elephant birthday cards for an assisted living center.

This is my card for the color challenge today. The colors were red, white, blue and smoky slate. This is a gate fold card.

Verse of the Day: This is so appropriate for me at this time in my life. With sibling issues, God is showing me what he expects of me.

This is a song that will keep your hands clapping and your feet tapping. See what you think. There ain't nothing gonna steal my joy.


Blessing of the Day: I got lots of cards done. I spent time with Tim and having been praying for my husband and family.

Thank you for showing up.
Blessings,

Father's Day 2017

I so miss you, William Anthony Porto. (DAD) Things are so sad without you. Father's Day is a bittersweet day for me. I miss my dad so much, yet I am so proud of the father Tim Craig is to our kids.

 I know some day I will be with you in heaven, Dad. It's hard to be without you here.  You were taken from us when you were only 57.  That was too young to leave this earth. You never saw your grandchildren, our husbands, our houses, or how we turned out, thanks to you and Mom.

With the difficulties I am feeling lately with siblings, I have to remind myself that it's God's job to judge others, not mine.  I need to find peace in my life and let God take on Satan's battles against me. I rest in God and know that He will protect me.

 This is the card I made for today's Featured Stamper Challenge.  The darling pig card is from Kelly's gallery. I changed it a bit and made it my own. The pig set is brand new from Stampin' Up.

This is for the Clean and Simple Challenge Today.  We needed to show sparkle and balloons.  You can't see the sparkle, but I used Wink of Stella on the balloons.  Isn't this elephant just so sweet?

 Here's the same elephant from the set, Bella With Balloons by Wild Rose Studio. This was the technique lovers challenge.  We were to use a word on our card that we wouldn't ordinarily see on a birthday card.
My card says, GIGGLE...(inside) blow out candles, eat cake, and enjoy your birthday.

Verse of the Day:

Yesterday I was discussing Grace. This song addresses it as well. This is a new artist for me. Give this a listen won't you.


Prayers please for Tim and I. Tim continues to go on interviews but no job yet. Pray for Tim that he doesn't give up hope. Help us to cling to God for all we need.

Please pray that my siblings will some day find healing and peace. What they have done has ripped our family apart. Only through God will we find healing.

Blessing of the Day: We had the kids over for Father's Day Dinner. At exactly 5 p.m. we had a huge storm roll in.  So, we taught the kids what a broiler is and where it is located! LOL

We enjoyed our dinner together and time on the back porch once the storm rolled out.

Thank you for stopping by.
Blessings,