Dear Friends Are a True Blessing From God

A dear friend of mine always thinks of me when she sees sunflowers. She posted this on FB and tagged me. Not only did this make me smile because of the sunflowers, but the message really spoke to my heart.
I'm praying she feels better soon. She had a bout with diverticulitis and was very sick. This happened the day her son needed to have outpatient surgery.  Of course she was going to be with her 24 year old son.
She is a very strong Christian and is always encouraging those in her circle of friends. She is precious to me.

As I listened to Alistair Begg, this morning, he preached on True Friendship- Proverbs 18:22-24.
he said we are truly fortunate if we have a few close friends, including God. I truly have been blessed with dear, close friends.

This is a card I made for last week's color challenge. The colors were so saffron, terracotta tile, and Bermuda Bay. This is a new stamp/die set from Divinity Designs. I picked it up at the stamp show in Strongsville two weeks ago. Stamps and dies were 25% off!

This is a card we'll make in my October class. It uses the gorgeous wrapped in plaid designer series paper and the Stampin' Up stamp set called, Cup of Christmas.  The great thing about this stamp set is that two of the stamps are reversible!
Though these mugs are reversed, these aren't the mugs that are reversible. I will be showing my class how to stamp and use a reverse image. Cool huh?

This card also shows the front and back of this gorgeous designer series paper. I love the gold that runs through all of these papers in this pack.

Yesterday was National Coffee Day. How cool is that.  I made a card that I've wanted to make to show my class that this mug set can be used all year round.

                                      

I hope you can tell that these are mugs hanging from a cupboard with hooks. This mug is one that is reversible. I didn't want to reverse it on this card, because it looked weird. Can you tell that the hooks are made from the candy cane dies in the set?  I trimmed them down a bit. I love how this came out. This is the first time I've had something in mind, and created what I had in my mind!
Most times I start out with a set of stamps or paper and move along until it's finished. Each step of the way I'm making decisions about the project.

 Today was a warm day here in Ohio. Tomorrow will be 92 which will break a record of 88. The pool will remain open a few more days. It's heated, but tomorrow we won't need it. A few years after we moved in here we added the heater. We had young kids and wanted to get as much use out of the pool as possible. It's been a true blessing.
I can go in earlier in May and swim in October! Neighbors have closed up their pools already. Tonight Tim came out on the pool deck and we turned the backyard light on to illuminate the pool area. It was great. Now I know that I can swim past sunset with that light.
I just have to watch for bats!  No, seriously, I haven't seen any bats lately. Tim says they have gone south. We don't have bugs for them to eat now.

This verse makes me glad I know Jesus Christ. I know where I will go no matter what happens to me or this world we're living in. I had an interesting conversation with my doctor. I told her sometimes I don't worry about what I eat. It's a win-win for me. I eat what I want, and if I die because of it, I know where I'm going. There's a peace about that for me.

I did tell her that I'm not eating all I want, I'm eating healthy most of the time. Any pounds I can shed will be better for me.

Verse of the Day: 2 Timothy 1:7

This upbeat song featuring Brook Deleary aims to turn the listener’s perspective from focusing on difficulties to considering the good things God has in store on the horizon. 

Even when we go through difficult times, we can have hope. Our God can turn any situation into something for our good and His glory. So instead of staring at the tough stuff, we can thank God for the blessings to come!

This is Building 429 singing Blessing I Can't See. Give it a listen.

Blessing of the Day: Today Tim and I sat on the back porch and watched all the butterflies land on the flowers of our butterfly bush. It was amazing how many there were. It is a purple butterfly bush with lots of flowers still on it.


I also got good news from the dentist. Nothing to do but clean my teeth. That's always great news!

Tim sat on the pool deck tonight and talked to me while I was in the pool. We turned on the light so we could be outside longer. Our days of swimming will be soon gone. Tim enjoys sitting on the deck and talking. He doesn't like to swim for some reason.
Tomorrow a friend of mine will be here for swimming, dinner and card making! Wahoo! This is a dear friend that has blessed my life for many years.

Thanks for stopping by.
Blessings,

Fall is Upon Us

Whenever one goes through difficult times, it's always good to be able to call on Jesus for help.
This week I had two different friends who needed prayer. One needed prayers for her daughter and grand kids to be safe. The other needed prayers for health issues that are unknown at this point.

I am always happy to pray for them or with them. Many times I forget to encourage them with a card. That's what my gift is, encouragement. Last night I wrote out 4 cards to people and they were mailed this morning.
I also put all of the things in a box that ladies have been sending me, to South Carolina Juvenile Justice System. Thank you from my heart.
Now the kids will have punches of different kinds, cards/envelopes, holiday stamps, paper and stickers. There was such a variety of items donated that it was wonderful to see that stampers were anxious to donate to kids between 7 and 17 to help with their rehab plans and school work plans.

Many times the finished cards I send are used by the kids to write home. They can also be earned by completing homework, cooperating and participating in counseling sessions.
I need to remember that my family and friends need cards too.

                                          
This was the tomato I had for dinner tonight. It was straight from our garden. It was such a wonderful taste. There's nothing like home grown tomatoes.
                                                                
I never know where these two goofballs will end up. As much as the squabble, they can often be found near each other resting or sleeping.

 This week Tim and I brought the plants in from outside on the back porch. We transplanted some of them into larger pots. There is a lot of growth over the summer, so we hope they won't be in shock for long.

This is the back porch with only a hanging basket, which is an annual. It will stay there as long as the weather is nice. It is so sad to close things up for the fall.  The pool is still open! We have a heater. I've been swimming which has been so nice on these days that get to 80 or more.

Here are two of the cards I made using this tutorial. It uses Pressed Petals Designer Series Paper. There are two sheets of the paper that have images that can be cut into squares or rectangles to add to card fronts.

I love the washy tape that is flower petals. That's what the flower is made of on the right. It's petals layered in a circle to make a flower.

Jane came to stamp, Saturday and brought her card making dies. We went to the stamp show two weeks ago and she bought three different dies to make moving cards. This is the one I chose to make. I have to tell you, The die cuts and scores the card base. Then there are other dies that cut out the designer series papers. It was very  quick to put this together with the white card base and the designer series paper.
What took a long time was deciding what I wanted to do with it next!  LOL  I can see just cranking these out with different paper and greetings. You'd have a nice stack of cards in no time at all.
Thanks Jane, I always enjoy our time together.

 This is my card for today's two challenges. The technique challenge had us make a flip-flap card. The clean and simple challenge was to use candles. Here is a tutorial for the flip-flap card.
This is a fun image I got from a friend. She also had the sentiments. I couldn't resist using these for this type of card.

 Here is the inside of the card.  I will also put something inside the card base where I  can write a message.

I saw this movie Friday, when it came out. From the moment the music started, I was excited like I was going home again. The movie was amazing!



Verse of the Day: Proverbs 17:28


This is a new Christian Artist for me. He used to lead worship at Elevation Church in North Carolina and is now out on his own. I am touched by this song as it speaks truth about God loving us. No matter what we've done, he loves us always. It's the perfect song to listen to when you are feeling down or being attacked with negative thoughts.


Blessing of the Day: I got cards made today for South Carolina. They need 130 Thanksgiving cards. I am working on them little by little.
Tim and I had a nice time having coffee on the back porch.
Tim went to the 'man store'-Lowes then went to Walgreens to get my favorite popcorn. The popcorn was a welcome surprise. It's the little things, ya know.

Thanks for stopping by.
Blessings,

Peace Needed For a Friend

A dear friend sent this to me via FB. I wanted to share it here in case someone else needs to be reminded. It helped me.

 This is the corner of our room where we had a chair. Tim wanted to move the chair, so we added plants. We had  a high bed which needed steps to use. We lowered the bed and found we didn't need the steps, so I put them in our room with plants on them.  What do you think?

 This is the front of a card that I made using things friends gave me. A friend gave me lots of dry embossed sheets which I used as a background for this frog. I sponged the background then added the frog.

This is the inside of the same card. I was experimenting with a pop out card. I remember making these years ago before we had dies.  I think this little guy is just darling!

 This is the outside of another birthday card. My friend, Jan let me use her frog stamps. I experimented with punching out a shape and putting a sentiment inside that can be seen without opening the card.  I love that you can see frog fingers sticking out.

This is the inside of the card. I love the googly eyes on this frog and her gold crown. Did you notice the eyelashes on the eyes? These googly eyes come that way.

Verse of the Day: Psalms 82:3-4


Here's a song called, Fear No More by Building 429. Give it a listen.


Blessing of the Day: We got to see Rach today. I finished 26 Thanksgiving cards for South Carolina Juvenile Justice system today.

Please pray for my dear, friend, Val and her family. There are medical issues in her family that are serious.

Thank you for praying and stopping by.
Blessings,

Missing Patti, new stamp set and Big Daddy

Yesterday I attended Adventures in Stamping, the Stamp and Scrapbook Convention we have each Fall. I have to say, I was disappointed. There were fewer vendors. I spoke to a very popular vendor who has always been at this show. He said people were buying but small amounts. He said he hoped he got enough to cover the cost of the space he was renting.

I typically like to go about 1 p.m. The show is from 9-4. I like to go early afternoon when the crowds are gone and short people like me can see everything.  I've been to sales where people are 3 or 4 deep and I have no chance of seeing. I have to wait until  people leave an area I want to see.

I have to say this year was also sad because a dear friend that I always saw at the convention is no longer alive. We've always met at the show. She would be with daughters and a granddaughter. I half expected to see my friend, but knew it was just a memory.

I know she's happy in Heaven and wouldn't trade it for anything! I miss you so much Patti.


This is the stamp set and die I bought. I had wanted the die and when I saw the stamps with it, I knew I'd use it more with the stamps than without.
I am particular what I buy. I try to find unique things that I don't have. This die and stamp set can be used with images and other sentiments to encourage people. I can't wait to begin making cards with this set.


One of the booths I spent time in was, Inky Antics. I love many of their characters. Without many brick and mortar stamp stores with a variety of stamps, this convention is exciting to go through. You can see and touch things before you purchase.


This is my son, Ben and his wife of 6 years, Rachel. They were at Rachel's aunt's wedding yesterday.  They brought the two girls with them but they can't be photographed, so here's a picture of Ben and Rachel.

This morning our preacher was preaching from 1 Samuel 12.  It was interesting how Samuel made the people realize how God keeps showing His mercy when they fall away from Him. They begin to have idols instead of bowing down to Jesus. The people were in bondage, then they cried out to God, They were delivered from bondage, and soon they were forgetting about God. It was a cycle where God showed his unending Grace.

We may look at a story like that from the Old Testament and begin to feel 'better' than those people. We compare ourselves to them and believe we are no way near their level of sin.
Interestingly, we are EXACTLY the same as 'those' people. We too find ourselves in need of help from God, for decisions we've made. We fallen away from God. We cry out to God and wonder where He is. God delivers us from the predicament we've gotten our self into, then we too forget about God and begin the old ways again.

We should be thankful that God's grace is greater than our sin. We also will NEVER be abandoned by God, in spite of how we act.  Isn't he an incredible God?
God reminds the people and us, to stand still and consider what great things He has done for us.

Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 12:24

Blessing of the Day: We got to have the girls here for lunch while Ben and Rachel went with their class to lunch. It was only for a couple of hours and we had fun doing word searches and reading books.

I am praying that the sadness I'm feeling right now will end soon. I know it has to be God's will, not mine. 

Thank you for stopping by.
Blessings,
Bensarmom

We Remember 2019

I was chosen to be on the color challenge committee for September. This week's colors were pool party, pretty peacock and old olive.
I put designer series paper on my card base. Then I cut it to look like a house. I used a die to cut a circle in the house. I used 2 circle dies together to make the brown ring around the hole. I stamped a greeting and used the small oval punch. The large oval punch was used for the pretty peacock oval. I used the flower and leaf punches to make the flowers around the hole of the house. I added 1/2" strips to make the roof and bottom of the house. I traced the circle onto the inside of the card and made sure my bird's head was in that circle. The bird was colored with copic markers.

This was the first color challenge card for Sept 3rd where the colors were read red, granny apple green, call me clover
Hi everyone! I'm happy to be a guest designer this month for the color challenges. I stamped the trees full strength, then again to make them appear farther away. I colored in the trunks of the trees with marker. I stamped the moose and used the moose punch. He was added with dimensionals. I stamped and cut a red plaid scarf for the moose. I added plaid paper to the background.

 This is an image that will forever be ingrained in my mind when I think of 911. It was a terrible day in history. A friend visited a museum and saw parts of metal pieces from the twin tower's site and was sickened and saddened at the terrible loss due to the explosions and the diseases that were a result of rescue efforts.
She said a young boy next to her asked his 11 year old brother when it happened. It was then that she realized that this generation would only know this event as a historical event, not the tragic even we all went through. She likened it to Vietnam, WWII, or even the Desert Storm events. They are historical events to many and not the horrible loss if life that they were in reality.

People who lived through this terrible time know where they were when they heard it had happened. It was the same thing When John F. Kennedy was shot. People knew exactly what they were doing when that happened. It's a day that stands out in history.
My prayers are that those that lost so much will continue to be blessed and comforted and prayed for.

Chloe likes the new room. She also likes this old trunk. It gives her a vantage point from which to look from Phoebe. Chloe likes to play, Phoebe does not. So if Chloe jumps down from the trunk it sends Phoebe running with Chloe chasing her. Fun for one at least! LOL

Here is the inspiration for my card. This is for the Featured Stamper Challenge. 


I used different colors, different stamps and did not include a sentiment. When I need it, I'll add the sentiment. I wanted to make this type of card since I hadn't done it before. I stamped my own paper instead of using designer series paper.

 This was a cute picture I found on FB. A photographer took over 200 pictures to get this picture. Sweet image isn't it?

Verse of the Day: 1 Corinthians 10:12


This is a song by Matthew West called, Mercy is a Song. I hope you like it.


Blessing of the Day: Tim and I went to Menard's to look at tile, faucets and all the things needed for a bathroom re-do. I know some women are very concerned about all the fine details of this process. This woman isn't really. I'm happy giving an opinion then letting Tim take it and make it into the bathroom he likes. A room is just a room....Roles have been reversed here. Tim's into the details and I'm like, do what you like.

Thanks for stopping by today.
Blessings,

Card, Christian, Cat

Oh my, I came across this when I was going through cards tonight. This is the first card I ever made using the Stampin' Up set, Happy Fall, Y'all.  Sarah and I stamped and colored cards together. I used a light colored cardstock for the card. I can't believe how much I grown and learned about card making after all these years!

I still have this stamp set too. Sarah wouldn't let me give it away. I wonder if Sarah still has her first card somewhere too.

This is my card for this month's Crafters of Faith Challenge on SCS. We were supposed to make a card that had things you were grateful for.  I chose beautiful flowers and our chosen family. Thank you Jeanette for the wonderful challenge this month.

Here is my potting station made by my husband, Tim. I wanted a place I could pot my plants, thinking I'd get a table against the wall. Tim did an amazing job with this area. Wowzers he outdid himself with this. Thank you my sweet husband.

Tim sits in this chair and watches TV. Check out Chloe who sleeps on the blanket on the chair. She's almost sleeping on top of his head! LOL

Verse of the Day:Philippians 4:6


Here is a song by Tenth Avenue North called, Greater than all my regrets. Give it a listen.


Blessing of the Day: Tim finished my potting area. I got to go swimming today.

Thanks for stopping by today.
Blessings,

Got The Feeling You're Being Watched?

Got The Feeling You're Being Watched?
While I swam today, I got the feeling I was being watched. Yup, I was right! LOL

With September comes the last of summer days and back to school for many.  I don't like this time of year. The pool closes soon, then into the cool/cold days of fall/winter. Then Snow, which I hate. I like the way snow looks, but don't like driving in it. SIGH.....

Here is my 91 year old father-in-law, on the pool deck watching the grand kids and great-grand kids swim. The 3 year old invited him to swim. So precious!

Here are the 10 different cards we will be making for World Card Making Day. These cards will be donated to South Carolina Juvenile Justice System for Thanksgiving. There is a nice variety of cards. One of my favorites is the piece of pie with whipped cream.

The first card is a new stamp set with paper. The second card is a retired Stampin' Up set.

The first card is an old Stampin' Up set that I love because of the realness of the leaves.
The second card is a set a friend let me borrow. The set is called, Day of Gratitude.

The next card is one of my favorite sets, Painted Harvest. I love the sunflower look flowers it makes. These flowers are two-step stamping. The first layer was flirty flamingo then berry burst on top.
The second card is another card from the Day of Gratitude Stamp set.

These last two cards are also made from the Day of Gratitude set. That set comes with a lot of stamps. The thinking of you card sentiment isn't from this set.

So we got our bedroom put back together and miss Chloe was in charge. She supervised the whole thing. Isn't she just the sweetest thing?

While Chloe supervised, Miss Phoebe slept on the soft, new rug.

I'm not sure if you need this today or not. I have to tell you that I sure need this. I am trusting in the Lord because I can't change things that are going on here. God knows what's best for me. Just like a kid, I need to allow my heavenly father to guide me.

Verse of the Day: Micah 6:8


Here's a song from, The Afters called, I Will Fear No More. Give it a listen.


Blessing of the Day: A good friend helped me cut paper for a few of my cards for Monday's class. It's fun to catch up while we work.

I swam today. Tim and I weeded the garden and dead-headed the roses and butterfly bushes. I am tired tonight.

Thanks for stopping  by.
Blessings,