SSiC Challenge #145

Hello dear friends and welcome to my place.  Draw up a comfy chair and stay a while.  Let me know you've been here so I cans top by your place as well.

Today I have a card for the new challenge at Stampin' Sisters in Christ.  Marilynn is our lovely hostess this week.  She has picked our challenge to go along with her verse which is

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."  Jeremiah 29:11

What an amazing promise from God's word.  The God of the universe is thinking about us.  He loves us and has great plans for us.  What a comfort that is because this world is big and scary.  My children are growing up and at times they have "growing pains".  They want to be adults but when they begin to spread their wings they can get scared.  Will their wings hold them?  Have they truly learned how to fly?  Alone?  Life can be scary for parents too.  But God gives us so many promises.  One that I love, that I think goes along with the verse above, is Psalm 37:3-5

"Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness.  Delight yourself also n the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass."

When we make God our focus He will guide us and direct us.  That is my prayer for each of my children.  That they would set their eyes on the Lord, desiring His will for their life.  When they do that I know He will bring about great things in their lives.  And that is my prayer for you today too.  Seek the Lord with all your heart.  Keep your eyes on Him and not on your circumstances.  God is bigger than any problem you may have.  Trust Him today. He will never let you down.

Marilynn has challenged us this week to follow her plan for your card.  She wants to see at least one circle or oval, two different design papers and at least one embellishment.  Our sponsor this week is the lovely Laurie over at the Doodle Pantry.  Her images are so adorable!  She is offering 3 digis of the winner's choice.  Won't you play along with us this week?  We'd love to see what you come up with!

I have used an image from Pollycraft called Chester Bubbles.  Pollycraft closed but the images can be found at Little Miss Muffet Stamps.  I'm not sure this particular one is available over there, but maybe they can help you out if you really want him.  I'm so glad I snatched him up before they closed.  He's such a cutie!

Isn't he adorable?  I used my Prismacolor pencils to color him in and sewed some beads to his cup for his bubbles!

The DP are from a DCWV stack called Nana's Nursery.  I added way more than 1 or 2 circles.  I got a bit carried away!

My sentiment says: Lose Your Troubles In The Bubbles.   My son came up with that and he was very proud of himself!  lol  He sort of laid claim to designing the front after we printed the sentiment.  I had to shoo him out of my chair more than once!

Here's the back.  Please be sure to check out all the lovely creations from the design team this week.  And consider joining us with your interpretation as well!

I think that's about it.  Thanks for taking a peek!

Blessings & Hugs

Michelle

Sweet Baby Invitation

Hello and happy day to you!   Boy is it a hot one here let me tell you!  I turned the air on in the living room to cool it down for my hubby before he gets home.  He usually works on a roof and comes home ready for a nap in the cooler air.

Today I have a card for the challenge over at The Shabby Tea Room.  There is a great picture for inspiration along with the challenge to make an invitation.

Isn't this photo delicious?  I was recently selected in the Top 3 at The Shabby Tea Room and won my choice of 3 digital collections from Janet at By Digital Paper.  You should go check out her shop.  I've loved her stuff for a long time, but now that I have figured out how to manipulate it a little and change the sizes I love it even more.  I'll be heading over there for some more goodies I'm sure!  Anyway, I used an adorable image from the set called Baby Buttons.

Her vintage images are so sweet.  I really love them.

I bought the DP last week at Hobby Lobby.  It was so great I didn't want to cover it too much.  It's by The Girls' Paperie and is called Vintage Whimsy.  The flowers and seam binding are from Wild Orchid.  The lace and ribbon are from my stash.  I punched the die from the Spellbinders set called Fleur de Lis. I still haven't figured out the technique for getting them to pop out of the die, but it's getting easier.  I mounted the die cut on a couple pieces of cardboard I wrapped with a thin piece of card stock so you couldn't see the cardboard.  I wanted the die cut to stand out from the DP without adding another paper.

 See that lovely DP?  What a treasure!  ;)  I made the writing panel on my computer.

The back.

I am entering my card in challenge at The Shabby Tea Room.

I think that's about it. Thanks for taking a peek.

Blessings & Hugs,

Michelle

Love You

Hello friends!  Thanks for stopping by.  It's a beautiful day here in New York.  I hope the weather is beautiful where you are too.

Today I have a card for the challenge over at Mo's Challenge Blog.  The challenge this week is "Straight from the Heart".  I had to think a while about this one.  When I was flipping through my large selection of Mo's images, this little sweetie caught my eye.  Doesn't it look like she's offering this flower straight from her heart?  It reminds me of my children offering me flowers they had picked from my flower beds when they were little.  :) She's comes from the set called 3 Baby Fairies.  It is such a sweet set!

 I colored her with my Prismacolor pencils and added glitter to her wings.

This delicious DP has been in my stash FOREVER!  I guess I was never inspired to use it.  The flowers and corner piece are from Wild Orchid.  The piece of fabric is a leftover piece of needlework linen I had in my stash.

 The sentiment on the inside is from Papertrey Ink.  Doesn't that fit the image?

And here's the back.

I am entering my card in the following challenges:

Mo's Challenge Blog - Straight from the Heart

I think that's about it.  Thanks for taking a peek!

Blessings & Hugs

Michelle

SSiC Challenge #146

Hello and welcome.  Grab a comfy seat, a cuppa and stay a while.  I'm so glad you are here.

I have a card for our challenge over at Stampin' Sisters in Christ this week.  Linda is our lovely hostess this week.  She chose our verse and our challenge.

 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another."  John 13:34-35

That is such a great verse.  And as a Christian I like to think I love.  And I do.  My husband, my children, my family, my friends...the people that are easy to love.  But what about those who are hard to love?  Those who get under my skin?  Those who have wronged me or my family?  Those who "mess" with my children?  (You know that mama bear syndrome, right?)  Do I love those people?  The Lord has been speaking to my heart lately that even when people are rude or mean to me or my family I still need to love them.  Not just say I love them, but act out that love.  Be kind to them.  Watch my tongue. Bless them when possible.  That's what really shows love.  "A soft answer turns away wrath,

But a harsh word stirs up anger."  Proverbs 15:1  Do I really love?  I want to.  And I'm working on it.  There are times I get very cranky since my accident (just ask my family), but I'm working on it.  I'm praying more and asking the Lord to help me truly show the love of Christ to everyone and not use my injuries as an excuse.  Because our Savior didn't use excuses when He was on the cross.  "Then Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."  Luke 23:34.  That's my prayer today.  To love like Jesus.  To be a light for Him, no matter what.

Linda gave us the challenge this time to use something new on our cards....how easy is that?  She left it up to our interpretation.  New supplies, new technique, you decide!  For me I used new paper (which I love!!) and I stepped out of my comfort zone with my stitching and DID NOT sew in a straight line!  As a quilter for many years I have worked very hard to sew in very straight lines with a very specific seam allowance.  (You can't piece a lone star or feathered star with sloppy sewing!)  I neither sewed straight, nor did I even try...and it was HARD!  lol  

Here's the inside.  That beautiful paper is so amazing it needed no further embellishment.  Its from MME and I got it at Hobby Lobby the other day.  I went in for 2 sheets of paper...  That's not what I got.  It was more like 50 sheets!  lol  They must have received a new shipment or something.  They had a ton of MME and they were so inspiring!  I'm finding it hard to get out of my studio right now!  I wanted to do something different with the writing panel so I stamped the edge with some old vintage looking stamps from SU and ripped the corner to see the DP underneath.  See the crazy stitching??  AAAHHHH!  Hopefully my sewing for the quilt shop this afternoon isn't affected  :)  hehe

Here's the back.  You can see that great DP and my stamps again!

Our fabulous sponsor this week is Digital Delights by Louby Loo.  They are offering one random winner 3 digital images of their choice!  So, please consider joining us this week.  We love to see what you create!

I think that's about it.  Thanks for taking a peek!

Blessings & Hugs,

Michelle

Hooray for the Red, White & Blue!

Happy almost 4th of July to you!  I love all things patriotic and I am looking forward to making red, white and blue food for my family this week!

I have a card for the challenge over at Sassy Cheryl's today.  The challenge is "Summer".  Summer makes me think of family, picnics, parades, and food.  Tomorrow we are having friends and family over for an early 4th of July picnic.  So, my card is very patriotic today.  I chose Sweet Little Avery from my collection of Sassy Cheryl images.  Her face is so sweet.  I would love to have this little girl come over and hang out with me sometime.

 I used my Prismacolor pencils to color her and inked and sewed my layers.  I used a small stamp from the dollar section at Joanns for all the stamping on my card.

 Here's the front.  The ribbons are from my stash.  I'm not even sure where they came from, but they fit the vintage-y type feel of my papers.  The DP were not patriotic, but I think with the addition of red they pull it off well and instead of being cute and whimsical they are a little more elegant.  I like how this turned out.  The flowers are all Wild Orchid.

Here's the sketch I chose from Sketch and Stash.  You could choose from their vast collection this week.  How cool is that?  They have some great sketches!

Here's the inside.  The stamps are great and I love the "feel" of this card. 

 I have a dear friend whose birthday is on the 4th.  This may be her birthday card this year.

 How cute are these stamps?

I am entering my card in the following challenges:

Sassy Cheryl's - Summer

Sketch & Stash - Sketch and the DP are brand new  ;) and the beads are way old!

Creative Inspirations- Anything

Cute Card Thursday - Patriotic

Top Tip Tuesday - Independence Day or Stars & Stripes

Shopping Our Stash - Red, White & Blue
Totally Paper Crafts - Use a Digi

I think that's about it.  I'm off to make some Patriotic Bark for tomorrow's picnic.  Thanks for taking a peek!

Blessings & Hugs

Michelle

Soft & Sweet Baby Card

Hello again dear friends.  Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you can stay a while.

Today I have a card for the challenge over at The Shabby Tea Room.  This is the sweet picture for inspiration this week.

They labeled the challenge this week "Soft & Sweet".  Before I saw the picture I immediately thought of a baby card.  The colors clinched that!  Last week I was in the Top 3 on their blog and I won some lovely, lovely, lovely digital collages from Janet at Digital Paper.  If you haven't visited her shop you really need to hop over there.  *sigh*  You will love her collages!  Picking my prize took a while.

This sweet baby was one of my choices from Janet's shop.  You can find it here.  This image is so adorable!  I just want to squeeze that baby!

The DP for this card is from MME.  I am in love with the papers I bought from them recently.  I'm already thinking about the next card and some more yummy papers!  I used the sketch from CLP.  I used it on my last card as well.  I forgot about their challenge blog for a couple months.  They have great sketches so I'm glad I found them again!  The blue dotted ribbon is from my stash.  I'm sure there are ribbon fairies that stop by every night and leave me little bits of ribbon.  I've decided every card has to have at least one ribbon on it somewhere!  I used long strips of tulle to make my roses and leaves.  The feathers, buttons and pearls are from my stash.

Here's the inside.  The sentiment is 2 stamps from an old set by Close to My Heart.  Fits perfect I think.

And the back.

The Shabby Tea Room - Photo Inspiration & Colors

CLP - Sketch

I think that's about it.  Thanks for taking a peek!

Blessings & Hugs

Michelle

Fairy Wishes

Hello lovelies!  Thanks for stopping by my little corner of blog land.   I'm so glad you're here and I always appreciate your comments.  Thank you!

Today I have a sweet card for the challenge over at Tiddly Inks.  The challenge this week is "Tickled Pink".  I picked the very sweet Lilli Claire - Make a Wish.  Christy has some adorable images at her shop.  I wish I had more time to create so I could use more of them!

I colored Lilli Claire with my Prismacolor pencils.  I added Stickles to her crown, her wings and her wand.  There's lots and lots on her wings.  I colored the wings first to add some shading then I added the Stickles.  I didn't realize the Stickles were so opaque! You can still see some of the shading, but not all.  Oh well  :)  Live and learn!

The floral DP is from my stash and has been around for several years.  I'm pretty sure it came from Joanns.  Its the only sheet I had and I'm glad to use it up!  It helps me justify all the paper I bought today...or something like that  ;)  I used the beautiful sketch over at CLP.  I may use it again before the month is over.  This card is very pink!  It's a birthday card for my aunt.  She actually loves blue.  I hope she likes this card!  The 3 little flowers at the top are actually stickers.  I've had them for a couple years also.  The challenge at Shopping Our Stash is to use stickers.  I never use them so I guess that made it a challenge for me!

I used the same sketch on the inside (if it isn't broken don't fix it right?)  The Happy Birthday stamp is an old one from SU.  I used a zig-zag stitch on some of my panels and I like how it looks.

And...here's the back.  Yup, I used the same sketch!  lol

I am entering my card in the following challenges:

Tiddly Inks - Tickled Pink 

CLP - Sketch

Shopping Our Stash - Stickers

Divas - Die Cuts

Fairytale Challenge Blog - Pastels

Papertake - Bingo (I used ribbon, free, blooms  AND die cut, free, glitter)

I think that's it.  Thanks for taking a peek!

Blessings & Hugs

Michelle