May Card Chain Challenge- Now Hosted by Lily Pad Cards!!

If you were wondering where the Card Chain Challenge went, wonder no more....it has a new home at Lily Pad Cards! It also has a brand new format so make sure you go HERE BEFORE you sign up...because that's the part that changed!
So because I read the directions, I know I had to make my card first, then post it to my blog (or photo gallery) and then sign up back at the Lily Pad using a link to this post!
I used the sketch, with some slight creative alterations and I mostly stuck to the color combo.....

I love this new Melody Ross-Unity Stamp set called "Brave Girl Boots"....you can find it at Stamp Fever.
Papers are Basic Grey: Sweet Threads and Kioshi. Old Letter Writing by Hero Arts anchors the sentiment and the girly boot.
Now I can't wait to see who I will be sending this to....maybe you!

~ 1 John 2:5 ~

Whoever keeps His word,

truly the love of God is perfected in him.

blessings,

nancy

Lily Pad Cards and Lawn Fawn Fun

(So sorry I'm a bit late with posting this....stayed up all night to watch the Royal Wedding!)

I have been busy writing blog posts and making cards...unfortunately not for my own blog. It's the case of the cobblers kids going without shoes. But I am enjoying all the challenges my new job brings.
I got together with Ivy and Kelly Marie a couple weeks ago to make cards....75 of them. We had a great time....so great in fact that despite having my camera with me I failed to take even one photo of our assembly line card extravaganza. It was a Lawn Fawn day and I gotta tell ya, I love those happy stamps!

I made this card for my sweet daughter-in-love to send to a friend...in case you hadn't heard she is expecting a little boy around the end of August. I'm really starting to warm up to the idea of being a grandma.

Stamps-Lawn Fawn: Plus One, Teeny Tiny Backdrops. Hero Arts: Houndstooth

~ Romans 12:1-2 ~

And so, dear brothers and sisters, 

I plead with you to give your bodies to God 

because of all He has done for you.

Let them be a living and holy sacrifice -

the kind He will find acceptable.

This is truly the way to worship Him.

Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world,

but let God transform you into a new person

by changing the way you think.

Then you will learn to know God's will for you,

which is good and pleasing and perfect.

blessings,

nancy

Easter Blessings

As is my usual, I waited until the very last minute to make cards to celebrate Resurrection Day. It wasn't until the last minute that I finally came up with an idea that I liked. So happy I just acquired some new Lawn Stamps, they really sparked this idea.

The inside says, Indeed! I used Smitty's ABC's for the sentiment and the photo frame from Say Cheese. I raided my paper stash to find papers to match the pictures. I found all the sunrise photos in clip art. I sized them in Publisher and printed them on Matte Coate card stock. The photo frame was stamped on that card stock as well. The finishing touches are tiny butterflies from a little packet of Cosmo Cricket Doilies and Butterflies with a Hero Arts gem. I made 6 cards here's the rest:

"I AM the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd sacrifices HIS life for the sheep.”
John 10:11

He is Risen...He is Risen Indeed!

blessings,

nancy

It's time for another Lily Pad Card Challenge

I love this challenge because it combines a perfect sketch by the lovely Lucy:

with some perfectly wonderful stamps by Penny Black! 

 For some reason, when I saw Lucy's sketch I thought of a bulletin board. And the Penny Black stamps made me think of travel photos taped to a bulletin board, it was a match made in crafting mojo heaven, by cracky!

How-to:

• Stamp Paisley Outline with Stormy Sky Distress ink on cream cs panel cut to  4 x 5.25.
• Distress the edges with Antique Linen Distress ink.
• Stamp the decorative border from the Thinking of You set on opposite corners.
• Stamp 3 images from Thinking of You on white cs.
• Paint the images with Distress inks and trim like a photograph.
• Arrange the images on the background and adhere in place. Add decorative tape.
• Adhere the panel to a gray card base.
• Wrap silver cord around card creating the diagonal shape from the sketch.
• Tie resin flower embellishment to center with black crochet thread.

Supplies
Penny Black- Stamps Paisley Outline, Thinking of You "T for Transparent" set. Paper- Storm Med.
Distress Inks in a variety of colors.  Pink Paislee Artisan Tape- Black Dot. Blue Moon Beads Resin Flower (gift from Stampersuzz, thanks again) Silver cord from Stamp Fever.

~ 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ~

"Watch, stand firm in the faith, be brave, be strong.

And do everything with love."

Easter Blessings,

nancy

Lily Pad Cards- Globecraft Memories Challenge

The Lily Pad Cards Design Team was given the opportunity to play with some fabulous new products from Globecraft Memories. There are cards with die-cut frames and globes to allow for 3D embellishments and the heavy memory frames for displaying 3D memorabilia. Love these wonderfully unique products. Please visit the Lily Pad Cards Challenge blog for all the product and challenge details.

The first project was made using a Globecraft Memories card frame with an oval globe.

I used some Webster's Pages papers with a K& Company dimensional bird and flower sticker on this card. Those great rolled flowers were a gift from my friend Sarah in Belgium.



For this card I used the die-cut Globecraft Memories frame without the globe....

I stamped and paper-pieced the adorable stamp Destination: Happiness from Unity Stamp Company using papers from Cosmo Cricket Togetherness. The frame was originally white so I used some Antique Linen Distress Stain so it would match the papers.

This last project was something I had been wanting to make for a couple years but just didn't know how to do it until this incredible Globecraft Frame arrived in the mail. I have collected all of Ben's Marine Corps emblems, awards, tags, etc. to make a scrapbook but everything is so dimensional that a page layout wasn't the best choice. I am so thrilled with how this turned out....I even got an assist from the former Marine to display a few of the symbols of his accomplishments in the military.

The papers are from K&Company US Marine collection....everything else is from Ben! The tag with the flag is from the Shields of Strength ministry. On one side is a prayer and this side has the Bible verse that I prayed for Ben while he was deployed in Iraq.....

~ Joshua 1:9 ~

"I will be strong and courageous.

I will not be terrified or discouraged;

for the Lord my God is with me 

wherever I go."

blessings,

nancy

Card Samples for Rubberstamping 101 Session 2

Boy did I agonize over these....nothing like waiting to the last minute to get them done! I'll be teaching the second session of my series on basic stamping this Saturday at Stamp Fever. Our focus this week is adding layers with patterned paper and adding details. As always, I'm all about simplicity.
Here's the samples:

This card uses my favorite Unity Stamp Company stamp. I spent many happy summer vacations traveling the country with my family and our little camping trailer that looked just like this one!

This one uses one of Shari's sketches for the Hero Arts challenge this month. It was just the inspiration I needed to finally get this sample finished. I used the Large and Small Solid Flower Cling stamps and a sentiment from Find Joy clear set.

Because I'm embarking on a new career adventure I thought I'd share this C. S. Lewis quote:

"You are never too old to set another goal, or to dream a new dream."

~ Psalm 119:7 ~

"As I learn Your righteous regulations, I will thank You by living as I should."

blessings,

nancy

Masculine Birthday Card

Since we have been having some rainy weather it inspired this observation of my life: When it rains, it pours!
After being mostly unemployed for a year and a half, I now find myself busier than ever with 4 jobs. And there is even a chance that more than one of them might actually become a paying gig! But when I say I'm busy, I mean I haven't had this many plates spinning in a long time. The only bad thing is that my wardrobe consists mostly of pajamas and I've gotten kinda used to wearing my "soft clothes".

This card is a testament to my ability to multi-task. I needed a card for my next Rubberstamping 101 class and yesterday was Ben's birthday. And even though I just made this today, I'm not late because we aren't celebrating his birthday until Sunday. And if that's not enough, the challenge theme at Hero Arts is masculine cards, well there you have it, this card is a three-fer!

I really love the combo of brown, cream, blue, red and a touch of black. It's a great combo to use for masculine cards.  I used a combination of papers from K&Company, Graphic45 and Fabscraps. The letters are Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type. The car stamp is from the Going clear set from Hero Arts and the birthday sentiment is from Essential Messages (yes, I was finally brave enough to cut a clear stamp; the operation was a success, the patient and the surgeon survived). I colored the car with Copics...still not that good but I'm undeterred. I added a bit Glossy Accents to the windows and headlights. The finishing touches are a scrap from a previous project and 2 little ancient tag stickers from my stash. Yes, my baby is 24, where does the time go?....no really, I want to know, I'm going to need to find some extra time somewhere.

Thanks for stopping by I love your visits....please leave a comment so I know you were here!

~ Philippians 4:13 ~

I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength!

Amen to that.

blessings,

nancy

Lily Pad Cards Color Throw-down

You do not want to miss this: the queen of color herself, Kathy Racoosin has thrown down this color challenge over at Lily Pad Cards:

Those colors shout summer and fun in the sun...can you hear them? It should have been the perfect opportunity make something with a beachy-sunny theme. But as is my usual process...I looked around at what was out already. So I grabbed some new Hero Arts sets and made a couple cards. I tested and played with ink colors until I had a combo that was close to the challenge colors.

For the citrus-y ice cream I used Memento dye ink in Tangelo, Dandelion and Pear Tart. I applied the color direct to the paper until I got the saturation I wanted. Then I stamped the image, from Life of the Party on each color. For the blue text background I used Hero Arts Shadow ink in Soft Pool and Distress Ink in Stormy Sky. I added Baby Blue Stickles to the cones and a scallop punched piece of paper from the Basic Grey Life of the Party 6x6 paper pad.

For this card I started with Hero Hues Designer paper in Sunshine, using it for the card base. I used the same ink from the previous card to stamp the images from Patterned Flowers and Luscious Frames randomly over the Canvas Stripe background. The scalloped border was punched from a scrap of white cs that I colored with Pear Tart Memento Dye ink using direct to paper. The sentiment is an SRM sticker.

Make sure you head over to Lily Pad Cards to get all the details and join in on this Color Throw-Down Challenge.

~ Psalm 46:10 ~

"Be still. And know that I am God."

blessings,

nancy

Another Attempt at a Scrapbook Page: Lauren and Reece

Over a year ago I won the most fabulous set of My Mind's Eye papers and embellies on the Wee Memories blog and I immediately fell in love and hoarded them. I took them out yesterday to begin an 8x8 layout for my great-niece's first birthday. I guess it's really a gift for her mom, but Reece is only one, I'm sure she won't mind.

The beautiful papers are from the Sundress line in the Laundry Line collection. I thought the colors were perfect for the photo. I gave Lauren the little Madras plaid dress for her baby shower. I just adore this photo taken last August when Reece was 5 months old.

It's just a simple little page and I left the journaling piece blank so Lauren can write her own thoughts. I'm giving the rest of the kit to her along with an 8x8 album, hoping to inspire another paper crafter in the family!
I used two Hero Arts stamps:Leaf Flourish (a favorite of mine) stamped in green on the title piece, and Write Your Own for journaling. Happy Birthday Reece...and Happy Scrapping Lauren!

~ Philippians 4:19 ~

"My God shall supply all your need

according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

blessings,

nancy