Four-Sided Tag

I was intrigued by Louise's Tag Tuesday Challenge to use the back of the tag to continue the design. I thought it would be fun to try a  digital hybrid 4 sided tag. It all started in Microsoft Publisher- my go to program for anything digi related. Here's how the tag started out.....

I used a tag template that I had created previously and grouped together 4 of them. Then I added papers from a digital kit, this is Farmers Market by Sande Krieger. (All digital kits were found it at 2 Peas.)  I layered on some Polka Dots from a Hero Arts digital stamp kit. Next I found a Teresa Collins paper with frames that I scanned, then I cropped the design so only one frame was visible. I copied it and placed one on each of the 4 sides of the tag. Then I created 4 text boxes and typed a verse from my morning Bible reading and layered those with the frames. Once everything was sized and positioned correctly I printed this sheet.
Once printed, I trimmed and scored the tag. Then I did some stamping, embossing, distressing and adding simple scrap embellishments. Here's the finished tag.....

The next 4 pictures show the sides in order....

Special thanks to Suzanne Czosek for the crown chipboard piece on side 3. I added color to it with alcohol inks and pearl and copper metallic mixatives. I had a few odd lengths of Hero Arts self adhesive lace ribbon and they were just the right size to dress up the tag. I finished it off with piece of elastic gold cording so it can be hung...possibly on a Christmas tree!

As we are all starting to think about Christmas I thought this verse was appropriate to remind us of the true purpose and meaning of the holiday. Here it is straight from the Lord Himself...
"I have come as a Light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in Me will no longer remain in the dark." John 12:46
Add another passage from the Gospel of John and you get a complete picture:
"For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him." John 3:16-17.
Blessings,
nancy

A Little Bit of Inky Vintage-ness

Yesterday, my dear friend and sister in Christ, Jacqueline challenged me to make something in a vintage style. I figured that would be a good idea and took the challenge. (btw~Jacqueline has been encouraging and challenging me in my Christian walk for over 2 years). I wanted to make something that wasn't just vintage but would also fit with the Hero Arts challenge for this month using inking techniques. So I assembled all the usual suspects....Webster's Pages paper, paper from a vintage French book, Hero Arts Artprint Flowers, my favorite stamps, Distress inks and Alcohol inks. I included some die-cut leaves from Barbara and Cheryl (they were so nice to make them for me at the Craft and Chat at Stamp Fever on Saturday, thanks ladies!). And here's the result....

The leaves have been inked with Alcohol inks in Butterscotch, Lemonade and Peach Bellini along with Pearl and Copper Mixatives. The flowers have been inked with just the Copper Mixatives.
The vintage book page was first clear embossed using the Fabulous Flourish stamp then inked with Black Soot Distress Ink. The paper was so brittle that it cracked and tore in really fun and interesting ways. A panel of Webster's pages paper was stamped with Old Letter in Weathered Wood Distress ink and the stitching from Sew Artsy in Frayed Burlap Distress ink. To finish I added an old French postage sticker, a piece of black and cream ribbon and some pearls.
So how did I do, Jacqueline? I certainly had a wealth of inspiration from your lovely library of vintage cards and collages.

Grace and Peace to you in abundance,
nancy

A New Stamp....

that just happens to be a favorite Bible verse. I used the color combo for the current Everything But the Kitchen Sink challenge #26 ( I really want to win the Lawn Fawn "Frosties" set). The verse stamp is from Stampendous, I found it at Stamp Fever on Saturday. I paired it with a favorite Hero Arts cling stamp- Garden Bouquet.....

.....which is stamped on PTI Smokey Shadow cs with VersaMark ink and clear embossed. Then I over-stamped it with VersaMark several times to add some texture and pattern to the background. The verse is stamped on white cs with Memento Tuxedo Black and the Garden Bouquet is over-stamped with Weathered Wood Distress Ink. I used Hero Hues Layering paper in Cerulean to make the card base, the punched border and to mat the sentiment. I used an EK Success Swirl border punch. TFL!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ~ "Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."

blessings,
nancy

October CCC

Hi all....I just realized it's been over a week since my last post! Bad blogger. Now that I've scolded myself for being neglectful in my blogging, let's get on with the task at hand.

I've been saving a post for the October installment of Deborah's immensely popular global card exchange; the Card Chain Challenge (click HERE to join the challenge for November, there's still time). I've been delaying it because I hadn't heard from my recipient that my card had arrived. I just heard from her and she hasn't received my card as yet due to a spate of natural disasters to hit her country of Indonesia.

Now usually when I hear of disasters and turmoil in other parts of the world I'll stop and pray, I usually send some money to World Vision to help with relief efforts, but it stays compartmentalized in another part of the world and doesn't really hit home. Well, the Card Chain Challenge put a name and a person to "the other part of the world" for me this month. That person is Indah Permata Sari and my heart and prayers go out to her. I know how annoyed I am when there is a problem and my mail delivery is delayed a few hours, I'm sure for Indah right now not getting mail is the least of her worries. So I will continue to pray and continue to expand my horizons of compassion and realize that there is a name and a story for each person who is dealing with tragedy or even just inconvenience caused by natural disasters. Please keep Indah and all of our friends in Indonesia and their families in your prayers.

After much thought I decided I would go ahead and post the cards for the October CCC for two reasons. There is the real chance that Indah may not ever get my card and at least she will know that I did make something special for her; and I wanted to share the extraordinarily lovely card I received from my new friend in Canada, Sharon Dunn.

First up is Sharon's card...it's completely yummy in it's elegant beauty....

Sharon used the challenge colors exquisitely and you really have to see that layered flower in person to appreciate it's lovely handcrafted beauty. Thank you, Sharon, this card is a treasure!

Now to my card....I tried something new and different with this card......

The Little Stencil Flower cling stamp from Hero Arts is stamped with Aged Mahogany Distress Ink on a page from a vintage Italian novel (which I found at Louise Granville's Etsy shop Time to Remember).
I tore the edges to size and added various distress inks to age the page even more. The flower at the bottom was clear embossed before cutting out and mounting with foam dimensional adhesive. I realize that my sentiment is very appropriate to the current circumstances.

1 Timothy 2:1 ~ "I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them."

Blessings,
nancy

How about a little Victorian Christmas card....

I don't know where I got the initial idea but it expanded into a creative storm and swept me up with it!

Believe it or not I started with a piece of bleached muslin fabric which I die cut into 3 scalloped circles of graduated size. The 2 larger fabric circles were spritzed with Cranberry Zing Glimmer Mist, scrunched into a ball and heated up a bit. Then I un-scrunched them and pushed them separately into a small strainer (used only for crafting) to give it a cupped shape and heated till dry. I did the same with the smallest circle using "RazzelDazzel" Berry- Shimmerz Mist. The 3 circles were layered and stitched together using a scalloped button and gold metallic thread.

I tied the green ribbon to look like leaves for the flower.

To make the card I started with a white cs panel and covered it with a blending of Spun Sugar and  Victorian Velvet Distress ink. Then I inked up Hero Arts Lace Background stamp (S5341) with Versamark ink and spritzed the stamp with Perfect Pearls in water and stamped over the cardstock panel. This is a variation of the technique used by Anette on THIS fabulous card. It was then trimmed, border punched, stamped with Holly Flourish Border (H5289) in Victorian Velvet and trimmed with thin strips of patterned paper.
All the patterned paper is from the Classic K collection from K and Company. I covered a white card base with a panel of pp. Then I trimmed another pp so it was not as wide as the base. This panel was stamped with the Lace Background as above, except this time I clear embossed it so it would stand out a bit more. Everything was then layered and adhered. I stamped the Cornish Heritage Farms sentiment on a pp scrap and distressed the edges with Victorian Velvet. As a finishing touch I added a bit of Aged Mahogany Distress ink to all the card edges.
Thanks for looking...

I wanted to share with you all a wonderful online Bible Study. I've been very blessed by the current study titled Renown, on the names and character of God. Stop by for a visit and let me know what you think! Here's the link  Click the link on the sidebar at Madabella to be taken to the overview, the study can be started at any time.

blessings to you!
nancy

Trying Something New!

I was inspired by Jacqueline's lovely card HERE to join in the challenge at Stampin' Sisters in Christ. Not only is it the first challenge I've done at this site, but this is also a first because the embellishing on this card is way out of my comfort zone. I've had the Zva rhinestone embellishment in my stash for a couple years but it always intimidated me. I decided to give it a try by pairing it with some wonderful Webster's Pages papers and my favorite Fabulous Flourish stamp by Hero Arts.

I computer-generated a favorite verse on prayer and printed it on white cardstock that I had pre-stamped with the Fabulous Flourish using Scattered Straw Distress ink. The flourish was also stamped on the yellow paper using Black Soot Distress ink. I know this is not really all that "flou-flou" as I didn't use any ribbon, but it took me hours to get the flowers and gems just right and to design the card specifically to use them.

Just for comparison, the following card is one that is pretty fancy by my usual standards.....

...I made this for my Mom and Dad in-law. They are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary today!
There is not one bit of bling but I love the rustic charm. I achieved the look of toile by stamping the HA Hydrangea with Tuxedo Black Memento ink. Then I used watercolor paint to fill in the background. When it dried I over-stamped HA La Letter. The patterned paper is from K and Company.

As I was doing a little study on prayer I found the verse I used for the card. I think it is excellent, practical advice for purposeful prayer. Remembering how God has answered prayer in the past leads to a thankful heart and increased faith to believe He will continue to hear and respond. Praying with an alert mind allows the Holy Spirit to guide and direct your prayers. Another verse that always fills me with peace when I begin to pray is Psalm 46:10 ~ "Be still, and know that I am God."
Blessings,
nancy

Two More Takes on the Decorative Ornament Stamp

Now I've made 3 totally different cards using Hero Arts Decorative Ornament stamp paired with the Simple Frame stamp. The first one yesterday was a bit of elegance with soft colors and gold embossing. The second card uses silver embossing and blue and purple color scheme. I also incorporated the Block Stamping technique I learned in a class with Sally Traidman.

The frame was stamped first on white cs, then I used a wavy edged acrylic block inked with Dusty Concord, Tumbled Glass and Stormy Sky Distress Inks then spritzed with Perfect Pearls water to stamp the color on the white panel. More Dusty Concord was blended along the edges after the panel was trimmed. I over-stamped HA Old Letter Writing with white ink over the top. The ornaments are silver embossed on glossy white cs that was inked with Ranger Alcohol inks in Wild Plum and Eggplant. I cut them out to adhere to the background. The sentiment is embossed with purple EP on silver cs.
The second card today is the most whimsical of the 3 cards using the combo of stamps. I used some scraps of Crate Paper-Snow Day paper.

The Simple Frame was again clear embossed on white cs, then I blended Barn Door Distress Ink over the top for that great red color. The sentiment and the ornament are both stamped with Barn Door Distress Ink. I border punched a scrap of Hero Hues Iris Layering Paper using a Fiskars punch.

I'm praising God today for answered prayer! A crafting friend who I had just met when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in August has found out her surgery is all the treatment she will need. No chemo, no radiation. Please visit her blog HERE to learn of her journey and to pass on some comment love to a warrior in pink.

Blessings,
nancy