Choose Joy...

Welcome and Happy Sunday!

I hope your day has been wonderful and you're ready to start a fresh week!

We're starting a new challenge over at Mustard Seed Faith Challenges today, and I think the theme of the devotional is very fitting to start off a new week!  Our devotional topic is "Choose Joy"!

This week's devotional has been chosen and written by my lovely teammate, Nancy!

The verse that she has chosen for us to focus on is...

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,
whenever you face trials of many kinds" 

James 1:2

Joy and gratitude are so important to our faith!  All too often as Christians we forget to focus on the good when the going gets tough!  Things don't go the way we want and we become saddened, depressed, or think that God is not on our side, when really God has called us to live a life that is filled with joy!  I don't think that means that we are never sad, unhappy, etc. I think what God really calls us to do is to find the good in our situation.  I believe that God's joy is much more than happiness...it's a state of contentment, it's knowing that God is in control, it's reminding ourselves of how much God loves us and how much He sacrificed when He sent his son, it's taking the time to focus on, spend time with, praise and honor our Saviour! All of these things create a joyful heart in any circumstance.  So easily typed here on this screen....and so much harder to live out!

That is my challenge to myself and to you as we start this new week...let's fill our hearts with joy as we fill ourselves with God!

Now, onto our new craft challenge that goes along with our "Choose Joy" theme!

This week we'd like to see your creations based on something that brings you joy!

Something that brightens your day...it can be something in nature, your favorite color, a family picture that you'd love to scrapbook or use on a card...the options are limitless on this one!

Here's the card I created for this challenge...

I love nature...birds, flowers, gardens....they all bring me a sense of feeling close to God as I appreciate His creation...they make me feel content and serve as a terrific reminder to me that God is in control of this crazy world!  I love the colors in creation...the blue sky, the green grass, the warming yellow sunshine...and of course I love sunflowers!  What better way to combine all of these things by creating a card that features a sunflower along with an inky background and a beautiful decorative paper with some beautiful scripted writing....and of course a sentiment proclaiming the positive message that today is going to be awesome!

I've created the blue and brown background using Distress Oxide Inks...I do love my oxide inks!
I've heat set the various colors and then added water droplets over top to get the ink to oxidize.  The beautiful sunflower is by Power Poppy Stamps and I have given it a quick coloring with my Copic markers.  The sentiment is also from the same sunflower stamp set.  The finishing touch is the pretty yellow bakers twine I've looped around the bottom of the card and put through the button in the center of the sunflower.  Doesn't the bright yellow against the darker colors just make your heart happy!

I do hope you've enjoyed today's share...and I hope I've encouraged you to join us in our current challenge over at Mustard Seed Faith Challenges!  I can't wait to see what you create!

Until next time...

Wedding Bells Bridal Card...

Hello!

My goodness, it certainly feels like I have not had anything to share here in awhile!

It's another Heartfelt Creations Wednesday, and last week the Classic Wedding Collection was released!  It is such a beautiful and romantic collection with such soft colors!

Here's a little about the collection...

Church bells ring out and there’s an excitement in the air!  Loved ones have gathered together to celebrate two hearts joined in friendship being united in love!  Beautiful roses provide a classic and romantic décor while soft music lends to the ambiance as the bride and groom beam seeing one another for the first time on their wedding day!  Preserve those special “Happily Ever After” memories with the new Classic Wedding Collection by Heartfelt Creations.  Filled with romantic imagery of stately church bells, classic roses and fanciful doves, this softly hued paper collection is sure to add to the nostalgia and romance of these precious moments while showcasing memories of such a special day.  Soft peaches, pinks, greens and blue tones lend a timeless and elegant backdrop to graceful swirls, lace like elements and romantic script!  Commemorate the special occasion with dreamily illustrated cling stamp sets depicting glorious heart shaped rose wreaths, elegant church bells, beautiful wedding rings and a delicate image of a bride and groom, complete with coordinating dies perfect for embellishing bridal shower, wedding or anniversary creations!  Five marvelous sentiments are included to ensure you have the perfect well wishes to complete your bridal or anniversary card or scrapbook layout!  Add a touch of splendor and sophistication with either of the two intricate and impressive lace like dies included in this sentimental collection!  So, please rise…and join with us in celebrating those special moments that represent “Always and Forever”!

For my project this week I decided to create a special card front using one of the dies found in the Decorative Medallion Die set.  I knew I wanted to use the gorgeous wedding bells illustration and found a premade card panel in the Classic Wedding Paper Collection that would work with what I had in mind perfectly! 

Here's how it all came together...

Now, my daughter and I had a good chuckle about this card...and we'll get to that in just a moment!
But first, I want to show you what the card looks like when it's open!

Doesn't that gorgeous preprinted 6"x6" card panel just bring everything together when you open it and see the full wedding bell and rose illustration?

Now...onto the humorous side of this card!
When Emma Lou previewed the Classic Wedding Collection video and how to make a fancy fold card using these exact die cuts, my daughter and I chuckled because the base was pretty much the exact same base I had just created several days before.  I can't tell you how happy I was though when I saw that Emma Lou hadn't used the bride and groom or the wedding bells!  LOL

I've used the Classic Rose stamp and die combination to create my flowers.  I've added the frosting powder and heat set it using my heat tool.  All of the coloring has been done with Spectrum Noir Blendable pencils and gamasol solution.  I wanted the card to be super soft and romantic.  
Just as Emma Lou did on her card, I've sponged glitter all over the die cuts on the card base, as well as the preprinted images on the inside of the card and them sprinkled it all with a transparent glitter.  If you look super closely at the first picture, you'll see that find shimmer...it just doesn't show up on the photos very well. 

This wedding collection is so soft and beautiful and perfect for creating all those wedding cards, presentation envelopes, gift bags, etc. that you need during the summer wedding season! 
Be sure to stop by the Heartfelt Creations blog to catch up on all of the other gorgeous projects the rest of the design team have created using this alluring collection!

Until next time...

Project Supplies and Instructions
Classic Wedding Paper Collection, HCDP1-279
Classic Wedding Bells Cling Stamp Set, HCPC-3789
Classic Wedding Wishes Cling Stamp Set, HCPC-3790
Classic Wedding Bells Die, HCD1-7143
Decorative Medallion Die, HCD1-7144
Classic Rose Cling Stamp Set, HCPC-3752
Classic Rose Die, HCD1-7110
Deluxe Flower Shaping Kit, HCST1-401
ColorBox Fluid Chalk Ink - Olive Pastel, 71012
Rajni Chawla's Frosting Powder, PGM15016
Stack and Store Daubers - Pack of 30, HCDA2-450
Designer Dries Clear Adhesive, 159723
Metal Tips for Adhesive Bottles, 352854

Other Products: white card stock, VersaFine Grey Ink, Spectrum Noir Blendable Pencils, Gamasol Solution, blending stumps, ColorBox Fluid Chalk Ink - Cheeky, Memento  Ink - Angel Pink, Gemini Die Cutting Machine, pop dots, Glitter Ritz, heat tool, Ranger Distress Clear Rock Candy, paint brush, sponge, MISTI

Watch this tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8P070kC3oo to learn how to shape the Classic Rose.

Watch this tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuuhGgnasDA to learn how to create decorative card base.

Instructions: Locate and cut out 6"x6" premade card panel for center of card from the Classic Wedding Paper collection. Ink all edges using a soft pink ink. Create decorative card base and assemble using tutorial listed above using white card stock and pink decorative paper from the Classic Wedding Paper Collection. Cut a second matching set of solid portion of Decorative Medallion Die from pink decorative paper to cover the matching panels on inside of card and adhere to card base. Stamp sentiment on inside of card. Stamp one inking each of wedding bells illustration and bride and groom illustration onto white card stock using grey ink. Color using blendable pencils, blending stump and gamasol solution. Die cut with coordinating dies, shape and adhere to card as shown using pop dots. Stamp two inkings of the small and midsized roses, as well as one leaf illustration from the Classic Roses Cling Stamp Set. Die cut and color using ink and sponge daubers. Shape one leaf embellishment, two midsized roses and one rose bud. Apply to wedding bell embellishment on card as shown. Using Distress Rock Candy paint and paint brush, apply lightly to shaped flowers and then sprinkle with Frosting Powder. Heat set with heat tool. Using a sponge and dries clear glue, apply glue to decorative die cuts on card front and sprinkle with transparent glitter. Use same glittering technique over printed images inside card panel as well.  
 

Who Holds Your Tomorrow.....

Happy Sunday!

I hope your weekend has been going well!

We've spent the weekend working at our seasonal campsite and we have enjoyed working together as a family and taking in God's beautiful nature!

Have you been following the Mustard Seed Faith Challenge blog?  

If not, I hope I can encourage you to stop by there today!

Not only do you receive a dose of crafty inspiration, but you also get to share in a short devotional...and today it just so happens to be my turn sharing with you what the Lord has put on my heart!

Today's topic covers the topic of "Who Holds Your Tomorrow?"....in other words worry!

I can honestly say it is an area of my life I still struggle with....I can conjure up the worst scenarios with the rest of them....but that is not how we are to live as Christians. 

If you'd like to read my thoughts on this topic, I encourage you to pop by the Mustard Seed Faith Challenge blog.

The short devotional I prepared was actually inspired from the song "Sparrows" by Jason Gray!

It is a song that I loved from the first moment I heard it and acts as a great reminder that worrying does not help me one bit!

Here's a link to the song for your listening pleasure...

For this new challenge we are asking you to use a bird, butterfly or even a nature scene on your creation!

Here's a Bible journaling page I created after reading, praying and listening to this song...

I loved this gorgeous bird stamp by Unity Stamp Co. and thought it would be perfect for use on this page.  I've used some Illustrated Faith letter stickers as well as some of their sentiment stickers along with some gelatos and some Dylusion spray to create the ink blots spots.  (And I even managed to smear some of the dots while they were still wet - but we've not going to worry about that trivial little oops!)  Nothing to complicated! 

I hope you've been encouraged here and your creativity is flowing!
I can't wait to see what you're going to come up with for this challenge!

Until next time...