Blessings of Faith

The Crafters of Faith Blog Group is such a blessing to me! I love those ladies. We share our joys, our struggles, our prayer requests, and our love of paper-crafting with one another. And once a month, we have a hostess who chooses the theme so that on the last day of the month we can show our creatvity. And today is the day!

This month the hostess is Sharon. Sharon is such a sweet woman. She speaks eloquently from the heart. She understands when we hurt or when we need to vent. And she always has a smile on her face - oh wait! I guess that SCS avatar is the only picture of her that I've seen... but she's smiling in it. ;)

Sooooooooooooo before I go further, I must say... I failed the challenge Sharon gave us. UGH! I hate it when that happens. I didn't read carefully enough - until I started putting this blog post together. I'M SORRY, SHARON! Please forgive me!

Okay...

Here's Sharon's theme:

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." I Thessalonians 5:16-18

Wow, it's hard to believe that there is only 3 more months left of 2012...where has the time gone?? Some of you may know from reading my blog this week that Autumn is my favorite season of the year. In Southern Ontario it is quickly making its appearance and where I'm from the colour of the changing leaves can be quite spectacular. It's so inspiring--I just love it! Autumn also includes my most favourite holiday celebration--THANKSGIVING!! It's hard not to love a holiday that calls on us to give thanks for our blessings. I realize not everyone around the world celebrates this holiday, and our friends in the U.S. don't celebrate until November, so for this challenge you can choose to make either a card for thanksgiving OR a thank you card for someone who has been a blessing to you. Please use at least 2 designer papers and 1 embellishment, and most importantly, have fun! I can't wait to see what you've created!

And here's my card:

Can you tell what I did wrong? (Yep... I only used one designer paper! UGH!!!)

Now, let me explain myself. I am the one who is Christmas crazy - remember all those many MANY Christmas trees I put up every year - so we start getting ready for Christmas BEFORE Thanksgiving. (I usually start decorating the second weekend of November). Sooooooo we don't really do much with Thanksgiving. No decorations. We live far from family and can't get away on weekends, so we don't have any family gatherings. Nada.

That being said, I discovered that I also must not do Thanksgiving cards... because I couldn't find anything I wanted to use  in my massive collection. LOL! What's a girl to do? I googled for FREE digital images. (Very resourceful of me, don't you think?)

I loved the image I found. It's a Free Vintage Digital Stamps image! However, I don't think I'll be eating turkey any time soon now that I've seen this gorgeous creature. I think the colored ink in my printer must be about gone, too... since the coloring on this printed image is a medley of colors/hues... but I actually like it that way.

The sentiment I used was a freebie from Designed to Delight.

I decided to try something different with this card. If my memory is correct, I've never done this before. Because one of the advantages of using digital images is the fact that you can resize them, I used the same image inside my card, only in a smaller size.

I kind of like it. ;)

Here's a close up, so you get a better idea of the beautiful details of this image:

Isn't that amazing!??!?

Please be sure and check out the other Crafters of Faith blogs today and see what they created with Sharon's challenge. You'll find the list of links in my left side bar.

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, let's remember we do have so much for which to be thankful.

Praise God, from Whom ALL blessings flow!

Image: Free Vintage Digital Stamps
Sentiment: Designed to Delight
Cardstock: Paper Company Black and Stampin' UP! Cherry Cobbler
Designer Paper: Creative Imaginations Mixed Sources
Embellishments: Kaiser Pearls and Satin Ribbon (vendor unknown)

Let It Snow!

Tuesdays are FUN!!!

Today I have two blog posts for you - so please check them both out! There's this one (Twisted Tuesday Challenge) and  the one that follows it ({PIN}Spirational Challenges).


I love snowmen... so I made a Snowman card for the Twisted Tuesday Challenge.

Image by Stamp Fairy

The beauty of this week's Twisted Tuesday Challenge is it's a

FIFTH TUESDAY FREE FOR ALL!!!

That means ANYTHING Goes... and there's no twist.

October 30 - November 5

Let it Snow!



Image: Stamp Fairy George Wintertime
Sentiment: Darcie's
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black and Copic Markerrs
Cardstock: Paper Company Black and Stampin' UP! Pacific Point
Designer Paper: vendor unknown
Embellishments: Michael's Snowflake, Snowflake Ribbon (vendor unknown), Stampin' UP! Black Organdy Ribbon, and Stickles Glitter Glue

Toot! Toot!

I have some BIG news for you today... so I'm going to tell you about that before I show you what I made for the {PIN}Spirational Challenge this week.

{PIN}Spirational Challenges is in the process of looking for more design team  members! WOW!!! That is soooooooo cool! I absolutely LOVE being on the {PIN}Spirational Challenges Design Team and I know you would, too. So check it out! Apply!

{PIN}Spirational Challenges

October 30 - November 5

Your creation needs to be {PIN}spired by this photo:

Our hostess for this week is Pink Cat Studio

Not only has Pink Cat Studio provided an incredible prize for one lucky participant, she also gave the design team an image to work with for this challenge. THANK YOU, Pink Cat Studio!

Here's my card:

I'm not very athletic (at all!) so I was {PIN}spired by the colors in this week's photo. ;)

The inside of my card is way too simple:

Image: Pink Cat Studio
Ink: Copic Markers
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Crushed Curry , Pumpkin Pie, and Riding Hood Red
Designer Paper: Cloud 9 Seasonal Pad
Embellishments: Stampin' UP! Ribbon and Buttons (vendor unknown)

Marching Into Fall

Oh my goodness! Last Monday was the debut of the ABC Challenges Blog (All Beautiful Cards)........ and there were 48 participants!!! WOO HOO!!! Isn't that awesome! If you played along, thank you!!!

Now, I must do some housekeeping before I show you the details for this weeks ABC CHALLENGE.

Though there WERE 48 participants, some of them actually were disqualified. So, before you participate this week, be sure to check out the guidelines. They are few, and quite simple, but they must be followed. I'm sorry. Mainly, watch the number of challenges you enter with the ABC Challenge project. That seems to be the guideline that got some of the participants.

Okay.......... let's go............

ABC Challenges

October 29 - November 4

Theme: Halloween In a Hurry and Fast Fall Cards

Create QUICK cards! Your cards should take less than 30 minutes to make.

I timed it. LOL! My card took 20 minutes to make - and that included the time it took to find the supplies I wanted to use (have I mentioned how messy my Cubbyhole is??? EEK!) and time to color the image.

I went with a fall card. I love fall!!!

I was in a time crunch, so the inside of my card (like the front) is very VERY simple.

But you know what I discovered? It's quite fun to make a FAST card. I hope you'll try it, too... and join the ABC Challenges this week.

Image: Stampin' UP! Sweet Seasons
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa and Copic Markers
Cardstock: Paper Company Chocolate and Stampin' UP! Really Rust
Designer Paper: DCWV Amber Autumn Fall Stack
Embellishments: Michael's Rhinestones

Time to Count!

It's the 28th, so this is the day when the Calendar Girls (a blog group) post their monthly creations. How fun!!!

This month Tami is the hostess, and oh my! She gave us a challenge and a half. She's had us counting, counting, and re-counting. LOL! (Some of us even thought we needed someone to proof our projects to make sure we hadn't mis-counted - kind of makes me think of elections, when sometimes the accusations fly of purposely mis-counting... but I digress.)

Here's Tami's challenge for us:

Our October Theme


We are all about the month of October! I have three little challenges for the girls this month.

It is the tenth month of the year, so please have exactly ten ( 10 ) items on your card. No more, no less! The ten items do not include your card base. Your image stamped on a piece of card stock is counted as one item.

Our due date is the 28th. So, that is going to require two ( 2 ) circles needed on each card and a minimum of eight ( 8 ) different colors.

Are you scared yet?! LOL Start taking a peek….there are a lot of different elements and colors on our cards! I am so looking forward to what you all create, as I do each month.

I love my Calendar Girls!
Tami (Miss October)

Soooooooooooo I worried that it would be difficult to use at least 8 colors... and of course I'm not good at mathh so the 10 items was a bit frightening, too.

Here are my colors:

Blue

Brown

Green

Grey

Orange

Red

White

Yellow

Count them? Yep... exactly 8! A+ for me, right, Tami?

Here's my card:

EXACTLY 10 Items (from bottom up):

Pacific Point

Stripe

Pacific Point

Blue Plaid

Pacific Point

Stripe

Pacific Point

Snowman Image

Green Button

Red Button

And the buttons are ROUND, so they count as my two circles.

Now, early last week some of the Calendar Girls got to asking/wondering if the items inside the card counted. Tami wasn't in the thread to answer (she had a horrible 3-day headache, HUGS, Tami!) soooooooo the same gals who wondered, decided the inside items don't count. LOL!

That being said.......... drum roll please............

Here's the inside of my card:

It was such fun creating to Tami's specifications! Now........ let's go check out the other Calendar Girl Blogs (you can find the links in my left sidebar). Please be sure to leave them some love. It makes them so happy when you do.

Thanks for stopping by!

Image: Bugaboo (freebie this last week*)
Ink: Copic Markers
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Pacific Point and So Saffron
Embellishments: 2 Buttons (vendor unknown)

* If you haven't checked out Bugaboo stamps, you really should! They are awesome! And she posts a new freebie every Friday, which is good for all week. Such fun!!!

Let It Snow!

Not really! I'm not ready for snow yet. ;)

But I made a snowman card for Barb's Snow'y card swap.

Here he is:

Barb required the use of glitter on our cards... and I can NOT do glitter. It sticks everywhere except on the card. UGH! So I chose to use a strip of that red double-sided sticky tape. Ran it down the side of my card (inside, actually) and then sprinkled glitter on it. I think it's holding. YAY!

I trimmed away a small bit of the card front so the glitter could show from the front, too. Aren't I smart? LOL!

I used Copic markers to draw (freehand) the face on the snowman. And I used square punches and then rounded the corners for the snowmans body.

Here's the inside of my card:

Sentiment: Let It Snow (vendor unknown)
Ink: Tsukinek Brilliance Mediterranean Blue and Copic markers
Cardstock: Paper Company Black and Staples 110 # White
Designer Paper: Colorbok Blue Frost and Paper Studio Four Seasons Paper Pack
Embellishments: Offray Crochet Thread, Stampin' UP! Glitter and Soft Sky Stitched Ribbon, and a snowflake brad and button from unknown vendors

A Corny Card

Indian Corn, that is.

But wait! I've gotten ahead of myself!

It's time for.............

Craft Us Crazy Challenge

October 25 - November 7

Use the color black and/or PARTY theme

The sponsor for this challenge is Kimberly Greenlee, a Stampin' UP! demonstrator. You can check out her site here.

Look at the awesome Prize Package she is giving to a lucky participant:

Prize details – Party This Way Bundle

Stampin’ Up Party This Way Clear Stamp Set – Retired

Stampin’ Up Petite Pennants Builder Punch Retail 16.95

Thank you, Kimberly!

I chose to go with the color black - I guess I wasn't in a party kind of mood when I created my card.

And I used some wonderful Stampin' UP! products on my card - don't you just love the coordinating stamps and dies (the corn)?

Here's the card opened up:

I hope you'll participate in the challenge - and Good Luck! I hope you win Kimberly's prize package!

Oops! I can't find my supply list. I'm sorry!

Jack-o-Lantern Fun!

What fun! I have TWO blog posts today - and I personally think they're both pretty cute. (I don't say that very often about my own projects, I know.) So please check them both out! There's this one - {PIN}Spirational Challenges - and the one that follows it, too - Twisted Tuesday Challenges.

{PIN}Spirational Challenges feature a different photo each week. Participants create a card (or other project) with that photo as their inspiration.

Here's this week's Photo:

{PIN}Spirational Challenges

October 23 - 29

Sponsor: Cardmadfairy's Card Creations

I was inspired by all those Jack-o-Lanterns in the picture!

Here's my card:



Of course, I had to do something inside my card, too:

I'm looking forward to seeing how this week's photo {pin}spires you!

Sentiment: Stampin' UP! Booglie Eyes
Ink: Stampin' UP! Cajun Craze and Versafine Onyx Black
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Crushed Curry and scraps from my scrap file
Designer Paper: Cloud 9 Seasonal Paper Pad
Embellishments: Foof-a-La Button, Stampin' UP! Orandy Ribbon, and Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (vendor unknown)

Pop! Pop!

Pop!!!


It's time for some Pop Corn Treats (this stuff is kind of like caramel popcorn - only it doesn't have any hulls!)

YUMMY!!!

If you are a regular visitor to my blog, you know that I rarely venture from cards, but there is a good reason that this is NOT a card.

Twisted Tuesday Challenge

October 23 - 29

Theme: Anything But a Card

Twist: Use the color ORANGE somewhere on your project

I made a recipe layout for my 6 X 6 cookbook:

Here's a closeup picture of the bag of popcorn:

I used a Stampin' UP! punch to make the popcorn - it's the one with the three identical little flowers.


I can't wait to see what you'll create for the Twisted Tuesday Challenge... remember, it's Anything But a Card this week.

Sentiment: AMuse Oven Joy
Ink: Color Box Yellow Citrus and Stampin' UP! Cajun Craze
Cardstock: Paper Company Black and Stampin' UP! Tangerine Tango
Designer Paper: Popcorn (vendor unknown)
Embellishments: Martha Stewart Seam Binding and Stampin' UP! Gold Cord

New To You!

It's the BIG day... the GRAND BEGINNING of ABC Challenges! How exciting is that!?!?!?!?

October 22 - 29

Theme: New to You!

Create cards using something that is new to you.

I love trying new things - new recipes, new decorating ideas for my home, new experiences, and new ideas in my cardmaking. I think doing something new is invigorating. So I love love LOVE this challenge! I hope you will, too!

Since the holidays will be here before we know it, I decided to try to make a gift-card holding card. I actually have made one once before, but this one is quite different from that one. This one incorporates to half-circle punches that hold the card in place. (But you'll have to wait for the picture of the inside of my card to see that.)

Here's my card:

I thought the circle punches went perfectly with the circle designer paper.

I used an old (retired) Stampin' UP! stamp set for the images.

Here's the inside of my card:

I'm sorry - I wanted to use a Chirstmas'y gift card for the photo, but I didn't have one. UGH! But a girl's addiction to Starbuck's surely makes a Starbuck's gift card of any kind the perfect gift card, right?


I actually made a different card (similar, but it was vertical, while this one is horizontal) first. It didn't suit. But I thought I'd show it to you, too.

Here it is:

I made the gift card holder a seperate piece for the vertical card, since the orientation didn't fit for a gift card.

Now, I can't wait to see what NEW thing you're going to try. Please be sure to go the the ABC Challenges blog and read the details of how to participate... and then get inky! It's going to be so much fun!!!


Images: Stampin' UP! Deer Friends
Sentiment: Stampin' UP! Penguin Pals
Ink: Memento Green and Red
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Always Artichoke and Cherry Cobbler
Designer Paper: Cloud 9 Seasonal Paper Pad
Embellishments: Michael's Ribbon and Recollections Rhinestones