It's Snowing!!!

Major excitement! Mainly because my family is all safe & sound :) and it won't last long....but it's snowing!!!!! and I love how beautiful everything looks. It's so peaceful & quiet, and I swear I can even *smell* snow coming :) What a blessing for me :) I pray that the new year will indeed be a happy one for everyone- and if possible- choose JOY! <><

This Baby Made The Angels Sing :)

This baby made a new star shine in the sky ( thank you Steven Curtis Chapmann for an awesome song!) My prayer is that everyone who reads this is blessed with the peace that passes all human understanding, and that you would be able to take time this Christmas, no matter what your circumstance, belief, or 'state of the heart' - and worship the Newborn King! Happy Birthday Jesus <><

Advent Sanctuary Decorations

So one of the fun things we do at my church is this big round spinning mobile in the center of the sanctuary. It started as a Pentecost themed design, and we usually do it for Lent & Advent too. When the ceiling fans are turned on, it rotates slightly with the air current. It's really pretty in person- this year's is a little 'busier' than some years, but it's nice just the same (*IMHO* :) We have an ongoing 'friendly debate' about the colors of Advent- I always lean toward purple, and some lean toward blue ( which is what our paraments are) So when I make the mobile, there's a lot more purple involved :) Happy Advent <><

Scrap Blocks

I *found* these wood blocks in the bottom of a box of (hoarded) craft goodies in my closet. Who knows why/what/when I got them for. Probably on sale somewhere :) So I covered them with more scraps, sanded all the edges for a distressed look, then added the letters- some are stickers, some are chipboard that I painted & resanded. I added some snowflake shineyness here and there. I had enough left over to spell out LOVE :) which is really....what Christmas is all about <><

Last One :)

Well this 'wraps up' the batch of cards I scrapped together- well , the pics anyway and the rest of the cards are all in the mail :) This one's simple too: fun design paper, paint chip, 3D vellum flower and snowflake bling. I must have made 50 of those flowers- I even stuck 2 of them back to back and made some pretty ornaments out of them. No snow yet- still teasing us with it in the forecast tho'. Have an awesome day- because The Lord Made It! :) <><

Upcycling :)

This card is a little bit of everything- a paint chip strip, some background scraps, a glittery piece from a card I received last year :) and more stickers....random hodgepodge that works for me :)

Speaking of hodgepodge- our newspaper reported that Goodwill stores are seeing a 25% jump in sales- I think I've contributed about 23% of it myself :) I LOVE the *thrill of the hunt* as it were...and I usually wind up making a "double donation" ( take some in...bring more home!) It amazes me what people donate. We have about 5 stores in our area. Lots of treasure hunting!

Keeping warm- today is even colder than yesterday and it 'smells like snow' to me! <><

Still Scrapping

I love the background paper on this one- it's hard to see by my *delightful* photograph but it is embossed with a real pearlescent shimmer to it. I added another 3D vellum flower ( I forgot to tell you I used Dina's 'trick' of running a stylus on foam under the vellum along the middle leaf line- it gives it more dimension- then I 'pinched' the ends of the flower together- makes it stand out more :) The letters are from a sticker set I've hoarded for years...a little red bling and ta da. You may have noticed by now that most of my cards are quick ones... <><

This morning is our coldest so far this season- 25* :) Everything looks so beautiful with a shimmer of frost!

Fairly Pleased :)

So I've been following Kelly's blog for awhile now and she makes the most gorgeous banners. Today I just decided I was going to go for it and make one :) While it pales in comparison to Kelly's, I am 'fairly pleased' with the results- and I can appreciate how much time goes into making one! ( there are SO MANY other things I should be doing today! heheheh) So thanks, Kelly, for the inspiration- I'm totally hooked and will be doing more in the future! <><

Scrap Happy :)

I really dug deep in the drawer for this one :) Nice background paper from one of those big 'blocks' and the dove image is a left over from some cards I mass produced for a business years ago- I just cropped it and attached with white photo corners. A little 3D snowflake bling and off it goes! I think someone ( maybe the Holy Spirit?) flipped a switch in my brain and now it's ok for me to stop 'hoarding' all of my paper goods and put them to good use! Hahahaha. And yes, I believe He's interested in every aspect of my life- even stamping :) God Bless you as you stamp/scrap/blog for Him <><

PS- the weatherman is predicting snow for us next week :)

More Recycled Fun :)

This card uses the same 3D flower image, scraps from a strip I punched snowflakes out of ( and couldn't bear to throw away! heheheh.) There's some red sparklies in the center of the flakes. I'm feeling rather empowered by using up some of my paper stash :) <><

Countdown to Christmas :)

This year, in my continuing effort to 'use stuff up' I have lots of different designs for our family Christmas cards. This one, that I'm the most happy with, unfortunatley is the worst picture. I need a new camera or better skills. The background paper is actually a piece of a worship folder from our church last January- I knew as soon as I saw it that it would be part of my Christmas cards. My awesome friend/church secretary gave me a whole bunch of them- I kept them out of the recycle bin :) I Cuttlebugged the strip of green paper ( left over from a huge card project I did for a logging company) and made the three dimensional flower by stamping with white staz-on on scraps of vellum. I attached it all with a gold brad. The flower stamps are from Smartworks & the 'Merry Christmas' is a Heart & Soul stamp. I'll be back tomorrow with another one :) <><