Friday, March 8, 2024

Green and Gold

 Christmas in March means St. Patrick’s colors. I am coming in just under the wire on some of these challenges. I just got distracted this week, but I’m determined to stay consistent. My card is a little avant-garde, but I like it with all the shine and sparkle. Here are my challenges I am participating in:

52 Christmas Card Throwdown

Color My Heart

Double Trouble

Festive Friday









Materials used:

Cardstock: White Daisy, Lagoon Fundamentals

B&Ts: Mayberry

Stamps: A Timber, Merriest Christmas

Ink: Clover

Other: Gold Shimmer Trim, Gold Embossing Powder

Saturday, February 24, 2024

Reason for the Season with Retiform

 I made another Christmas card! Retiform is a new technique for me. This was the technique challenge at 52 CCT. I paired it with the sketch challenge at Atlantic Hearts, so I separated the top from the bottom. The colors for the Color Dare were Royal and Periwinkle plus one more, so I chose Sage. I made the bottom Sage, the top Periwinkle, and the Jesus, Mary and Joseph Royal.





Materials used:

Cardstock: White Daisy, Smokey Plum

B&Ts: Sonata, Hooligans

Stamps: Reason for the Season 

Ink: Sage, Lilac Mist, Gypsy

Other: Enamel Shapes

Saturday, February 17, 2024

More Challenges!

 Today I added a few challenges to make my card.

52CCT - Mushrooms

Color My Heart - Scarlet, paprika, Sundance, Lagoon, Journey

Atlantic Hearts- sketch

Double Trouble - fancy fold and something that leaps

Creative Creases - fun fold

As You See It - twine, rhinestones, plaid, embossing folder, die cut

It was tricky to fit everything in, but I managed it. I made the W-V fold card, and was able to fit it to the Atlantic Hearts sketch. I used some colors that were similar to the new CTMH colors (Ruby, Goldrush, Saffron, Peacock, and Lagoon). I used a plaid embossing folder for a 2 in 1! I cut out a cute little fence die cut. I used the rabbit for the thing that leaps, and there was a mushroom in that same stamp set - Garden Gnomes. Then I added some sparkles and white twine and some glitter for the snow.









Materials used:

Cardstock: White Daisy, Peacock, Goldrush, Ruby

Fundamentals: Lagoon

B&Ts: Penelope

Stamps: Garden Gnome, Card Chatter - Christmas

Ink: Intense Black, Peacock

Other: Sparkles, White Twine, fence die, Triblend Markers, white glitter (not CTMH)

Sunday, February 11, 2024

Have a Heart

 Here’s another Christmas card for my stash. I kinda like how this one turned out. I chose the 3 blue colors from the Color Dare challenge to go with the blue and white theme for 52CCT - Harbor, Mist, and Capri. They’re sort of greenish blues, but still blue and so pretty. The sketch is from Atlantic Hearts, and I’m doing the Have a Heart challenge for Cut It Up - a new one for me. So I added this pretty Christmas heart from Art Philosophy and made a Loving sentiment.






I added three rosy gems for the holly berries, and I feel it’s just the right touch.

Materials used:

Cardstock: White Daisy, Harbor, Capri

B&Ts: Florentine

Stamps: Christmas Love, Scandinavian Wishes

Ink: Sky, Twilight

Other: Red Enamel Gems, Blue Epoxy Bubbles

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Christmas Love is in the Air

 Today’s card has snowflakes in the air. This card was made for these three challenges:

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - sketch

Color My Heart- Fancy Five - I used Periwinkle, Bluebird, Ballerina, and Jade

Double Trouble - Love is in the Air





Materials used:

Cardstock: Bluebird, White Daisy

Stamps: Snowflakes, Card Chatter-Christmas 

Ink: Bluebird, Lilac Mist, Juniper, Ballerina

God will Move…

 Something different for today:

_________________________________________________

I’ve been going down an internet rabbit hole lately. Also have been educating myself thoroughly on certain subjects. A lot of my research has been about church hurt and spiritual abuse, purity culture leading to domestic abuse, large churches which leave a lot of destruction in their wake, celebrity pastors whose fame hurts people and is tolerated because of their “correct doctrine” and being one of the “in crowd.”


What is missing in these spaces is the heart of God and the redemption of Jesus, His example to us here on this earth. I read an article today about how empathy is a sin and feminism leads to rot, and the example set forth was how Moses had the Israelites kill those who committed idolatry and never had pity on them. But I don’t see Jesus doing that. I was weeping on my morning drive listening to the aftermath on the Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcast. I used to not have any empathy for those in situations like that, but now that I do, certain people would say I am sinning.


God is leading me in a different direction. I’ve been in a cocoon for a while after fattening myself on knowledge like a very hungry caterpillar 🐛. I might be breaking out of it now. Not sure yet. It’s a really hard process, and I don’t know what it’s going to look like. But God is leading me towards smaller, organic, less authoritarian and domineering spaces. He is using my gift, even though I don’t know what it is. I’m just going to obey what He tells me to do.


And there is no shame. There is no shame in educating yourself, or being in the place you are, or figuring out your sins or hang ups, or exploring your feelings and what they mean, or leaving toxic spaces. What may be toxic for me, may not be toxic for you. Jesus came to set us free from our sins, Jew and Greek, Slave and Free, Male and Female. We are all one in Christ Jesus. There is no shame in using your gift, if God calls you to pastor, pastor with all your heart and with all humility. But don’t set yourself up to rule and domineer and claim authority over God’s people. Jesus is our head, and the Holy Spirit leads His body, praise the Lord!


Recently at a meeting, I heard a word from the Lord that when Jesus compares the kingdom to a tiny seed that grows into a large tree, the birds come and nest in its branches. Those birds, the ones that snatched up the seed from the ground in another parable, are wicked people who try to infiltrate God’s church when it gets so large - wolves. Same with the leaven in the dough. The leaven is usually hypocrisy or evil that spreads and contaminates the body when it gets large. God’s showing me, when we try to dominate, things go bad, when we try to take over the world and culture by growing huge, people get hurt. Keep it small and let Him lead. He will move, but not in the way you expect.

Saturday, January 27, 2024

To Sew or Not to Sew

 Here is a card I made yesterday. They must have accidentally put up the theme of 52CCT early, because it didn’t go live till this morning, but I knew about it ahead of time! I used the sketch at Atlantic Hearts and the tic tac toe colors at Color My Heart. I chose the left column, Mocha, Peach, and Papaya, and added in Mink. The mink and peach papers are from the Sweet Girl paper pack.





I chose this cute Scandinavian stamp because it looks like embroidery, and I did some faux stitching with a stamp set, for the sewing theme. I am too lazy to actually sew on my cards, but don’t tell anyone! It looks like actual stitching! 

Materials used:

Cardstock: White Daisy, Sorbet

B&Ts: Sweet Girl

Stamps: Scandinavian Wishes, Elemental Workshop

Ink: Mocha

Other: Pear and Partridge Ribbon