Be Joyful

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the PEACE OF GOD, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7

These are verses I memorized years ago and they are written on my heart. There are times when I still need to remember not to be anxious, but I eventually listen to my heart saying these verses. I didn't really understand what the "peace of God" was until I experienced it. It's having peace inside you, even when you're going through heartbreaking situations and trials. It does "surpass ALL understanding" and you know it comes from GOD alone. Praise the Lord for His wonderful promises!


I love, love, love what I do. I am passionate about the things I create and the talents God has placed in me. I SO appreciate the time you take to look at my things and the comments you all leave me!

Blessings to you!

Kathy

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Elphine House Australia Challenge

Hi there!

It's time for another challenge at Elphine House Australia! This time we have an inspiration challenge using this picture. There's lots of things to inspire you on this!



You can find the Challenge here on EHA's Blog. You have 2 weeks to post your creation. You can use ANY Elisabeth Bell stamp or digi image, it doesn't have to be from EHA. The winner will be randomly selected and will receive 2 stamps of their choice!

Here is my sample for the challenge.



I love this "Daisy Hugging Dolly" stamp, and I decided to use here for this. I did a "masking" technique for the house and trees to appear in the background. If you're not familiar with this, there's a tutorial on Split Coast Stampers for it here.

I colored this with my Prismacolor pencils and mineral spirits.

For the ingredients used:
Stamps: "Daisy Hugging Dolly" (Elphine House Australia), Boards & Beams (Papertry Ink), Plant Hope (SU)
Paper: Solar white (Neenah), Ancestry DP (K&Co)
Ink: Black (VersaFine)
Accessories: Buttons, linen thread, Labels 8 Dies (Spellbinders), Organic Fourish embossing folder (Cuttlebug)

Hope to see you join in on the Challenge!

Blessings!

Kathy

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

The Gift of God

Hi there!

Well, today is my son's 12th Birthday!!! Hard to believe he is 12 already! Time passes so quickly, I need to remember to enjoy the moments, the present, and stop worrying about the future.

Today I have a Christmas card I made with Our Daily Bread Designs' Scripture Collection #2, using Ephesians 2:8. What a beautiful verse this is, I love Ephesians. This verse reminds me how important it is to know we are saved by God's grace alone. There is nothing we can do to "earn" it, no matter how many good deeds we do, because we will never be good enough to "deserve" it. All we need to do is accept God's gift and let Him do the rest. God transformed me 16 years ago, and I'm so THANKFUL HE did! I never want to be that "old me" again. I'm so THANKFUL to have Him to go to! I hope you all have accepted God's Gift too!

Well,here is the card I made, another Christmas card done!



Here's the inside of the card:





I used the Glad Tidings paper from K&Co. I love this paper!!! I'm submitting this in 2 challenges, ODBD's Shining the Light Challenge (ODBDSLC85) gem or bell hanging, and also ODBD'S Stamping in Time Challenge (SNTODBD48) a Christmas theme.

I'll post the other details in my Split Coast Gallery which you can find here.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Blessings!

Kathy

Friday, November 18, 2011

Christmas Church

Hi there!

I have another card to show you today! This is one of my very first stamps I bought a LONG time ago. I love the image on it and it makes a beautiful Christmas card for someone special. I definitely won't be mass producing this one!



Here is a closeup of the image:


I'm submitting this to the Split Coast Stamper's Ways to Use It Challenge, WT349 Baby It's Cold Outside.

I'm really loving the Glad Tidings paper from K&Co. I love the clear, bright colors in it. The stickers on either side of the church are also part of the Glad Tidings line...I just love these!

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps: Church image (PSX), Cozy Winter (Serendipity)

Paper: Ruby red (Bazzills), old olive, whisper white (SU), solar white (Neenah) for the image, Glad Tidings & Visions of Christmas (K&Co).

Ink: Black (Versafine), VersaMark.

Accessories: Quickie glue pen, gelly roll pens - gold, white & silver star, markers - not quite navy, always artichoke, real red (SU), Prismacolor pencils, mineral spirits, velvet ribbon, velvet flower, crystal snow glitter (Stampendous), Glad Tidings stickers (K&Co), red embossing powder (Inkadinkado).

Well, that's my latest creation! For my next project, I'm working on making some ornaments. If anything turns out okay, I'll let you see them! :-)

Blessings!

Kathy

Serendipity's Super Simple Christmas Card Challenge

Hi there!

Today I have a card I made for Serendipity's latest Challenge to make a simple Christmas card. I don't usually do things the simple way, but I thought I would give it a try. Here's what I came up with.


Note: Sorry, the picture isn't very good and it definitely doesn't do it justice. The mats and image are actually a beautiful rich olive green.

I used the "Holidy Bundle" stamp from Serendipity and simply embossed it with a dark green embossing powder called "Old Fashioned Olive" from Stampin Up on Very Vanilla paper (SU). I colored the berries and border with an English Red Le Plume marker. Matted it with dark green paper to match the powder called Capers from Bazzills. Then I just embossed the card front with Petals a Plenty embossing folder from Stampin Up. The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes (SU) which I colored with Always Artichoke marker (SU), punched with word window punch, then added the modern label punched in Capers paper. I added 2 adhesive pearls and a bow. That's it! It's actually very quick to make. You could color the bundle itself to make it red and green plaid if you wanted to spend a little more time on it.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Daisy is Blue

Hi there!

It's time for another challenge at Elphine House Australia! This time it's a sketch challenge. You can see the sketch here on their blog. Remember you can use any Elisabeth Bell stamp or Digi, it doesn't have to be from EHA. If you win, you win get 2 stamps of your choice!

Here is my sample for the challenge...



I just love Daisy! She's SO sweet! I also love these shades of blue!

For ingredients:

Stamps: Daisy Sitting (EHA) and Just a Quick Note (JustRite).
Paper: solar white (Neenah), Watercolor Bouquet (K&Co).
Ink: black (VersaFine)
Accessories: Prismacolor pencils, mineral spirits, white gel pen, adhesive pearls, ribbon, lace, wood button, frond punch (Martha Stewart), piercer, SU punches: 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle, scalloped circle punch.

Hope to see you play along with us at Elphine House Australia for the challenge and win some Elisabeth Bell stamps!

Blessings!

Kathy

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Isaiah 41:10

Hi there!

This is a card I made for a challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs. I'm submitting this for ODBDSLC84 "Go Metallic". You are to use white and/or cream, silver and/or gold, and 2 other colors.

I couldn't decide which picture to post, so here's both.




I've had this Anna Griffin paper for a long time. I'm glad I'm finally using it, it's too pretty not to. I like the soft colors with the cream and that beautiful pink paper with the cream flourishes on it. I actually made an attempt to sew around the border for the first time...I STILL don't like sewing. It feels strange sewing on paper.

For the silver or gold part of the challenge, I couldn't find anything I liked to go with it, so I raided my jewelry box, lol! This is a little earring I never wore that I thought went perfectly.

I love the beautiful verse from Isaiah reminding us not to be afraid, He will help and strengthen us. How comforting to know God is always there for us.

For ingredients:
Stamps: Scripture Collection #1 (Our Daily Bread Designs)
Paper: Natural white (Neenah), Anna Griffin, La Creme (DCWV)
Ink: Black (VersaFine)
Accessories: Buttons, adhesive pearls, flowers (Recollections & wedding supplies), standard circles small & large, petite scallops large classic ovals large (Spellbinders), sewing machine, flourishes dies (Sizzix), ribbon, earring.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

Blessings!

Kathy

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Christmas One Sheet Wonder 8 x 8

Hi there!

This is a project I've been wanting to do for a while, a Christmas OSW. I cut this out about a month ago, and finally got to it the past couple of days. I love doing these, and now I have 9 more Christmas cards to send out.

These K&Co Glad Tidings papers are so pretty. I love the bright white and red with them too. The thing I like the most about the OSW, is that it gets my create juices going. I usually end up discovering something new to do for future cards. For example, the card I posted earlier "Christmas Poinsettia" was a result of working on these.

Here are all the cards together, there are 9 of them.


Here are the individual cards, #6 is my favorite.

Card #1:


Card #2:


Card #3


Card #4


Card #5:


Card #6: ***This one is my favorite***


Card #7:


Card # 8:


Card #9:


Lots of ingredients for these!

Papers: White (Georgia Pacific), ruby slipper (Bazzills), old olive, always artichoke (SU), Glad Tidings matstack & 12 x 12 paper (K&Co).
Stamps: Warm words, short & sweet, teeny tiny wishes, vintage vogue (SU), spiritual sketches (Inkadinkado), "Merry Christmas" (PSX), a merry little christmas set (JustRite).
Punches: Snowflake (Marvy), scalloped circle, 1 3/8" circle, modern label, word window, large oval, scalloped oval, scalloped trim border (SU)
Embossing Folders: Perfect polka dots, petals-a-Plenty, framed tulips, square lattice (SU).
Accessories: Glad Tidings Adhesive Chipboard (K&Co), rhinestones, adhesive pearls and swirls, ribbon, buttons, flowers & berries (floral stash), liquid pearls, markers - real red & always artichoke (SU).

If you would like the layout and some measurements for the One Sheet Wonder 8 x 8, you can find it on previous posts here.

Thanks for looking!

Blessings!

Kathy

Christmas Poinsettia

Hi there!

I made this card for the Flourishes' Snowy Delights Challenge (FLLCNOV11) which you can find here. You are to use glitter, flowersoft, or bling to give a snowy feel. Since I don't have any Flourishes stamps :-( I had to improvise. Hopefully, I won't have to worry about this soon!




I also did this card without any stamping!!! This is for the SCS challenge for No Stamping Allowed (TLC350). I came up with this card while I was working on something different and I thought it would be simple and quick to do.

Not much for ingredients here.

Paper: White (Georgia Pacific), ruby slipper (Bazzills).
Accessories: Ribbon, button snowflake, snowflake punch, large oval & scalloped oval punch (SU), liquid pearls, glitter, markers, flowers from Michaels, snowflake texture plate (Sizzix).

Thanks for looking!

Blessings!

Kathy

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Groom Forever Yours

Hi there!

This little guy is a new Elisabeth Bell stamp from Elphine House Australia. So far, I've done the Flower Girl, the Ring Bearer, the Bride, and now the Groom! These are SO cute!

Here is the front of the card:


Here is the inside of the card:



This is the second card this week where I used the La Creme paper. Actually, I did this card first and the Proverbs 3:5,6 card after that. I think these papers are so beautiful and elegant and striking. I love using them.

I colored the groom with my Prismacolor pencils and mineral spirits. I decided to add the yellow to go with the papers and break up the black and then the red for a nice accent. I was at Michaels the other day and picked up these red rose flowers on clearance in the wedding section...I love a bargain! They go perfectly with the roses on his hat and lapel! I just love it when things work out better than I think they will...thank you Lord!

For the ingredients used:
Papers: Le Creme (DCWV), black & so saffron (SU), Natural White (Neenah)
Stamps: Groom Forever Yours (Elphine House Australia), Wedding (American Crafts), Flourishy (Recollections)
Ink: Black (Versafine), Vintage Cream (Palette)
Accessories: sponge, large labels die (Spellbinders), brads (SU), ribbon, button, paper leaf, ribbon flower, pearl string, adhesive pearls & swirls, square 1 3/8" punch (EKS)

I really love how this card came out! I hope you do too!

Blessings!

Kathy

Ps. I'm entering this into the Over the Top Challenge (HSSTC92) over at Hand Stamped Sentiments...too funny, pretty much everything I do seems to be over the top lately, LOL!!!!

Simply Christmas

Hi there!

I decided I wanted to try to make a "simple" Christmas card. Simple isn't necessarily easy for me to do. I bought the Sizzix embossing folder and die cut set at Jo-Ann's a couple of months ago. I wanted to use it to try making a simple card I could make for some of my Christmas cards this year.

This is what I came up with so far.


The card front is embossed with the A2 folder, and the ornament is the die cut included in the set. Very easy to make and I like the way it came out except for the scalloped oval. It should be up higher, but it's covering up something I tried and didn't work out, LOL. I will defintely do something different on the next one.

I used Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set from Stampin Up for this. The paper is iced cocoa from Coredinations and red rock from Bazzills. Ink is black from Versafine. Accessories used are nailheads metal stickers, button, fibers, scalloped oval punch (SU), Ornament with Flowers and Winter Botanicals both from Sizzix.

Thanks for looking!

Blessings!

Kathy

Proverbs 3:5,6

Hi there!

This is a card I made for the latest Shining the Light Challenge over at Our Daily Bread Designs which you can find here. This one was for a sketch, which isn't something I do very often, but I thought I would give it a try.

The verses I used are probably one of the first Bible verses I memorized. When I was Baptized, this is what I said to the congragation. These verses are very dear to me for that reason.


I really liked the way the verses fit in the shape of the Labels Four die. I used the largest die of the set and wanted it to have a mat behind it, so I traced around the outside of the die and then cut it out by hand. My cutting isn't very good, but it seemed to blend in okay and help the verse to stand out.

The stamp for the verses are from ODBD's Scripture Collection #2, and the bird stamped on top is from Garden Flower set from Inkadinkado. The paper is from the beautiful La Creme Matstack from DCWV and also black and so saffron from Stampin Up. For ink, I used my usual black from Versafine. Other accessories used are adhesive pearls, ribbon, button, and the 2 step bird punch from Stampin Up.

Thanks for stopping by and letting me share with you!

Blessings!

Kathy

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Elegant Bride

Hi there!

This is another new stamp from Elphine House Australia that they offer exclusively! This elegant bride is called "Kathy - Bride & Little Kitty". This is such a gorgeous image of a bride, it reminds me of one of the Disney princess characters.

Here is the front of the card:


Here is the inside:


The plum colors don't show up very well in the picture, but in real life the colors look beautiful with the cream. I colored this with my Prismacolor pencils and mineral spirits, and added a little white and clear star gel pens here and there.

I thought the image was beautiful with the oval shape around it and then I did the "out of the box" technique where the gown extends off the oval. I am entering this in the latest Flourishes' Timeless Tuesday challenge (FTTC142) which is for this technique. Unfortunately, I don't have any Flourishes' stamps...yet!


For supplies used:
Stamps: Kathy - Bride & Little Kitty (EHA), God's Blessing's (SU)
Paper: Natural white (Neenah), purple (DCWV pad), cherish & love (Fiskers)
Ink: Black (VersaFine)
Accessories: White gel pen, clear star gel pen, organic flourish (Cuttlebug), classic & scallops ovals large (Spellbinders), ribbon, adhesive pearls, button, heart punch (EKS), petite petals punch (McGill)


Thanks for looking today! I hope you find a little inspiration while you're here!

Blessings!

Kathy

Psalm 27:1 ~ Guest Designer Our Daily Bread Designs

Hi Everyone!


It is time for ODBD Stamping In Time Challenge (SNTODBD47)! The assignment is to use Our Daily Bread Design stamps. The challenge this rotation is all about using your favorite scripture on a card. I realize favorites change from time to time so the scripture could be your favorite one right now. Tell us why it is your favorite. Remember, the more you play the more you increase your chance to win! We look forward to seeing what you create using ODBD stamps!

I'm so honored and excited to be asked to be a Guest Designer for this Challenge! Here is my card for the challenge.


I don't really have just one favorite scripture, I have many! I picked Psalm 27:1, a beautiful verse. It's wonderful to know God is there for me showing me the way to go and I have nothing to fear. It gives me great comfort, in the good times and the difficult times, to know He's ALWAYS there with me.

I made this card very simple, but I really love how it came out. I love the white and the soft green and the little bird on the paper. This is from the Mariposa matstack by DCWV. It has some beautiful papers in it. The verse is from ODBD's Light of the World stamp set and is stamped in black ink from VersaFine. The green cardstock is guacamole from Bazzills. For accessories, I used adhesive pearls, pearl brad, ribbon, ribbon flowers, organic flourish from Cuttlebug, frond punch from Martha Stewart, standard circles small & large petite scallops dies from Spellbinders.

Looking forward to seeing your creations with your favorite verses!

Blessings!

Kathy

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Get Well Wishes Challenge

Hi there!

This is a card I made for the new challenge at Elphine House Australia's Challenge Blog. This time it's for "Get Well Wishes" type of card. I thought the "Nursing Boo Boo" stamp was perfect for this, but you can use ANY Elisabeth Bell stamp for this. One lucky winner will win 2 EHA stamps of their choice! Hop over to their challenge blog and check out all the Designer's creations for this...they're beautiful and will give you lots of inspiration!



I love coloring these images, and this is such a cute one...but of course, they're all cute! I used lots of rich razzleberry and broke out the cottage wall DSP for this. Some papers I only use on "special" items, and the cottage wall paper is one of them.

The stamps used are Nursing Boo Boo from Elphine House Australia, Teeny Tiny Wishes (SU) for the sentiment. I used black Versafine ink on solar white paper from Neehan.

For accessories used: Prismacolor pencils, mineral spirits, ribbon, flowers, buttons, lace, pearl brad, hair clip, frond (MS), word window (SU) punches, polka dots EF (SU), flourishes die (Sizzix), labels eight & labels four (Spellbinders).

That's it for now, but I have a NEW stamp to show you in a little bit so keep an eye out for it!

Blessings!

Kathy