Sympathy Card

Recently,  I needed to send a sympathy card and this is what I came up with.  I wanted something subdued but with a touch of color.  I used patterned paper from the CTMH Bliss paper pack and Grey Wool cardstock.  I also used Grey Wool and Black inks.  The "ribbon" is actually one of CTMH's color ready Kraft borders that I colored with a sponge and black ink.  The sentiment is from the  Beloved stamp set.  The flower was made using instructions that many people have posted lately.  It's simply 5 scalloped circles punched out with CTMH's new 2" punch.  I exposed the white core of the card stock by using an emery board.  Then I used a baby wipe to moisten the circles.  I crumpled them all up and got them nice and shabby.  Finally, flatten the circles out and place them on top of each other and punch a hole in the center of all.  A velvet brad holds them all together.  To get the right look, you just have to play with the layers after they are all together.  Scrunch, pinch or whatever works for you:-)

By the way, I am giving away a prize package when I reach 100 followers.  Please check out this post for the details.

Monday Musing-Praise You in This Storm

Belinda Kersey 2008

 

God’s Word

“A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"  He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.  He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" Mark 4:37-40

My Thoughts

This song inspires me again and again.  Some of the words are, "I'll praise you in this storm and I will lift my hands. You are who You are, NO MATTER where I am." We have to let that permeate our every thought. NO MATTER where I am or what I am going through, God will ALWAYS be who HE is. If God is good, then He is always good no matter what storm I face. 

The song says "You whisper through the rain, I'm with you." We expect Him to shout over the storm so we will not miss Him but He wants us to LISTEN for His still, small, whispering voice. It continues, "as Your mercy falls, I'll raise my hands and praise the God who gives and takes away." We want to believe in the giving God, we have issues with the taking God. We as parents give and take away with our children as well. If we love them we will give them the good as well as the things that are good for them-even discipline. We will take away things from them that are not of benefit or are detrimental to them, even if they don't understand or don't like it. 

Some of the most tender words to me are "Every tear I've cried, YOU hold in Your hands." How amazing that His hands hold our tears. I know when He holds them, He truly feels those tears and feels the pain that goes with each one.  My friend  has lived and walked every word of this song as her family was divided by a divorce she did not desire.  She and her two young boys have chosen to praise God in the very midst of their storm and God has rewarded them with comfort and His provision during the very lowest times of their struggle. God holds each of their tears and holds them closely as they learn to live as three instead of four.

As well, the song says "You never left my side though my heart was torn." Some of our dearest, closest friends and family will not be able to stay by our side as our hearts are torn. Some can not face their own pain so they aren't any good to us in ours. Some have so many other obligations that they can not be at our side. Others are physically too far away. BUT GOD (as my Aunt Lucille often said), BUT GOD is always by our side. 

Next time you are in a storm, be still, listen for the whisper and say BUT GOD! He is there by your side. When the circumstances say all is lost, you say BUT GOD. He is holding your tears. Raise your hands in the rain and praise Him because HE is WHO HE is! 

Your Response

Raise your hands to the God who controls the seas, the wind and the rain.  Lift your voice to your Shelter and praise Him for being God, for being your shelter.  Thank Him for every good thing He has given you.  If you are able, turn on some music, raise your hands and dance before Him.  Praise Him in your storm!

 The Song

“Praise You in this Storm” by Casting Crowns

Monday Musing-A Change is Coming

Belinda Kersey  2007

God’s Word

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” 2 Corinthians 4:17

My Thoughts

A friend in choir gave me a CD by Juanita Bynum.  I push the repeat button over and over on the song called "Change".  Let me tell you this song has truly renewed my mind.  My boys think I've gone crazy when I start singing it at the top of my lungs and add my husband’s name and job, my name and health, etc. in various parts of the song.  I urge you to try it sometime-it will build your faith!

The words are: "I'm so glad that troubles, won't last always.  I'm so glad my burdens won't last always.  You may be down today, but it won't last always.  I feel a change is on the way.  I'm so glad that struggles won't last always, I'm so glad that this pain won't last always.  When trouble comes your way, just lift your hands up and say I feel a change is on the way."   

You know Joseph had to hold onto a shred of hope that change was coming. He was sold into slavery by his brothers and sent to prison because of a lie.  I’m sure that there were times he believed that he would die in that dark, dank place but he held onto the hope in the God of his Father.  God had a plan all along and what a change came his way!  He saved a nation, he was reunited and reconciled to his family, and he saw his beloved Father once again.  He must have been incredibly thankful that he held on for the change that came his way.

Aren't you glad the struggles we live with won't last always?  I know I am.  Yes, my MS has been with my family since 2001, but you know what?  My Lord assures me it's not going to last always.  Knowing that, I know I can keep on going.  Paul said our troubles are light and temporary.  I know there are times we laugh at those words but that's when we are looking at them through earthly eyes.  Look at those words through the eternal eyes of Jesus and you will KNOW, that you KNOW, that you KNOW they are true!

Your Response

Say the words to the song out loud.  Insert your situation into the song.  For example, “I’m so glad _____________ won’t last always.”  Tell God you are ready for the change He is creating for you.

The Song

"Change" from "A Piece of My Passion" by Juanita Bynum
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3TS5cixkT0

Double Duty Card Becomes a Layout

I got into paper art to scrapbook and if asked I would say I'm a scrapbooker vs. a card maker.  But, it seems I make more cards because they are so quick and easy.  However, I'm not very good at giving them away!  So, I find myself with a huge stockpile of cards and not enough scrapbook pages for my photos.  To solve my dilemma, I am going to start creating "scards".  In other words, I will create card fronts as the mood strikes but I will not adhere them to a card base.  I will stockpile them for use on a scrapbook page or a card.  This is my 1st example of a scard.  I think it looks great on the layout and as a card.  Let me know what you think!

  
Some special techniques I used were
1.  adorable mum flowers that Connie McFarlane has done a video on here:  http://paperpleatsandribbonroses.blogspot.com/2011/02/easy-paper-flowers.html  So cute and EASY PEASY
2.  colored the Kraft borders with a sponge and my ink pad.  These self adhesive
 borders are very economical and so very versatile.  You get 50 12" asst. borders for under $4 !!
3.  The butterflies are actually part of a stamp that includes a film strip.  I only wanted the butterflies so I cut off the film strip.  I can still use both together later but this makes it more versatile. I Love My
Acrylix stamps for so many reasons but being able to customize them like this is a huge plus.
4.  I wanted to use the "quilt" paper on this layout but a strip of it just didn't have the right look so I just used my trusty scissors to cut out the squares.  Perfect!

Recipe:
Mayberry Papers from Close To My Heart
Kraft Color-Ready Borders by CTMH (GREAT buy and SOOO versatile)
Butterfly Brads from Bliss Collection by CTMH
Take a Picture Stamps from CTMH
Oval Punch from CTMH
Goldrush and Topiary Inks from CTMH
Flowers created from my stash
Stickles
Turn That Frown Upside Down sentiment stamp found at www.creativetimeforme.com

Romantic Name Album

This is my 2nd "commissioned" name album.  I had a lot of fun creating it because the customer requested romantic with green, pink and creams.  So, that left the design wide open for me.  I designed this with my Cricut and Gypsy and used the Storybook font cartridge.  The majority of the paper is from Close To My Heart.  Ribbons and Embellishments are from my stash and some are CTMH.  I used Chocolate ink from CTMH to "antique" the edges. 

This is also my entry for this week's H2H challenge to make something with hearts.  There are hearts throughout this entire album.

Monday Musing-Not Forgotten

Belinda Kersey 2009

God’s Word
“...God has said, I will never leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

My Thoughts
Have you ever felt God has truly forgotten you and God has turned His back on all you are going through?  It’s possible, if those thoughts crossed your mind, you have felt great guilt over having those thoughts.  Others may tell you your faith is not strong enough.  But my dear friend, even Christ  uttered these words on the cross  “My God, My God why have you forsaken me?”

The Bible doesn’t tell us His Father chastised or punished him for having made such a statement.  On the contrary, in three days His Father  resurrected Him from death and the grave.  Questioning God is not a moral failure.  Turning from God and denying  His presence finds us in the darkest despair.

Go ahead, confess to your heavenly Father that you feel forgotten and forsaken.  But afterward , give Him time to work in your life and work out his plan.  Dear one, “when you think your dream has died, he has not forgotten you.  When your body aches from trying he has not forgotten you.”

We tend to turn our experiences with human frailties and failings into a belief that God shares those weaknesses in his character.  What we have to turn around in our mind and hearts is God can not have even an ounce of imperfection in His being.  He will not leave us or forsake us.  You can pound on that promise with the heaviest hammer of disbelief and it will not change, because “even in the darkness his promises are true. Keep this in your heart he has not forgotten you.”

We must realize our trials do not catch God by surprise.  The situation you are facing is not some random quirk in the universe.  God never plans harm for his children.  If  “your life feels like December, he has not forgotten you. When it’s painful to remember,  he has not forgotten you.  When it seems you can not win and there is not much left to lose he has got a plan and he has not forgotten you.”  

When we can face those plans with faith in God’s goodness and his sovereignty then “hope will spring eternal in (our)  home and we will “know that loving eyes will follow everywhere we go”.  Beloved of the Father know that “He is faithful, he is present he is listening he is life! He is faithful He is with you he is listening he is love!”

Your Response
This song already has a perfect response:  “If your tired flesh has squandered what your spirit would have seen and your aimless feet have wandered far from all you truly crave turn and run toward your father do not wait another day see his arms are open and he is calling out your name.”

The Song
“Not Forgotten”  by Twila Paris

"Kissing" Stamp Technique Card

This card is for the "Kissing Technique" challenge at www.heart2heartchallenges.blogspot.com.  This technique does not include locking lips but "kissing stamps" together.  A great tutorial can be found here on Tresa Black's blog.  To give you a simple explanation, on the bird in the foreground, I simply inked up a solid stamp (the bird) and then pressed an uninked  flower stamp randomly on the inked bird to remove some of the ink.  This leaves a subtle pattern on the bird when you stamp it on your paper.  On the bird in the back, I inked the bird stamp again and then inked the patterned stamp in another color then pressed it onto the bird stamp.  This creates a great 2 tone effect. I used Lagoon on both birds and Amethyst ink on the back one.

The sentiment is from the Circle of Love stamp set.  I inked it in Colonial White Pigment ink and then used white embossing powder on it.   I used a white cardstock base inked with Pacifica ink.  The background paper is from the Magnifique paper pack.  The accent strip on the bottom is a piece of Lagoon cardstock stamped with the flourish stamp from the Circle of Love stamp set in Pacifica ink.  I cut the heart with my Cricut using Outdoor Denim cardstock which I sanded around the edges.  The birds eyes are tiny Mocha Opaques.  The ribbon is from Michael's and all other products are CTMH.

Somebirdy Loves You Card

I created this card for the sketch challenge at www.heart2heartchallenges.blogspot.com.  All supplies are from Close To My Heart.  The paper is from our new Sweethearts pack.  The stamp set used is Love Birds.  The center heart has a pop-dot under it to lift it up but that is not showing up in the photo.  Ink colors used are Black, Blush, Tulip, Hollyhock and Sunkiss Yellow (for beaks).  I used a blender pen and my ink pads to color in the birds.  I used a file to distress the pink piece of cardstock.  The hearts were cut out with my Cricut.  Hope you like!

Monday Musing -Future History-Belinda Kersey 2009

God’s Word
“And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14

My Thoughts
Do you wonder why you are where you are right now? Do you question what God is doing? Does it seem there can’t possibly be a plan or a purpose? I know Esther must have felt that way when she was sent to the inner courts of the palace. On the surface it may look like she was living every little girl’s dream. The chance to be queen doesn’t come along every day. What woman wouldn’t revel in free beauty treatments for a year? It might sound like a dream come true for those of us who can’t even squeeze a spa day into our lives.

What we aren’t figuring into those fairy-tale visions is what lay at the end of those days of pampering. Those young, innocent girls were being pampered and plumped in preparation to spend the night with the King. A King who banished the previous queen for having a mind of her own. Don’t you know Esther was frightened out of her mind? And what if he didn’t like her? She would be cast aside and left unfit for marriage to another, relegated to the harem.

“We are who and where and what we are for now” is a profound line in Steven Curtis Chapman’s song that could have been spoken by Esther’s Uncle Mordecai. God created us “for now”, He placed us for this moment, this situation, this plan. But this moment isn’t the entire book of our lives. Whatever you are going through, you can be assured it won’t last, it will change. Our “for now” is not our complete destiny. Our real life is waiting on the other side of eternity. Esther’s “for now” wasn’t made for her pampering and pleasure but for the preservation and salvation of her people.

Our human nature is to want to see into the future so we can be prepared for what lies ahead or to have the ability to correct our mistakes before we make them. But Chapman says “We don’t have a time machine and even if we did would we really want to use it? Would we really want to go change everything?”. Amazingly, my heart agrees with him.

Yes, I have lived through difficult circumstances but through those times, God has taught me, He has used me and He has changed me for His glory. As a twenty year old, if I could look into the future and see the pain I would endure, I’m sure I would have done all within my power to create a different future for me and my family. But what would that have cost us? What growing and strengthening of faith would we have missed? What lessons would my children have failed to learn and grow from. Who would have lost out on eternity because we weren’t there to show the way?

The song says “There’s only One who knows what’s really out there waiting” and to Him “the future is history”. While we are here on this earth, living our little stories, the God of the universe has written the chapters of all time from beginning to end. Not only has he written the words, but He has had time to proof-read, re-read and sign his signature to the cover page. “All we need to know is He’s out there waiting”, and at the same time I know He’s right here living beside us, giving us the strength to make it to the last chapter of our earthly story so we can begin the rest of the story-the part that really matters, our heavenly destiny.

Your Response
Let God know you trust Him with your “now” and with your future. Tell Him you need His strength to face whatever He has in store for you. Tell Him you are ready for such a time as this because you know He has written your story from beginning to end.

The Song
"Miracle of the Moment" Steven Curtis Chapman

Bird Canvas-Ice Day Project

This is what I spent my "iced in" day doing.  This is day 2 and apparently tomorrow will be the same so I would love to join this bird in flying the coup! 

I started with a plain canvas that I painted with a mixture of CTMH Perfect Pearls paint and Vineyard Berry re-inker.  I then adhered 3 papers from the gorgeous CTMH Wings collection.  I used a 4th pattern from the same collection to die cut the cage (Tim Holtz Sizzix die).  I cut a 2nd cage in Kraft cardstock to adhere to the back of the patterned paper to make it sturdy.  To give it a 3D look, I bent it out in the middle and adhered with CTMH Liquid Glass.  The heart charm is from a broken bracelet-I always save broken jewelry for future projects.  The sentiment is from a pack of vellum quotes I bought on clearance.  I used Vineyard Berry ink and Juniper ink from CTMH to ink the bird-CTMH January Stamp of the Month.  The flowers were made from old sheet music using the spiral flower technique.  I added some brass looking flowers in the center and to the side.  The larger brass flower and leaves are from Tim Holtz, the others are CTMH.  The lace is from Michaels.  I finished it off with stick pins, rhinestones and gold pearls.

Stay warm and leave me some love!

A Texas Ice Day

I know it looks like nothing to all the northeners in town for the BIG game but this is serious business for us sun loving Texans. Laugh if you will but YES it shut down most businesses and all schools today and tomorrow.  If you've never driven on a glaze of ice, don't try it here for sure:-)