OWH World Cardmaking Day Blog Hop

 

Hi everyone and welcome to the Operation Write Home blog Hop!  I have created 2 Christmas cards. The scripture stamp is from Inspired Stamps and they are one of the great sponsors today!  Be sure you click on the above images so you can see all the Christmas goodness!  I support our servicemen and women because it is the RIGHT thing to do.

The first card reflects all the vintage goodness I have been perusing on the web lately!  I am under the "vintage influence"!  I love how it turned out!  I used Inspired Stamps "Blessed Little Christmas" stamps for the verse and the embossed stars.

 

The 2nd card is the one I actually started with but wasn't thrilled with it and started over with the vintage one.  I still don't love this card but wanted to show you this so you could see the scripture stamp more clearly.  It's also the first time I have used Liquid Applique for snow-FUN!

Supplies for Vintage card besides Inspired Stamps:  CTMH Kraft paper, CTMH ink and embossing powder, buttons and gold rick-rack from stash, trees cut with Art Philosophy CTMH Cricut cart, patterned paper from MME "Lost and Found Christmas", MS butterfly punch, CTMH tree stamp "Holiday Magic"

Supplies for Blue Card besides Insp. Stamps:  CTMH  cardstock and Wonderland patterned paper , twine, Moonlight CTMH ink, Liquid Applique

Glitter Christmas Tag

The last challenge this month at www.heart2heartchallenges.blogspot.com is to create and item that uses sentiment stamps and no other type of stamps.  I decided that a fun tag was in order.  I went through my stamps and found several appropriate words to use to fill this little tree.  The tag was cut out using the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge.  I masked the white dimensional tag underneath and stamped the words.  I glittered the green tag using our Prisma Glitter then mounted it on the white tag. 

I outlined the tree using Liquid Glass and twine.  The star was one I had in my stash and I'm pretty sure it was cut with the Cricut.  I finished the tag off with a cheerful red and white twine bow.  Ink colors are Vineyard Berry and Ponderosa Pine from CTMH.  All stamps are CTMH and come from several sets.

Inspired Stamps Christmas Girl Card

This week the Design Team at Inspired Stamps was asked to share a Christmas project.  Since it's my fave holiday, I had no problem whipping up a Christmas card.   The wonderful stamps at Inspired Stamps  make the creative process so easy with the great scriptures and adorable characters. 

For this card, I used the new HLO Thankful Girl.  She's such a little lady with her cute dress and purse.  I used Copics to color her in her Christmas dress.  The sentiment and the scripture stamp I used is from the new Blessed Little Christmas set.  Be sure you check out the rest of the Design Teams' work.  I've had a look at them and each one is beautiful!

Other Supplies used:  My Mind's Eye Lost and Found Christmas paper,  CTMH Chocolate, Vineyard Berry, Black and Ponderosa Pine inks, CTMH Glitz Glitter Glue, Copics:

Owl Cardstock-only Card

The gals at www.heart2heartchallenges.blogspot.com, challenged us last week to make something using cardstock only - no patterned paper.  I was inspired by the cute owl on the CTMH Petite Perks stamp set to make an owl card.  The outside of the card was inspired by one my friend taught me to do-I think the original is on splitcoast stampers but a google search for owl pop-up card comes up with several similar.

Anyhoo, I used my Cricut Hoot n Holler cart to create the cute owls inside and out.  All cardstock and inks are CTMH.  I used the woodgrain Cuttlebug folder for the front of the card and then cut out a 2" circle for the owl to peek out of.  The owl has pop-up googly eyes.  The banner was cut with CTMH's AP Cricut cart and stamped with 3 of the stamps from the Petite Perks set-click on the photo to see them better.  The inside was stamped with the sprig stamp from the CTMH "10 Things" stamp set.

WHOO likes it?

Rebel for Christ

Today's devotional is a video of my son preaching to his youth group in Belton, TX. He has been a full-time youth pastor for a little over a year now. He and his wife have a huge heart for the youth of today and do an amazing job reaching them. Thanks for indulging a proud and thankful momma!

Inspired Stamps Fall Flowerpot Card

 

These flowerpot cards were all the rage a couple of years ago and I made so many of them I got tired of them!  However, when I was pondering what Fall card I could make for this week's Inspired Stamps  Design Team post, this card popped into my head. 

For the flowers, I used the versatile Flowers stamp set. The scripture is from the Favorite Collection #2 stamp set.  I love how it turned out so much, that I may make a banner out of several of the pots!  Be sure you check out the rest of the Teams amazing projects today!

For the flowers

1. stamp, color with Copics and cut out them out

2. used CTMH Glitz in bronze for the centers

3.layer a small one on top of a large one with a foam dot

For the Card:

1.  use Gypsy to weld the bottoms of 2 flowerpots together from the Walk in My Garden Cricut cart

2.  run the bottom through Cuttlebug with a swirl folder

3.  distress it with a nail file.

4.  use twine tied around it to hold the card together

5.  cut out the insert card  and stamp as desired

6.  use pop dots to adhere some of the flowers to insert

7.  cut leaves with Close To My Heart Art Philosophy cart and adhere behind and in the flowers

8.  pop dot one flower and adhere 2 leaves to the center of the pot and then add another to the bottom.

Emmanuel...God With Us

Belinda Kersey 

written December 2002

His Word

Matthew 1:23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel” (which means “God with us”).

The Song
God With Us by MercyMe

My Thoughts

The words I am sharing today are from our family Christmas letter from 2002.  It was the year after I was diagnosed with MS and the year I became wheelchair dependent.  It had been a rough year but we had learned the meaning of "Emmanuel, God with us".  

We have learned the meaning of His name over the past year.  January brought crippling fatigue and negative changes in my health. Our church family provided meals, love and encouragement, my dear mother gave the gift of cleaning, ...God with us!  February brought a nasty fall and a Royal Ranger friend felt led to send a wheelchair the day I was going to need one...God with us!!  There was progression in the disease that resulted in a hospital stay and the words from the neurologist that I may have the rare form of MS and I might not improve, our church family and many others prayed and quick and miraculous improvement came...God with us! 

March brought an extended stay in rehab and some improvement came and many friends visited and helped the time pass...God with us!  My wonderful in-laws moved here to keep the home fires burning...God with us!  Changes to our home were needed to accommodate my new life in a wheelchair and our family, many friends from church and Royal Rangers built a new beautiful bath and dressing room...God with us!  The decision was made that I could not return to work but God provided our every need through miraculous ways...God with us!   

May brought the beginning of chemo treatments and the beginning of new strength and energy...God with us!  Summer brought some return to normalcy in our life, we said goodbye to Jeff’s parents and began fending for ourselves again.  As summer drew to a close we were uncertain how to get our youngest children to and from school and a Royal Ranger commander stepped in with the gift of a powered chair to enable me to “walk” with them...God with us!  The Fall has been a time of much improvement in energy and stamina...God with us!

You see, even though my body was going through the most difficult struggle of my life, God was supplying our needs through His people.  His followers were showing His love for us in all that they did.  Never have I had such a more difficult year but never have I felt God's love and presence more.   How could my soul not say "All that is within me cries For You alone be glorified: Emmanuel, God with us. "

Your Response
Even if you have not seen God's hand as clearly in your life as you think you should, you can still rest assured that He is with you and working behind the scenes for your life and His glory.  Focus not on what you are going through but what good things you see happening.  Thank God for all He has brought you through and for all He is going to do.