Saturday, October 29, 2016

Clothed with Strength & Dignity

I used a beautiful stamp from Verve for this feminine card, Proverbs 31:25.
It says,
"She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future."
The frame die is Cover Plate: Pretty Frame by Papertrey Ink.




And the reverse colors....



A Wife of Noble Character
10Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?
She is more precious than rubies.
11Her husband can trust her,
and she will greatly enrich his life.
12She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13She finds wool and flax
and busily spins it.
14She is like a merchant’s ship,
bringing her food from afar.
15She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household
and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.
16She goes to inspect a field and buys it;
with her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17She is energetic and strong,
a hard worker.
18She makes sure her dealings are profitable;
her lamp burns late into the night.
19Her hands are busy spinning thread,
her fingers twisting fiber.
20She extends a helping hand to the poor
and opens her arms to the needy.
21She has no fear of winter for her household,
for everyone has warm clothes.
22She makes her own bedspreads.
She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.
23Her husband is well known at the city gates,
where he sits with the other civic leaders.
24She makes belted linen garments
and sashes to sell to the merchants.
25She is clothed with strength and dignity,
and she laughs without fear of the future.
26When she speaks, her words are wise,
and she gives instructions with kindness.
27She carefully watches everything in her household
and suffers nothing from laziness.
28Her children stand and bless her.
Her husband praises her:
29“There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,
but you surpass them all!”
30Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;
but a woman who fears the lord will be greatly praised.
31Reward her for all she has done.
Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

Whatever you are doing this weekend, I hope it gives you joy!

Thanks for your visit today,

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Autumn sympathy cards

~Available at Etsy and Arts Plus Gallery~

Hello everyone! Does it look like autumn yet where you live? The leaves are just starting to turn a little here in New Jersey, but not too much.  We're in the middle of an autumn 'heat wave' too, with temps up near 80 degrees. (Hey, that heat wave term is relative, right? I am READY for cooler temps!)

Speaking of fall...I've got a couple of autumnal sympathy cards to share today.
The first is available in my Etsy shop.


I paired Lawn Fawn's Stitched Leaves with some jute braided ribbon, a stamped frame from Inspired By Stamping's Everyday Tabs and a sentiment from Papertrey Ink's Words of Comfort.


The leaves were die cut in shades of orange, rust and 'River Rock', clustered together and dotted with dabs of Liquid Pearls, then topped with a bow made from vintage thread.


The next card is in my stash at home at the moment...haven't yet placed it in a shop.


I went rustic with the patterned paper choices, and with the slim braided jute ribbon.  Some feminine embellishments (paper roses, pearls) might seem strange with the rustic stuff...but I think it works.


hanks ever so much for joining me today. I wish you a beautiful day!

Monday, October 17, 2016

Chicken Soup get well card

~Available on Etsy and at Arts Plus Gallery~

Happy Monday, everyone! Back to work, back to school. Hey, would a cute bowl of chicken soup help you feel better?


I used Lawn Fawn's On The Mend stamp set, and it never gets old to me. :-) This set is so sweet!


I stamped the bouquet-in-a-vase twice, and trimmed out one little flower to add to a double-ended notched banner (Papertrey Ink's Tag Sale #10 die set), along with the stamped sentiment.


I stamped the bowl, spoon, and bouquet on white scrap cardstock, colored then trimmed out. They are added to a die cut circle using pale pink heart patterned paper because, you know, you're sending love to someone who needs to feel better soon!

Though it was hard to capture in the pictures, I did add Wink of Stella clear shimmer to the spoon and also in the soup -- and I'm pretending it is Chicken Noodle Soup with good-for-you broth. :-)

Thank you so much for coming by today, and I hope you have an awesome week!

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Isaiah 40:31

We all need encouragement from time to time. Life is challenging and can weigh heavy on our hearts some days. I made this card with that in mind. One of my very favorite Bible verses is this, from Isaiah 40:31.
"Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."


Amen!  Our Lord provides Living Water to nourish and sustain us.
"But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life." John 4:14 NLT

Stamp from Papertrey Ink A Cheerful Heart

I am grateful, and I am blessed. :-D
And I thank you so much for stopping by here today.
Be strong! You are special and you are loved!

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Beaded pumpkin on a table

Available at Arts Plus Gallery 

How gorgeous is this beaded pumpkin sticker?  Yes, it's a sticker! I added a Baked Brown Sugar twine bow to it, and set it on a "wooden table" in front of some plaid "wall paper". (I like to envision a scene as I create, and translate it with my papercrafting supplies)


The sticker is from Jolee's Boutique, which I bought at a JoAnn's store a few years ago.  I love it! So much texture with all those microbeads.


On the top corner of the card, I added a paper maple leaf and a die-cut acorn (Top Dog Dies Fall Foliage), to which a little bit of gold paint was dabbed on.  Oh, the plaid paper was from a bit of packaging from a Pier 1 Imports candle, and I mounted it on a white cardstock panel. That panel received the gold treatment too:  I ran my Krylon 18kt Gold Pen along the edges before adhering to the card base.


The interior of the card was left blank, so it can be used for an autumn birthday, or Thanksgiving, or 'happy fall', or whatever!

Thanks so much for joining me here today.
May your day be filled with blessings!

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Nothing but blue skies

Hello!  A dear relative of mine needed some cheering up earlier this summer, so I created this simple card for her.


The simple ingredients for this are:

  • one cute house from Stampin' Up! Holiday Home
  • two puffy white die cut clouds from Papertrey Ink
  • a big Mini Scallop Circle die cut from My Favorite Things, using an older Brilliant Blue patterned paper from Stampin' Up!
  • a fun, cheerful, optimistic sentiment from Flourishes Sunflowers 



I stamped the same house inside the card in Brilliant Blue ink, and included a positive message for the beautiful soul of my relative.

Thanks so much for joining me today.  God bless you!

Monday, October 10, 2016

Saying goodbye to our neighbor's cat

Available at Etsy

Our neighbor's cat passed away over the summer, and I was inspired to create a card that reminded them of their precious fur-baby.


Chili was a handsome, big gray cat who loved to roam our yard and his own. His stripes were so beautiful! He was the inspiration for the kitty sitting in this die-cut window, though I did pick a paper pattern that's a bit fanciful.


Both the window die and kitty die are from Memory Box, and I think they go so well together. I chose a light blue damask patterned paper to stand in for the sky, and a sentiment from Papertrey Ink's Words of Comfort.

Thanks so much for joining me here today!


Friday, October 7, 2016

Flowers on a garden fence

Available on Etsy

Love the sentiment on this:
A friend is one who overlooks your broken fence and admires the flowers in your garden.
Isn't that sweet?  And don't we all have broken fences in one way or another?


This little scene was fun to put together, with an Estate Fence die from Memory Box, little flowers made with the Martha Stewart Hydrangea Punch, and the Cloud 1 & 2 die from Papertrey Ink. The sentiment is also from PTI, in the Choose Joy set.


Each of the flowers got a dab of White Opal Liquid Pearls, and this whole scene is set on a Stitched Rectangle die cut (L'il Inker Designs) in pale baby blue.

I left the inside blank so this could be used for a birthday card, encouragement, get well, or any other occasion.  There's a link to this card at the top of my post if you are interested. :-)

Have yourself a WONDERFUL weekend!  Many blessings to you!

Watering can wishes

Available on Etsy

Hello everyone! Today I'm sharing a card that is perfect for someone who loves flowers and / or gardening, with that sweet little watering can on the front. :-)


Loving the new-to-me Mini Scallop Circle (My Favorite Things) die set! I find myself using it a lot as a pretty frame for sentiments and other goodies.  Here, it's the setting for flowers in a watering can. The flowers stamp is from Close To My Heart's Flower Pot set and the watering can is from Stampin' Up!'s Blooming With Love.


There are couple of white satin 'Marshmallow' sequins on here and a sentiment from Papertrey Ink's Daily Designs Sentiments set. The background of the card was fun to assemble:  a couple of pretty patterned papers, a strip of crochet lace, and two taupe borders created with Martha Stewart's Scallop Dot punch.

Thanks so much for coming by today! Have a wonderful day!

Thursday, October 6, 2016

Under the weather

Available at Arts Plus Gallery

Happy Thursday, my friends!  We're almost to another weekend...hooray!
Today, I'm sharing a card I made with new-to-me dies from Paper Smooches called Wedding Shower. WHAT.A.CUTE.SET.


There's an umbrella in the die set, along with a heart, a raindrop, and wedding rings.

What I like about that set is that the umbrella can be used for a baby shower creation, or as you see here, in a get well card.  I just happened to have the perfect sentiment (DeNami Design) to go with it.


I paired three fun, bright, cheerful patterned papers (Stampin' Up!), with a kraft card base. I used craft foam under the umbrella's fabric and handle portions.  And for the shaft and handle, I first die-cut them from white scrap cardstock, and then used an 18kt Gold Paint Pen from Krylon to give a beautiful golden luster.  A couple of sparkling sequins stand in for rain drops. :-)

Thanks a BUNCH for visiting me today!
May you be healthy and blessed!

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

A Custom Creation: Fresh Baked Birthday

Available at Arts Plus Gallery (because I made two of these!)

Hi there!  A colleague of mine requested a custom birthday creation recently.  The birthday girl, I was told, is really into baking her own bread, and she is fun and a bit eccentric.

Believe it or not, I have a bread stamp in my stash!  Yessss!  It's from an old Close To My Heart set called Tasty Treats. I thought a loaf of bread would go good with some cherries (patterned paper from Stampin' Up!); after all, they both come from the kitchen. :-)



First, I die-cut a doily (My Favorite Things Decorative Doily Duo) and stamped the bread on it, then colored with Copic markers. I used craft foam behind it, then layered this onto a die-cut Mini Scallop Circle (also MFT).  The tiny cherries were trimmed from a piece of patterned paper that coordinates with the black-background pattern featured on this card.


I added a thin red strip of cardstock where the cherries pattern meets the kraft cardstock base, and added two red rhinestones...reminiscent of freshly-washed cherries!


Thanks so much for joining me here today!  May God bless you!

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Autumn Congratulations

Available at Etsy and Arts Plus Gallery 

I love October! It's the month of our wedding anniversary, and oh what a beautiful day we had 22 years ago! The air was crisp, tree leaves had turned to gold, crimson and orange, and our hearts were so full. :-D

I know that the fall is a popular time for weddings, and that's what inspired me to create this card. With a cluster of leaves, a golden "congrats", and a blank interior, this is perfect for weddings AND anniversaries. :-)


I started with a white card base, and stamped it with French Script Background (Stampin' Up!). I did cover a lot of it, though, with some autumnal patterned papers, so just a bit of the script peeks out. Those leaves, wow, aren't they pretty? One of the best purchases I made: Lawn Fawn's Stitched Leaves die set. Love!

I used various colors of oranges and beige to create the leaf cluster, and topped them with a two-tone seam binding 'Colleen bow'. A sprinkling of matte and shiny gold sequins were tucked in, too.


The 'congrats' die is from Papertrey Ink, and I also used PTI's Luxe Gold cardstock. I used craft foam to die-cut the sentiment and glued it underneath for some added dimension.



Take care and thank so much for your visit today!  Enjoy this beautiful month!

Monday, October 3, 2016

Reach for the Sky

Happy Monday!  I'm sharing a light, carefree card today that also happens to be for sale in my Etsy shop.

Look at that sentiment:  reach for the sky.  A good reminder to us all! (sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Up, Up & Away Sentiments)


I love the tiny damask pattern on the pale blue paper, as it really reminds me of a beautiful sky on a sunny day.  The hot air balloon (Inspired By Stamping) was stamped once on an MFT Stitched Rounded Rectangle die cut, and once on a piece of sweet pink floral paper.  I trimmed the one out of the patterned and carefully laid it over the balloon stamped on the white panel. The whole panel is raised up on craft foam for dimension, and I added some sparkling sequins for a little something extra-glistening.


This would be good for graduation, of course, but how about for someone embarking on a new career, a new job, a new path in life?

Thanks so much for joining me today!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...