Operation Christmas Child: journal making

I am having a workshop on Saturday, October 24th at my home to create journals to be put in the shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.  If you are unfamiliar with the organization, which prepares shoeboxes full of Christmas gifts and the gospel message for children around the world, I encourage you to look at the website.  We will begin at 10:00 a.m. and finish at 5:00 p.m.  Due to the limitations of our driveway, you will need to confirm with me that you are coming. You'll want to pack a lunch, or make plans to eat out.  Those who would like to make a personal journal will be asked to make a donation to cover the expenses of adhesives and coils.  I'll have tons of wallpaper samples on hand to choose from.

We make a number of different sizes of journals, 3" x 2.75" (or something like that!) to roughly 4" x 6".  We even make a few funky sizes.  These come from larger size journal cardstock scraps ... I don't like to waste anything.  I also discovered the concept of journal necklaces, which are a lot of fun to make! Here are a few of the journals that have been made in the past, and the journal necklace:

I have lots of metal brads, but could use some fun decorative buttons, flowers, and other embellishments to add to what I have to dress up the journals.  I also am looking for people willing to cut cardstock pieces for the journal necklaces, and to punch the edges of the cardstock and paper for the larger journals, in advance of the workshop.  Also, if we can have some covers done in advance, then while new covers are curing, we can be decorating the pre-made covers. Please let me know if you would like to help.

The shoe boxes are packed by gender and ages; these will go to 9 to 14 year olds; as even the larger journals are on the small side, and little children have not necessarily developed the fine motor skills for small print or coloring, the older age seems more appropriate.

Hope to see you there!

Cutest Little Journal Idea!

It's time to be collecting items for Operation Christmas Child!  Last year we made some mini-journals at our church to add to the boxes.  This year, I found an adorable necklace journal, and just had to duplicate it.  I think these just might be the most fun for our group to make this year! The sample I found had printed papers for every page; I use blank what papers with printed cardstock for every four sheets; 50 pages total.   The size of the journal (not counting the ring) is just over 1.5" x 2".

More Mosaic Fun

Once again, I could not seem to take a decent photograph of a shimmery card.  The combination of the mosaic pattern with the powders is really amazing.  After awhile, mica powders lose their shine, but a Swiffer dry cloth brings it back instantly.  This is my final entry in the Verve Autumn Lovelies challenge, ending today.

Gold Leaf

It's difficult to have gold show up in all its sparkle, at least with my camera!  I had made several of the background panels (beige vellum stamped with gold-ink leaves), but never found the right use for them.  I actually threw a couple of them out, but just kept this one.  Then a couple of days later I got the idea of adding a leaf stamped with gold, and I'm really  happy at how it turned out ... and sorry I tossed the other panels I'd done!  This is another entry for the Verve Autumn Lovelies challenge.

Birthday Leaves

Oops!  A little too much glue makes for a warped card!  But between the textures I was using needed a strong amount to keep everything together ... I just should have left it all under weight a bit longer!  This is for the Verve Autumn Lovelies challenge.

God Leads Us All the Way!

Reading scripture in context is always a good thing.  The scripture on this card comes as part of an exhortation from God to the Israelites when they have reached the promised land. The verse reads in its entirety: "Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands." Leading us that we would be humbled and tested?  That can be enough to run from the Lord's leading!  And yet, reflecting on the parting of the waters, the provision of manna, and the provision of the law that would one day lead us to the knowledge of our need for grace in Christ, we see that his leading involves beautiful, wonderful things, that he is faithful to provide for us even as he teaches us.  What a wonderful God we serve!

I love taking a single stamp or embossing folder and see how many ways I can work with it.  This background was made with a Darice leaf folder and Tim Holtz' Craft Core paper.  I accidentally embossed it on the wrong side.  (Actually, to my disgust, I embossed several sheets of it backwards, ugh!!!).  Hmmm... what to do?  The other side looked nice, but of course I couldn't sand it down to reveal the paper underneath.   So I used a roller to ink the "correct" side, then ran it through my Cuttlebug underneath the folder to flatten it just a bit, then put it into the embossing folder on the correct side.  I then ran it through the cuttlebug again, and then rolled green ink over the newly embossed panel.  I tried various other ideas on the other goofed pieces; it was so much fun!  Alas, I ran out of time to make any more cards with those panels!

I am entering this into the Our Daily Bread Designs Background Challenge and Word Art Wednesday's Anything Goes Challenge, and Verve Autumn Lovelies Challenge.

He is Become My Salvation

I'm submitting this card to Verve Autumn Lovelies challenge and to Word Art Wednesday's challenge.

This scripture is a song of praise following a prophecy, in chapter 11, foretelling the birth of Christ.  It is a joyous prophecy, following one in chapter 10 largely addressing the wrath of God toward his people for his sin.  But God does not stay angry forever, and in an incredible act of love, declares that he will send a savior:

Isaiah 11: 11

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;

    from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—

    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

    the Spirit of counsel and of might,

    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—

3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord…

So, God says through Isaiah in chapter 12, we will respond, saying:

“I will praise you, Lord.

    Although you were angry with me,

your anger has turned away

    and you have comforted me.

2 Surely God is my salvation;
    I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense;
   he has become my salvation."
3 With joy you will draw water

    from the wells of salvation.

4 In that day you will say:

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;

    make known among the nations what he has done,

    and proclaim that his name is exalted.

5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;

    let this be known to all the world.

6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,

    for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”

Let’s spread the word about the greatness of our God and His salvation!

Repeat inspiration

This fall I was determined to keep completely new cards to a minimum, and use up some of my saved bits and backgrounds.  The piece I had for this card was the leaf image stamped on a beige background and inked.  I turned it into the card you see here.   After I photographed the card, and put it into my autumn file, I saw that the leaf image had been a duplicate of one used on another card.  To my amusement, I had used the same layers (coppery-brown on rust on beige) as the previous card with that image, made five years earlier!  But I had stopped there; this time, I had added three brads, and the difference is surprisingly significant.  The brown and rust are mica cardstock, which has just a hint of sparkle and texture.  This card is for the Verve Autumn Lovelies challenge.

Simply Apples

When I make cards, I often make duplicates of panels or text; this card came from card that had gotten ruined, so needed a redo.  I am submitting this to the Verve Autumn Lovelies Challenge, though I think it's more of a cute and simple autumn card rather than a lovely one!  :-) I'm also submitting it to Word Art Wednesday's Anything Goes challenge.

Fun with Mosaics!

I had a lot of fun with this background.  I took goldenrod cardstock, embossed a mosaic background from Eureka with clear embossing powder, then sponged the various colors on.  The plan was to then iron off the clear embossing, but, well, I liked the glaze effect!

I am submitting this card for two contests; the Verve Autumn Lovelies challenge,  and the Our Daily Bread Designs "Ink up or emboss your own background" challenge.  I love doing backgrounds.  In fact, I would rather just experiment with backgrounds than make cards!

Not your usual fall colors!

Most of us don't see teal and silver leaves, but when I'm  making a bunch of fall cards, I like to take the original break from the "standard" (though glorious!) fall colors, and make a different kind of card.  I made this for my youngest daughter's birthday ... she likes thinking outside the box so will appreciate the color change.  The picture does not do justice to the beauty of the Indian background paper ... it's really lovely.  The silver embossed leaf also does not show it's true "sparkle."  I often have difficulty photographing cards to reflect shimmer.  :-(

Anyway, this is a submission for Verve's "Autumn Lovelies" challenge.

Thanksgiving Greetings

This is another entry for Verve's Autumn Lovelies challenge.  After the last card I made with these elements and colors, I was in love!  So, I recreated it for someone requesting fall/thanksgiving cards.  I am posting it now, instead of closer to Thanksgiving, for the simple reason that I've been requested to make three more of these ... and I do not have  any more of the gorgeous, deep green, crinkle paper (or cardstock, or whatever this should be called, lol), and it was made, I believe, by a company that is out of business.  If anyone can give me a source for this, I'd be grateful!

Seek the Lord Always

I love Word Art Wednesday's focus on scripture!  This week's challenge is from the 16th chapter of
I Chronicles, when David, not long after becoming king upon Saul's death, has had the ark brought back to Jerusalem.  It had been a tragic trip: the prescribed way in which to transport the ark, by poles carried by Levites, had been somehow forgotten or ignored, and a man had died because of it.  Now David has repented, made the necessary sacrifices, and ensured that the ark was transported correctly.  Now, it is time to celebrate!  This scripture is just one part of a beautiful song of praise; actually, the beginning states that David "appointed Asaph and his associates to give praise to the LORD in this manner".   So David was not just writing a glorious personal praise of God, but in his song, setting an example of worship for the priesthood to follow.  We, because of Jesus Christ, are now that priesthood. I encourage you to read verses 8-36 for a wonderful inspiration for thanksgiving and for worship.

8 Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
    make known among the nations what he has done.
9 Sing to him, sing praise to him;
    tell of all his wonderful acts.
10 Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
11 Look to the Lord and his strength;
    seek his face always.
12 Remember the wonders he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
13 you his servants, the descendants of Israel,
    his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.
14 He is the Lord our God;
    his judgments are in all the earth.
15 He remembers his covenant forever,
    the promise he made, for a thousand generations,
16 the covenant he made with Abraham,
    the oath he swore to Isaac.
17 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
    to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
18 “To you I will give the land of Canaan
    as the portion you will inherit.”
19 When they were but few in number,
    few indeed, and strangers in it,
20 they[d] wandered from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another.
21 He allowed no one to oppress them;
    for their sake he rebuked kings:
22 “Do not touch my anointed ones;
    do my prophets no harm.”
23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
    proclaim his salvation day after day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
25 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
    he is to be feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the nations are idols,
    but the Lord made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty are before him;
    strength and joy are in his dwelling place.
28 Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
    bring an offering and come before him.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his[e] holiness.
30     Tremble before him, all the earth!
    The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
31 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
    let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
32 Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
    let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!
33 Let the trees of the forest sing,
    let them sing for joy before the Lord,
    for he comes to judge the earth.
34 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.
35 Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior;
    gather us and deliver us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name,
    and glory in your praise.”
36 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting.
Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.”

Autumn: The Mellower Season

Here is another card for the Verve Autumn Lovelies challenge.  The quote and background paper were in my "card parts" box; I'm not even sure why I started this card, it has a bit of a limited audience.  But, in making fall cards for someone, I really wanted to focus on finishing started cards.

The author of the quote, Samuel Butler, was a novelist who had a lot of pithy statements that might be familiar:

The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.

Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions from insufficient premises.

Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them.

Every man's work, whether it be literature, or music or pictures or architecture or anything else, is always a portrait of himself.

I do not mind lying, but I hate inaccuracy.

All animals except man know that the ultimate of life is to enjoy it.

Friendship is like money, easier made than kept.

Leaf Elegance

It's nice having a season, though it will be brief, of getting back into the stamping world.  In my rare participation with blog challenges, I came across two cards in which I so liked the stamped image (scriptures both times), that I looked up the source: both were from Verve Stamps.   I clicked on the blog link, and discovered they are having a fall challenge: Autumn Lovelies.  So, here is my card. :-)

Fun with Kraft-Core

I couldn't resist doing one more challenge for Word Art Wednesday.  I've been making fall/thanksgiving cards for a coworker of my husband's, and I got a bit carried away working with Tim Holtz' "Kraft-Core" and Darice's leaf embossing folder. I embossed the pieces, then sanded the tops to reveal the kraft brown beneath. This top card is my absolute favorite, though I almost tossed the panel; I thought the orange (not quite represented accurately in the photo) clashed with the brown horribly.  But, I had the pumpkin pieces from years ago when playing with that image, and the oranges and browns blended perfectly with the embossed/sanded ugly panel!  I was so happy!

This card, and the next, feature the embossed panels.  You can't really tell by the picture (and it's not overly obvious to begin with), but on the second card, I first brayered brown ink over the embossed panel, and then sanded it.   I'd like to try it again with a more contrasting color.  It does add more dimensionality to the panel.

Okay, now honestly, isn't this one a bit ugly?  I think so, and have not turned it into a card yet.  The problem is the colors, but I included it because I like the concept of the card: I laid the leaves onto the panel, embossed it together, than removed the leaves.  Then I sanded the panel, and replaced the leaves in the correct positions.  So if you look close, you can see how the pattern of the embossing folder is not broken by the leaves, but continued by them.  It might have worked just was well (and been less time consuming!) to have glued the leaves on before embossing, and then sanded the panel and leaves together ... maybe I'll try that another time.  And then I will pick a more pleasing combination of colors, lol!

Different Horizons

Once again, this is for the Word Art Wednesday challenge.  I was asked by someone to make her a some fall/Thanksgiving themed cards, so have been working hard at for close to a week.  I generally do not have time to make cards; it literally took two full days of trying to make cards to get back into the groove.  I'm really into it now, but am getting behind in my grad school work, so pretty soon  here I need to just quit and believe I have enough variety for my customer to choose from!

I love the perspective the quote on this image brings: so often disagreements are simply issues of perspective.  Of course, in today's world, there are those who wish to say that all issues are perspective, and there is never a time to say "this is right", or "this is wrong."   But we can all stand to remember the importance of considering the other point of view...

Some Trust in Chariots

I am posting again for the Word Art Wednesday Challenge; this time, I'm using the free digital scripture stamp provided for this week.  Years ago I had tried making horse cards, but not being gifted with coloring skills, nor being a "horse person," I felt very insecure, and never actually completed cards.   But, I rarely throw anything away that I might later find use for.  So, when I saw the scripture, I knew I finally had use for the horse panel!  I first wanted to keep the panel as it was, but when I tried to print the scripture onto a transparency to overlay the horse, I did not realize that I was low on ink, so it did not give proper coverage.  (That is why the print is a hair blurred and not truly black as well).  So, I die cut the panel and reprinted the scripture.

Silhouette Wedding

I was asked to make a last minute orange/peach wedding card.  I'm not a fast card maker ... I think it's the decision making part that slows me down the most ... but I managed!  This is for the Word Art Wednesday challenge.

The Grace of God

I recently made this card for a man in our church who had experienced God's grace in a beautiful and memorable way.   I chose the background (wallpaper) based on the Old Testament encouragements on certain occasions to erect memorials, often made with stones, as a remembrance of God's grace to the people. I have made journals with this pattern for the same reason; journals are a great "memorial stone" for us to use to record God's goodness to us, especially those life-changing or defining moments that He gives us.

I am participating in the Word Art Wednesday challenge.  This blog provides a digital scripture stamp for each challenge - I love that!  This is their 200th post ... I think that is certainly something to celebrate!  Now I need to go save some of those scripture digis to my files ...  :-)

ODB Color Challenge

This week's challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs is a Color Challenge.  I love challenges not only because of the fun of it, and the potential win, but it helps kickstart cardmaking for me ... I tend to get way behind.  For instance, I haven't mailed anything to my son, who lives across the country, anything for several months, and we do not keep in close contact by e-mail or texting.  So, this got me to finally get a card out.  Masculine cards are not my favorite thing to make: I feel more constrained with colors and embellishments, especially with a twenty-something male who is not likely to even notice the card, lol!  But, clean simple cards are what I prefer anyway; the focus for me is always the message.  As with my last card, this is not well photographed, this time because of dark, dreary rainy days.  The leaves are actually more like the peach color represented in the ODB challenge.

Layerless Scripture Card

My husband writes to a friend, John, in prison.  Layered cards are not permitted; if sent, they are torn apart before being given to the recipient.  So, I've been trying to create cards with no layers or embellishments of any kind.

I forgot to retake the picture ... this one was taken in the evening in poor lighting, so looks a bit blue and washed out.  It actually turned out really well.  I stamped the background image in gray, then stamped the scripture.  I then put an oval mask over the verse, and restamped the background in black, and chalked it in.

Our Daily Bread Designs has an "Anything Goes with Scripture" challenge going right now. They have lovely designs that work well on layerless cards, so for  my husband's friend, I'm going to submit this and maybe another card or two in hopes of winning a $15 gift certificate that will go toward making the next card for him!

I hope this will inspire anyone who has a friend or relative in jail to get creative and be a blessing to someone who could truly use one!

A Month of Sundays ... A Stamped Journal for Sermon Notes

For probably ten years I have wanted to do this project for my pastor's wife, but there never has been the time.  There wasn't time this year either, but they're of an age where retirement could come soon, so I wanted to get this DONE!  I had a lot of ideas that there just was not time for, so many of the stamped pages are sadly simple, and a few of the pages were "card parts" I had never used ... I'm so glad I save those!  My goal was to create a journal that could take care of anything coming up on a Sunday.  For each month there was a prayer request page, and six lined pages for note-taking (one per week, with an extra page or two just in case!), and a calendar.  I used cardstock for the stamped pages.  The back cover had a ribbon to mark her place. I had no time to design a cover, so used one I had already made into a basic journal.