Mark's Finest Papers Blog Hop day 3 - Mountain Selections

 November Blog Hop! 

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

Big City Featured November 27 
Amaryllis Definition Featured November 28
Mountain Selections Featured November 29
Just a Note Featured November 30

Please hop along with us! You have a chance 
 to win one of the above stamp sets! Just comment on the following blogs (don't forget this one), each day for more chances to win! (You do NOT have to comment on all the blogs each day! The names are drawn randomly!) All four winners will be announced on December 1, 2012 on the Mark's Finest Papers blog. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. (HINT: The more you comment, the more chances you have to win and comments on the MFP blog count twice!) The deadline for commenting is 11PM EST on Friday November 30, 2012.


As you all know November is the time to gear up for Christmas shopping. So many sales and crowds, well stick with us we have some great deals for your Holiday Shopping needs.

 

 The special stamp set we have for you this month is:

"Winter Scenes"

Have you ever made a card where you didn't really have a plan, you just started? I usually start with a sketch and then pick out paper and then decide what image I want to use. For this card. I did it all backwards. 

I started with the tree and deer (There were so many great images from this set to choose from.)

I  wanted a wintery look, so I picked paper  that was reversible. One side had dark blue with light blue spots (almost white and made me think of snow) and the other side had light blue with dark spots.)

I thought since they are small, I am going to want to "frame" them so they don't get lost. That is where my squares came into play.

The only thing I would do differently is to put the "snow" on after sewing the panels down. My snow consists of a styrofoam ball and glitter. I scraped the styrofoam ball with the side of my scissors. I collected the scraps onto a piece of paper. I added some glitter and glued the "snow" to the cardstock just using regular white school glue. I wanted the trees to sparkle, but I didn't want the dimension of the styrofoam snow, so I just added glitter to the trees.

Patty P.

Lois

Vicky

Jane C 

Debbie 

Pam 

Pat G 

Thrifty Stamper 

MariLynn (This is me)

Karen K 

Bonnie 

Kathy B 

Angela B 

Cathy C 

Toni 

Sue W 

Kelli H 

Janine B 

Tammylee 

Janis L 

An'jenic 

Kate Z 

Marks Finest Papers, a Heinrich Co 

Mark's Finest Papers Blog Hop Day 2

 November Blog Hop! 

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

Big City Featured November 27 

Amaryllis Definition Featured November 28

Mountain Selections Featured November 29

Just a Note Featured November 30

Please
 hop along with us! You have a chance 

 to win one of the above stamp
sets! Just comment on the following blogs (don't forget this one), each
day for more chances to win! (You do NOT have to comment on all the
blogs each day! The names are drawn randomly!) All four winners will be
announced on December 1, 2012 on the Mark's Finest Papers blog. You can go
back and comment if you missed a day. (HINT: The more you comment, the
more chances you have to win and comments on the MFP blog count
twice!) The deadline for commenting is 11PM EST on Friday November 30, 2012.


As you all know November is the time to gear up for Christmas shopping. So many sales and crowds, well stick with us we have some great deals for your Holiday Shopping needs.

 

 The special stamp set we have for you this month is:

"Winter Scenes"

 I love this set.

I used my favorite technique for flowers... paper tole.

I stamped the flower 4 times, colored, cut and layered. I added glitter to the top flower.

The paper doily and ribbon started out white. I wanted a more vintage look so I tea stained them. it is hard to see but on the one panel, I am giving you a sneak peek at "Just a Note" set. I stamped it in a light brown. It was hard to get it to show up in the photograph because it is so subtle in real life.

 

Patty P.

Lois

Vicky

Jane C 

Debbie 

Pam 

Pat G 

Thrifty Stamper 

MariLynn (This is me)

Karen K 

Bonnie 

Kathy B 

Angela B 

Cathy C 

Toni 

Sue W 

Kelli H 

Janine B 

Tammylee 

Janis L 

An'jenic 

Kate Z 

Marks Finest Papers, a Heinrich Co 

Mark's Finest Papers Blog Hop

 November Blog Hop! 

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

Big City Featured November 27 
Amaryllis Definition Featured November 28
Mountain Selections Featured November 29
Just a Note Featured November 30

Please hop along with us! You have a chance 
 to win one of the above stamp sets! Just comment on the following blogs (don't forget this one), each day for more chances to win! (You do NOT have to comment on all the blogs each day! The names are drawn randomly!) All four winners will be announced on December 1, 2012 on the Mark's Finest Papers blog. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. (HINT: The more you comment, the more chances you have to win and comments on the MFP blog count twice!) The deadline for commenting is 11PM EST on Friday November 30, 2012.


As you all know November is the time to gear up for Christmas shopping. So many sales and crowds, well stick with us we have some great deals for your Holiday Shopping needs.

 

 The special stamp set we have for you this month is:

"Winter Scenes"

 

Outside of card

Inside of card


Last week I went with my kids to the BIG CITY of St. Louis, MO for Thanksgiving. I really didn't like driving in the city with the traffic, and the closer I got to my rural country home, the more relaxed I got. It made me think of Aesop's fable about the city mouse and the country mouse. That was my inspiration for my card. I "stamped" my mouse using my thumb and finger prints. I outlined him with a black pen. Then I masked him and stamped the city scene. I cut it in an oval to make it a focal point. I thought that the golden dp made it look like the "glow" of the city at night. I used my computer to print out this poem.

"City Mouse with your buildings so tall, can't compare to my country house at all"

Now you might wonder what kind of occasion, or to whom could I send a card like this. Well, I actually have someone in mind. My sister just recently moved from the country to the big city. Last week she was having to drive at night in the big city and was very worried and stressed. I think I will send her this card with a note saying that I hope that she adjusts quickly to the big city life. 

Patty P.

Lois

Vicky

Jane C 

Debbie 

Pam 

Pat G 

Thrifty Stamper 

MariLynn  (this is me)

Karen K 

Bonnie 

Kathy B 

Angela B 

Cathy C 

Toni 

Sue W 

Kelli H 

Janine B 

Tammylee 

Janis L 

An'jenic 

Kate Z 

Marks Finest Papers, a Heinrich Co 

Hear the Angels as they are singing

Matthew 2:10-11 - "They rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him. And... presented gifts to Him."

My stampin' Sister in Christ - Kris, challenged us to make a Christmas card. I have had this angel stamp for many years. As I as looking at the stamp and thinking about how I would make this card, I had a song going through my head. It is called "In the first light"  Here are the lyrics to that song.

 "In The First Light"

In the first light of a new day no one knew he had arrived
Things continued as they had been while a newborn softly cried
But the heavens wrapped in wonder knew the meaning of his birth
In the weakness of a baby they knew God had come to earth

As his mother held him closely it was hard to understand
That her baby, not yet speaking, was the word of God to man
He would tell them of his kingdom but their hearts would not believe
They would hate him and in anger they would nail him to a tree

But the sadness would be broken as the song of life arose
And the firstborn of creation would ascend and take his throne
He had left it to redeem us but before his life began
He knew he'd come back, not as a baby, but as the Lord of every man

Hear the angels as they're singing on the morning of his birth
But how much greater will our song be when he comes again to earth
Hear the angels as they're singing on the morning of his birth
But how much greater will our song be when he comes to rule the earth! 

I get chills EVERY time I hear the last verse.  For my card, I wanted to have a vintage look. I used cream colored dp. I took a paper doily and tea stained. it. I added pearls, ribbon, trim, cream colored tulle, and little peach colored roses. There are music notes from a Mark's Finest Papers set that will be released this week called JUST A NOTE. I added glue and glamour dust to the wings of the angel, and the rest of the angel was colored with prisma colored pencils. 

Here is a Video of GLAD singing In the First Light.

my DAYDREAM DESIGNS POLKA DOT BLOG HOP

We are thrilled to be hosting our second blog hop at Daydream Designs!  Our theme is polka dots...and other than that, anything goes!  So you will see lots of variety and the tremendous talents of our design team!
Our Sponsor:

 THREE PRIZES!
Daydream Designs

ONE $15 Gift Certificate

ONE $10 Gift Certificate

ONE FREE Digi Set (excludes bundles)

To win:  Just leave a comment each Dream Team members blogs listed below.

We will randomly select one winner to receive the grand give away of a $15 gift certificate. 

PLUS we will also give one $10 gift certificate, and one FREE set of choice to a third winner.

And everyone is a winner…FREE DIGIS on Diane’s blog!

Diane

Amy

Beth

Debbie

Helen

Jennipher

Jerusha

Kristie

MariLynn

Michelle

Sandie

Miesje
Vicki

Happy Hopping!

My project for this hop is a neverending card. I started by printing on both sides of cardstock using two of the Nest to Sky digi-papers
One side had the plaid and the other side had the polka dots.

I then printed the little birds from 
Birds and Bees digi-set.

I also printed the sentiment from
Birds and Bees sentiments.

I used the scraps to cut little hearts. I then stamped some random music notes.

I needed a thank you card for my youngest son's choir teacher. He went out of his way to help my son
audition for honor choir, then he had early before school practices with the boys to help them prepare.

Children are a gift from the Lord

The Scripture that my stampin' Sister Jerusha picked for this week's challenge is:
Psalm 127:3 Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him.
Her challenge is to make a card for a child. I had this piece of cardstock that I had stamped with bubblewrap. It mad a festive background for my little tear bear. I don't usually do one layer cards, so this quite different from my usual card.
This last week my youngest son performed with the OPUS choir. It is an honor choir of 7th and 8th grade boys. They said at the concert that over 3,000 boys auditioned for the 150 boy choir. It was a blessing to get to hear him sing and do something that he really loves to do. I also got to spend time driving to the concert with my 16 year old son. Nothing quite like driving in the car to promote conversations. Limited distractions and it isn't like he could walk away... On our way to the concert we stopped by my youngest daughters college and had lunch with her, and today my boys and I made the long drive to my oldest daughters college to see her last marching band performance of the year.

I have had people look at my big family and ask why I had 4 children.(Because compared to their 2 children my family is big.) My answer has always been that God just  didn't give me any more. My sister has been blessed 8 times. I know that big families are hard for some people to accept, but each child is a special blessing. Neither my sister nor I would be considered "rich", especially since having a lot of kids does cost a lot of $, but we are both blessed beyond measures.

I want to thank Jerusha for reminding me of these special blessings!
The sponsor for this week's challenge is Our Daily Bread Designs. 
Make sure you go visit their website.
Check out what my Stampin' Sisters have created to inspire you this week. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

This is the Day... TODAY

Helen is the hostess this week for Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge. She picked the following scripture:

Psalm 147:3 "He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds" (NIV)

Her challenge is to Use something "broken and put back together" on your card.

I started with this blue dp with roses and little circles.  

 I tore the dp into little pieces and put them back together with glue on a piece of cardstock. I then embossed it with Mark's Finest Papers CRACKED HELLO and gold ep.

I then took my embossed mosaic piece and cut it into for pieces.

I used a digi scripture from my DAYDREAM DESIGNS

I picked this verse because I am working on not worrying about tomorrow. After the results of the election, I was worrying about the future of our country and what it might mean to me and my family. I started thinking of all the troubles that could happen, then I realized that all I have it this day. Those things may indeed happen, but if I worry about them today, I have added the troubles to today as well. So I have been trying to thank God for TODAY and working on living today..

Our sponsor this week is Clear Dollar Stamps.

Check out Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge Blog 

for Helen's devotional and for inspiration from the Stampin' Sisters Design Team.

bubblewrap and butterflies

Bubblewrap and butterflies go together great. I wanted to make a bubbblewrap  project for the tutorial time on Speedytv. I was thinking it would make a great background for the Mark's Finest Papers butterfly from CRACKED HELLO. I just didn't know what I would do. I ran into the grocery store and there were these adorable butterfly gummies. I have a friend, Evelyn, who loves butterflies. So I thought making a little gift baggie of the gummies with a topper would be fun. It was. My friend loved the little gift. It wasn't much but was just enough for her to know I was thinking about her. It is those little gifts that mean so much.

I stamped the bubble wrap with cabin fever ink and then heat embossed with gold ep the cracked background from Cracked Hello.

Rejoice today

I made this card on Tuesday but with the election and then the disappointing results of the election, I didn't get this posted. I did look at it all day yesterday as it sat on my desk to remind me that no matter the outward circumstances  I can rejoice because I know the Lord.  The sketch was for the sweet shop sketch SSS183 it is also for the Splitcoast stampers color challenge CC400/CC306 . The challenge was to do an older color combo. I choose to do 306. I wanted to make my roses the raspberry color, but really had a hard time getting them dyed that color. This is as close as I could get. I used a scripture digi from my Daydream Designs called Dream Team Scripture Set.  I am also entering this in the Word Art Wednesday challenge to make a thankful card.

Birthday card for Dana

I made this birthday card for my friend Dana. After I gave it to her, we were at choir practice for our church's Christmas program. One of the men called her Diana. We laughed at this because his daughter is named Dana too. I used some quilled roses, lace, some hoarded dp, a page ripped from an old "G" encyclopedia and pearls and wire. I used my scalloped border punch for the layered scallops. I used this week's mojo sketch. After all the work I put into this card, I decided to make it an easel card so that my friend Dana could display it. The birthday is from MFP set called wild horses The butterflies are from a MFP set called cracked hello and the inside sentiment is from a MFP set called daffodil greetings.

Count your Blessings

Count your blessings... name them one by one. 

Sometimes it is hard to recognize the little blessings

that we have around us every day. The other day

I was feeling blue and was having a pity party for myself.

I felt overwhelmed by the troubles of the day.

I could feel the Holy Spirit prompting me to thank God

for the blessings in my life instead of focusing on what I

wanted but didn't have. So I started.

1. Indoor plumbing so I didn't have to go to the bathroom outside in the cold

2. Clothes on my back so I wasn't sitting in my office naked.

(at first I was still kinda feeling sorry for myself, so my thankfulness

was a little stretched).

3. For ears to hear music,

4. For eyes to see colors.

5. For my family.

As the list grew, I realized that I really DID have a lot to be thankful for. I would

like to say that I immediately was on top of  the world, singing and dancing,

and all my troubles disappeared.  That wasn't what happened.

The troubles were still there but I was in a better place, not feeling sorry for myself,

and I was reminded that God was there to help me through the 

troubles and trials of life.. 

The scripture that my friend Diane picked for us this week is:

Colossians 1:3-5-- We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel.

Are there people in your life, that are a blessing to you? People who when you think of them make you thank God for putting them in your life? My mom is one of those people. She is so giving and helpful to me. She prays for me and encourages me. I was thinking about my mom as I made this card. 

Diane's challenge is: Create a card or project depicting thankfulness or prayer. It can be a Thanksgiving card/project, a thank-you note, or an "I'm Praying for You" type card/project. 

I made another tri-shutter card very similar to the one I made yesterday. (mostly because

I still had the same dp out on my desk.)

Front of tri-shutter card. 

View of tri-shutter card opened.

A close up view of the paper and butterfly.

I used another my DAYDREAM DESIGNS -dream team scripture.

The prize for this week's challenge is a grab bag. Make sure you check it out on Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge Blog. You will be blessed by Diane's message and inspired by the designer- Sisters.

I hope you have a blessed week.

tri shutter card

The first time I made a tri-shutter card, I wasn't happy with how it turned out, so it was one of those techniques that I put on the back shelf as something I had done but probably wouldn't ever do again. Well, never say never. My friend Pam encouraged me to try another one after a conversation we had about the one she made for Tutorial Time on Speedy TV-22 

So I gave it a second chance.I just had fun with this card. I used some of my hoarded Indian summer dp. I also did this card for the Friday Free for all at SCS.  

That my friend Dawn challenged us to use distressing on our cards. I think it was the distressing that helped me like my tri-shutter card this time. It is hard for me to measure all the little panels of dp. With the distressed edges, it didn't matter if the pieces were a little "off" on size. The scripture on the front panel is a digi from

myDAYDREAM DESIGNS called Dream Team Scriptures  

All of the new scripture sets are amazing. I can see myself using them a lot. 

I used the butterfly and crackle from Mark's Finest Papers set called CRACKED HELLO.

 The sentiment on the middle panel is from another Mark's Finest Papers set called DAFFODIL GREETINGS.

 

Don't worry be happy!

The Ways to Use it challenge to not use fall colors wasn't really hard for me because I really like the blues and purples and greens pallet better anyway. I stamped the background and butterfly using Mark's Finest Papers set called CRACKED HELLO The sentiment is from my Daydream Designs, the dream team scripture set.. I ink spray smashed the two panels. I quilled the roses and made the baby's breath using a small flower punch and my MS branch punch. I strung beads on a wire and twisted them. I added two pearl stick pins, a paper doily and a small piece of want 2 scrap bling. Oh yes, I added glamour dust to the baby's breath and the wings of the butterfly. It took a couple of hours to make this card. I really like how this card turned out. It was great stamping therapy! I am entering this in the Word Art Wednesday challenge.

Do not be afraid.

Several weeks ago my friend Diane asked all the Dream Team designers to pick their favorite scripture. She the made 3 digital sets using those scriptures.You can find them in her store.

 Set 1

 Set 2

 Set 3

I can tell you now that I am going to be using them a lot. She did such an amazing job. I used today's SCS sketch challenge 409  It was a great sketch to showcase the scripture. I really like how this turned out. I will be sharing it with the Word Art Wednesday blog as well.

Harvest

So many challenges so little time...what is a girl to do? Combine them of course. I combined the TLC401 woven ribbon challenge, with the Mojo265, DRS48 (autumn) and Word art Wednesday challenges. I used the new cracked background from Mark's Finest Papers set called Cracked hello. I stamped it on each layer and then ink spray smashed the layers with blue, turquoise, browns, and reds. The sentiment is from MyDAYDREAM DESIGNS.   I stamped the leaf using cabin fever ink and Mark's Finest Papers set called Autumn glory.  To make the holes for the ribbon to be woven, I used my Martha Stewart ribbon punch. The ribbon is a sheer golden ribbon. I added a paper doily and two pearl stick pins. I used my sewing machine to sew all the different layers.



Yesterday my pastor was talking about how we harvest what we sow.  I live in farm country, and I am fully aware that when you plant corn you get corn, when you plant beans you get beans. All the farmers would be pretty upset if they got a harvest that was different from what they were expecting.

  Each day I have the choice which seeds I plant. If I plant seeds of hatred, anger, gossip, lies, jealousy... I will have a harvest of the fruit of the flesh, but on the other hand if want a harvest of the fruit of the spirit, I need to plant, love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.

The other thought that I had was that some seeds take longer to get a harvest. Some seeds when planted can have a harvest in a month or two, but then I thought about an apple seed. I can plant a seed today and it will be years before I will see the harvest. I wonder if it is the same with spiritual seeds? If that is the case then endurance and waiting on the Lord will be required!

What are you planting today?

It's about TIME

This week it is my friend Sandie's turn to be the hostess. She picked  Eccl. 3: parts of 1-8 as the scripture to meditate on.

1 To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:

² A time to be born,
    And a time to die;
A time to plant,
    And a time to pluck what is planted;
³ A time to kill,
    And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
    And a time to build up;
⁴ A time to weep,
    And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
    And a time to dance;
⁵ A time to cast away stones,
    And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
    And a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ A time to gain,
    And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
    And a time to throw away;
⁷ A time to tear,
    And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
    And a time to speak;
⁸ A time to love,
    And a time to hate;
A time of war,
    And a time of peace.

Her challenge is about Time. Use clocks/watches, calendars, sundials, etc. OR black and white only (to represent night and day).

For my card I was thinking about the passage of time and wanted to go for a vintage look. I used my new Mark's Finest Papers crackled background, and butterfly from the newly released set called Cracked Hello. The car, clock and sentiment are from a Tim Holtz set. I added lace, pearls, jewels and roses to add to the vintage look. 

I wanted to share with you a poem about time that I read this week.

During all the years since time began,
Today has been the friend of man.
But in his blindness and his sorrow,
He looks to yesterday and tomorrow.
Forget past trials and your sorrow
There WAS, but is no yesterday
and there may be no tomorrow.
(Author unknown)

I'm praying that you are taking time to enjoy TODAY, praise God TODAY, share love TODAY.

The sponsor this week is Inspired Stamps.
Check out what my Stampin’ Sisters in Christ have created to share with you.
Candace
Diane
Helen
Jerusha
Kris
Linda
Michelle
Miesje
Peggysue
Sandie
Traci

I woke up the other day with this song on my mind. Thank you God for all the beautiful things that you have given us to enjoy in your wonderful world. 

Mark's Finest Papers Blog Hop October-On The Fly

Welcome to Mark's Finest Papers a Heinrich Company's 

   October Blog

Welcome to Mark's Finest Papers a Heinrich Company's 

   October Blog Hop! 

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

Christmas Selections Featured October 23

Poinsettia Blooms Featured October 24

Cracked Hello Featured October 25

On The Fly Featured October 26

Please hop along with us! You have a chance to win one of the above stamp sets! Just comment on the following blogs (don't forget this one), each day for more chances to win! (You do NOT have to comment on all the blogs each day! The names are drawn randomly!) All four winners will be announced on October 27, 2012 on the Mark's Finest Papers blog. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. (HINT: The more you comment, the more chances you have to win and comments on the MFP blog count twice!) The deadline for commenting is 11PM EST on Friday October 26, 2012.

If you didn't know it, October is Pastor appreciation month.All month long we have been encouraged to give a card of encouragement to our pastors. Pastor, Terry, the senior pastor of our church, has 2 passions, the gospel and fishing. If the weather is good or even if it isn't Terry and his twin brother Gary will go out in their boat on the Mississippi river to catch fish. When I saw this set, I knew I was going to use it to make a card for Pastor Terry. At first I tried to make a spinner card. It was cute, but after 15 or more tries to get the spinner balanced, I gave up. I decided to make an easel card with the fish hanging. both sides of the fish are matched up. I stamped the fish once. Then I photo copied him, scanned him into my computer and "flipped" him. The mirror image and original image were both cut out. I glued the fishing line (twine) between the two sides and glued the other end to the fishing pole. Notice the background? I used the crackle background stamp from CRACKED HELLO. I stamped it several times in 3 different shades of blue.  I think it made it look like water.

 I printed out Matthew 4:19 which says

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."

This shows a side view of the
easel card.  

Here is a close up that shows the coloring that I

did on the fish. I randomly painted dots of purple,

green, teal, 3 shades of grey, blue,and dark blue.

I purposely left some of the fish white for highlights.