Weekend cards

Please scroll BELOW for the Thankful for Friends of Faith Blog Hop. Thank you.

It seems that it's been ages since I've made something new. I spent all week last week finishing my 130 Christmas cards (thanks, Kelly, for all your help!) and fighting the flu at the same time. I'm getting better everyday - thanks for your prayers. I have two cards to show you today and I really enjoyed making them, after a long absence from my craft table.

First is my card for the Layers of Color August Release party. This card was also inspired by the Cinema Saturday Challenge this week, using The Roman Holiday as the inspiration movie and adding pearls. The filigree image reminds me of the old Rome.

I used one of the Layers of Colors free digis, their party favors, for my card. The owner and artist behind all the LOC stamps is my good friend, Laura. She is an amazing artist and one who shares my love for Christ. It's been an honor to get to know her, even only through our cyber "visits." Make sure you check out her newest releases. They are all fantastic, especially if you love vintage style images and butterflies. Now, the card...I colored the image with Copics. The paper is my own design. The music stamp is from my Vintage Borders set. The cardstocks I used are Smoky Slate and Cranberry Tart.


Next is my card for Moxie Fab's Plum Crazy Challenge. I didn't go monochromatic, but complementary on this card. I just love the yellow and purple together. The sketch follows the Get Sketchy challenge this week (I flipped it sideways), with the added bonus to use markers. I colored the butterfly with Copics and Sharpies together.

Stamps: Take Flight, A Year of Flowers, Tropical Flowers (GinaK)
Paper: Vibrant Violet, Sweet Corn, DP (own design)
Accents: lace, buttons, pearls, Fiskars punch

Thankful for Friends Blog Hop

Welcome to Scrapbook News and Review Magazine's A Faith Perspective Thankful for Friends Faith Blog Hop. I am excited to be a part of this group as we all celebrate and proclaim our Savior Jesus Christ and give Him glory through our artwork. We're celebrating the theme of friends and we're happy to share our projects with you based on the verse:

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. " Ecc4:9-10a

One of the biggest blessings I have for knowing Christ is the wonderful relationship I have with my brothers and sisters in Him who love and faithfully pray for me and my family. As missionaries, we are often the beneficiaries of many saints' faithful prayers and that is a treasure beyond we deserve.

I have traveled around the globe and have met many people from different cultures. I found that whenever I visit a church in another country, I immediately connect with the people there, even if we don't speak the same language. Our common love for Christ and God's saving grace in our lives bring an instant connection between us.

I have found that this is also true when "meeting" the many stamping sisters in the Lord through cyberspace, who share my love for papercrafting. I have been blessed many times over by the inspiration, encouraging comments, RAKs and prayers of so many of you. Thank you and I thank God for you! He is good for even bringing you all to my blog today! May we all grow in our love for Him, who deserves all our praise and glory.

For this hop, I used my Lord of the Season set by GinaK Designs. It includes 4 topiaries, a Bible verse and a quote proclaiming Christ IS the Lord of the seasons, thus we can depend on Him at all times.

Stamps: Lord of the Season (GinaK Designs), (Pretty Little Scriptures) Clear Dollar Stamps

Papers: (Green Apple, Ivory CS, Vintage Holly digipapers) GinaK
Ink: Memento Black and Copic markers
Accents: (Ivory ribbon, pearl brad) Michael's
Tools: SU Top Note die, distressing tool, sewing machine

Make sure you find the start of the train >>> HERE <<<. Thanks to these generous sponsors for providing this weekend's prizes: Layers of Color Stamps, Gina K Designs Stamps and Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.

There will be three grand prize winners for this event. To enter, simply hop to the blogs of all of the participating staff members of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine, take note of the staff member's name, and leave a comment on their posts. Then send an email to games@scrapbooknewsandreview.com, listing each of the staff members who participated in today's hop. All entries must be received by Monday, November 16, 2009 at 12 noon, EST and three winners will be randomly chosen to win.

The prizes:

• One $100 gift certificate from Layers of Color Stamps AND a 6 month subscription to Scrapbook News and Review Magazine.

• One basket of goodies -- four stamp sets from Gina K Designs and a 6 month subscription to Scrapbook News and Review Magazine.

• One set of digital stamps from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps and a 3 month subscription to Scrapbook News and Review Magazine.

In addition, every participating staff member of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine will offer a free one-month subscription to the magazine to one of their visitors by simply leaving a comment on their blog. That's a lot of chances to win, so let's get to the Hop! The next stop from here is:

Shauna K.

Special GinaK Designs Blog Hop

Welcome to GinaK Designs' special mid-month release of Tami Mayberry's newest release, Calendar Bits & Pieces and Calendar Grid. There are so many elements in this set to create tons of projects with for many occasions. I decided to show this set's versatility by making my own background papers for the following cards. I followed Tami's current CPS sketch, which I flipped sideways, for all of them. I designed my own gridlines to make it easier to stamp straight. You can download the gridline patterns --->>> HERE.

Card #1 This Thanksgiving card uses the leaf and some of the sentiments from the set. I used Pumpkin Spice, Sweet Corn CS, Vivid Inks (Brick, Straw, Olive, Tuscan Sun) and SU Really Rust.


Card #2 This classic Christmas card uses the larger snowflake from Tami's previous set, Special Delivery, and paired it with the smaller snowflake from her Calendar B&P set. Don't Cranberry Tart and Green Apple look great together? I also colored in the bigger snowflakes with glitter pen. The ribbon is the Cranberry Tart satin.

Card #3 Here is a springy birthday card that uses one of my favorite color combo at the moment: baby pink and red. I used SU Pink Pirouette and GKD Rocket Red cardstock and ribbon. The big heart is also from Special Delivery while the little heart and flower are from Calendar B&P.


Card #4 This baby boy card uses the star and baby carriage from the new set. I used Memento Summer Sky and Vivid Brick. The cardstocks are Rocket Red and SU Bashful Blue.


For some helpful tips on how to use the Calendar Bits & Pieces and Calendar Grid stamp sets, please be sure to check out Gina's blog and StampTV for a helpful video on just how quick and easy it can be to use! Both of these sets as well as the PDF version of the Calendar Grid image will be available for purchase tonight over on our online store.

After that, stop by our Illustrator's blog - Tami Mayberry for some projects with her timely stamp sets. Here are the GinaK Designer Members' links who are joining us in the preview tonight:

Carolyn, Cathy, Donna, Erika, Jessica, Lee, Lynn, Melanie, and Theresa

You'll also want to check in on these CenterStage Spotlight Designer's blogs for more ideas:

Melissa, Sharri, and Sue

Lots of things to share...

Hi, everyone. I'm still battling this nasty flu and thankfully, I think the worst is over. My poor guests are so gracious and let me sleep in every morning. I feel so bad that I haven't been myself, and hope that they don't catch it whatever it is I have.

Because of all this, I haven't been able to do much of anything. But, I have a few things that are up ahead and I hope you can join me in these hops:

Going On Now: The GinaK Designs team is showing their creations using Melanie's Festive Frame set. There is a stamp set and even a Bow Easy and bows that are up for grabs. Make sure you visit Gina's and Melanie's blog for more info and hop along with us.

Wed night, 10PM CST: The GinaK Designs team is previewing Tami Mayberry's new megaset, Calendar Bits and Pieces. I have several cards to share with you, so make sure you come back.

Friday: The GinaK Designs team is going to inspire you with a blog hop featuring Asela's First Christmas.

Saturday: I will be participating in a blog hop with several people who share my love for Christ. Info from the SNR site: This event is co-sponsored by Layers of Colors Stamps, Gina K Designs Stamps and Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps, and there are also over 80 blog owners from across the internet and around the world that will join us in a day of friendship, fun, and prizes. The fun starts at 10 AM EST Saturday November 14, 2009 and will last until Sunday evening, allowing plenty of time to enjoy each of the blogs and projects along the way. Make plans to join us!

Cute Holiday Doll

I'm still feeling sick and hosting some friends, so I haven't made anything the last few days. But, I have a few that I've made before I got sick that I haven't shown here yet on my blog. Here's a card I entered for the Hero Arts simple holiday challenge a week ago. I won Honorable Mention and didn't even know that comes with a prize. I can't wait what kind of goodies I got. I love Hero Arts. One of my first ever stamps were made by them.

The cute doll and snowflakes are from the Holiday Dolls set and the sentiment is from Jolly Christmas. I colored the doll with Copics, the patterned paper is Jolly by Golly by Cosmo Cricket. The ribbon and button are PTI.