NEW RELEASE DAY FOR TWO ODBD SETS!

Wow, the month of May sure flew by! Though time goes too fast sometimes, it is exciting when the first of each month gets here........NEW SETS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD DESIGNS!!!! YAY!!! And oh my, the "Breadsticks" over at ODBD have already made some gorgeous projects! When you have a second, check out the ODBD card gallery for the new uploads. In the meantime, here are just a few tidbits to sink your teeth into:

Angie

Becca

Betty

Chris








This gorgeous set is called "Quiet Waters". I love the peaceful scene and LOVE the verses!!!









The set I chose to highlight today is "Ask, Seek, Knock". Matthew 7:7 was one of the first verses I memorized as a child in Sunday school, so this set is very special to me personally.....plus, isn't this just the coolest door?!

There were some interesting challenges last week over at Splitcoast that I chose to combine for this card. Dawn's Limited Supply Challenge was to use only designer paper except for the card, no coloring allowed, and simple embellishments. Stef's Inspiration Challenge on Saturday was to choose a book cover for your inspiration. I chose "Decorative Architectural Ironwork" because I have wanted to replicate a rod-iron fence ever since I received the two punches mentioned below. So.... I used Basic Grey Ambrosia for the background panel, the fence, and to paper-piece the stone doorway, the door, and the door hardware. The "shrubs" were punched with Martha Stuart foliage and branches punches out of Basic Grey Marrakech. The "rod-iron" fence was made by combining the Martha Stuart picket fence punch with the EK Success Fleur De Lis punch. The gray pearls are Basic Grey "Platinum" Opaline, also from ODBD.



Hey, I wanted to say a warm farewell and thank you to Kim MacNutt and Tosh Leyendekker, who were guest designers for our design team for the past two months! It was so awesome to get to know them and boy, did they rock the ODBD sets!!!!

However, as two were retired, we have two new guest designers whom we are very excited to work with. Hello and welcome to Kathy Jones aka Wattle, and Grace Nywening aka scrappigramma2! Kathy and Grace have already wowed us with the new sets!!! Plus, Sandee Shanabrough aka stampersandee will be staying on as a guest designer until Sita returns.....Sandee has done some fabulous work and has a brand new blog!!!



Thanks so much for stopping by!!! Have a totally blessed week!!!!!

Quiet Waters Hinge Card and Mercy Kerin Case

Woo hoo! Two cards again today....I feel like I'm on vacation!!!!


Today's Technique Lovers Challenge on Splitcoast is to make a hinge card.....this is something I had not seen before, but Wendy aka Wendybell has an awesome tutorial video on her blog....it was much easier to do than I thought. Today is sneak peek day for new ODBD sets, which will be released June 1st!!!! I have used "Quiet Waters" for this card, but our other awesome new set is called "Ask, Seek, Knock". Wait until you see what our DT gals have already made with these sets.....wow!!!!! I am so blessed to be a part of the ODBD team!!!!

This card also was designed to fit two challenges from Christian Papercrafts Magazine. Janette's "Color Monday" challenge was to make a white or ivory card with just a splash of color.....okay, I splashed a little more than I was supposed to, but this is still a stretch for me to make a white card. Also, a few days ago was Korin's "Bible Verse Challenge" to use a New Testament verse on your project. If you haven't checked out Christian Papercrafts Magazine's gallery, or Bible studies, or forums.....what are you waiting for?! There is even a new Scrapbook Challenge Team (with daily challenges) for all of you scrappers out there!

My second card is for the Featured Stamper Challenge on Splitcoast from yesterday. Mercy Kerin is such a talent.....you could spend days in her gallery!!! She has a very clean and creative style with some of the best layouts!! I chose this card to case because I loved the ribbon treatment, paper piercing (my obsession), and the punched border. This set is from Stampin' Up, called "Kind Thoughts"......I've had this set for six months but have just inked it today!!! I chose this set because it was similar to the set that Mercy used, plus it matched this gorgeous SU yummy dp!!! The image was stamped with Chocolate Chip, then colored in with a Signo Gel Pen. The border punch is EK Success Fleur De Lis, sentiment tag is Spellbinders Labels 4.

And now, to announce who will be receiving the Inspiration Challenge card from Saturday. Since there were only six comments on the blog post, my hubby, Tom, picked a number between one and six, so.......the WINNER IS: COMMENT #4.......Tenia Nelson!!!! I will try to find your email from SCS or CPCM to find out your address. By the way, thank you soooo much for all of your wonderful comments! I would absolutely LOVE to hear some of your jazz piano!!!!
Thanks for stopping by today! Have a blessed day!!!!

Sing to the Lord Dini CASE

Woo hoo! Two cards in one day!!! Today Christian Papercrafts Magazine's featured artist is Dina Kowal aka "dini". Dina and her family live in Indonesia and are missionaries. Dina is also on the Design Team with me on Our Daily Bread Designs....she does some AMAZING work!!! I chose to case this gorgeous card because of the layout and how she framed the verse with flowers and butterflies.

I used my old stand-by, Sing To The Lord, from Our Daily Bread Designs. The dp is Basic Grey "Marrakech". Today's IC challenge over at Splitcoast was to choose something from Little Odd Forest. Though I already made one for this challenge, I couldn't help but do another because of all of the fun colors and designs of their handbags, etc. So, the reason I chose the Marrakech paper was to match the fun colors of this bag. The flower is from Prima, also found at ODBD.

Thanks for putting up with two posts today!!!! Have a blessed weekend!

Little Odd Forest Inspiration Challenge

I LOVE Saturdays!!!! Other than the obvious, I don't have to go to work, but I LOVE the Inspiration Challenge on Splitcoast!!! This week's IC is to find an item from Little Odd Forest....they have some of the cutest purses and accessories!!! I chose these button pins...I just loved the colors and haven't used Unfrogettable in a while....plus, I'm making this card for me....just because I can!!! No DT committments, no personal gift list.....this is just for fun....haven't played just for the sake of playing in a while!!!

I'm so happy today that I am willing to give away this "Happy" card.......just leave me a comment here by midnight Sunday, and I will have my hubby draw a name on Monday!

Card recipe:

Stamps: SU "Unfrogettable", Stampabilities "You Bless Me"

Ink: Stazon Jet Black, Certainly Celery

Paper: Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Creative Memories checked dp

Accessories: Cuttlebug Swiss Dots ef, Spellbinders circles and scalloped circles, gingham ribbon, foam tape, Signo Gel Pen

Hey, by the way, have you checked out Christian Papercrafts Magazine yet? It's not JUST a magazine....it's a fully functional site with challenges, forums, Bible studies, and more! Membership is free through the end of this month.....check it out!!!

Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to leave a comment if you would like to have this card!

Have a blessed day!!!

Blessed Nation Birthday Eagle

I made this card for my friend, Phil, who grew up in the mountains of Kentucky.....wow, talk about beautiful country there!!! Tom and I have spent time with Phil and his wife, Brenda, four-wheeling in the mountains and visiting with his family down there. What you hear about "southern folk" is true....as soon as you walk in the door, they want to feed you!!!!

I used four different challenges to make this card. The "Fun on Friday" Challenge over at Christian Papercrafts Magazine was to use a Patriotic theme for Memorial Day. Roxie's sketch challenge this week was awesome as usual. Julia's Ways To Use It Challenge was to repeat one stamp. Wendy's Limited Supply Challenge was to use circles on your card, plus use only one stamp set. I used "In God We Trust" from Our Daily Bread Designs. The eagle was stamped first, then after masking him, stamped In God We Trust for the background. I used the EK Success Alpine punch to line each panel for a more outdoorsy look. As far as the circles.....yes, I'm reaching a bit, but I punched circles before placing the brads, which are circles, and then paper piercing.....the holes are circles too, right? Oh yeah, the eagle was colored with a sponge dauber in So Saffron.

Thanks so much for looking! Have a blessed weekend!!!!

Pledge of Allegiance Shaker Card

Boy oh boy, was this a hard one to photograph!!!! After MANY tries inside and outside, this is the best I could do!!! It was much easier and much more fun to make!!!

Today's featured stamper on Splitcoast is JOAN ERVIN!!! She is so awesome, as a person AND a stamper!! Joan is so talented that she was a part of the Dirty Dozen team last year! After studying her incredible gallery for about an HOUR, I chose this card because I absolutely LOVE light blue with red, loved the cuttlebug swirls for the water, loved the layout, and loved the glittery stars! All of these things added up turned into a patriotic shaker card! I started with Spellbinders Labels Four to make the shaker frames and acetate window. I Pledge Allegiance, from Our Daily Bread Designs, was stamped on the acetate with Stazon Jet Black. Two layers of foam tape were used to raise the shaker frame so that the beads inside could shake, shake, shake!! The flag inside the shaker is from God Bless America, also from ODBD. The Bashful Blue layers were ran through the CB with Swirls EF; instead of striped background paper, I used three strips of ribbon instead; and I couldn't find my star punch (another casualty of war from all-night crops!) so I made glittery butterflies instead with a Martha Stuart punch and stickles. Also, each of the layers was spritzed with Pearl Glimmer Mist....once again, hard to photograph! The star eyelets are retired from Stampin' Up.

Thanks again for stopping by! Have a blessed day!

Sing to the Lord Triple Challenge Birthday Card

Today's card was made for a very special friend....I won't mention names just in case she reads my blog every day! Three different challenges were covered here: Christian Papercrafts Magazine sketch challenge and Featured Artist of the week (Deedee); also Splitcoast's Inspiration Challenge to find your inspiration from this room shown in Country Living Magazine. I instantly thought of this gorgeous dsp from K & Co, called Madeline. The card I am case-ing from Deedee is here. I kept the layout the same, but used different colors and embellies....this layout fit Danielle's sketch perfectly, so why not kill three birds with one stone? The verse is from Sing To The Lord by Our Daily Bread Designs. I sprayed the finished card with Irridescent Gold Glimmer Mist...unfortunately it does not photograph well, but looks GORGEOUS in person!! The dsp, metallic gold paper, pearls, prima flower , and Glimmer Mist are all from the ODBD store also......you HAVE to check out all of the new stuff Kelley is carrying now!!!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a blessed weekend!!!!

Winds of Grace Double Challenge

This is a birthday card for my brother, Brad, who I love with all my heart! His birthday was several months ago, however, he was working out of state and I didn't trust the USPS to get it to him in one piece. I had started this card, but had to put it aside because I "just wasn't feelin' it"! You know what I mean? I just wasn't inspired and didn't want to make a mediocre card.....the cards I make for my family are always very personal and well-planned. So.....when I saw the Limited Supply Challenge at Splitcoast, to use a beach scene, etc......and then I saw the Fun Friday Challenge at Christian Papercrafts Magazine to use "Relaxation" for your theme, the rest of the card just came together. This stamp set is Stampin' Up "Winds of Grace".....I bought it used a few months ago and I just love it!!! The background scene was sponged with Tempting Turqoise, Basic Gray, Marigold Morning, and Ruby Red, using a large post-it-note as a mask in order to sponge the horizon.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Many blessings to you!!!

Happy 17th Anniversary!

Saturday is our 17th wedding anniversary.....wow, does the time fly when you're having fun! Today at work I was totally surprised when a beautiful bouquet of flowers were delivered for me!!!! I have the bestest husband!!!! We normally do not buy for each other, but go out for each anniversary, so I was totally shocked!!! It's overcast outside, so I couldn't get a very good photo, but they are GORGEOUS!!! I just had to show them off and tell you all how wonderful, sweet, and thoughtful my man is.....the Lord has truly blessed me!!!

Want to be published in a printed magazine?

Have you dreamed of having your work published in a printed magazine? Christian Papercrafts Magazine is now accepting submissions for the Winter Edition....deadline is July 1st. Check out the details here.
For those of you who are not aware, Christian Papercrafts Magazine is now up and running.....it's not just a quarterly magazine, but a full-blown paper-crafting site, with galleries to upload your projects, challenges, tutorials, chat forums, and the best part......some FANTASTIC bible studies, discussions, and so many incredible people who are uplifting and inspirational through their faith!!! Cindy Coutts, the founder of the magazine and site, has poured her blood, sweat, and tears into this venture....stepping out on faith into the unknown! Please pray for strength and endurance for Cindy and the entire team, to keep this mission on track....this is such an awesome site....a safe place for Christians to gather and have fellowship while doing what we love, paper-crafting!!! Come on over and check it out....membership is free until June first.....yes, there will be a small fee after that, but only to keep spammers out.




Do you know what's better than finding this little mailbox in the "$1.00 Spot" at Target? Two words: employee discount!!! My hubby works for Target Distribution Center and we save from 10 to 20 %, depending on when we shop!!!
I have combined two challenges for this project: Bible Verse Thursday challenge over at Christian Papercrafts Magazine, to use black, teal, and tan with your bible verse project; also, the Ways To Use It challenge over at Splitcoast was to decorate a tin....this tin mailbox was the only tin item I had to work with. The verse is from Scripture Collection 1 from Our Daily Bread Designs; the dsp is from JoAnn's, lace border and sentiment tag by Spellbinders, ribbon by May Arts, and black pearls by Hero Arts.
Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to check out Christian Papercrafts Magazine!!! God Bless!

Mother's Day Scripture Cards

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there! I know...I'm a few days late, but we were out all day on Sunday visiting my mom, my mother-in-law, and my step-mom. Too bad Grandma lives in Tennessee or it would have been a quadruple! A few weeks back, my friend Kathy Jones aka SCS username Wattle, was the featured stamper. Since I was out of town that weekend, I am making up for lost time now. I chose this beautiful card to case for all three of my Mother's Day cards, because of its simple beauty. The scripture stamps are from Scripture Collection 1 and Scripture Collection 2 from Our Daily Bread Designs. The designer paper is Wisteria by Basic Grey. All of the punches, the lace border, the pearls and Glimmer Mist can also be found at the ODBD store. Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a blessed day!

Happy Anniversary Mixed Tape

Next Saturday will be my 17th anniversary! I had no ideas whatsoever for his anniversary card, UNTIL I saw the Inspiration Challenge on Splitcoast this morning. Stef chose the "Bonjour Mon Coussin" company, which translates as "Hello My Cushion"!!! What an adorable name!!! I chose THIS PILLOW as my inspiration. My hubby is not a huge music fan, but I'm sure he will love this mixed tape I've made for him! I actually took apart an old cassette and used the screws, some of the guts and the black window film. I printed the label from my computer....this was our wedding song! I cut out the center with an exacto knife to show the re-purposed cassette guts!
This card also qualifies for the Ways to Use It challenge, to use Kraft on your card. Also, the Limited Supply Challenge from yesterday was to choose a May holiday....May first was "Loyalty Day"....if THAT doesn't fit our marriage and friendship, NOTHING would!!!
Card recipe:
Paper: Kraft, Basic Grey, Real Red, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Grey for sponging
Accessories: Computer & printer, cassette tape, CB EF, Foam Tape, Ribbon
Stamps: Riveting

Thanks for stopping by! Have a blessed day!!!

God Bless America Kool Kraft Challenge

I tell ya, the girls over at Our Daily Bread Designs are kickin' butt with this new set, God Bless America.....you have to check out the ODBD gallery!!!!! Today's Ways To Use It challenge over at Splitcoast was to use Kraft cardstock in any way for your project. I instantly thought about this flag, because I LOVE to color with my Signo gel pen on colored cardstock.....it creates a ceramic look.....too bad it doesn't photograph very well. Plus, I needed a "guy card" to mail to Uncle Jim in Tennessee.

Card details: I embossed the image with black ep on Kraft cardstock, colored with Ballet Blue, Ruby Red, and a Signo gel pen. Added some retired SU star eyelets, linen thread, and a cross to finish. I tried not to go overboard on embellishments since guys don't normally dig the fru-fru!!

This has just been added: Judy has just posted the Limited Supply challenge, which is to base your card on any May holiday......this fits Armed Forces Day and Memorial day perfectly! I'm sooooo glad I chose to use this set today!!!! Thanks, Judy, for the perfect challenge.....I love to kill more than one bird with each stone!!!

Thanks for stopping by! Hey, if you haven't done the ODBD sketch challenge, you still have a few days left! God Bless!

Paper-pieced Flower Pot Card

One Mother's Day card down......three to go!!! My husband's grandma, you know....the biker granny.....LOVES anything pink, so I paper-pieced blossoms from SU Delight in Life to decorate my first Flower Pot Pocket Card. You can find the Flower Pot instructions here......very simple to do and very fun!!! I used Close to Cocoa for the pot, Pink Pirouette Designer Paper from SU for the flowers, Certainly Celery for the foliage, Lace Stickles to highlight the flowers, and Pearl Glimmer Mist on EVERYTHING!!!!!

This card also qualifies for the "New To You Wednesday" challenge, to use paper-piecing, over at Christian Papercrafts Magazine's new site, which is up and running, with forums, challenges, galleries, Bible studies, and much more. You'll have to check it out!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a blessed day!

Flower Soft Birthday Verse

I made this card for a dear friend, Cyndi, for her birthday this week! When I think of Cyndi, I always think of bright, cheerful colors to match her bubbly personality! Today's color challenge over at Splitcoast was perfect for her card: Cameo Coral, Ballet Blue, and Garden Green. The verse is from Stampin' Up's "Elegant Inspirations". The sentiment was stamped in Garden Green and the edges of the oval frame are sponged in Ballet Blue. I followed the instructions on SCS Resources page for a flap card, but to fit the Flower Soft frame, I made the card 4 1/2" wide instead of 3 1/2". This is very easy....you HAVE to give it a try! I trimmed the oval frame by hand and used small scallop scissors to round the card flap. Used Swiss Dots cuttlebug embossing folder for the top and bottom flaps. The ribbon was adhered with sticky strip all the way around the card (and under the sentiment oval panel). Finished with Sweet Pea Flower Soft and pearl stickers. This may not be considered CAS (clean and simple) to some, but it sure is to me.....and that is a great relief for once!!! This card also qualifies for the sketch challenge over at pagemaps.com....you have until May 13th....check it out! Thanks for stopping by! God Bless!

ODBD Sketch Challenge- Purple Mountain Majesty

Our Daily Bread Designs is hosting their third sketch challenge, which ends on the 15th. Check out the ODBD Blog for details about winning BLOG CANDY!!!

This quote comes from a brand new release from ODBD, called "In God We Trust".....you HAVE to check out the new patriotic sets and the awesome projects made with them at ODBD.

This is my first attempt at Flower Soft...please go easy on me! I love how the willow tree turned out, but the little flowers were a little more difficult! I've been wanting to make a willow tree for a while, especially after receiving my first Flower Soft order. Then comes along the Inspiration Challenge over at Splitcoast, to use one of the Faviana prom dresses as your inspiration. As soon as I saw this dress, I was on my way. And why not kill two birds with one stone and use Our Daily Bread's sketch challenge?

I first sketched out the tree and scene on scratch paper, cut the sections out with an exacto knife, and sponged one part at a time onto the card panels with sponge daubers and ink pads. (The ovals were cut and embossed using Spellbinders Nestabilities.) Once the sponging was finished, I drew some flower petals, then applied Flower Soft glue and Flower Soft. The colors I used were Shamrock Green, Fuschia, Lemon, and Baby Peach. This was easy to apply.....the hard part was WAITING for the glue to dry completely....argh!!!

Thanks for stopping by today! Don't forget to check out the Sketch Challenge at ODBD! Have a blessed weekend!!!