New Cards

I have a VERY busy day, but I wanted to post a few of the cards I worked up this week. Hope you like them!

 Here is a closeup of the above set of cards, so you can see the Shimmer Mist. LOVE that stuff!

 I cased this card from Paper Crafts Magazine. That magazine has the best ideas!!

I made four of these for a friend, so I lined the envelopes with matching paper. I like how they came out!

A birthday card using DP that had matching recipe cards...how cute it that? The sentiment is Unity Stamps and the CS is SU! Close to Cocoa.

Hope you have a relaxing Saturday!

*smiles*
debbi

True has Breast-Cancer Awareness Candy!

True from True's Gifts From the Heart is taking part in the Inking Pink Blog Hop:

You can start the blog hop HERE.

Look at the candy that True is offering:

Head on over HERE and link up!

Pink Star Creations Has Candy!

Another post today...More Candy! YUM!

Stephanie over at Pink Star Creations is offering up some yummy Halloween candy.

Go on over and check it out HERE.

Tiddly Inks Blog Candy!

Hey, Bloggy Friends! Thought I'd let you in on this....

Tiddly Inks is offering up some wonderful blog candy until November 5.

You can join in on the fun HERE.

Some Cards From the Weekend

Lately, I have really been working hard to fit in time for stamping. I really had gotten so far behind on my card making, with being so busy, and I was getting cRaNkY, if ya' know what I mean...so I decided it was time for some creativity!! LOL

Here are a few of the cards I made this past weekend...

 I used SU! Dusty Durango DP and CS for this card, along with the Chocolate Chip ribbon. The sentiment is a rub-on from SU!. I used dimensionals to raise it up and keep it in place.

 This was also made with the Dusty Durango DP and ink. I used a leaf die cut in my Big Shot and an old button. Then I inked the edges with Creamy Caramel (SU!) ink. It was such a quick card that I made about 10 of them!

 I wish this picture had come out better, because this card is so much cuter IRL! I took velum and ran it through my Big Shot using the Dots Embossing folder. Then I added the ribbon and brads and sentiment. The color is So Saffron and the sentiment is another rub-on (both from SU!).

 I saw this idea somewhere on Splitcoast Stampers and just had to try it! I cut my paper (both pieces), placed the smaller piece where I would eventually glue it on, and ran them through the Big Shot at the same time using the Manhattan Flowers EF. That way the flowers were impressed on both sheets of paper. I then matted both pieces of CS with white, tied on my ribbon, glued it on (exactly where it had been when I ran it through), and added the sentiment (another SU!) rub-on. It was a very quick and easy card, but really pretty, don't you think?

 These two pics are of the adorable purse card that I made at a SU! Party this weekend!! I love the DP, and it was so easy to make! We used the SU! Top Note die and Oval Frame die, as well as a few punches that I forget the name of (sorry!).

                                        I thought this would make such a cute gift-card holder!

 This was the other card that I made at the party. I used the paper crimper for the first time ever (can you believe it?), and I really like how it looks! I might have to invest in one of those...lol.

 These two cards are ones I "whipped up" for some friends in need of encouragement. They were really quick and easy, since there was no stamping involved (boo-hoo!). The DP is from the Amber Autumn Stack from DCWV, and the CS is SU! Always Artichoke. The leaf was cut using the same die that I used for the Thank You card, and the sentiments are rub-ons (I'm kind of on a rub-on kick, I guess).

I hope you were able to fit in some time for creativity this weekend! It really does help me to be more cheerful if I get to "play" every now and then...just ask my family! LOL

*smiles*
debbi

Little Gifts From God

When I am thinking about what is good in my life, it is always easy to recount the obvious...

                                                 My children

                      My wonderful husband who is an awesome dad!


Our home, my husband's job, being able to stay home with my children, the privilege of homeschooling, and of course our AWESOME God...and so much more!


But, once in a while, I remember to stop to enjoy the "little gifts"...the things that I so often miss.


Such as this:

or these...

or even this...

When I take a moment to notice the "little gifts" from God, I realize that they aren't so little after all.

"All nature declares the handiwork of God..."

More Cards...and a THIRD??? post for today!

Note: This is my third post for today! What's up with that??? No posts for months, and now I have three in one day...go figure!

I made a few more cards this weekend and wanted to share them, so here goes:

 For this one, I cut out printed paper (the leaves) and used Crystal Effects to give them dimension. Then I glued them on using adhesive dots to lift them up a little.

                                                         Here's a closeup of the leaves.

 I also used Crystal Effects on the leaves above (closeup below).

Okay, I guess I went a little "Crystal Effects-Happy", lol. I just really like how it makes the leaves look.

After I finished these, I realized that on all of these cards I only stamped one time! All of the sentiments are rub-ons from SU! Chit Chat. These papers are all from DCWV Amber Autumn Fall designer paper stack. I love these papers, but then you probably guessed that!

Happy crafting! And I promise...I won't post anymore today, honest! :-)

*smiles*
debbi

Running From The Cops...???

Note: This is my second post for today. Please scroll down to read my first post. Thanks! :-)

No, I haven't turned to a life of crime, lol!

Actually "Run From the Cops" is the name of the race that my dh and our oldest dd ran this past Saturday. It was a race to raise money for the victims of and awareness about Domestic Violence.

                                                        There was a 1-mile run for the kids.

                                               This was my dd's very first race! She finished 16th overall for
                                               the kids, and (more importantly) had a lot of fun!

                          My dh ran the 5K for the adults. Yes, he's the one making a face at me! :-)

My dh placed third in his age division, and 11th overall (out of 262 runners). He mainly ran because our dd was running, but it was also a good "warm-up" for this Saturday's Marathon!

It was a really fun way to begin our Saturday, and we are thrilled that it was for such a good cause.

                                      It also made for some great Daddy-Daughter bonding time. :-)

A "Stressed-Out" Heart?....or a Quiet One?

If I could describe what my heart has looked like over the past few weeks, I would have to say "stressed-out" rather than "quiet"!

The busyness of daily life had taken over my thoughts, and I have been going from one thing to the next thing to the next thing (you get the idea!).

I have been convicted, I have prayed many times, I have even tried several ways to quiet my heart...all to no avail.

This morning, I was so blessed by a podcast that I listened to, and I finally realized the why of my stressed-out heart!!


Each morning over the past several days, I have been listening to some podcasts by Nancy Leigh DeMoss about the Proverbs 31 woman. This morning (by God's grace, I'm sure!), I "somehow" ended up listening to the "wrong" podcast...not the next one in the series on Proverbs 31, but one from 2006! Can you guess what it was about??? (Isn't God SO good to me!!??)

This podcast is entitled "The Right Focus". In it, Nancy talks about the reasons we worry or get stressed out. She taught from Psalm 131. And then she said this:

          "Charles Spurgeon said about this passage, 'Remember that where your treasure is your heart will go--and if that treasure is taken away, your heart must ache,' if you're leaning on or depending on things other than the Lord.


         He said, 'The man who depends alone upon his God and whose expectation is from Him, has not half the occasions for trouble than he has who is leaning here and leaning there, and leaning in 50 places! For each earthly prop will be the cause or occasion of distress at some time or other.'


         "You say, 'What are earthly props?' It may be your husband you're looking to to satisfy your needs. It may be your child. It may be your job. It may be shopping. It may be food. It may be friends.

         Whatever you're leaning on, whatever you're looking to to meet the deepest needs of your heart, will be the cause or the occasion of distress at some time or other--unless you're leaning on the Lord. He will never fail you. He will never distress you. He will never let you down."

 While I was running around caring for all of my "earthly props", I had neglected to do it with my whole focus on the Lord. I cannot "do it all" in my own strength (duh!), but I sure was trying to (hence, the stress!).  What a blessing today's reminder was to me!!

I encourage you to listen to or read this lesson here. It really blessed my heart!

I pray your heart is quiet and your focus is heavenly! :-)

*smiles*
debbi

Card Therapy

The crisp Fall mornings, the colored leaves, the smell of pumpin and apple anything...ooooh! I LOVE FALL, don't you? And fall always puts me in the mood...for baking, for apple picking, and especially for crafting!

Well, after months of trying to make time, I finally sat down to make a few cards this weekend!! I was SO happy to have a few minutes to spend on some card therapy.  Woo-hoooo!!!


Here are a few pics:

I just love all of the fall colored paper! It from a stack by DCWV. Just looking through all of that gorgeous paper gets me dreaming about cards.

I hope you're able to find some time for crafting! If you need some wonderful inspiration, check out Emily's blog here! She has some uper-great ideas for Fall!