Well . . .

There wasn't a whole lot going on in my blog this year. 
I started out with some scrapping, dropped in now and then to share a project, and then decided, toward the end of the year, that I was going to be more consistent with my blog.  Which now becomes the resolve for this next year.

My word for this past year was 'Diligence'.  Although my presence here has been sporadic, and really, my efforts in several areas of life this past year have been so, I still feel I have arrived at the end of 2014 with a better grasp of that word, and how I need to implement it regularly.

One of the things that helped me with that was a goal-setting webinar I saw, given by Amy Porterfield and Michael Hyatt.  It was very encouraging, helped me organize my thoughts and how to act on them in the coming year and confirmed for me that many of the traits I have that some people consider to be 'perfectionism' or 'controlling', are really just a good grasp of the details that are part of a project or situation, and how to move through those to accomplish a goal.

I'm really looking forward to 2015, not only because I'm joining many other ladies for Documented Faith, but also because it's a chance to take what I've learned this year ~ the seeds planted, and put them into action next year ~ see the flowers bloom!

Fairwell 2014!

See you all next year! 

Documented Faith 2015: Getting Started

It all started with this post on my blog ~ here ~ where a friend made a comment.

Which lead me to ~ this post here ~ on her blog.

And then, to ~ this post here.

And now, you are about to follow the rest of the story as it unfolds.  Yes, I joined Stephanie, my friend Rushed Lady, and many others for Documented Faith 2015.

God is so good to bring to us the things we need, at just the right time.  And Documented Faith is one of those things.  This past year has been one of many where I was battered and bruised by an enemy who never fights fair!  But the whole time I have been clinging to a promise God gave me in 2011.

So many times I have thought I was seeing the fulfillment of that promise, but then the rug was pulled out from under me.

Ah! Yes!!  The epitome of 'the trial of your faith'.  I've matured in many ways through these years, and I'm looking forward ~ yes, I said 'looking forward' ~ to what this next year holds. 

I don't expect any less battles, but I do still have Faith ~ hope for the unseen.  Maybe this is the year that promise will be fulfilled.  I know it will be a year where I celebrate me ~ The Me that is a Princess ~ a daughter of the King of Kings, and that in itself is going to make it a year worth remembering.  But now I have a group of other women who are walking the same path, that of Faith, however that plays out in their lives, as a support group.  There is comfort and strength in those numbers.

So ~ sit back, grab a cuppa, and hold on!  This could be a bumpy ride.  Or it could be a 'Happily Ever After'.

Maybe it will be a little of both.

		Title Page ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Documented Faith 2015

Life, Friends & Love: The Color Throwdown #323

Hello!

I've been getting inky again.  This time I'm playing along with The Color Throwdown, specifically ctd323.

I was a bit disappointed when this challenge stopped using Stampin' Up!® color names for the selections, mainly because I eat, sleep and breathe Stampin' Up! colors for my scrapping, so it was super duper easy for me!  Now I have to work a little more! LOL
I do understand that many players had the opposite perspective, that they felt stymied by those names, felt like they had to use those colors, and maybe some didn't play because of that.  Thanks ladies, (over at CTD), for recognizing that and reaching out to those crafters.  Sharing our creativity with others who understand and appreciate is what it's all about, after all.

And now, on to my creations.  More pocket cards!  Yah!

I used Kiwi Kiss, Blush Blossom, Rose Red and Very Vanilla for my color selection.
While I was looking through my stash for some Rose Red cardstock, I came across a package of Cameo Coral.  yep!  I think I might be making another set of cards substituting that for the Rose Red.

Flower punches are always a favorite, pearls a must, and some gold embossing is a special treat for any project.

 

I'm really reflecting on the 'Life Happens. Love Helps.' sentiment right now.  Love is so powerful, and not just the love God showed when He gave us His Son, born in a stable and cradled in a manger, and ultimately crucified on the cross to pay our debt of sin; but also the love we demonstrate toward each other.  It covers a mutlitude of sins, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things.  Even the rough places in relationships, circumstances and the world around us.

The Greatest of these is Love . . . . What Christmas is all about.

Merry Christmas!

Credits:
Stampin' Up!®: cardstock~Kiwi Kiss, Blush Blossom (both retired), Very Vanilla; ink~Kiwi Kiss, Blush Blossom, Rose Red (all retired), VersaMark; stamps~Vintage Vogue (retired), Petite Petals, Bordering Blooms; punches~Petite Petals, Boho Blossoms, Decorative Label, Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack, Elegant Butterfly, Scallop Edge Border; gold emboss powder, basic pearls, basic rhinestones

Scraps: dark pink cardstock, gold cardstock

Mojo Monday meets Project Life®

It's been a long time since I've played with any challenges.  I had to step back from them for a while because of all the things demanding my time, but it's something I've missed.  I know I need some 'me' time.  Time to put aside the load I carry on a daily basis and refresh my perspective, my emotions and my attitude.  What better way to do that than to indulge in some creativity??

Which means I have decided to play along with some challenges again, and the first project I created this week is for playing along with Mojo Monday #376.

This is the sketch Julee created . . . . .

. . . . . . and this is the Project Life card I created.

I dug into my scraps ~ Yeah!! ~ and didn't cut into a single big sheet of anything to make this.  One of the things I like about creating PL cards is how many of my scraps are used up. 

I plan to use this one as a mat for a photo but don't know which one.  I'm just going to add it to my PL stash, and see where it fits sometime.  Who knows.  It might wind up with a verse, or sentiment, or date, or title or something on it.  At least it's some scraps out of the folders and into a creation . . . . . some 'me' time taken . . . . . and sweet time spent being creative.

Credits:
Stampin' Up!®: Cardstock ~ Whisper White, Pistachio Pudding; DSP ~ Venetian Romance; Victorian Crochet Trim; Basic Jewels Rhinestone; SNAIL®; Dimensionals; Envelope Punch Board (for rounded corners)
Petaloo: flower

Project Life: Nutty Style

I just read a very inspiring post at This Blog.  I know it's a few months old, but it is timely for me.  You see, I've gotten hooked on Project Life®.....Sort of.

Sort of??

Yah!  I still like to make traditional 12x12 layouts, but I also like the ease of Project Life.  So what do I do about it??  Combine, of course!

Now, I also have YEARS of back scrapbooking to do.  And the post mentioned above fits, because it gave me some ideas for how to organize all that history so I can actually accomplish the scrapping.

These are my first three goals:

These are baby steps, but you have to crawl before you can walk . . . . . I am going to do this!

Pink Bauble Earrings: Craftsy Class by Aga Kruk

I really, really, really  like earrings.  Especially dangly ones...and big hoops.  There's just something about the swing and sway of some fun and pretty gems hanging from your ears.

And my little girls really, really enjoy choosing earings for me to wear.  They take turns and even though each one has their personal favorites, which tend to be chosen more often than others, they all recently agreed on one thing.

"Mom, you need new earrings."

Yep, they decided the selection was rather poor, and I should do something about it.

I've made myself earrings before, but was running out of ideas for anything 'new' and didn't want to make any of the designs I'd done previously.  Then I received an email from Craftsy for a contest, (This was a while ago!), where the winner would receive some classes from their wishlist.  Weeeelll...I didn't have any classes on my wishlist so I clicked on over to Craftsy and did some browsing.  I put a few classes on my list, and Wire-Wrapped Stones, Crystals and Clusters by Aga Kruk was one of them.

I didn't win the contest, but I did wind up purchasing this class and I'm thoroughly enjoying it!  For one thing, Aga and I share a Polish heritage.  I love listening to her accent! =)
For another, her designs are so fresh and lovely, and I wind up with lots of ideas flying through my head every time I watch a session.

These earrings are the result of the first project lesson, and I love them!  A bit of wimsy, a little romantic, and a whole lot of fun.......to make and wear!

I've already started branching out and creating some of my own designs using the techniques Aga teaches in this class.  And I'm really looking forward to the next session.  Who knows what will wind up in my jewelry box next!

A First Knitting Project

Here it is!

One of my little girls, who thought she didn't like knitting, has finished her first project and isn't so intimidated any more.

I'm very happy to say that she is giving this to a friend and is very pleased that she was able to make such a special gift.

As for me, this is not a first project, but it is a first shawl for another little girl who informed me that her sisters each have a shawl that I made for them, so now it's her turn. 

As soon as I finish this, I'll cast on some mittens to keep little fingers warm this winter.

Nesting, Nesting, Nesting

No....NOT because I'm expecting! lol

I just want to spruce up my homey place.  The fact that the comforter on my bed has large holes appearing in it every time I pull it up at night means I also have a need to spruce up some things around the house.

I have a new quilt all planned, and even lots of fabrics chosen for it.  We'll see if I have enough...or wind up with a reason to spend some money!  =)

I've also been browsing Pinterest, the Antique Pattern Library, Ravelry and my own hoard of crochet pattern books for some lovely edgings I can put on pillowcases, a bed ruffle and window trimmings.

I have lots of ideas in my head and have even gotten started!  Here's a peak at a filet crochet panel that will be part of a bedspread.  I'm still working out the details...whether it will be all crochet, or crochet panels alternated with fabric panels, but I've started and I am really enjoying the quiet time to work on it, as well as seeing my time and effort grow into something pretty.

The pattern for this panel can be found in Grand Album de Modèles pour Filet No. 3, (chart No. 45 on page 12 of the PDF.) edited by Edouard Boucherit and available for free at the Antique Pattern Library.  (Scroll down the page of the first link to find the file listed under the editor's name.)

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  Happy Spring!

makin' tracks

Here's another scrapbook page.  Yah!  I've been pretty productive lately!  But, if you read my last post, being productive with the scrapbook pages means I've been accomplishing things elswhere, too!

I used Creative Scrappers Sketch #259 for this LO and will be linking this up over there.

Since I tend to invest my money in paper, ink and stamps, all the phrases have been stamped and cut out by hand.  The title was cut with my eclips.  I had tons of fun making this LO.  It came together very quickly and that has added to my excitement to finally be putting some pages together.

Thanks for stopping in!

Credits:

DP: DCWV Stack 8

Cardstock & punches: Stampin' Up!

Stamps: Close to My Heart

Title Font: Kimberly Geswein~KG The Last Time

Love that Smile!

I've been spending a lot of time in my scrapping room lately.  It's been helping me keep the stress to a minimum as I drag out boxes, sort through stuff and decide what to do with it in other parts of the house.  I'm sure you've all been there where you suddenly realize there is a lot of STUFF in your life that you'd rather not have there.  It just tends to accumulate, (and then multipy ???), until you can't ignore it any more.  Things reached that point here, so I started to dig in.

And how does spending time in my scrapping room help alleviate the stress?  Well, when I take a break from the sorting, I've been putting my mind and efforts into some serious scrapbooking.  I've been intending to do this for years, (no, I won't mention how many), and decided taking breaks from the cleaning and sorting to be creatively crafty is a great 'two birds with one stone' approach to life right now.  And I have to say, it's been working fantasticly!

Here is the proof of it where the scrapbooking is concerned.  It still lacks a title.  I'm not sure what that should be, but it's mostly done.

This is actually a layout I started in January of 2013, but only finished the last week of December.  See!  I had intentions!  It just didn't work out.

But I'm on a roll now.  (Remember the 'Diligence' page from my Book of Me?)
This is only the beginning of what I have to share.  I'm really excited to be getting these done since it's been on my 'To Do' list for a long time.

Hope you have a blessed and cozy weekend.

Credits:

Stampin' Up!: BG DP, cardstocks,  stamps and punches

Stash: other DPs, buttons, ribbon and twine

Book of Me: My Word for the Year

Hi there!


I'm participating in a Book of Me challenge on Scrapbook.com.

I've been wanting to do a BOM for a long time, and have lots of years prior to 2014 that I will have to fill in, but I wanted to start this year right, by staying on track with BOM entries.

As my husband and I have been evaluating our past, and seeking God for direction for our future, I began asking the Lord for a word that I should focus my attention on for this year.  At first, I was really just desiring it, not whole heartedly seeking God for it.

Then I read a post on my friend Kelly's blog at Sandcastle Stamper.  I was thrilled to see that she had the same desire, and already had her word for the year.  With a yearning to have a focus, grounding point, and something for which I could be accountable to myself, my husband and my Master, I sat right there at my desk and sincerely asked, "God, what's my word for this year?",  

Within seconds I had my answer:

The first layout in my BOM for 2014.

Blessings!

Credits:

Background Paper & image behind 'Diligence': Kindred Spirits from RaspberryRoadDesigns.net

Stamped images & metal tag: Stampin' Up!

Other DPs: My Mind's Eye

January Card Challenge: Theme~Love

 Hi!

I'm back with another card for the January Card Challenge on Scrapbook.com.

This time around I've made a card for the 'Theme' category, said theme being 'love'.

I know, I know . . . I used a 'love' stamp on another card I made for this challenge, which would technically on a practical level possibly be more fitting for this theme.  However . . . I wanted to create a card within the theme, without using words of any kind.  I'm pretty pleased with this one.

Thanks for stopping by to see it!

All products are Stampin' Up!

Happy 2014!!

January Card Challenge: Scrapbook.com ~ category: Color ~ red. pink, white

January Card Challenge: Scrapbook.com ~ category: Product ~ punches

I know I'm a little late with greetings for the new year...life...ya know?

I'm starting the year out right, though, with a couple of cards for a challenge on the Scrapbook.com forum.  The January Card challenge includes 8 categories and these two cards are for the 'color: red white and pink' and 'products: punches' categories.


Thanks for stopping by!  I hope your 2014 is filled with joy and blessings!

Credits
Stampin' Up!: colored cardstocks, punches (oval, hearts), silver ribbon and stamps
Sizzix: Basic Grey emboss folder
EK Success: scallop lace border punch
Stash: white cardstock, pink polka-dot ribbon