Crafters of Faith October Challenge

I am fortunate to be part of a wonderful group of women called "Crafters of Faith".  Since joining a few months ago I have started new friendships with these talented women. We share our faith in God and provide support and encouragement for one another through prayer and our common belief in His grace.

Each month one member posts a challenge and on the last day of the month we post our cards in response..  This month's hostess is Sharon and here is her challenge:

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 

I Thessalonians 5:16-18

 From Sharon:

Wow, it's hard to believe that there is only 3 more months left of 2012...where has the time gone?? Some of you may know from reading my blog this week that Autumn is my favorite season of the year.

In Southern Ontario it is quickly making its appearance and where I'm from the colour of the changing leaves can be quite spectacular. It's so inspiring--I just love it!

Autumn also includes my most favourite holiday celebration--THANKSGIVING!! It's hard not to love a holiday that calls on us to give thanks for our blessings. I realize not everyone around the world celebrates this holiday, and our friends in the U.S. don't celebrate until November, so for this challenge you can choose to make either a card for thanksgiving OR a thank you card for someone who has been a blessing to you. Please use at least 2 designer papers and 1 embellishment, and most importantly, have fun!

Here is my card:

Those of you who have known me a while know that using DP is a new thing for me, ha ha.  I learned to make cards by using all blank stock and putting my own backgrounds and textures on it.  So using TWO DPs on one card was a good challenge to stretch myself.  Thank you Sharon!

So, if you can see, I actually managed to use 3 coordinating papers on the front! 

Here is a side view to show the depth of this card using those foam pop ups.  

Below is the inside of the card, with space to add a white panel for a sentiment.  The stamps and dies are from A Muse Studios and the DP is from SU, I think.  (I bought it from another card maker in a bundle so I'm not sure of the origin.)

I have so many blessings in my life.  My family, some exceptional friends, my career, my health...it's a long list!  The verse that Sharon selected for this challenge is so appropriate for this time of year.  Whenever I think that too many things are going wrong, I try to stop myself and remember all that I have to be thankful for.  It usually stops the "Woe is Me" train dead in its tracks.  To the members of Crafters of Faith:  each of you is a blessing to many, including me!

Be sure to visit their blogs also and admire their work.  Links are in my sidebar.  Thank you for stopping by and any comments that you may leave.  Peace be with you!

Dueling Darlings Tribute to Our Leaders!

Here it is the 15th of the month and time for another Dueling Darlings Post.  This month our sole hostess is Melina and she asked us to pay tribute to our Dazzling Leader: Jeanette!

This card was to honor all she does for us behind the scenes keeping the Dazzlers team organized and such.  Of course, many of us know her as the "Forest Ranger" on Splitcoast Stampers where she regularly hosts the Forest Swaps.  Besides just a swap, the Forest is a wonderful place to hang out and chat and many of us have formed fast friendships there.

For this reason our cards were to be forest related and Jeanette LOVES designer paper, so we were to use DP on our cards.  This is what I came up with:

Jeanette has a fondness for owls, and the stamp set and ink is from A Muse Studios, which Jeanette is also fond of.  The paper is from my dear friend, Carol, who sent it to me last year and I've been hoarding.  Hmmm, what better way to use it than on another friend's card, right?
This is one of those cards where the center panel flips around when you extend out the accordion folds.  So here is the flip side of the panel with a sentiment on it about friendship:

You can see that I had to piece the DP around the folds to make it work. But I really like the wood grained paper. It gives it a bit of a rustic feel.

Melina asked us all to surprise Jeanette with happy mail, so as this blog post is happening, this card is making its way via USPS to her mailbox.  I hope she enjoys our little card flood and knows how special she is to so many of us!

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out the other Dazzlers & their tribute to Jeanette.  After that, visit the Divas and admire their creations in honor of their team leader, Kelly!  Links to their blogs are in my sidebar.

MFT's "Miss You a Latte" is Round 4 of Unidentified Image Swap

We are in Round 4 of the Unidentified Image Swap on SCS.  This round's Hostess, Terry, selected My Favorite Thing's "Miss You a Latte" as the image we received to work with.
What a cute and fun image it is too!  We were free to include any sentiment that we liked, so  I decided to pick a more generic one that could be used for various situations.

 

To the left is the front panel, the CS is a foiled, embossed stock from SEI's "Morocco" pack.
On the right is my attempt to show the shimmer that was spritzed on the maroon panel set behind the image.  I used Stardust Finishing Spray from A Muse Studios to spritz on the glimmer.  A touch of glitter was added to her headband, shoes & earrings for a bit of bling.

The image is colored with Spectrum Noir markers, ribbon and iridescent half pearls were bought from local stores and found in my stash.


On the right is the inside panel finished in a coordinating paper from the same pack.  It has the same foil finish.

To the right is the back panel of the card.

Thanks Terry for sharing such a fun image for us this round!  I can hardly wait to see what everyone else has created.  Thanks for stopping by!

Asian Best Wishes

Here is a couple of cards, recreating a card that I developed for our son's girlfriend on her birthday last month.  I always feel that family members should get a brand new card that I've never made for anyone else before.  Sometimes that puts a little pressure on me, LOL.  Maybe I should reconsider that...!



The base and inside panels are a shimmery purple and silver CS from DCWV's At Home & The Four Seasons packs - they are lovely.

Sizzix XL Movers & Shapers Windows die was used to cut the window panes and SU's Lots of Tags die was used for the sentiment.  All images are heat embossed with Rangers black EP: sentiment & Gingko branch are SU.  Inside panels are from a Fiskars set of Asian stamps.  Best Wishes is popped up.

The inside panels use the same papers and black EP.  I rather like how these turned out!  Only problem is that I've used all of that wonderful shimmery purple paper out of the pack. Isn't that how it always goes?  Thanks for stopping by and thank you for leaving your comments!  It's always a treat for me to read your feedback.
Blessings to you!