Monday, December 27, 2010

Vintage Christmas Blessing

Hi, again!

Just wanted to share an absolutely amazing card I received for Christmas from my friend, Lana. She is an incredibly talented artist, and this is just one of many examples you can see on her blog at www.blestwithstamps.blogspot.com or her SCS gallery at "stampin bear".


The inside is as beautiful as the outside! Thank you so very, very much, Lana!

Kris

I'll Play My Best for Him Treat Box Card

Hi, folks!

Hope this finds you well and having had a blessed Christmas! Ready for a terrific new year? I know I am!

Wanted to share a treat card box that I gave our praise team members (made 10 of them!) on Christmas Eve. They are so committed to God and to leading our congregation in wonderful musical worship, but they don't hear often enough just how blessed we are to have their amazing talent.

Each card has a base of Bazzill chocolate brown cs. Various sheets of SU's Deck the Halls dp were used for the front and the tags. The baby Jesus image is from Sugar Creek Hollow and was printed in sepia. The "I'll Play..." sentiment was stamped in Versamark and embossed in detail gold ep.

The front image is a digi from Arty Pants digital stamps. The holly was colored with Copics and the image was distressed with Tea Stain and Walnut Stain distress inks. The window opening was cut out with a Spellbinders Fancy Tag and backed with acetate to hold the candy in!

There are a few different versions of the tutorial for this treat box card on SCS, but I was blessed to receive the dimensions I used on these from Chanda Stehlik of www.onecraftymommy.com. Thanks so much, Chanda! The instructions worked perfectly!

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

Kris

Friday, December 17, 2010

Peace on Earth

Hi!

I came across this wonderful, inspiring music video and wanted to pass it along to all of you.  Enjoy - and peace to you all this Christmas season and in the New Year!

Kris

P.S.: You can mute the Playlist music at the bottom of the blog page so you can hear the beauty of this song.


Thursday, December 16, 2010

God's Gift


Hi!  Thanks for checking in today!  Hope your day went well. 

In all the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, as cliche as it may sound to some, we need to remember that this is the season to celebrate the amazing Gift that God gave to all of us.  Sometime in the dark of night, a man brought a pregnant woman on a donkey to an inn.  A birth was imminent, but the only room available to them was a small barn.  A Child was born that night to a faithful young girl and the man she was to marry.  But, as she had been told by an angel, the child was God’s.  The baby’s first pillow in that hand-hewn trough was a bale of hay for the animals.  The birth was announced by an angel, one of many, to a small band of shepherds.  A star was placed in the heavens to guide three maji across hundreds of miles of sand dunes to that remote place so that honor and gifts could be bestowed on that little baby, the King of Kings.  Born into poverty, amidst questionable heritage, raised to be a carpenter - this one small baby would change the world at that time and for all future generations.  God came to us to save us from ourselves, for eternal life with Him.  Jesus - God's Gift - born to teach love and to die on a cross so that we could have our sins removed and be one with Him throughout eternity.  How wonderful and incredibly amazing is that?



This is a Christmas card I made for my friend, Lana (http://www.blestwithstamps.blogspot.com/), and her husband, Al.  The gorgeous image of the baby Jesus was drawn by a young girl in Poland for Sugar Creek Hollow (http://www.sugarcreekhollow.com/) digi stamps.  The verse comes with the image.  Isn't the image absolutely beautiful?!  I chose to keep the card simple because Christ came to us not in pomp and circumstance, but as a humble servant.  The frame is a digital image I found on the Internet from http://mudbayimages.blogspot.com.  I printed two copies of the frame, cut and mounted the inside portion only with pop dots on top of the main frame image for depth.  The inside of the card includes a sentiment that I typed on the computer, cut it out with Spellbinders, sponged with distress ink, and layered it on top of some beautiful ribbon from a local paper warehouse, Hollo's.  Underneath that is a portion of the digital paper from http://www.cuddlebeezscraps.com/ that I had used on the front.  It is punched with an EK Success punch and layered on top of a punched piece of SU Vanilla.  I sponged some Walnut Stain distress ink on the front of the card and on the papers inside.

Thanks for visiting!  Come again!

Kris
 

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Creating from the Heart blog candy




Hi, all!

Hope this finds you all well!  Had our first snowfall today, with more to come.  It's beautiful!  God does wonderful work in nature, doesn't he? 

I've been under the weather the last few days myself, so have been out of touch for the most part.  However, I just got back online and noted that Melissa Bove at Creating from the Heart (http://keepsakesbymelissa.blogspot.com/) has a wonderful blog candy opportunity.  Check it out!  She has a very simple way to win one of two snowglobes she's made, one of which you can see below.  It is AMAZING!!!!  The detail is incredible.  What a wonderful keepsake this will make.



I'll be back to work on some things yet this week, so will talk with you later!  Have a great day!

Kris

Friday, November 26, 2010

Thanksgiving Greetings!

Hi, all!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I want to thank you all for taking the time to join me on this blogging journey.  It is wonderful to "meet" new friends and be able to share a bit of my stamping passion and thoughts.  God has blessed my family and me so greatly, and we are all so thankful!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, most importantly because of God's grace, His amazing artistry in the colors of the season, and in being able to have my family around me.  We had our daughters and their families for an early breakfast before they had to go off to inlaws' houses for the main dinner.  However, for the past several years, my husband and I have been "adopted" by my eldest daughter's husband's family (a large one!) and invited to one of their houses for a wonderful, large Thanksgiving feast!  I miss making my turkey, but, boy does the Hershberger clan ever know how to make a true feast!  Homemade pies "up the gump stump", as my dad used to say; turkey, ham, and all the fixins'; and then we all bring something to add to the selection.  I took deviled eggs and a new recipe for a Holiday Broccoli Gratin that was gobbled up immediately (I was so thrilled they liked it)!  I was so pleased to not have to cook much this year, as the oven we inherited when we downsized and moved to our current home is absolutely horrible for baking - it burns everything on the bottom if I'm not REALLY careful.  The turkey in this oven would have probably been charcoal!!!! HA!  Maybe Santa will bring a new oven??????  I can hope......
Anyway, it was a very nice day - God is good!

I'd like to share a card that I made recently that can be used for a number of occasions.  I have left the inside blank so that I could use it as needed. 

The incredible paper is from October Afternoon Thrift Shop by Cosmo Cricket on top of SU's Natural White cs.  SU black grosgrain ribbon is in the middle topped by a piece of 60+-year-old white cotton lace that I inherited from my MIL's stash of lace.  A white paper flower has a beautiful black and rhinestone button in the middle (again, a 60+-year-old button from the huge can of buttons my MIL had - they really knew how to make beautiful, artistic buttons then, didn't they?!).  I absolutely love using the old with the new, don't you?

While the picture above has a distinctly pink hue, it is really black and white.  I tried and tried to get a better, more realistic picture, but, alas, it wasn't to be.   I LOVE this paper!  This is being entered in the following challenges:

No Time To Stamp - ssnotime167 - Black Friday challenge (http://notimetostamp.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2010/11/25/stamp-simply-167-black-friday/);
and
CCEE Challenge #CCEE1047 - using lace on the entry (http://www.cceestampers.blogspot.com/).

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

Kris

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Beanie Gift Card Holders

Hi, all!

Hey, thanks so much for stopping in today!

Did you see the awesome beanie gift card tutorial on SCS this week?  I had seen samples of this project some time ago, and thought they would be great for a church craft show that my friend, Lana (http://www.blestwithstamps.blogspot.com/), and I would be doing.  Here are some of the beanies we made....



I used several different designer papers from my Christmas stash, including Tinkering Ink's McTavish (great plaid!), Cosmos Cricket's Something Blue, and Stampin' Up! cardstock.  The design ideas on these are endless.  The one third down on the left even has some 60-year-old lace from my MIL's stash from when she was first married!  Some have "topknots" for design and some are just a "skullcap"-type design.  We made several school logo beanies, using Lana's custom SU stamp and a paw print stamp (thanks, bud!) for our awesome Grizzly teams!

Thanks for visiting today!  It's apparently the last warm day of our Indian Summer here in NE Ohio, so hubby and I are going out on our motorcycle for the last time before he puts the bike (very sadly) away for winter.  Our bike isn't big, but it's absolutely wonderful to be able to ride with him and see the beautiful country and small towns around us, and to experience God's absolute majesty.  We are truly blessed!

I hope you have a blessed weekend!  See you soon!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

God's Artistry

Hi, all!

Hope this finds you well. Glad you stopped by!

Just wanted to share a couple of pictures of the trees out our back deck. We just moved to this house a few months ago, and are blessed to be on the edge of one of the most beautiful municipal parks. Over 40 acres of trees, a quite pond, several trails, wildlife, and loads of trees! I'm told that deer run by our house occasionally, but I haven't seen them yet. I coordinated and oversaw the planting of a community garden in the beautiful meadows area of this park last year (fed 80 families with over 350 pounds of veggies from that garden and another I oversaw at one of the area schools!), so this park is especially dear to my heart. We are blessed with these beautiful views each day - God is good!



Aren't these colors gorgeous?!  The next picture I've titled "Cathedral" because that's what it reminds me of.  There is a path to the park next to our neighbor's house for the public to use.  Lots of people take their dogs for walks in this park, and many take this route.  When they return, the dogs seem so happy for their experience.  Or, maybe it's a secret garden for wood nymphs and sprites - seems that way, particularly when the leaves move with the wind that sweeps through that valley.  Who knows......?  It could happen......!  LOL


Thanks so much for sharing a few minutes with me.  Hope you enjoyed the pictures!  I'll be back to share a few cards I've made recently.

Have a happy day!

Kris

Sunday, October 3, 2010

You Are Worth the Time

Hi, all!  Happy Sunday!

I just came across this beautiful video that I wanted to share with all of you.

You know, whatever creative endeavor you choose to enjoy, it is YOUR art, the gift of song and expression that God placed in your heart before you were born. Whether it be writing, poetry, music in all its forms, painting, rubber stamping, baking, camera or film work - all is an expression of the gifts God so graciously provided. To deny them because "it's not good enough (for whom?)" or "no one will buy what I make" or others have derided your efforts, is to say that you're not worth it. What sour thinking that is, and it's definitely not what God planned for you.

Reading the headlines today I realized how fearful this world can be if we allow it to enter deeply into our mind and soul. It is so difficult to fathom the evil, pain, and hurt that pervades the news, TV, web, and discussions. Our art takes us on a journey away from all of that, if even for a short time, into a world of vision, creativity, imagination, peace and prayer. Art can be serious, but often it is cathartic, calming, playful and joyful - and God wants us to enjoy the gifts He's given us. In so doing, we become better in ourselves, better for others, better in our outreach, better for Him, and better for the world.

To all of you who express your art, God bless you! I salute and honor you and give you this beautiful video to enjoy. Have a wonderful, blessed week!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Sympathy for a Friend

Hi, all!  Hope your day is going well!

I needed to make a sympathy card for a friend who recently lost her father.  I wanted something soothing, and felt that this dp and the stamps fit the bill.

          
         The gorgeous dp is a piece I purchased at one of my lss.  It is mounted on a base of SU Very Vanilla cs.  The beautiful deep brown velvet ribbon is from Hobby Lobby.  The sentiment (from F Stamps Designs - purchased at another lss) is stamped in Versamark on SU Very Vanilla, cut with Spellbinders Labels 8, and covered with a brown ep.  It is sponged in SU Creamy Caramel, and is popped up on the ribbon for dimension.  The lovely sparrow is stamped in Versamark and covered with a personal mix of SU verdigris and copper ep and popped up.  You can see two more on the inside of the card below, as well.  (I had a skip of the stamp, so used one of them to cover that "blurp!"  After all, I've always used the old adage, "There's never a stamping mistake; only a change to embellish!" )  I used an EK Success punch for the dp on the inside (it really isn't that crooked IRL!).  It is never an easy thing to design a sympathy card, but I hope this brings a bit of comfort to my friend.

Since it is World Card Making Day, the first of the month, and there are SOOOO many challenges, I thought I would submit this to Our Daily Bread Designs' "wing it" challenge - ODBDSLC31.  I only have a few ODBD stamps, but I hope to remedy that soon!  Thanks to Kelly for sharing her faith and beautiful artwork with all of us!

Well, thanks so much for taking some time out of your day to spend it with me!  Have a wonderful rest of the weekend!




Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Rustic Santa

Hi!

Well the challenge bug has begun!  Here is another card that I've done for the following challenges:

Winter Wonderland Christmas blog challenge;
Christmas Stampin' All Year Long CSAYL65 challenge;
A Spoonfull of Sugar Challenge 122 Anything Goes; and
Christmas Inspiration.



I just love this Santa College from Rubber Stampede, don't you?  My card stops at the dots on the side of the My Mind's Eye dp; the brown is just the background the card was propped up on.

DP for both the red background and the green Labels 4 nestie are from last year's MME Christmas pack.   Santa was stamped in Versafine Sepia Brown on SU Vanilla and cut with a smaller Labels 4 nestie, then shaded with three different distress inks.  The "25" was cut out from the MME dp.  It's very glittery IRL.  It was backed with burgundy cs and popped up along with the Santa for dimension.  My friend, Lana, gave me the "believe" metal tag from her stash, and the MS punch and green cs for the branches.  The dp was sponged around the edges with Walnut Stain distress ink.

Thanks so much for looking!  Have a great rest of the week!

Kris





Monday, September 27, 2010

Welcome!

Hi!  I'm thrilled to introduce you to my new blog - the first I've done.  I hope to have art and thoughts that will inspire you, make you happy, and give you peace.  My first work that I would like to post is a card that I recently submitted for a few challenges - also my first attempt!  What fun it was!  I have the challenge bug, for sure, now!  But, that's okay - it will get me creating and learning more, which I am truly excited to be able to do.

 The first challenge was on Sharon Johnson's blog http://notimetostamp.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/ for her Stamp Simply 158 challenge and for Crazy 4 Challenges' bling challenge at .  http://crazy4challenges.blogspot.com/

Here is the gorgeous inspiration picture Sharon posted: 


shanaiya_indian_bridal_2010-320-480.jpg


and here is my interpretation:

The items used on this were a base of Bazzill chocolate cardstock, SU copper metallic, and then DCWV Mariposa (isn't that paper pak gorgeous?!).  The sentiment is retired SU in Versafine Vintage Sepia on SU Vanilla cs and cut out with Spellbinders Labels 13.  The "bling" is from Michael's and the gold metallic with red rhinestone ribbon is from Hobby Lobby.  A sheet of SU Vanilla was cut with the EK Success fleur de lis punch for the inside of the card.  The butterflies and sentiment were popped up for dimension.

Thanks so much for visiting today!  Have a blessed week!

Kris