Shoes

Here are a few image files for your use with MTC.  Just right click and open in MTC using pixel/trace.

I'm Back!

Well,

It's been a while since I last posted something on my blog.  I have been pretty busy the past two months.  In November, I drove to Houston for my older daughter's Senior Recital at Texas Southern University.  That was for the Thanksgiving weekend.  What a drive!  Though it is my third time doing the trip, I had never gone through the El Paso/San Antonio Pass at night.  That was some adventure!

Needless to say, the recital was a success.  I was a proud mama beaming from ear to ear as my oldest child sang 15 songs! Quite impressive, I tell you!

Here is one of her videos for your enjoyment.

Anyway, since my return I have been busy creating cards for an event I was participating in as a vendor.  I also had an order for some Christmas cards from one of my sisters and I just finished sending those off in the mail to New York.

This is the final product.  I bought the template from Shelly Watson at Paper and Flowers and made 12 cards using the Recollections cardstock paper (Gemstone), which I picked up at Michael's.

Here is what they look like:

God as Father

Understanding God as Father is quite important to me.  I had an earthly father who taught me to care for myself and my siblings; who taught me to cook and care for a home.  I thought, when I was growing up, that I had the greatest father in the world, but the term "father" took on another meaning to me when my relationship with God became personal.

When one comes to know God as Father, one realizes the true meaning of the word.  Our earthly fathers are supposed to love, cherish, guide, and protect us. Sometimes, they fail at doing so. God, however, never fails in showing his love for us. He loves us even when we are not worthy of being loved. He never gives up on us.  He guides us, and when we take the wrong path, he doesn't scoff at us for doing so - he gently welcomes us back and continues guiding us as if we'd never veered from his path. God is not selective either.  He doesn't look at me and say, "you're better than all the rest, so I will love you more than others." No, God loves us all the same.  God is gentle, kind, loving, fun (yes, he has a sense of humor) and he is also a disciplinarian.

Father knows best applies to him for he is all knowing (Omniscient), ever present (Omnipresent), all powerful (Ominipotent).  God is our banner, our Jehovah Nissi; he is our provider - Jehovah Jireh; he is our righteousness, Jehovah Tsikednu, he's our protector - El Shaddai. There are so many qualities one can use to describe God, but when I think of him as Father, I realize the true meaning of that word.

I'm thankful for knowing the love of such a wonderful Father.

Lingerie Inspired

Here I am with another card for the Hope You Can Cling to Challenge on splitcoaststampers.com. As the title indicates, it is inspired by lingerie, so here is my inspiration.

Of course, when I'm creating I always find time to make a few other cards, so here they are:

This Week in My World

I have been pretty busy since last I blogged.  My 87 year old mother went back into the hospital on Monday afternoon, and most of my nights have been spent at UCLA, sleeping on a very comfortable sofa.  I must say, the new hospital, The Ronald Reagan Medical Center, is top of the line. My mother had her own room, bathroom included, and in addition to the sofa/bed, there was also a recliner you could sleep in (if so inclined).  What I found interesting is that the hospital is now a 24 hour facility, so I didn't have to get there right after work.  Instead, I came home and took care of my business, then went to the hospital about 7:00 p.m.

In all of this, I found time to make (and finish) few cards. Here they are:

I was hoping to take part in another challenge this week from Stampin' Sisters in Christ, but my schedule has just been too hectic and I couldn't get around to making the card I wanted to enter in the challenge.  Oh well, I guess I will pass on this one and be on the lookout for next week's.  In the meantime, I had a few friends call and ask if I would make a birthday and thank you cards for them, so I'm working on those.

One of my cousins is celebrating his 75th birthday and I made a few cards in his honor.  Here they are:

"Hope You Can Cling To"

I was inspired to make this card after checking out the "Hope You Can Cling To" challenge on Splitcoaststampers. I chose to create a Christmas card for my challenge as Christmas is very special to me (I was born in December) and the season signifies and spells H.O.P.E. to me.

Here are some other cards I made yesterday.

Busy Weekend

Phew!

What a busy weekend I have had.  What with taking care of my mother who is recovering from health challenges this week, going to praise and worship service and making cards, I'm exhausted!  Mind you, I'm not complaining.

Today I was able to sit down and put together some new cards based on techniques I have been meaning to work on.  I am also trying to take part in a challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ.  Here are a few of the cards I have been working on.  Forgive the quality of the photos. I need a new camera and I am putting one on my wish list for the holidays.

The fist photo is one I made using the leaves left over from an invitation I made.  The invitation had two yellow roses.  I cut the leaves off from the roses and instead of throwing them away, I attached them to a card, colored a few of them with an orange marker, applied diamond glitter, and attached the words: "Falling Leaves", which I cut using MTC and my Cricut.  Here is the card.

"In the Beginning..."

Genesis 1:

This weekend I was working on two projects.  The first is finished.  One of my church sisters asked if I could make a centerpiece for a table fashioned as a teapot.  This sister and another member of my church will be attending a tea program and she wanted a centerpiece to represent the ladies' from the church. So, I tried to find ideas on how to create this centerpiece.

My research didn't provide me with anything I could use, so I decided to go to the Make the Cut (MTC) forum to see if I could find a teapot I could cut and fashion into a table sign.

Using a teapot design I found in MTC, I sized it to a size I felt would stand out on the table. I used the shadow layer as the background for the teapot.  This is what the MTC file looks like.

I then cut out all parts of the teapot twice in two different shades of green (as requested) and made a scalloped label with the church group's name.  Once I had all parts cut and pasted together, I stamped the
body of the teapot with a flower stamp using Tsukineko's Dew Drop ink (Galaxy Gold). I used Stickles glitter glue (gold) to add bling to the card, then attached the labels with pop-up dots. Once all parts were attached, I glued together the top of the teapot, and the spout.  Once dry, I was able to place the sign on the table to see if it would stand on its own.  Below is the final product.

Enjoy!

D'Bee

Just an Update

Hi all,

I'm just stopping by to let you know I'm working on a new project and once it is finished I will post for you to see.  In the meantime, click here for today's Daily Devotional.

Have a blessed day!

My First Post!

Wow!  I was creating a card for a challenge I saw here and one thing lead to another, so here I am.

I have been creating cards for years, but my schedule has kept me so busy, I had no time for blogging (though I do cruise the web and check out other people's blogs.)

Anyway, here is the card I created for this challenge.