Vulnerablity

“The cry of the Israelites has now come to me;”

Exodus 3:9 NRSV

To be vulnerable is to open ourselves up to hurt. Yes, hurt. You ask, why would I want to be hurt by anyone or anything? Trust me, it is not easy to be vulnerable; it is not easy to expose our innermost feelings to others! We won’t take that risk! Revealing vulnerability to others is showing weakness. Better yet, it makes us seem like children. Yes, children. We hear words like, “You baby”, “cry, cry baby”, or “act your age”.

When I was young, I never wanted others to see me cry when they hurt me with their words. Why? Because in our culture, crying meant you were a baby. Instead, I hid behind an angry face and would lash out at my tormentors. That is, until my older sister took hold of me and started speaking words of wisdom to me. She would say to me not to become angry at people’s words, to remember that, “sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but words would never hurt me”. Those words formed me in a way I cannot describe. They were a reminder to me that it did not matter what people said to me or about me; what mattered is how I handled the situation. Do I lash out or ignore? Many times, ignoring meant crying tears of hurt, which allowed others to see me in a new light, no longer hiding behind a face of anger or an attitude of “don’tcarishness” (an “I don’t care what you say about me!” attitude).

When we become vulnerable, we allow others to see our hearts. We allow them to enter into the most private space in our hearts, that space occupied by ourselves and by God alone. We become, in fact, like children, open to the wonders of being carefree and innocent. When we become like children we are dependent on others to take care of us, i.e., our parents. Without a father or mother, we cannot survive as children.

In Exodus, when Moses saw the burning bush and heard God’s voice, he hid his face for fear of looking at God (Exodus 3:6). But God had work for Moses to do, for he saw the vulnerability of his people, the Israelites, and Moses would be the tool he would use to deliver them from Egypt. 

The Israelites’ childlike quality or vulnerability is what called to God.

Carol Kent and her husband Gene, in “A New Kind of Normal,” allowed their vulnerability to shine for the world to see when they allowed the cameras of Dateline NBC into their lives and into their story. What happened next was a surprise for them – the outpouring of love and support they received from friends and people who they did not know was an encouragement to them during their darkest moments. That is what happens when we open up and become vulnerable, when we invite God into our innermost thoughts (which he already knows) and cry out to him for help. He sees our need for him, for his love and protection.

On another note, this blog is mainly for me to showcase my cards and art, however, oftentimes I get so busy with my work and ministry that I neglect to update you readers with what I have been up to. On occasion, I make cards or art work and forget to take photos (yikes!).  Since my last post I made these three cards and all of them were for special persons or events.  Enjoy!

For a Sistah in Christ battling Breast Cancer

A couple at church who celebrated 29 years of wedded bliss!

This is a couple getting married next month.

Finished Invitation & RSVP

Hey blog friends,

Last week I shared with you a draft of a beach invitation I was in the process of making.  Today I can gladly say, IT IS FINISHED!  Here are photos of the finalized invitations.  I hope you like them.

Just a few photos of finished cards

I used MTC to cut these flip flops to my Cameo Silhouette

Embossed with Quickutz Tide embossing folder

RSVP card

Voilá

Here are both together

Season of Peace and Love

December is my favorite month for many reasons. For one, it is my birth month (and one of my sisters, baby brother and mother). It is also the month we celebrate Mother's Day in my country of birth (December 8th). Finally, it is the month in which we celebrate the birth of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

This is the season of love and peace to all on earth. It is a time to celebrate the birth of He who came to this world to die, Jesus Christ, the sacrificial lamb offering who willingly gave his life in exchange for ours. It all started at a time like this, Christmas, when a young virgin gave birth to the Messiah, the Prince of Peace. Christmas is a time for us to get together and celebrate his birth; to give thanks for the gift he became to the world. It is a time for all to gather together and forget our differences and celebrate as one this joyous occasion. It is a time to dig deep into our hearts and find the love that is there waiting to be poured out for humankind.

In the spirit of Christmas, we make or buy Christmas cards, we bake cookies, cakes and other goodies; we clean up and prepare our homes in preparation of those who might be coming over for a meal on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and/or New Years Day, we buy gifts, sometimes forgetting that gift-giving is really not the purpose of the season.  I am reminded of the Advent study book we read just a few weeks ago, titled "Christmas Is Not Your Birthday," by Mike Slaughter.  It is about God's scandalous love for humankind, a love that has no bounds; a love that is generous toward us, and which, according to Slaughter, should be about our lives being transformed to become the ears, eyes, hands, and wallets of Christ, to be obedient to his calling, and to live our lives in service to those who cannot help themselves.

It is my hope that this Christmas finds you surrounded by the love and joy the season brings, but also reminds you that Christmas is not your birthday, but the birthday of the boy Jesus, God's gift to us.

Peace and love!

Pre-printed Christmas cards for clients

Handcrafted Cards cut via MTC with Silhouette Cameo

Inspired

Good morning, blog friends!

I hope you are enjoying this Monday morning. In my neck of the woods (Los Angeles) it promises to be a hot sunny day. This is typical for this time of year. Twenty-eight years ago today, I gave birth to my oldest daughter and it was HOT!

After my little vacay  (see previous post) I came back to chaos. I had to get rid of my mattress because I had a bed bug! Don't ask me how it came into my room (according to a pest control friend it could have come through the window - I live on the lower floor of my apartment unit) but it wreaked havoc with my body.  Prior to me leaving on vacation, I had been seeing these bites on different parts of my body (mostly arms and legs). What was different about these bites was, in addition to the extreme itching, my skin would inflame as if I'd been bitten by a bee (I'm allergic).  I brushed it all off thinking that it was some type of gnat bite.  While away, my youngest daughter came home for a spell (she's been living in China, where she works). She texted me to say she thought she was allergic to the food (after a year of eating vegetables and noodles she thought she couldn't eat regular food, lol) because she woke up with bites on her body. I replied back that there must be something in my room. So, she switched rooms and slept in my mother's bed.

When I got back home on July 9th, I immediately called my friend because he said that I might have bed bugs. He came over armed with a flashlight and proceeded to go over my bed frame. I have a queen size Queen Anne bed and it took a bit of looking for him to find the bug. Yep, there was only one (can you believe it) and that one insect caused me a pretty penny.  I had to get rid of my mattress and purchase a new one.

The one good thing that came from this was that I was inspired to change the look of my bedroom.  I decided to DIY my whole room by not only painting it (with the help of my youngest), but I also picked up the carpet and I'm working on putting down flooring.  Here's what the room looks like now without the bed and prior to putting down the floor.

As you can see, I painted the room Purple and Lavender (Lavender is my favorite scent, so it didn't take me long to figure out the colors I would use).  As of today, I'm still working on my flooring.  I should have it done in the next two weeks and will post photos of the finished space for you to see.

Because of the havoc that little insect caused, I was uninspired to make any cards for a while, but in August I had this burst of inspiration and started making, not only cards, but these framed pieces.  I will showcase just a few here for now.

Card
I purchased the image for this shoe from 123rf.com I printed and cut the shoe in MTC and used glue dots to make it 3D. I printed the Scripture in MS Word and cut it out and attached with glue dots. The background Damask paper is from mygrafico.com and the brown paper I printed from MS Word and embossed with Cuttlebug Anna Griffin  5x7 Pirouette embossing folder.

Framed Art

Card
Digi file purchased from Robert Jackson. He made this image file exclusive for me. I used Gimp to add a pattern to the dress and color in the skin, hair and purse. I then print and cut the image and attached it with glue dots. As with the previous card, I printed the sentiment in MS Word and cut and pasted it to the card. The background paper I used from a Kente file I had in my stash and which I created a background for in Word and printed in color to use for this card.

Framed Art

Let's Dance!

If I had to choose the types of cards I love to make, then I would have to say it's the ones that depict people and fashion. What I mean is, I love making cards with modern day women/men/children, and anything that has to do with fashion, such as shoes (especially those that are in style) clothing, purses, etc.

This card symbolizes all of that.  I don't remember where I purchased these lovely dancing ladies, but I love what they represent - freedom of expression, movement, joy, celebration!

I cut these three dancers using Make-the-Cut. The dresses are a layered part of the cut file and all I did was cut each dress using a different patterned paper (polka dots, Zebra, and Cheetah).  I wanted to make the card as CAS as possible, as well as monochromatic, so I opted for black, white, slate grey, and dark brown.

Post Valentine

Yes, I know, Valentine's Day is long past, however, since we're still in February I think it's not too late to post cards, what do you say?

I made these cards a while back, however, because I've been super busy, I wasn't able to post them to my site, so for your viewing pleasure, here they are:

I made this card especially for someone who wanted to give it to their hubby. Drawing inspiration from here and using the sketch on the left, this is what I came up with.  The background papers we digi papers purchased from Mygrafico. The papers are by Cupcake Cutiees and they're called Hearts N Love papers. The Love of My Heart sentiment was printed on Gina K Designs Red Hot and Dark Chocolate cardstock from my computer using the Channel font, and I finished by embellishing with brown ribbons and two pearl pins to which I added tiny pearls at the end so they won't stick anyone, lol!  The card on the right (below) was made using the same papers, but the embellishments were from my stash. I made this one for my brother to give to his wife. I love the play of red and chocolate, don't you?

These other cards were quickies made using cutting files I purchased from the Cutting Café. They were easy to make using Make-the-Cut. These are the finished products. Most of the papers I used were part of a stash I've had sitting around for a long time.

Season of Love

Well folks, Valentine's day is fast approaching and I had to get on the ball or the day would come and go  quicker than I can say...  Last week I started working on some VD cards and I want to showcase some of them here today.

This first card makes me want to say, "Yum!" I had this paper called "I Love Cupcakes" since last year, and because I started my projects too late, I never used it. So, here it is this year.  What goes best with cupcakes? Well, ice cream, of course! got the ice cream cone cutting file from the Make-the-Cut! forum gallery. cut the file using my Bosskut Gazelle.



These next cards were made using Awesome Chalkboard Textures digital papers from Mygrafico Arts & Crafts.  I used the blackboard concept one these cards and cut the letters using a free font called Pastels. I used MTC to design and cut the letters, then attached them to the chalkboard background paper. For the eraser cut a piece of sponge from one of my many foam brushes, then glued a piece of the cardstock that frames the chalkboard stock.

On the third card, I was inspired by a picture I saw on the Internet of a mason jar filled with flower stems. I used a stock image I had of a vase, traced and cut it with MTC. Then, searching in my MTC folder for a rose cut file, I found one I liked, cut it, then attached it to the green Awesome Chalkboard Textures. I used the Pastel font in MTC and cut the "Roses are Red" letters. I finished it off by attaching little red rose buds I'd purchased at Michael's years ago for some invitations, then added some bling stones as ellipsis.

I have a few more cards I made, but will share those with you later.  In the meantime, have a wonderful weekend!

Breast Cancer Awareness

I made this using MTC.  

A few days ago I posted a swing card I made using an MTC cut file. For my first attempt at making a card using that technique, I used elements celebrating Breast Cancer.

This weekend marks the celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness.  I know a few women who have survived this disease and, though there have been trials and studies geared towards eradication of this deadly disease, there are still women dying from it.

In honor of this occasion, and in support for the cause, I made a few cards to showcase cutting files, chevron patterns, and a new technique I saw in Papercrafts Magazine. 

Swing Card

 Yesterday I saw this tutorial, downloaded the file and couldn't wait to use MTC to create this card. I made this one in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness, which is this coming weekend. It was easy peasy! Thanks to Susan for the MTC cut file.

Front

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