Happy Render Unto Caesar Day!!

I know that title sounds funny. But I heard it from someone else referring to tax day and just thought how appropriate it was! (Refer to Matthew 22:21) So there you have it. I am not particularly fond of tax day, but it is a day that everyone has to deal with and to be obedient to God we must sometimes do things we don't want to, like pay taxes. So off to the post office we go today as we owe the government this year. Ouch!

But owing taxes did not stop me from enjoying our company today. We had a wonderful time. I don't think I have laughed so much in a long while. All evening we played table games and joked around. I think at one point there were several of us almost in tears from laughing so hard. A good place and state of mind to be in! Aren't you thankful we do have a sense of humor. Life would be kind of dull without it.

Owing taxes also did not stop me from attempting to make a card today. I snuck away for a few minutes to try my hand at the SCS Sketch Challenge. This is the first time I have used this large leaf stamp (aprox 4"x5"). I've had it for a long time, just staring at it from time to time wishing I had the nerve to use it. So tonight I finally bit the bullet and here you go!

I used a special glossy paper I got from Stampland Stamps. The leaf stamp is from the same company. I inked it up with Kaleidacolor Cappuccino Delight ink and stamped it on the glossy paper. The thing about this paper is that no matter what ink you use it WILL NOT SMUDGE!! Yep, you read that right. You can use any ink on this glossy paper and it won't smudge. I love using it and dole it out sparingly.

After I stamped the leaf I smudged all around the edges with a cosmetic sponge using SU Old Olive and More Mustard inks. I wanted to keep the white paper from looking so stark. I then stamped the sentiment from Stamp Studio, Inc with SU Chocolate Chip. All the other paper is from Creative Memories. The maple leaf brads are from Spare Parts.

This is one of those cards that I am not too sure of. The jury is still out. So be gentle with the comments!! LOL!!

I hope you are able to get through our infamous tax day, or as I call it Render Unto Caesar Day, with few hassles. Thanks for stopping by again!!

Clean and Simple???

Well I had to ask the question, all because of a challenge on SCS, clean and simple. Is that what life has been for me over the past few days? A little yes and a little no!

I have been very grateful for the privilege of celebrating Easter and with my family. The weather, although cold has been fairly nice. My husband is feeling much better (thanks to any of you who have been praying for him!) Everyone has been in really good moods.

But I forgot how much more work it is with even one more person in the house. Living in a parsonage very, very close to the church we have a lot of people stop by often. Mind you not all the same people!! We are also on a main highway, so very visible and people passing by who need help will frequently stop too. So keeping the house at least in some semblance of order is important to me. I'll admit it, I can be a clean freak!! Not a "no clutter" freak. Just a clean freak. Hey a girl has to have some clutter!! But dirt and grime, eeewww!!

We even have lots of our boys friends stop by often, like this week. They just pop in to say hi and often stay for quite a while. I really like that, but like I said, I tend to forget when I am all settled into my routines how much more work it is to have extras around.

Then I remember what a blessing those "extras" are! I'll take the messes, the increased clutter, the dirty pile of dishes, a few more shoes behind the couch than usual any day!! Having those around me reminds me of just how blessed we are as a family to have so many wonderful friends who are like family to us. I am so thankful!

So what made me think of all this? Well the SCS Clean and Simple Challenge! This week we were to make a card that is monochromatic. I was excited because I have been saving a few special scraps of paper for ages (one of those small bits of clutter a girl has to have!). So I finally used them and love what came from them.

I don't remember where most of the paper came from, but some is origami paper, and some from Creative Memories. Both of the lighter dp's have little dragonflies on them.

Both of the stamps I used are from Hero Arts. I love the dragonfly!! I have used him a lot and it looks like it. The wood of the stamp is quite discolored from all the use. Both the dragonfly with Chinese script and the sentiment are Stamped in Stazon Jet Black.

I water colored just a little and then accented with colored pencils. And to spice up the card a little I added just a touch of clear embossing powder on his wings. I used Ranger Super Fine Clear Embossing Powder.
I hope you like my card today! I also hope you are thankful for all the "extras" that happen at your house. Let them remind you how blessed you really are!!
Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by again!

A Blessed Resurection Sunday

Our Easter weekend was wonderful!! Actually we prefer to call Sunday Resurrection Sunday, because that is what we are really celebrating. The weather, although a bit nippy, was cooperative and the sky was just lovely. A lovely spring day!! And best of all I got to spend it in church worshiping my Lord and celebrating the fact that He is alive!! What more could a girl ask for.

Our oldest son made it up. He will be here for a few days. One of his best friends is coming in later. It will be nice to have them here for a short visit. They are so much fun to have around. Our youngest son loves having them here especially. He is very close to his big brother!

I was even able to get in making a card for the SCS Featured Stamper this week. it was fun trying to find a card to case but I managed it. Like I have ever had trouble making a card!!

I started with one of my favorite stamps, Maude in her bathrobe looking very pleasant! She cracks me up every time I look at her. I stamped her with Stazon and then water colored and accented with colored pencils. I think ti turned out pretty good. Of course I am partial too.

Maude is from Art Impressions. The sentiment that was also stamped in Stazon is from River City Rubber Works. I love that stamp company!! So many of their stamps are so nice and they stamp beautifully!!

Around Maude and the sentiment I drew little lines and hash marks just to set them off a little bit more. I think it helped frame them both well. I did the same thing on the inside where I mounted a piece of white card stock.

Most of the paper is from Creative Memories. The piece with the little flowers is from Stampin Up. The brads are from Spare Parts and Making Memories. The prima flowers are from Got Flowers.

Can't tell you how much fun it was to make and I know just who I am going to send it to. Her birthday is coming up in May! Hmmm, wonder if she will figure it out?

Thanks for stopping by again!

God's Handwriting!

What a wonderful day this has been. The first day of celebrating what it is our Lord came here to do for us because of His amazing love for us. Even though the weather wasn't exactly pleasant today, it was still just beautiful outside. This evening I was able to enjoy the full moon. What a sight it was. The clouds were drifting by it and made the brightness just slightly misty looking. It was just stunning to see!

So I was feeling creative by the time I checked out the SCS Inspiration Challenge for today. We were supposed to go to Grandin Road on the web and get some inspiration for the items they have for sale. My Inspiration was In The Breeze All-weather Art Print. It was tough though to pick just one thing. There were so many to choose from that I really enjoyed.

What I did first on my card was to take a rectangle stencil from Rubber Stamp Tapestry and stipple Color Box Chalk ink on white card stock. I made 4 rectangles, two of each color, Ice Blue and Bisque.

Then I stamped the dandelion from Penny Black in Stazon Jet Black ink. I stamped twice with each inking. Then I heat set the ink to make the chalk permanent.

The sentiment is from Stampin Up. It is from a hostess set called God's Beauty. It says, "Beauty is God's Handwriting." from Ralph Waldo Emerson.

All of the paper is from Creative Memories. The grosgrain ribbon is from Stampin Up.

I'm not sure who the card is going to be for. I usually have an idea as I am making a card. But I often need cards at the last minute so like to keep lots that are sort of generic on hand. So this one will fit that bill easily. I could make it for a lot of different occasions.

I am looking forward to spending time with some friends this afternoon and then my family tonight. It should be a wonderful day. I hope you are enjoying your weekend. Thanks for stopping by!!

Taking Care Of My Birds!

Phew am I tired!! I had a good day, even though the guys in my house were getting on my nerves. They do that from time to time. But I was able to get a lot done. I am thankful for that! I cleaned in my craft/stamp/scrapbook/office room. Yes, it's like most of you, that very multipurpose room where we steal every bit of space we can to do our thing with paper! The room looks so much better. I even dusted. Now that's clean!

One thing I got done was something I do every year around now. I try to help out all the birds in the area with nesting material. When our boys were younger we used to empty their Easter basket grass and let the birds have it. (Of course we always used the paper grass, never plastic!) Now that my boys don't get baskets anymore I use my suet holder instead. This picture shows what I do.

The suet holder is hanging from one of our lilac bushes (more tree though it is so big), full of paper Easter grass and yarn pieces of all sorts. I tend to find skeins of yarn that are clearanced to use for fibers on my cards and crafts. So I have lots of small skeins to share with my bird friends.

Oh in the background of the picture is the church my husband is the pastor of. I'm standing next to our parsonage. Yes, we live that close!

Every year I watch for nests that fall from trees and see if there are pieces of what I have provided for them. Very often I find bits I left out. So I enjoy doing this for them. God gave us some beautiful creatures to enjoy here on Earth. So I take every advantage to do that!

For today's card I worked on the SCS Featured Stamper Challenge. There were a lot of cards to choose from, but I chose this one by Julie. She is an amazing stamper!

My card is much simpler than hers. She went into a lot more detail. I just wanted to have fun with mine and do it quickly. So instead of using textured paper like she did I used dp from Creative Memories. The balloons were made with the Creative Memories 1 1/4" Circle Maker and a small heart punch. They turned out cute didn't they?

The stamp is from Hero Arts. I've had it for a long time and it often comes out for birthday cards. The thing has been used so much that the color of the wood on the back is not really wood color anymore!

Well in the morning we have church. I will be teaching the ladies Sunday School class. We are studying women of the Bible right now. This week (and several before) is on Rahab. It's been a very good study. So I need to get some sleep.

Thanks for stopping by again! Don't forget to sing my guest book clear at the bottom.

What Were You Thinking???

Welcome!! I finally did it, my own blog. I have no idea where this is going to go or how it is going to go, but here I am. I find it odd that I would start, of all days, on April Fool's Day. Considering how much I enjoy a good practical joke or a good laugh I guess it is appropriate that I would begin today. Hopefully I will learn this quickly and you will enjoy reading along.

I have two cards to share with you today. The first is based on the sketch challenge on SCS. Rox, the host decided to play an April Fool's joke on us and gave us a crazy sketch to do. Of course it wasn't the real one. The card I did is based on the "real" sketch. The stamp of the exasperated woman is from Art Impressions. Isn't she a hoot!! The sentiment is from Stampabilities. I stamped both with Stazon Jet Black Ink and colored the image with watercolor pencils, accenting with colored pencils. She really looks like she is wearing jeans doesn't she?


The background paper is from Creative Memories. Once upon a time I used to be a consultant for them. Have a BIG stash of supplies yet from those days. I used my Cuttlebug on the right side of the card. The folder is Spots & Dots.


My second card I did for the weekly event held at Cindy's place, The Tea Party. We had a blast this week. If you have never joined us you really should. All kinds of things happen there and you never know who may show up!


The rose script image is from a company that no longer is in business, Stamp Rosa. It's a shame, they had beautiful things. I stamped it first in Stazon Jet Black Ink and water colored it. I think the highlights turned out pretty good on this one.

The little butterfly from Stamp Affair I stamped with Stazon as well. It was water colored and then I outlined it in gold with a Creative Memories Elements Pen.

All the paper is from Creative Memories as well. I love their paper and have that big stash to go through. Which as much as I love, some days it slows me down. So many beautiful papers out there and so much guilt if I buy more with the amount I already have. Sigh!! The struggles of a paper-a-holic!

Thanks for joining me on this adventure.