Category Archives: Inspirational

More than a Sparrow

Posted on May 8, 2008 | 15 comments

Today’s post combines a double challenge. Today’s Ways to Use it Challenge and also, a year long challenge I’m working on each month. This challenge is called the Divine Design Bible Verse Challenge and Lori Craig put out the challenge to anyone who wanted to jump in. I’ve been creating a Maya Road chipboard book. Each chipboard page is covered with patterned paper, has a passage that I’ve memorized and means something to me and I get to have fun embellishing it. I know this project will be one I’ll treasure always. So many times we make cards or projects that we send away. This one I’m making just for me and adding in as many shabby goodies as I like. 🙂

Today’s Ways to Use it Challenge is a rerun….finding ways to use chipboard. I had a request for some ideas and as I always love my chipboard… 😉 Pull yours out too and have some fun! Play along with the challenge at WT165.

Two Sparrows Page

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I’ve been using patterned paper from the Basic Grey Stella Ruby 6×6 paper pad on each page of this album. I love the shabby look and beautiful colors and it all ties together so nicely when you use one line for a project. My verses are from Matthew 10:29-31 and I printed them out onto some Natural Smooth cardstock on my computer. To add subtle interest without taking away from the words, I added in some flowers from the Silhouette Blooms 1 stamp set by Cornish Heritage Farms.

jks-two-sparrows-close.jpgAs for chipboard…well, I love my chipboard! This album is a 6×6 Maya Road Chipboard album with a binder clip binding. I love how easy it is to take the pages in and out to alter. To add more chipboard to my design, I added a little chipboard arrow to highlight the verse that really means something to me. Another chipboard element is one you’ve probably seen lots of in my designs….the Maya road chipboard flourish. I LOVE these! This one is painted with Tim Hotlz Distress Crackle Paint in Antique Linen.

Now did you see the sparrow that ties into my verse? This sparrow is from Asela’s Bird Sampler set and I’ve stamped it right on the top left corner on my patterned paper. To tie my design together with the previous page, I used some the same elements and colors to make it flow. All those blue Autumn Leaves buttons carry through perfectly as well as the Prima flowers. While I didn’t use brown circles on this page like the last, I did anchor this side of the design with a layer of K I Memories dark brown die cut paper.

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Lastly, a few thoughts on the verse I chose…these verses are precious to me. To know that God knows everything about me, even the number of hairs on my head… incredible! Some times in your life are difficult but how wonderful to know that God knows everything about me and will be with me for everything to come.

Blessings to you today!

Julia

15 Comments

Posted in Challenges, Cornish Heritage Farms, Inspirational, Papercraft projects

Divine Design – March

Posted on March 8, 2008 | 16 comments

Last month I started an album with a monthly Bible verse design. This project started off as a challenge by Lori Craig and all are welcome to join in. I’m still trying to find some time to catch up on the challenge I missed but I’d like to share with you the scripture and design I worked up for March. This month we have an early Easter and with that in mind…I chose a scripture that celebrated that.

He is Risen!

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I incorporated two verses into this design. The new He is not Here stamp by Cornish Heritage Farms and another verse from 1 Peter 1:3 about the great mercy of God and the living hope I have jks-rejoice-close-up.jpgin Jesus. The Rejoice and Lily stamps are also new to Cornish Heritage Farms and you can easily find them by using Easter or Inspirational as a search keyword on their site. To add stitching to my chipboard page I used a darling little rub-on tape by Daisy D’s.

To create this book I’ve been using a Maya Road chipboard album with a binder snap type system. I love how easy it is to take out the pages to work on them. To keep my book cohesive I decided to use a 6×6 Stella Ruby paper pad from Basic Grey and go with a shabby/vintage style look. If you’d like to join in or just check out the challenge…you can find it here. 🙂

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Supply List:

Stamps: He is Not Here, Rejoice Circle, Modern Lily, Sophisticated Swirl Backgrounder by Cornish Heritage Farms

Ink: Brushed Corduroy & Worn Lipstick Distress Inks – Ranger, Burnt Umber and Black Hybrid Palette Inks – Stewart Superior

Cardstock: Natural Smooth – Prism Papers

Patterned Paper: 6×6 paper pad Stella Ruby – Basic Grey

Other: flower – Prima Marketing, buttons – Autumn Leaves, ribbon – Creative Impressions, circle punch – Marvy, computer to generate verse

16 Comments

Posted in Challenges, Inspirational, Papercraft projects

Bible Verse Challenge

Posted on February 8, 2008 | 18 comments

One challenge I really wanted to take up this year is Lori Craig‘s Bible Verse challenge. The challenge was to create a project that would span the year and memorize the Bible verse each month. I’m kind of late to the challenge…it actually started last month but somehow in the business of the new year…I had totally not even heard about the challenge. Jami was so sweet to PM me and ask if I would like to join in. :)I’m jumping in now and I’ll either do two in one month to catch up or just make my challenge project go one month longer. I’m so excited about doing this. I always have good intentions but somehow the days slip away. I think part of getting things done is making a plan and sticking to it. This challenge is now on my calendar, the 8th of each month, and at the end of the year, I’ll have a beautiful book of my favorite verses. Better yet…I’ll have them hidden in my heart, {embracing} God’s Word. If you’d like to join in with the challenge…you can just start now too if you’d like. You can check it out here.

Psalm 139:7-10     (click on pic for closeup)

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This whole chapter is one of my favorites. I know it very well to start with as I couldn’t begin to guess how many times I’ve read it. It has brought me so much comfort to know that I am held in the hand of the Almighty. Part of this chapter also talks about God knowing all about me and how he formed me in my mother’s womb. During pregnancies and illness and just through the trials of life, this chapter has been a blessing to me.

As for the design of this project…I decided I’d create a little book of all the verses, something to jks-divine-design-book.jpgkeep and treasure. I recently purchased this darling little 6×6 Maya Road chipboard album. The pages are so sturdy. A wonderful size and so easy to embellish. The binder clip binding works really well and I’ll be covering the outside in the coming months so stay tuned. I noticed the other day that I had a lot of Basic Grey Stella Ruby paper left and as I love the warm shades and floral look…thought it would be perfect for this project. To keep this project cohesive, I’ll be storing away the rest of my paper in a ziploc bag with other goodies that I might want to incorporate.

Quick Tip: When planning pages on a chipboard album…you’ll want to take into consideration that you’ll be decorating the back as well. If you add things like brads, add them on a layer and insert before adhering the paper to the chipboard.

{Wishing you a day of joy and peace.}

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Supply List:

Cardstock: Natural Smooth – Prism

Patterned Paper: 6×6 paper pad Stella Ruby – Basic Grey

Stamps: Beautiful (flourishes) from The Rummage Bin line- Cornish Heritage Farms, Carte Postale (bird) – Stampin Up

Ink: Brushed Corduroy & Tea Dye Distress Inks, Shell Pink Adirondack ink – Ranger

Other: moss velvet ribbon – Flair Designs, ruffled ribbon – Making Memories, flower – Prima Marketing, Loopy Brad – Karen Foster Designs, Designer Brad – We R Memory Keepers

18 Comments

Posted in Challenges, Cornish Heritage Farms, Inspirational, Papercraft projects, Scrapbooking

An Indescribable Gift

Posted on December 23, 2007 | 31 comments

It is so busy this time of year. So much going on…so many preparations to make…so many gifts to buy. I just had to take the time today to share my favorite Christmas card that I have designed. I actually designed this last year working with a Thankful Theme. You may have seen it before but as it is special to me, I wanted to share it here on my blog. Why is this design special to me? Well, I’m really pleased with how the design and elements on this card all came together, but mostly…it means something to me as it reminds me of the real meaning of Christmas. Remembering God’s Gift to us…his son. This card is designed around a verse…

Thanks….Be to God for his indescribable gift. 2 Corinthians 9:15

The thanks is stamped on the front and the rest of the verse, computer-generate on the inside.

Thanks Be to God

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This card also reminds me of one of my favorite Christmas songs… Mary Did you Know by Mark Lowry…

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Did you know
That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
That your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered
Will soon deliver youMary, did you know
That your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Did you know
That your baby boy will calm a storm with His hand?
Did you know
That your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little boy
You’ve kissed the face of God

Mary, did you know?
The blind will see
The deaf will hear
And the dead will live again
The lame will leap
The dumb will speak
The praises of the Lamb

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Did you know
That your baby boy will one day rules the nations?
Did you know
That your baby boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you’re holding
Is the Great I Am

 
Supply List:
Stamps: heavenly Peace, Paisley, Magenta crackle stamp, Linen, Autumn, EFP
Paper: whisper white
Ink: sahara sand, black
Accessories: on board, chipboard, sewing machine, aquapainter, crop-a-dile, eyelets, mat pack

Wishing you and yours a blessed Christmas!

31 Comments

Posted in Card Designs, Holiday, Inspirational

Daisy Noteclip…

Posted on September 26, 2007 | 13 comments

It is such a dreary rainy day here, I just had to post this jumbo clothes peg note holder that I made recently. I had so much fun making it…so cute and sunny. I was going to give it away as a gift but my teenage daughter claimed it and so I’ll just have to make another. It was fun, quick and easy so I’m not too worried about it. 🙂 I’m glad she at least takes an interest in a few of the things I make.

I have to tell you about something that touched my heart this morning… I drove my teenagers to school early this morning. It was See you at the Pole day. Just after 7:30 in the pouring rain. We were a couple minutes late and there standing on the front lawn of the school…that early in the morning in the cold pouring rain…there were already about 50 teenagers standing there praying for their school, teachers and fellow students. I was so touched at their dedication. It really made my morning. See you at the Pole started at a high school in Texas in the 90’s and now takes place across the US, Canada and Australia. It is totally student initiated and student led.

And now…back to the design… 🙂

Daisy Jumbo Clothespeg Note Holder

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I bought this large white Clothes peg at Michael’s a while ago. I’d seen them altered before and wanted to jump in on the fun myself. To start I covered my paperclip with some beautiful Rhonna Farrer Autumn Leaves paper and sanded the edges. My new May Arts ribbon was a perfect match (I love this ribbon! I’ve gone through huge amounts in the past weeks!) and was easy to tie on the peg.

Edited to add… I used my favorite glue … Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive …. to adhere the patterned paper to the clothes peg clip. 🙂

For my daisy embellishment, I pulled out my Daisy Dots stamp set from Lizzie Anne Designs. The daisy was first stamped using my Canvas Palette Hybrid ink onto Soft Sky cardstock. I stamped it again with the black Palette pad and then cut out my daisy. For the daisy center, I stamped one of the dots onto the patterned paper and then punched it out with my circle punch. For the center, to add a little fun, I added one of my Doodlebug Designs gemstone stickers. They come in varying sizes and colors and are fabulous.

Quick Tip; My 7/8″ circle punch works perfectly with the Daisy Dots stamp set. The one inch circle punch works wonderfully to mat it if desired.

I decided when giving this as a gift, a little gift not tucked into the clip would be a perfect addition. I used a scrap of Kraft Cardstock and punched one edge with my Spiral punch from Stampin Up. The edges were then sponged with Close to Cocoa ink. I stamped the solid daisy again in my Canvas ink and pulled out my Simply Sentiments set…I just love this one! AFter stamping the friend sentiment in black, I quickly stapled on a little scrap of the May Arts stitched ribbon and voila… I was done! 🙂

Wishing you a bright happy day!

13 Comments

Posted in Inspirational, Papercraft projects

Believe….

Posted on July 25, 2007 | 50 comments

The latest edition of Papercraft’s Card Creations comes with mixed feelings for me. So excited to have two designs, published in it, my first “large” special edition Papercrafts publication and so VERY excited to have one of my designs inspire the Editor’s Pick at the beginning! Which also brings me right back to my very mixed feelings. The card Believe was inspired by my mom.

Many of you know that my mom passed away five weeks ago. I had hoped that she would live to see it in print but that was not to be. Her decline was so rapid the last few weeks, I would not have wished it for her. Mom did see it before I mailed it in to the editor and she thought it was beautiful. She was so great at supporting me and sharing in my joy when I managed to get a design accepted. I miss that. I miss talking to her every morning. I miss her joy. I miss her care. I was thinking of giving this card away but now I know that I’ll be keeping it close.

Believe Card

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As I mentioned above, this card was designed for my mom last January. I thought it would be a beautiful card for a cancer patient, especially one who was terminally ill. It is so hard to find the words to say the right thing. Get well soon is just not appropriate. The inside sentiment was to be… Believe, in a better tomorrow. Appropriate for anyone going through hard times. My mom is now in her “better tomorrow”. She believed. And I do too.

I also thought this design would work well for a graduation or for someone starting a new phase in their life. So simple, so fresh…full of new possibilities. In that instance, what about the sentiment, Believe…. the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

My Mom

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I came across this beautiful picture of my mom with my two youngest boys. It was taken two years ago, in the hospital just after the birth of Joshua. She had been diagnosed with Melanoma the week before. I thought I’d share it with you here. I must admit, it has me crying yet again. Joshua just saw it & was for calling for Nana. I cherish each wonderful memory I have of her. While writing this has been very hard, in a way, it is also very good. A song by Jeremy Camp came to mind while writing this and I’ll end by sharing it with you…

Scattered words and empty thoughts
Seem to pour from my heart
I’ve never felt so torn before
Seems I don’t know where to start
But its now that I feel your grace fall like rain
From every fingertip washing away my pain

I still believe in your faithfulness
I still believe in your truth
I still believe in your holy word
Even when I don’t see, I still believe

I believe I’ll be seeing Mom again. I believe.

If you’d like to purchase Card Creations 5, you can order direct from the Papercrafts site HERE. I can’t wait to get my copy! The joys of living in Canada…lol, you get delivery after everyone eles. BTW, if you do, my other design is called Black & White Congrats and I hear you can find it in the Congratulations section. 🙂

Supply List: whisper white cardstock – Stampin Up, patterned paper – Sassafras Lass, crystal brad – Making Memories ,sentiment rub-ons – Royal & Langnickel, sewing machine

50 Comments

Posted in Card Designs, Inspirational, personal

In Mom’s Garden…

Posted on June 14, 2007 | 22 comments

I’ve been spending most of my time these past few days at my mom’s to be with her. Her garden is beautiful right now, as always. So peaceful and quiet. So many things to enjoy. Birds, fish, squirrels, frogs…even a family of 6 raccoons that come out in the evening. No the ideal city pet, but they’ve made their home under the deck and we don’t want to wrangle with mama raccoon. Her babies are darling!

I love the sounds of the waterfall and the birds. During the day I often go out for a little fresh air and it is a wonderful place to pray. I can see the love the Great Designer in the care and beauty of his workmanship. I took a few pics the other day and while I’m not the best photographer, I thought I’d share them with you here.

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The Waterfall & Pond

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There was a darling little frog I was wanting to get a pic of but he must have been off somewhere when I brought my camera. I hope you all have a wonderful day and hope you can find even a few minutes to get out-side, be quiet and enjoy God’s beautiful creations.

22 Comments

Posted in Inspirational, Photos