Zephaniah 3:17 WORDart

Happy Thursday! 

First, I want to say how thankful I am for all of the emails and comments I received last week.  You all touched my heart and ministered to me more than you could ever know.  The words were the exact words I needed to hear and I thank God for you.  Things are still the same and that is ok, I know God is walking right beside us and He will not forsake us.

My WORDart this week is from Zephaniah.  If you have never read the book of Zephaniah it’s fascinating; it is very short—only 3 chapters.  The book begins by the Lord declaring His judgment on Judah and Jerusalem and pleading for them to come to repentance.  He was looking for a people that would separate themselves and require the Lord as their first necessity.  As you read on past the judgments and promises of destruction for those who don’t choose Him, you read about the promise of restoration for those who do.  The Lord desires to restore us, to take us out of captivity and to give us joy.  He rejoices over us when we choose to put Him first in our lives.  What a beautiful promise!

(click image above to download)

I have a 4 x 6 printable for you today as well.  You can grab it by clicking on the image.

(click image above to download)

Image above, Antique Roses, is by Elise Wormuth.

I also wanted to say a HUGE thank you to Jennifer from My Cubby Crafts and Teresa from Tickell Expressions  for the Liebster Award.  Thank you ladies so much for thinking of me.

This is a pay it forward award to be awarded to those who have 200 or less followers.  I have stalled on acknowledging this award because I don’t know who to pass it to.  I know that is horrible, you can go ahead and agree with me.  I hope this does not make me seem ungrateful to the ones who gave it to me, I feel very honored.  I add every blog I like to Google reader and read it using Flipboard on my iphone.  I check it every chance I get—when I am riding in the car, at stoplights when I’m driving the car, making lunch/dinner, waiting on my kids or husband, anytime, anywhere I get a chance.  I have learned that if I do my blog hopping this way then I don’t spend hours on the computer and I can use my “empty” time to read my favorite blogs.  Who else will admit they get lost in blog land, hopping from one blog to another for hours?  So, because I read my blogs this way, I have no idea how many followers each blog has.  I am hoping this weekend to sit down and do some “real” blog hopping and share the love. 

I wish you all the best of days today!  Thank you for visiting my blog.

~Karen

I am linking up with Little Birdie Blessing’s Scripture Thursday this week.  Why don’t you join me?

Psalm 33:21 WORDart

 

Here is another WORDart for you.  I hope you find it useful for something. 

Isn’t it so true that when we put our trust in Jesus Christ, we find ourselves to be joyful?  Why carry all of that stress around when we can let Him do it for us?  He knows what is best for us anyways and He wants to carry our burdens, just say “Yes, Lord!”

 

You can download the WORDart here.

 

I want to give a big thank you to Grace from Gracenotes For Today for awarding me the Simply Ingenious! award.  I feel deeply honored.  Thank you so much, Grace!

 

Rejoice in Him!

~Karen

Catching Up

I am taking today to catch up on posting some awards I received several weeks ago. I really am terrible about posting such things. I received the following awards from Cindy and Kirstin. Thank you for sending them my way.

The first one is from Cindy from Stamping Therapy. She has an amazing blog and I love visiting it. She is very talented.
I am to name 5 things that I love to do.

And the second one is from Kirstin from All over the map. I just recently met Kirstin through the Busy Bee Blogging group that I joined. Kirstin makes some really cute cards.
I am to name 7 interesting things about me.

Since the requirements are so similar, I am going to do them together.

I really don't think I am all that interesting, so here goes.

1. Jesus Christ is my everything. I am where I am and what I am today because He died and rose again for me and gave me new life in Him. I have been so blessed to be raised by Godly parents and pray my children will say the same thing about me someday.

2. I love being creative and have always loved making things from the time I was a little girl. I would love to go to craft shows and visit craft stores, then go buy the stuff to make it myself.

3. I love spending time with my family-both my natural family and my church family. I am so blessed to be surrounded by wonderful people.

4. I love to cook and try new recipes and wish that I had more time to do so. Dinnertime always seems to come so fast. I have big plans and then find myself just scrambling to get something on the table for us to eat.

5. I was born and raised in NH. Two years after I married my husband we moved to Maryland. Since then I have lived in New York and Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is my all-time favorite state. I love it here.

6. I would some day love to travel to Italy. That is my dream vacation. I know my husband wants to take me there and he gets very upset with me because I want to wait until our kids are a little bit older, but I feel that right now they need to come first and I'm not sure I would really enjoy it if I am worrying about them the whole time. So for now, I am content to watch the Travel Channel. (He will probably leave a comment on this post telling me how wrong I am.)

7. I always wanted to be a teacher growing up, but met and married my husband instead of going to college and then we had our first child right away. Little did I know that God would bless us with six children and I would have the opportunity to homeschool them. I really enjoy our days learning and growing together. I am so blessed!

I hope you didn't find that too boring. I am going to cheat and pass these awards on to however is reading this that hasn't already received them. Please take the awards and put them on your blog from me. I would love it if you would leave a comment letting me know, so that I could read interesting facts about you. I would love to learn more about my blog readers.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Have a blessed day!

Hemingway...Love it!

I used the Hemingway collection to make this card. I love this paper, it is so versatile and beautiful. I wanted to tone down the paper just a little, so I lightly sanded all the pieces. The Tiger Face stamp is stamped onto the designer paper that I also sanded. I sanded the edges a little more for contrast. This tiger stamp is retiring and is on sale for just $5.96. It's really sad, I love this stamp and have used it many times. It is such a perfect size.

Supplies-All supplies from The Angel Company
Stamp-Tiger Face
Ink-Palette Burnt Umber
Paper-Hemingway Soar with it collection, Hemingway cardstock
Accessories-Hemingway hardware, Hemingway ribbon, antique triangle loops

I am been very blessed to meet some very sweet people since I have started blogging and I have received awards from two of them. I feel so honored every time I receive an award, I truly do. It makes me feel really special!

I received this award from Becky. Becky's blog is the very inspirational A Diamond in the Rough. Thank you so much Becky. I received this award from Paula of Crop Notes and Crafts. Paula makes amazing baskets. I think that would be such a cool craft to learn. I love baskets and their functional, can't beat that. Thank you Paula for the award. Ok, so I know I am supposed to pass this on to other blogs, but I am just going to point you to my sidebar to the Designing D.I.V.A.S. Lately I have not had much time to go blog hopping and have pretty much just visited the blogs in this amazing group. They are all so fantastic. If you haven't checked out these blogs yet, please check my sidebar and visit the blogs of these very creative women. They are all awesome. I hope to come back and update this post to pass these on when I have a little bit more time.

Have a blessed day!

A little something

My husband asked me to make him 30 notebooks for some VIP guests of his and this is what I came up with. I used the digital paper "Sonata" by Desi Design for the background. Everything is digital and one piece except for the name. I cut the name with my nesties and popped it up with foam tape. Here is a picture of the inside.
Really simple and easy. I have so much fun making things like this.



I received the good karma award from Sue. Thank you, Sue. You are so kind. If you have never been to Sue's blog, it's a definite must-visit. Sue's work is incredible. The meaning of this award is "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers". I feel very honored to have received it. I was thinking just the other day about how blessed I have been by the friends I have made in the blogging world. I never would have thought that it would be possible to make such a connection with someone I have never physically met. I want to pass this award onto the following people who I have really enjoyed getting to know.

Dru, Katy, Amy, Paula, and Anne

Be sure to check out their blogs. Their work is amazing and they are such nice peeps.

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend whether you are a mom or not, have a wonderful time with the ones you love.

A Sweet Thing

I made this for my son's birthday. He loves candy, so I thought this would be a good fit for him. I can't believe that little baby I thought would never get here is already 18! Excuse me for a minute while I go on a tangent of how proud I am of him. Malachi has become such an amazing young man in the past year. Two years ago, I was so afraid for him because he was not making wise decisions. This is why it is so important that we as parents pray for our children. God really got a hold of him and changed his direction. Today, Malachi's favorite thing to do is study God's word and worship God with all of his heart. You will find him in his room with his Bible, a dictionary, a concordance and his notebook. He has pages and pages filled with Scriptures and thoughts God has given to him. At church, you will find him on the front row worshiping like there was no tomorrow. He feels God has called him to the ministry and has a burden for young people who were in the same place he was two years ago. God is such a great God, who truly cares about us and our children and where we are at at this moment in our life. He wants us to have a satisfying and fulfilling future. He died for us to have that, how could we ever say that he doesn't care? I am so very thankful for his blessings in my life--there are no words to truly express how I feel about Him.

I was so blessed to receive this award from Jennifer. (Psst...Jennifer just made the Digiments design team. I am so proud of her.) Jennifer is one of those people who so totally inspires me. She has so many health issues and she could so easily complain or use it as an excuse or even blame God for the things she has to deal with, but she doesn't do that at all. Jennifer is consistently upbeat and always chooses to give God the glory and praise that He is so worthy of. She is so quick to offer a kind, encouraging word to someone feeling down. Jennifer, thanks for being a friend, for choosing to have a positive attitude and let Jesus be your strength and encouragement and taking that to encourage someone else.

I have to admit, I have never been on the Women to Women: Sharing Jesus site until I received this award. I was really impressed and will definitely be visiting often. If you haven't checked it out yet, today would be a really good day!

The Exalting Christ blog award is given to bloggers who consistently exalt the name of Christ on their blogs. What a joy to see crafters blend their passion for Christ and papercrafting. This award is given to bloggers who share Christ through their posts or through the design of their artwork. We are commanded in Scripture to be "salt and light" sharing the Good News of Jesus no matter where we are (Matthew 5:13-16). This award is just a way members of Women to Women: Sharing Jesus can say thanks for exalting Christ with us!

Rules:

1. Post the blog award in a regular post on your blog with the explanation, including the original link to WTW and the rules for passing the award along

2. Name five people (more or less is fine!) to whom you want to offer this award and link to their blogs. The blogs need to obviously exalt Christ in some manner.

3. Contact the bloggers you have named to let them know they can pick up their blog award from you.

4. Invite them to permanently display the WTW blog badge and/or the award on their blogs. The badge can be obtained on the WTW site.

So, I am going to pass this award along to two ladies who I have just recently met. Their blogs are an encouragement and an inspiration to me, not just in the cards they make but in the words they say and the spirit in which they say it.

Molly of Miss Molly Creations
Carmen of QueenTomas

Thank you for sharing the love of Jesus through your blogs.


Edited to add- I realized I forgot to put the info on my card. Here are the deets:

Supplies
Stamps-Remember happiness (Unity August KOTM), Expressions (Hot of the Press)
Paper-Ripe Avocado, Cupcake (Basic Grey)
Ink-Palette Noir, Shabby Shutters distress ink (Ranger), Prussian Blue (Palette), copic markers
Accessories-orange jewelry cord, metal tag, scallop dot punch (Martha Stewart)


Have a blessed day!

Winter Centerpiece

I was going through my pictures and found this centerpiece I had made for a Ladies event at our church, so I thought I would share.

I should have some things to post soon. You see, the big problem is, that most of the stuff I am working on is for people who may be reading my blog and I don't want to spoil any surprises. I do have some things that I will be posting in the next few days, so hang tight.


I also want to acknowledge another award I received from Amy. Thank you so much, Amy. I will try to get links posted to those I am passing it on to soon.

So stinkin' busy...and an award

I have been so ridiculously busy lately and have not been posting. On the up side, I have been working on tons of projects and have lots of things to share just as soon as I find the time to take and post the pictures. I still have lots of things in the works that require my attention, but I will try to do better with the posting. I apologize to those in my blogging group for not visiting your blogs, I am working on getting caught up. I am excited about completing the challenges I missed...those are on the to do list, too. Anyone else's to do list growing instead of shrinking?

I want to thank Sara for the award she gave me. I feel very honored! You should really check out her blog if you haven't already. She makes the most darling House Mouse cards. I am posting it now before I forget and will try to get back over the next few days to pass it on. Thanks again, Sara!

Thank You!

I received the Kreativ Blogger award from Jackie. Thank you, Jackie. Jackie always makes me feel so special.

I am passing this award onto the following amazing crafters:

Sherri-who recently became a designer for FireCracker Designs and is doing an amazing job
Kryssi-a very talented cardmaker from my SCS Blogger group
Melyssa-another very talented cardmaker from my SCS Blogger group
Julie Brooks-whose blog always inspires me
Jeannie Phillips-who uses the Cricut to make the most amazing cards

I never know what to say when I receive these awards. I am always amazed that someone chose me. I have never been very good at expressing myself, even when I know what to say. Blogging has been a real challenge for me, but I have met some amazing people. Thank you to everyone who has left me comments and befriended me. It means so much!

I'm sorry, Sherri

Sherri gave me these awards back in September, right before I took a little break from stamping and my blog and I completely forgot about them. I am so sorry! It means alot to me when someone recognizes my work and I don't want to seem cavalier about it. Thank you Sherri for thinking of me! Please forgive me for taking so long to acknowledge them.
Check out her blog (click her name above). She does great work!!

Thanks, Jackie!

I received this award from Jackie several days ago. I feel so honored. Thank you, Jackie. It is always nice to know that others admire your work. I started blogging for me, but it is nice to know that it touches others and that is my greatest reward. Here are the rules.
1. The winner can put the logo on their blog
2. Link the person you received your award from
3. Nominate 7 other blogs
4. Put links of those blogs on yours
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the girls you've nominated
I am going to take this opportunity to let some bloggers know that I have been "lurking" on their blogs for some time. I have them in my Google reader and read them every day, but seldom, if ever, comment. I have learned so much from these ladies, and I admire them greatly. Here is my list.
Mish Mash
My Time, My Creations, My Stampendence
Thinking Inking
Poetic Artistry
It's Not All Black & White
Stamping and Stuff
For the Love of Paper
Thanks ladies for sharing your talents, and being an inspiration to others.

I've been tagged!

Thank you Dragana (Happy Inker). I feel so very honored. The first person I thought to tag was her because she is always leaving me wonderful comments. I then realized that she tagged me first, so that wouldn't work. (I know it's Monday morning and I'm a little slow.)

The Rules:
1. Only 5 people allowed.
2. 4 have to be dedicated followers of your blog
3. one has to be someone new or recently new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
4. you must link back to whoever gave you the award.

I've only been blogging for about a month, so I am not sure how many "dedicated followers" I have. I have been extremely touched by every comment that has been left on my blog. Thank you to everyone that has commented.

I choose...
Chris (Blessings Ink) Chris is my upline and has been tremendously supportive. I think we both started blogging at about the same time. She has some great cards on her blog, check it out.
Bensarmom (Trusting in the Lord for all Things)--she makes some really cute cards
Inkin' Creations--love her digital pages
Niki Meiners Blog--she has a really great mix of things on her blog
Card Making Galore--is from Malta and makes the cutest Penny Black cards

Thanks for all the comments ladies. I appreciate them very much.