Grace and Mercy

This card is the same design as this one except I changed the colors and the verse.  What gleen from Hebrews 4:16 is that God wants us to call out to Him at all times with all our needs.  Even when we feel like we may have let Him down or like we are the worst of sinners, He is still there with open arms to ready and willing to receive us.  It is because of the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, we can come to the Father without fear or hesitancy to receive His mercy and grace.  This gives me hope especially in times when I feel like I have really messed up.  I am always loved and cared for by God!

Recipe:
Stamps:  Triple Treat Flower - SU, New Mercies - Verve
Paper:  Kraft, VV, Old Olive
Ink:  Gumball Green, Baja Breeze, Old Olive, Pretty In Pink
Accessories:  SU Flower Punches, Twine, Cuttlebug, Stick on Pearls

Just Because You're You

My Water Lilyz table has been very blessed to meet at the same restaurant since we started almost 3 years ago.  The managers and the wait staff have always been so kind and attentive to us.  The staff always have our favorite table ready and waiting for us each Wednesday evening.  They even bring us our favorite beverages when they see us come in.  We regularly pray for the staff and ask them if they have any needs that we can help with or pray with them about.  So the sad news we got last week is that one of the managers is moving on to another job.  We are all so happy for her but we will definately miss her and her warm smile and greeting. 

This card is made for the manager whom we will dearly miss.  I used this stamp because of the waterlily and chose the DPs for the purple which is the Water Lilyz official color.  I used SCS Sketch Challenge 244 which was originally posted about 3 years ago.

Recipe:
Stamps:  Waterlily - My Favorite Things, Circular Sayings - Verve
Paper:  WW, Early Espresso, DP
Ink Memento Tuxedo Black, Calypso Coral
Accessories:  Spectrum Noir Markers, Nestabilities

Perfect Peace Comes From Above

I have been reading Isaiah 26:3-4  a lot lately and was happily surprised that I have this verse in my stash of stamps.  The lesson for me is that God is my steadfast rock no matter what circumstances I am in.  I will be starting school again to advance my nursing career and I am nervous about it.  I have prayed about it much and I believe the Lord is leading me in this direction to take my classes online.  With my learning style I would rather go to an actual classroom to hear lectures but my work schedule would make it difficult to attend every class.  I believe that by focusing on the Lord and His goodness first I can have peace in all the other situations in life.  This doesn't mean that life will be always rosy but that even in the tough trials of life I am deeply loved and cared for by my Heavenly Father.  The challenge for me is remembering to keep the Lord first and avoid distractions.

The colors for this card came from SCS Color Challenge 389 and also qualifies for SCS Clean and Simple Challenge 185.  I used the retired SU Triple Treat Flower and the verse is from ODBD.

Recipe:
Stamps:  Triple Treat Flower - SU, Isaiah 26:3 from Scripture Collection 7 - ODBD
Paper:  WW, Summer Starfruit
Ink:  Bravo Burgundy, Summer Starfruit, Regal Rose
Accessories:  SU Flower Punches, Twine, Cuttlebug, Stick on Pearls

A Snowy Hello

In my part of the world, this summer has been a real scorcher.  I originally colored this image in early July when the temps were over 100 degrees Fahrenheit and many people had power outages from a record breaking electrical storm.  I was fortunate enough that I never lost power but I empathized with all those that had.

I had been searching for a sketch for this image and I found this weeks Freshly Made Sketches 48.   I die cut the image to make it a little more interesting than a plain rectangle.  The image is colored with alcohol markers and I used long retired SU DP for accent.

Recipe:
Stamps:  Snow Much Fun, Elementary Elegance
Paper:  Real Red, WW, SU DP
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Tempting Turquoise
Accessories:  Spectrum Noir Markers, Nestabilities, Ribbon, Buttons

Ornamental Christmas Tree

I got a chance to play around with the new SU Merry Minis bundle and this is the result.  I don't like the traditional red and green pairing for Christmas decorations so I being me, I used blue, pink and green.  I may use this as one of the projects for an upcoming beginner's card class as it was rather simple and quick to create especially since I used punches for everything.

Recipe:
Stamps:  Merry Minis, Come to Bethlehem
Paper:  WW, Marina Mist, Gumball Green
Ink:  Daffodil Delight, Primrose Petals, Marina Mist
Accessories:  Corner Rounder Punch, Merry Minis Punches, SU Dotted Ribbon Punch, 3/4 inch square punch, Rhinestone gems, Bic Permanent Mark - to color rhinestone