Sheep

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night."

~Luke 2:8

I never saw it before.  How many times have I read or heard this verse and not noticed?  The shepherds were LIVING in the fields.  Not hanging out during the day and then going home to be with their families.  LIVING.  Sleeping on the ground, hopefully not near sheep dung, out in whatever weather there was.  

Now, I like camping...and sheep...but living like that doesn't sound pleasant to me.  But they did it.  To keep their sheep safe.  Because they loved them.

All this going on right next to the place where God--Immortal, Invisible God--was actually becoming visible in the form of a baby boy.  He left His home, His throne, to LIVE among us. 

His sheep.  

Because He loved us.  Loves us still.  

Will we let Him?  Let Him love us and protect us from mortal danger, as sheep allow their shepherds to protect them?  We need Him.  We may not know it or see it (yet) but we do.  Let Him love you.  Let Him protect you.

"I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." 

~John 10:11 

He did.  He does.  Amen.

 

 

Stop! Potty Time!

I know that's a take-off on a line from a song, but I can't even remember the rest of it; nor do I have any sense about the artist.  Isn't it funny what little things stick in our minds?

So...it's that time in our house.  Our little man is ready, though cooperative some days and stubborn others.  What toddler isn't?!  I know he would respond to candy as an incentive/reward, and we may use that as we work on...#2...but he already has enough of my sweet tooth so I decided to start with stickers on a sticker chart.  Two nap times in my craft room and I think we're all set!

 It's hard to see in the photo, but there are little dotted lines through all the squares, like a road.  One sticker per try, two for success!  And we are prepared to sit and wait if need be :)

  Here goes!!!







 

PTI's November 2016 Blog Hop Challenge

After a busy morning of shopping, I was ready for some seat time in my craft room!  Here is this month's photo inspiration for the PTI Blog Hop Challenge:

Bright and shiny!  I usually stick with traditional colors and looks for card design but I did like the bright ornaments on the white tree, so that's what I focused on.

I started with a Raspberry Fizz dot embossed panel on a white card base.  For the tree, I die cut my Hero Arts Christmas tree, embossed it with a holographic powder (it's MUCH more sparkly in real life), and added raspberry, aqua, and lime clear embossed dots for the ornaments.  I popped it up using foam tape to add some dimension, and finished with a sentiment strip stamped in lime from Keep It Simple: Christmas Mini Stamp Set.  Merry Christmas and happy card making!

 

Sketch Saturday #438

 

A new challenge for me!  I love following sketches when I make cards so this is perfect for me.  I just found Sketch Saturday this morning and jumped right in!  This is the design we need to use.  After several false starts I settled on creating a Thanksgiving card, which I've been meaning to do for awhile.  
I used Paper Smooches' Jive Turkey stamp set for this one!  I stamped the feathers in Hero Arts Red Royal and Distress Ink Spiced Marmalade, colored a few with a yellow marker, and fussy cut them.  I did the same with the turkey, coloring him with various markers from my son's stash.  This was all set on a background of some festive patterned paper, a triangle of brown card stock, and a deep cranberry card base.  Three orange sparkles finished it off.  Gooble Gobble!!!

Make It Monday #267: Assembly Line Card-Making

November is really marching along and the holidays are upon us!  Cooler weather has finally come to Virginia and I find myself mentally decorating and menu planning...love this time of year!  I was inspired to get a jump on holiday card making by this week's Make It Monday over on PTI's blog.  I tend to make one very personally designed card at a time, so Laurie's Assembly Line Card-Making this was a bit of a challenge but I loved how easy it was!
I have been wanting to use my Peaceful Pinecones set lately, so that's what I focused on.  I love the Distress Ink Color Evergreen Bough, and I found some coordinating patterned paper in my stash.  I began by assembling all the elements: cards, paper strips, and die cuts.

I stamped the die cut branch and pine cones in no time, thanks to my MISTI, and gave them a few spritzes of Perfect Pearls to add some shimmer.

I taped the paper strip to the side of the card, checked the placement of the pine cone branch, and then stamped my sentiment from Enclosed: Wreath.  Again, the MISTI was invaluable!  I'm pretty happy with they way they turned out.  I was hesitant to try and make cards for everyone this year, but with this method I might be able to!

Stamps: PTI's Peaceful Pinecones; Enclosed: Wreath
Dies: PTI's Peaceful Pinecones
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Inks Evergreen Bough and Walnut Stain
Paper: white card stock; patterned paper from BoBunny Candy Cane Lane Collection 
Other: Ranger Perfect Pearls, Foam Tape

PTI's Make It Monday #266

I don't think I have ever wrapped gifts this far ahead of Christmas, but thanks to inspiration from Lexi Daly I now have two done!  Over on PTI's blog, her Make It Monday video demonstrated ways to stamp your own wrapping paper design.  I loved her combination of red, green, and       

pink so I went with that scheme too.  

For my smaller gift I used the Sparkle & Shine: Holiday Additions set.  I stamped the light strand in Pinefeather and added bulbs in New Leaf and Picked Raspberry Distress Ink.  

For my larger gift, I stamped the Enclosed: Wreath in Pinefeather and added berries in Candy Apple Distress Ink.  To add a bit more interested, I stamped the Peace sentiment from the wreath set in Picked Raspberry.  

Not sure how to improve my lighting, since I always end up crafting at night, but I'm pretty happy with the way they came out!  I really enjoyed this Make It Monday and hope to stamp more of my own paper this year!