Blog Hop Winner!!

The winner of Deedee's Digis Blog Hop is... Jeri said... "Love the flowers in the cup. I especially like your coloring them in purple and your papers you picked to go with the image." Jeri, please email Deedee at amiste@sonic.net to claim your prize. Thank you to everyone for a great blog hop!!

Keep it Simple Sunday

Today's Tip: Try your hand at emboss resist for a dramatic background!

This is a card I'll be teaching at a beginner embossing class this week at Wholly Scrap. The card is 4.25" x 4.25" and the main background image started out as a plain piece of white cardstock. I used VersaMark to stamp these images, from a new Tim Holtz stamp release, onto the white cardstock. I then embossed the images with white embossing powder. Once the embossing was dry, I used a blending tool and sponged Crushed Olive Distress Ink over the entire surface. I used Walnut Stain Distress Ink on the edges. All that was left to do was to add a sentiment, also embossed in white, and a Martha Stewart punched butterfly. Easy peasy!! Enjoy!

Deedee's Digis Grand Opening Blog Hop

Welcome to the Grand Opening Blog Hop for our dear friend and fellow Sweet 'n Sassy design team member, Deedee Anderson!! You may or may not know that Deedee has been a contributing artist for Sweet 'n Sassy for some time now. However, Deedee's husband has recently been hit with an extended unemployment, due to current economic conditions, and our stamping sister has decided that to help support her family she would start her own digi store!! Yeah!! We're so excited for Deedee!! Please help the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Design Team send her off in style today with a blog hop celebration of the opening of her store, "Deedee's Digis!" You'll find fun, creative inspiration at each stop, along with several chances to win freebies from Deedee's new store. Here are the rules and prizes... PRIZES: 1. Visit Deedee's store here and leave me a comment with the name of which digi you'd like to win. You get to pick any one you'd like!! 2. You have until Sunday evening (5/16) to post a comment on my blog. 3. I'll draw a random winner on Monday morning and will post the winner here on my blog. 4. Increase your chance of winning by leaving comments on each of the participants blogs (listed below). 5. Make it to the last stop on the blog hop, the new crafting blog, leave a comment and you could win the grand prize of a $20 gift certificate to the store 6. There will also be a freebie digi on the crafting blog for you to download. Here's the list of Blog Hop participants...Have fun!! Ceal Darsie Janette Kim (that's me!) Korin Leah Lisa Lorie Micki Nancy Nicole Sandy Tricia Crafting With Deedee's Digis For my card...I used this adorable image from Deedee called, Cup of Joy, and this set contains the sweet tea cup filled with flowers and four sentiments for only $3.00! I paired my image with some lovely Basic Gray paper (from Wholly Scrap). The layout is from this week's Mojo Monday sketch challenge site. Enjoy the hop!!

SALT Challenge - Putting Him First

It's time for another SALT challenge and this week it was Tanis' turn and she chose an excellent Scripture reference from Matthew 6, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." My study Bible had this to say on verse 33, "We are to make God's sovereign rule, and a right relationship with Him, the highest priority in life." The thing that sticks in my mind is "and a right relationship with Him" because putting God first has been weighing heavily on my mind and heart lately. Do I really put Him first? Life can be particularly busy for Moms, who not only care for children but also care for the home and meals, may have a job or may homeschool or manage school related activities, etc. To say that most Moms have a lack of time is an understatement! I don't say this as a way of complaint, for I am very, very thankful for my children, husband, and home life, but the truth is since having children my devotional time has suffered. It's not uncommon for me to have a "just let me finish this Lord" attitude when I feel that tug of "you haven't spent time with Me today" in my heart. Our relationship with God is much like our relationships with a spouse or children. If you ignored either, wouldn't the relationship suffer? How much more does our closeness with Christ suffer if we continue to put other things in our life before Him? He is so much more important than a few extra minutes of sleep, a clean kitchen, a vacuumed floor, or a completed craft project and yet it can be too easy to silence that nagging feeling in our conscience assuming those things will bring us satisfaction. God has promised His children all the blessings that He has to offer (most importantly eternal life) if we would but put Him first...Spend those first few minutes in the morning in communion with Him, take time during the day to ask for strength in weak moments, seek His face for forgiveness when you've sinned, thank Him for the many blessings you receive each and every day. For in doing so we would be lifted up in the midst of trials, joyful in the completion of mundane tasks, strengthened to do what is right, and focused on the Savior, which is the key to deep and lasting happiness in this life. (This is such a perfect thing for me to be reminded of today...oh how God works in mysterious ways!!) Please stop by the SALT blog to see the other beautiful creations posted by our design team. And if you're inspired by this week's challenge, please leave us a comment! As for my creation...I once again channeled my new BFF Tim (do you think he knows we're so close?) to make another vintage ATC. The background is from one of Tim's new 12x12 paper "Lost and Found" paper stash. Isn't that amazing? I did nothing to the paper, it came out of the pack all grungy...how divine! I simply added a few swirls, from one of Tim's new sets (Shabby French), and a bird, verse, and ribbon. That oh so fabulous button is also from Tim...See, Tim and I, we're close like that... Enjoy!

Be Berry Thankful

Greetings all! Today's card featuring this darling image from Sweet 'n Sassy stamps, called Berry Sweet Cocoa, isn't he (or is Cocoa a she?) adorable? This card is posted over on the SNSS digi blog today and you can check out all of the details on that site. I'd also like to mention that this month Erika Martin and Tanis Geisbrecht are the guest designers on the SNSS digi blog...They've already posted some great stuff...check it out!! PS - And a huge thank you to those of you who do comment and read...I really do appreciate your responses, even though it's been really quiet lately...is anyone still out there?? LOL!

Happy Mother's Day!

Greetings all! I'm passing on a Keep it Simple card today in honor of Mother's Day! Wishing everyone out there who is a Mom a very happy day! My card features a beautiful image drawn by Deedee Anderson, who designs for Sweet 'n Sassy stamps. This week Deedee will be sharing an exciting annoucement...check back on Friday for those details! The bottom of my card base has been embossed with an embossing folder, the top was left plain. The DP is a sweet design from Basic Gray (purchased at Wholly Scrap). The ribbon is from Papertreyink, as is the button and twine. The image was colored with Copic markers and the butterfly has been cut out and popped up with foam tape. Enjoy!!

Class Alert - Collage Stamping

I have a class coming up next week at Wholly Scrap, where I'll demo three techniques; collage stamping, cracked glass, and crayon resist. This is my collage sample, using oodles of brand spanking new Tim Holtz (I love you Tim!!) stamp sets. :-) I used a bunch of different images on cream cardstock, layering by starting with a light ink color and ending with the black swirl. I then used distress ink to age up the entire piece and roughed up the edges with a distress tool. Then I pierced the edges...goodness, I really roughed up my paper! I added the sentiment off to the left after stamping and cutting out the bird and crown. A few rhinestones have been added to the crown for a little bling. That fab paper in the background is a new line from Basic Gray. All supplies for this card are from Wholly Scrap. A few other notes....Today is digi day over on the Sweet 'n Sassy Paper Craft and SNR pages. If you create a card with today's challenge, using lace, you could win free digi images! And I have a devotional posted over on the SALT blog today...check it out...excellent stuff by Spurgeon! Enjoy!