Crafters of Faith February Blog Hop!

Good morning, cafe friends!

It is the last day of the month, and you know what that means? Crafters of Faith Blog Hop!

And it's the last day of February, and you know what that means? My birthday! :)

I decided to combine birthdays and blog hops for today's card!

Tami, our blog hop hostess this month, gave us a real challenge. Use a scoring tool, include a sentiment and image on the front of the card, and do not use red, pink or white (we're done with Valentines, thank you very much!).

Well, you know how it is. As soon as someone tells you not to use something, that's all you can think of to use! Every patterned paper I looked at had red, pink and white. It's like when someone tells you "DON'T think of monkeys!", and all you can think of are monkeys.

I cheated a bit on this card...I used cream card stock. Not white, I tell you! Cream!

I also cheated because I don't own a Scor-Pal. I'm not a gal that jumps on bandwagons too quickly.  Just look at how long it took me to get a diecutting machine! So in place of the Scor-Pal, I used the scoring blade on my paper cutter. I thought it'd be fun to make a sweet scored frame for this little scene.

{Today's Brew: PTI card stock, PTI Wishing You stamp set,  PTI By the Numbers birthday, Crate Paper Pretty Party chipboards and papers, SU soft suede ink, Distress Stain vintage photo}

There's something you should know about the amazing ladies at Crafters of Faith. They decorate the INSIDE of their cards, too! How fancy is that? They are such a blessing to me!

Now make sure you take the time to visit the Crafters of Faith blogs listed on the right. Leave them some lovely comments and find some inspiration. You'll be glad you did!

PTI February 2013 Blog Hop: Monograms

Good Monday Morning, Cafe Friends! Today is the February blog hop at PTI. This month's inspiration: Monograms!

No problem! I'll just pull out my PTI alphabet set and...

Oh wait! I don't have a PTI alphabet set!

Time to get creative!

I used the upper case M from the sentiment Merci in the Think Big Favorites set, carefully inking just the "M" for this monogrammed card.

{Today's Brew: PTI Think Big favorites stamp set, PTI Pretty Peonies stamp set, PTI card stock, PTI Mat Stack die, PTI Dearest Jane papers, Crate Paper Pretty Party paper, SU Lucky Limeade/Pretty in Pink/Soft Suede/ Pool Party inks}

M. Simple and pretty. I like it! It makes me think of Dame Judi Dench in the James Bond movies!

I think M would approve.

Signs of Spring!

Spring is coming, spring is coming
How do you think I know?
Because I saw a robin
That's what tells me so!

Here in Central Indiana, we see robins all winter long. They've been feasting on the fruit from our pear trees that line our street. Regardless, I still think of robins as a sure sign of spring.

And if my dog is a great prognosticator like that groundhog in Pennsylvania, she's been predicting an early spring by shedding her winter coat at an alarming rate. Good thing I have a Dyson Animal vacuum!

Here's another sign of spring. I was able to take a photo outside! In the sunshine! Yippee!

 I had stitched this little robin last month, and decided to finally finish it off today. I added the gingham ribbon, buttons and tag, then tucked it into a "pocket" at the base of this card.

{Today's Brew: stitching project supplies and pattern from Cross Stitcher Magazine (Future Publishing), card stock from PTI, picket fence die and buttons from PTI, tag die and sentiment from WPlus9 design, gingham ribbon, papers from Simple Stories (Summer Fresh collection)}

Thanks for visiting the cafe today! Think spring, my friends!

Fun With Paper

There was another paper crafter in the house this weekend. Don't you just love it when a great book inspires you to get creative?

Read any good books lately?

WPlus9 Mood Board Monday #2

Dawn at WPlus9 has started a Mood Board Monday to inspire us to get crafty. Here's today's mood board:

Kraft, navy, coral mixed with flowers and lace? I like it!

{Today's Brew: WPlus9 stamps (A Pocketful, Folk Art Florals), WPlus9 pocket die, kraft card stock (PTI), island indigo ink (SU), calypso coral ink and card stock (SU), lace edge punch (SU), nailhead brads}

I used the Calypso Coral ink pad to get two shades, stamping off for the lighter version. Then I cut all the flowers out and adhered some with tape, others with foam dimensionals. The nailhead brads give it the riveted look of a favorite pair of Levi's.

A little lace, a little denim, a pocketful of thanks!

This End Up

I have a big announcement to share with all of you! You can read about it here:

http://keepthisendup.blogspot.com/2013/02/relocation.html

Valentines For Boys

I've been a tad busy and distracted by other things. Non-crafty bloggy things. Life stuff has crept in and thrown our family for a loop (more about this to come). So when I realized that yesterday was the day before Valentine's Day, and I hadn't made any cards for Sam's class of 27 students (yeah, that's a big class!), I had a small panic attack. I went to my craft studio and looked at Valentine-themed stamp sets. Everything seemed too girly and lovey dovey. I could make some diecut creation, but seriously, 27 passes through the diecut machine? No thank you!

That's when I spotted the perfect stamp set to use. Paper Smooches Teen Routine. Sam is not, in fact, a teenager. But I knew the images would appeal to him. Ipods, game controllers, cell phones. Perfect! I had some precut and prescored 3 x 3 card bases with matching envelopes. I had the stamps. But how was I going to color 27 images?

I know! Distress Stains to the rescue! It gave just the right look to these fun and funky images!

I used a Paper Smooches alphabet stamp set to spell out the sentiments. That's one of the many benefits of clear stamps. You can place letters together on one block to spell words quickly. Try doing that with wood block alphabets, and you'll be stamping each letter 27 times!

Did Sam like them? Nope. He LOVED them! As a matter of fact, he told me this morning "I want to save a Game On card for myself." Yep. It's a winner.

Happy Valentine's Day, cafe friends!

With Appreciation

Today was Sunday School Teacher's appreciation day at our church. Nothing formal, just a chance to shower our teachers with a little love. We provided them an Italian pasta dinner with salad and dessert to take home and share with their families. Sam was in charge of providing the dessert. We were also encouraged to send a note to our teachers to let them know how much they're loved.

We've been blessed with some GREAT teachers in our four years at our little Church of the Holy Cornfield (not it's real name, but the name I lovingly dubbed it some years ago). We're not a big church, and we're not a slick operation. What we have is the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit moves in a big way there. We're a joyful group of fellow sojourners that just loves the Lord and loves God's Word. Sam has really been blessed there. He reads his Bible every day, and he grows in faith and understanding each week. We're so thankful to the man who teaches his class and brings donuts each week. Sam is especially thankful for the donut part. :)

I needed a good thank you card for a man, but everything in my stash looked too girly. I found this "blessed" diecut sitting at my work space. That will do! I paired it with Crate Paper's Storyteller collection, stamped the sentiment from Papertrey ink, made a few pennants to balance it out, and kept things pretty simple.

{Today's Brew: PTI kraft card stock, PTI blessed die cut and stamps, Crate Paper Storyteller papers, nailhead stickers}

And here's a recipe for a yummy cookie that bakes up with just a few ingredients:

Cranberry Crisps

1 box Pillsbury Cranberry bread mix
2/3 cup butter or margarine
1/2 c. chopped walnuts or pecans
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients. Roll dough into one inch balls. Dip the bottom of a drinking glass into a plate of sugar (1 T.) and use to flatten each ball into a 1/4 inch thickness. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, or until edges are golden.  Makes about two dozen.

Thanks for visiting the cafe today!

A Day of Blessings

Ever had a day that just felt intense? Yesterday was one of those days. I awoke knowing that the day would be filled with thoughts about major life stuff. Rather than spend a fruitless day in worry, I decided right then that I'd give the day to God. Prayer, fasting, and an entire day of conversation with the Father.

I walked the trail (because I do some of my best praying there) and had a great conversation with Him. And right there, He reminded me of something really important.

"Remember that prayer you prayed last week, right here on this trail? Well, guess what. This is the answer to that prayer."

I just love those moments when God speaks plainly into my simple heart.

That night, I read the most appropriate devotion from Spurgeon.

It was God's not so subtle way of saying "Let's do this every day!"

Blessings. I've had more than just a few lately.

I made this card to pass those blessings on to someone who needs them.

Shopping from my stash again! This time, I used elements from Crate Paper's Pretty Party collection. The diecut word "bless" comes from PTI. The die actually says "blessed", but I cut off the "ed" at the end. (I'll have to save that "ed" and use it on a card for my husband...tee hee!)

{Today's Brew: PTI card stock, papers and chipboard from Crate Paper's Pretty Party collection, PTI word die cut, PTI tag die cut, PTI "you" stamp, PTI button twine}

Bless you, cafe friends!

Decorating With Color

Last year, shortly after my new couches arrived, I looked around the house and saw a lot of tan. Tan couches, tan walls, tan floors, tan rugs.  I know, I know. Some people LOVE to live in a sea of taupe. I'm just not one of those people.

We have a colorful family. I wanted a colorful house to suit our personality.

A colorful house like the Duncan's house on Good Luck Charlie. Have you ever seen this show on Disney? It cracks me up. Here are a few views of their colorful abode.

Those are some bright, happy colors!

I decided to start adding some color in the accessories.

A pop of orange here, a little blue there, a lot of blue in the dining room. Now I'm surrounded by happy colors. And on cloudy, grey days in winter, I need my color!

This weekend, I did a little repurposing. I've had this metal star for a while. It was a dark navy blue that really didn't match anything in the house. I bought a cheap bottle of turquoise paint from the craft store and gave it a little face lift. Wow, was that bright! Then I toned it all down with a few swipes of Distress Stain in vintage photo. Much better!

A cheerful addition to the fireplace mantel. I'm really enjoying my colorful surroundings.

Tell me...are you a white room lover or a color lover in your home?

PS Sparks Feb. Trend Challenge

The Craft and Hobby Association's January show has come and gone. I don't know about you, but whenever I see the sneak peeks of new products, I'm making a mental shopping list.  Oooh, I want that and that and that! And then I go down to my studio and I'm reminded of all the stuff I have that I forget to use. Sigh!

This week' the Paper Smooches Sparks challenge is to create a card using this trendy inspiration:

Polka Dots! LOVE it!

I did a little shopping from my own stash and pulled out some items from the Crate Paper Storyteller collection. Here's today's cafe creation:

Isn't this fun? A bright and cheery bouquet to brighten someone's day!

{Today's Brew: sentiment from Vogue Abode (Paper Smooches), Crate Paper Storyteller papers and chipboard, PTI card stock, versafine onyx ink, PTI Tiny Tags die, baker's twine}

Thanks for visiting the cafe today!

A Cup of Sunday Tea

Last month, I won a gift certificate from WPlus9 Designs during the Cloud 9 Blog Hop. Yippee! I ordered a few new stamps and dies that I've had on my wish list forever, like Label Layers 4 stamp set and dies and the Mother's Day Bouquet stamp set.  I just love the sweet roses that come with this set!

I used Cosmo Cricket's Tea for Two papers on this creation:

Inside, I made a little pocket and tucked in a packet of Spiced Chai tea. During these cold winter days, I tend to drink a lot of tea in the afternoons to keep me warm. This one is a new favorite.

{Today's Brew: Label Layers 4 stamp set and dies, Mother's Day Bouquet stamp set, sentiments from Heartfelt Mix (all stamps from WPlus9 Design), PTI card stock, Cosmo Cricket tea For Two papers and chipboard, crumb cake/kiwi kiss/do saffron/baja breeze inks from SU, paper doily}

A special thank you to WPlus9 Design for the gift certificate! And thank you, cafe friends, for stopping by today!