New stuff!

I'm still working on determining what supplies I truly love and are worth keeping around. As part of that process, I had decided I wouldn't buy anything new until I finished going through my stash. It's been months since I purchased anything crafty, which is a major deal for me.

But my resolve wavered... and these goodies from happytape arrived yesterday. I cannot wait to play!

All about Attitude

It's been awhile since I've joined in the Salt challenge, and when I was catching up on some blog reading this weekend I saw the latest theme: attitude.

Ouch.

Let's just say that I've really been struggling in this area lately... I'm finding myself frustrated, judgmental, apathetic, and showing other ugly 'tudes all too often. And I can't change this on my own. But God doesn't ask me to! My patient Father - who provides endurance and encouragement - will give me the proper attitude. I just have to ask. And be willing to let go of all the junk that I'm clinging to.

My little project is nothing fancy. I hand wrote Romans 15:5 on some BasicGrey Kioshi paper, and then doodled a bit with a fine black pen. I went around the edges with gesso, spritzed it with some pink glimmer mist, then matted it on black before pasting it into my journal. I chose the floral print to remind myself of the organic relationship - if I'm not in Him, I'm dying. I have to stay on the vine if I'm going to reflect even a glimmer of His magnificence.

Double Mojo

I really liked this week's Mojo sketch, and thought it would be great for a Valentine's card. I decided to go with a 5x5 card base, and pulled out the Daisy D's Maybe Baby Valentine pad, which has a very cute, retro vibe. I trimmed out the little kissing booth heart from one of the pages, and then chose some of the lighter colored patterns to finish it off, including some pink to make a paper ruffle. I edged the heart with rock candy distress stickles for a bit of shine, and then stamped the little sentiment (from BasicGrey). Super cute if I do say so myself!

Since I already had everything out, I decided to make a second card for a friend who has a birthday coming up. The same basic routine for this card - this time the stamp is from Inkadinkado, and I used buttons to accentuate the curve. A little hint: if you want to use buttons, get them all laid out to make sure they fit before you start gluing them down :)

Hope you're all staying warm! It's even below freezing down here in semi-tropical South Texas, and my kiddos are home from school today, so I'm off to play games with them. Sounds perfect to me!!

I stamped, I stamped!!

Yes, I'm thrilled to say that I managed to set aside some time this evening and play just a bit. Life continues to be filled with all sorts of craziness, and each time I think, "If I can just get through A, then I'll be able to get back to stamping." Of course, we're now up to approximately LL and the free time has yet to materialize ;)

I still have a number of papercrafting blogs in my Google Reader, and this week's sketch over at CPS caught my eye. I grabbed a little pad of vintage-y gorgeousness that has been calling out to me (Crate Paper 6x6 Restoration Collection pad), and played around. I trimmed the flower from one of the papers, and then hit it with some bronze glimmer mist to give it some sparkle. The sentiment is from Wordsworth, and I layered it all onto kraft cardstock and finished it off with some staples.

Oh, yes. I definitely must do more of this soon!

Simplifying

Simple & intentional are big buzzwords right now. Our society seems obsessed with excess - whether it's accessories on a side table, clothes in our closet, activities for our children... Anyway, I know there's been all sorts of online chatter about paring down and doing/owning only what you truly love.

So where am I going with all that? Well, I find myself getting back to basics in many ways with my stamping. I have *SO* many inks, punches, embellishments, patterned papers that deciding what to actually use is a bit overwhelming. I'm on about round 34 of my supply purge (it's literally taken years to get to this point) - and if I don't love something, then it's gone. It doesn't matter if I saw tons of super-cute projects done with it, or if I spent too much on it - what DOES matter is whether it fits my style now and I'll actually use it. What a concept! I've also removed over half of the blogs from my reader. I cannot even tell you how much easier it is to avoid purchasing supplies when you are unaware they exist :) I can pretty much tell you that I'll love virtually anything from certain companies (Basic Grey for one!) but I'm working on putting a dent in all of the "old" stuff that I just had to have 3 years ago - then used 1/3 of a single sheet of paper before moving on to the latest & greatest.

Now that I've gotten all that rambling out of the way, howzabout I talk about the card? ;) I had this 7gypsies printed gaffer tape mixed in with some ribbon, and honestly had forgotten about it. I liked the fall colors, and wanted to make some quick cards for a few family members. I added the little sentiment from Daisy Bucket, then the little flower (which I now wish I'd left off, but oh, well! All the recipients will still be delighted!

Unusual Encouragement

I know - not exactly my normal scripture verse & flower card :) I've had this fun household set from CHF (bummer that they've shut down!) and wanted to play around with it for quite some time... I have a friend who's going through a rough time, and I know without a doubt that she'll get a huge laugh over this. You have to know your audience, right?!

The card is pretty straightforward - I stamped the vacuum in blue, lightly colored it in with metallic pencils, and pieced the bag with some scrap paper I had on the desk. Added the sentiment, two square brads, and then rounded one corner just to add some interest.

AND I'm happy to say that it's already been mailed off... I'm telling you, this sending thing is quite addictive, LOL.

Simple Gratitude Journal

I've dabbled with "thankful lists" in the past, and decided to keep a gratitude journal for the month of November. I'm writing down 10 things each day - 5 in the morning and 5 in the evening - and yes, sometimes it's kind of hard to come up with something. It has definitely made me more aware of the blessings that fill my life, both big and small. I've been jotting things down in this comp journal, and finally got around to prettying it up last night.

Nothing too fancy, but I like the final result. The paper was something I'd had in my stash for a long time; I loved the tin tile design, but it was too large for most of my projects... finally put it to good use! The letters are from a Tim Holtz grungeboard alpha pack, and I just colored them with Brilliance ink. I computer generated the verses, then just cut them apart and glued them down.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise;

Give thanks to Him and praise His name [Psalm 100:4]

I will give thanks to the Lord because of His righteousness;

I will sing priases of the name of the Lord Most High [Psalm 7:17]

Hoping you, too, can find 10 things to be thankful for today!