April D. T. – Cards!

After much delay due to the meltdown of my desktop computer, I’m back with my Mystic Paper design team cards!  I had a lot of fun playing with my papers from Graphic 45, Bo Bunny, and Jenni Bowlin, along with the German Scraps.  I paired most of the cards with lengths of ribbon and ink, all available at Mystic Paper!

These first two are both small, about 3 inches across.  I would categorize them as ‘notes’, and making both of them only took about 15 minutes!

All 3 of these incorporate the German Scraps, a die cut sheet of flowers accented with glitter.  There are many different types, with and without glitter, and I was surprised at how easy they were to use.  They made my cards look so professional!

This card and envelope were made with 2 different sized squares of brown paper.  I simply folded the larger square around the smaller square, and tied the corners together with lace.  I adhered buttons to each corner to hold the lace, but eyelets, brads, or any other embellishment could be used.

Obviously, I took great care in straightening the lace before photographing.  Enjoy its crooked beauty!

The next two are my favorite.  I love looking for unexpected materials to use in my crafts, and putting things together in unexpected ways.  I bought these miniature paper bags ages ago, but had never used them.  Fitting tags inside and turning them into cards was such a perfect application!

Thanks for visiting- I’m off to collect my May packet already.  I can’t wait to see what’s in store for this month!  Don’t forget to visit Holly and Sheri’s blogs to see their April D.T. creations!

Read through the Bible in 90 (non-consecutive) days

My desktop is on the fritz, and I’m having trouble with uploading pictures to my blog… So, while I can’t show you my DT cards for this month (yet!) I wanted to make sure you knew I wasn’t gone forever!

Just this week I completed something that has been a huge blessing in my life and I wanted to share.  Lisa from Simplified Saving mentioned, just before the new year, that she had committed to the 90-day Bible reading plan for the first 3 months of the year.  Right away, I knew I wanted to do it, too.  I committed to getting up early, and would often read in the afternoons and evenings when necessary.

My GOAL in reading through the Bible was to know God more fully, praying the knowledge would lead to greater Love, and a heart change to become more like Christ with a life that honors God.  Reading through the Bible quickly and purposefully was my METHOD of doing this.   I am confident that God has grown me through this time, and I really, really enjoyed it!

I’m sure you’ve noticed that it has been more than 90 days since the new year.  You are correct!!  I was on pace to finish within the 90 days, a few days before Easter, when I was asked to speak to the women of our church, alongside my sister, on being ‘Workers at Home’ (Titus 2:5), with my focus on Proverbs 31.  My desire to devote the appropriate time to studying for this lesson led me to realize that doing that, as well as reading 10-15 chapters of the Bible a day, was simply taking too much time.  Realizing that my GOAL of knowing Christ more fully would not change, I ‘put a pin’ in the reading PLAN for one month.  But, I jumped right back in and finished Revelation yesterday!

I learned so much through this time, here are a few highlights:

1.  Reading completely through the Bible in a short amount of time brought to light SO FULLY the fact that The Bible is one unified book, made up of several smaller books.  Through time, distance, writing styles, literary styles, and human hands, the Spirit has made known God’s very words.  The Bible does not contradict, it interprets itself.  It desires to be known.  It is complete, and AMAZING!

2.  I believe most people’s image of God is QUITE different than the picture of God painted by the Bible (the accurate picture).  This ‘hit me’ over and over, as early as the very first day.  While reading the story of Noah’s ark (you know, cute animals, gently floating boat, nursery decor, etc., etc.), I couldn’t help but notice one little detail, often glossed over:  For the 8 people on the boat to live…EVERYONE ELSE had to die.  These weren’t hypothetical, theoretical, or imaginary people.  They were people.   For God to choose Noah and provide an escape plan, he shut the way of escape to many, many others. (But did they desire escape?  Genesis 6:5)

Through this story and many others, we are reminded of the distinct dividing line between God’s people, and everyone else.  God’s perfect plan of escape (salvation) for His chosen people, and the inevitable conclusion for those OUTSIDE of his plan.  The question is:   Can we remedy this (true, but sometimes difficult to look upon) facet of God, with the knowledge that ‘God is Love’ (1 John 4:8) that people often focus on.  Absolutely!!!  Which brings me to-

3.  Jesus!  Throughout the last 2 weeks of the Old Testament, spending time in books of prophecy, I knew I was not the only one looking forward, seeking, yearning, for Christ!  ’Like a Woman in labor’, the entire earth was yearning for Christ to come, and I was, too!  Of the 12 weeks of the reading plan, the New Testament only took up 2 1/2 weeks.  Having read through creation, fall, the many trials and wrong turns of the Israelites, I could feel, deep within my heart, that ‘the good part’ was coming… There was something ‘off” about living in the past, the old way of thinking for weeks and weeks.  Finally, well into March, it was MY turn!  Hallelujah!  Christ has come!

There is SO much more I could share, but I mostly want to convey, that no matter what the method, seeking Christ and His Word is an investment that will never come back fruitless!  Praise God!

Friday afternooon…

Tea party with Banana cookies.

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April D.T.

This months Design Team assignment from Mystic Paper was to make a collection of cards using the above materials.  My kit contained a beautiful and eclectic assortment of papers from Graphic 45, Bo Bunny, and Jenni Bowlin.  The metal embellishments are Daisy D’s, but the material I was most surprised by were the German Scrap flower die-cuts.  (Why I arranged them upside down in the photograph, I have no idea, but oh, well!)  They were so easy to use and made my cards look really professional in a short amount of time.  Yes, my assignment this month is cards, as many as I can make.  So far I have made 5, with a few unique twists that I can’t wait to share.  I finished my assignment RIGHT away, simply because the next 2 weeks are INSANELY busy, and wanted to get one thing checked off my list!  Make sure to check out Holly and Sheri’s blogs to see their kits for the months.  Each one is so different!

Here are some pictures of Eden crafting alongside me.  As Matt said (while taking the pictures) “Your mom’s been waiting for this day for a long time!”  Here’s to many more!

Tim Holtz would be so proud!