Ice Skating Penguin

I know it's Halloween Eve & a little early for Christmas but my friend Gerriann at Scrap and Stamp Creations was hosting a Christmas Card Swap!!  We have a fun bunch of gals that get together on Monday's to chat & craft along with Gerriann during her UStream broadcasts.

About the Swap:  Gerriann has a big heart & agreed to facilitate our desire to share our crafty talents with each other.   Swaps are great fun & rewarding. However, they are a lot of work for the coordinator.  In return for my 9 cards I'll receive 1 card from each of the other crafty ladies participating in my group.  So you can expect a follow up post sharing those cards here in a couple of weeks.    

About the Card:  I stamped, die cut  & colored these little Lawn Fawn Penguins weeks ago but just couldn't pull together a card.  The original idea was playful - bright green card base, candy stripes of lime greens, pinks & reds, glittered snow flakes.  Totally scrapped that idea....

Luckily I was inspired by Sandy Allnock's  Interactive Rainbow Ride video..  Loving the end result! My penguin now skates atop a snowy hill (Spellbinders Elegant Designs) just like that little fox on the rainbow.

The white card base was too plain so I inked the edges with Evergreen Bough distress inks.  Then made up a few envelopes with matching liners using my Envelope Punch Board.  

I hope the card recipient will enjoy playing with their ice skater as much is I did!

Lawn Fawn's Winter Penguin

Gerda's Prickly Pumpkin

Boy a few weeks away from the blog & I've totally forgotten how to make it look pretty!  Or schedule a post for that matter.  So you get a second one tonight!!

I guess I'll just blame it on the crisp cool nights & promise of rain later this week.  Last year it rained so hard on Halloween that not a sole came to our door.  I'm fine with all those little goblins, storm troopers, princesses and minions opting for the mall & church festivities to stay out of the rain again this year as we desperately need the wet stuff.  

Wow, I certainly could use a tutorial from my kid on taking card photos!  I lose so much detail using my dear little IPhone & slapping them up here.  You'll just have to take my word for it when I say this card is awesome from the multi colored spines to that pile of punched leaves.

Gerda Steiner's images are so cheerful and a lot of fun to color.  I'll be entering this little guy in her October Monthly challenge   I encourage you to download her images & play along each month.  Gerda is so kind to provide you with a new image next month when you link up your project.  She's also added a Share Your Design element to her blog that showcases other images.

Well until next time my friends.  Blessings, Jan. 

Tiddly Inks Fall Colours Fun

Its Challenge Time once again over at the Tiddly Inks Blog.

This week's challenge

Fall Colours!!

so... anything you fancy using this delicious colour palette.

(**remember...We love to see any new creation, a card, 3D project, journal page etc 
but you must use a Tiddly Inks stamp or image **)

And here's my card using the adorable Birds in a Row digi.

I used a dry stipple brush & Broken China distress ink for the sky.
Those colorful birds were done with Prisma Colored Pencils.
The sentiment was simply written with my new favorite Illustrated Faith Bella Blvd .35 pen.

I used Crushed Olive & Scattered Straw distress ink to color some crochet thread.
Which perfectly matched the stripes from the My Minds Eye Come Away With Me 6x6.
I'm afraid my lighting doesn't do the colors justice at all.

Be sure to check out the other entries and design team projects.  I'm always astounded by the creative talents of this talented group of ladies.

Thanks for stopping by.  Blessings, Jan

The Mind of a Child: A New Perspective

So exactly two months ago today I began my journey into Bible Journaling.  I'm enjoying carving time out for Jesus.  For me it's a way to illustrate a favorite passage or song in a way that makes my heart sing.  

Job 22: 21-23

If you haven't heard about this wonderful way to spend time with Jesus let me suggest that you check out Stephanie Ackerman's Documented Faith and Shanna Noel's Illustrated Faith.  There are many ladies leading studies, journaling challenges, and teaching via their blogs, YouTube, or Periscope. There are Facebook Communities dedicated to this as well.

I'm no expert but there seems to be at least three stumbling blocks to a getting started.  (Which coincidentally coincide with My Faith Walk). 

The first is simply not knowing about it, followed by a strong desire to learn everything you can.  This results in not in fact spending time creating in the Word but searching the Internet: Facebook, Instagram & Pinterest for ideas and reveling in the wonderfully creative expressions of faith shared by fellow Christians.

Psalm 94:19 When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.

The second is doubt - I'll never be as good as they are.  I can't draw, paint or letter like that.  I don't have the correct tools.

And finally acceptance.  Here as in my Walk, I'm good enough and won't grow unless I try.  He equips us differently and speaks to each of us on our own level.   Sometimes it's just colored pencils or a few stickers from my Scrapbook stash,  Other days it's tracing and coloring my favorite digital images or stamps to summarize my Pastor's Sunday teaching.

I encourage you to try it.  Whether it be in a journaling bible or faith note book.  Take some time this week to doodle out & color your favorite verse or worship song.   You'll be glad you did!

Mark 10:15 ...whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
Digital Image: Tiddly Inks 'Swinging By'

Fall is in the Air

I love Autumn!!  The crisp mornings, leaves changing colors, pumpkin spice lattes.  Break out that fall decor, spice scented candles, crock pot dinners    Let's usher in another school year & football season. And of course we can't forget Halloween!.  Little costumed people excitedly dashing about in the dark.

This happy homage to Halloween features an adorably sweet little witch for Gerda Steiner's September Monthly Challenge .  Isn't she adorable?    My camera just doesn't do it justice.

I colored her with my Prisma Color Pencils then fussy cut her out & popped her onto a distressed ink background. Her 'jet stream' is silver embroidery floss.  I printed out that fun sentiment in Word using a font titled 'The Speed of Oatmeal'.   And the house was my biggest challenge.  I don't own a fancy machine so I traced an image onto DCWV Halloween paper, pieced in those windows (colored with a brilliant yellow highlighter) then added some details with my Prisma Color Pencils.

Too Cool For School

I've been in a bit of a slump lately.  Even took a short break from card making & the related challenges.  But there's something about Fall that just gets my creative juices flowing.   Maybe it's the cooler weather or the return of that infamous Pumpkin Spice Latte.  In any event this weekend I finally got back in to the swing of things.  Tonight I grabbed a favorite Tiddly Inks digi stamp & my Spectrum Noir Markers to create a Welcome Back to School card.  I'll be entering it in the current  SCHOOL RULES Tiddly Inks Challenge

Sending Love

Are you up for one more challenge?  Bryce has been making a few cards along side me,  So this morning we were checking out a few of the current card challenges.  I thought I'd stretch my creative skill and try my hand at a few new one's.  This morning's was Waffle Flower and this evening's card is for the current colour me card challenge featuring only red red & neutrals.  A fun way to spend the afternoon indoors out of the heat!

CMCC#78, Tiddly Inks Kitties

The paper is from an old My Minds Eye 6x6 pad.  The sentiment is from a pack of vellum quotes I picked up at JoAnn's ages ago.  And those "dots" are pearls colored with my spectrum noire DR7 marker.