Hi friends! Happy Monday! I had hoped to have this post up earlier in the day, but here it is 5:00 pm already! And it's almost time to start dinner! I hope you had an awesome weekend. I stayed up late watching the Oscars last night! I'm glad I stayed tuned in until the very end. Whoa! Never seen anything like that happen before. Facebook was all abuzz about it today. We had a nice SUNNY weekend here in my part of the world and it was really great to be outside a bit and to see the sunshine! I love the rain (yes, really) but even I have had enough this year!! Looking forward to a bit of a reprieve from carrying my umbrella around everywhere for a few days. It is so very pretty here right now too – everything is lush and green. The benefit of all that rain. I've been cooking a TON of recipes from my Pinterest boards and truly enjoying the process of making dinner for us. Everything has been a success so far. Our favorite is Chili Lime Chicken that I made last night. It came out so tender and flavorful. CLICK HERE to see my Pinterest Boards and recipes.
One thing I am in the habit of doing Monday through Friday is spending the first part of my morning in quiet time with coffee, prayer, my Bible and some other books with positive thoughts and journaling to begin the day on a good note. It has really helped me relax and tune in with God and tune out all the negative noise that is in life today. I am a bit calmer and feel more centered when I practice my morning quiet time. This morning I sat down in my studio with my books and my coffee and read a great message about hope, and divine favor. If you will keep your hope in the Lord, God will send divine favor. You may not be able to see it right now, but when God's favor comes, things will change in an instant. I believe that. I've seen it happen. And, of course, it was the perfect message for me today. Just what I needed to hear. I am going through a test in patience and trust right now and this message was on point. Maybe it is for you too. (I included in my links today some of the books that I read in the morning. They are at the bottom of the link list after the Copic Markers).
After being sufficiently caffeinated (Thank you Keurig!) I was like "what should I make to share today?" And it came to me…a joyful card made with some faith based stamps and stickers! I went to the Scrapbook Expo last Fall and I bought this really cool stamp set. It's been in my basket on my desk since then. Well, today was the day to ink it up for the first time! I love that there are so many add ons and little accessories to truly make a card that is unique to you! This card is my exact mood for today. I began the day with a joyful, grateful heart and that's what my card is about. (Oh, and coffee!) You are LOVED a latte, never forget that!
I started with a white A2 card base and then layered on this pretty striped paper from a new Crate Paper 6×6 pad called Heart Day. I love the colors in this paper! This paper pad also has ultra cute cupcakes and cactus! So the stripes became my guide for the other colors in my project. I stamped and hand cut out the two coffee cups and the coffee cozy around the tall cup. The stamp set has a bunch of different words to add to your cup and I picked my favorite ones.
I used some grey, blue and pink Copic Markers to color in the images. I used grey ink to stamp the swirls part of the coffee mug stamp. My top two layers are crisp white rectangles cut out using the Stitched Rectangles dies from Simon Says Stamp. Everything was layered on the card using foam squares. I added just a couple of accents with a white gel pen over the Copic coloring.
The finishing touches for this card were some pretty pink and white cord, a few enamel dots in aqua, and a word sticker strip. You know I have to add some stuff to my cards….even if they are clean and simple cards!
Jesus, Faith, Pray, Java. Check!
I just pre-ordered A TON of new Illustrated Faith papers, stickers, enamel dots, crosses, etc. I cannot wait for it all to come. The new lines are GORGEOUS and one of my favorite things from CHA. CLICK HERE TO SEE the new items and pre-order yours too. Once my new items come, I will be making more cards with the colorful products. Right now, I have a pretty good stash of these wordfetti stickers already. I love them! Perfect in my planner and for cards or Bible Journaling.
You are LOVED a latte! Have a wonderful week my creative and craft friends. Whatever you're going through, know that you are not alone and that we are all here for each other. Thank you for always lightening and brightening my day. XOXO
SUPPLIES (AND BOOKS) FOR TODAY!
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
