ABC Scripture Challenge {Word #5}, Easy

Challenge Word #5: Easy

Have you ever been so tired of your circumstances that you just want to tell God you have had enough? Do you feel like things are never easy for you and as you make it through one trial, another comes your way? Yesterday, I lost my precious grandmother. We found out Friday she had 1-3 days to live. Receiving such news is never easy. Living a Christian life is never easy but as a Christian, you have access to the Holy, Loving, Creator God who cares about you and wants to carry your burdens with you.

The Greek word for ‘easy’ is ‘chrestos’ which means “comfortable or manageable.” God never tells us that being a Christian is easy. But when we are partnered with Christ, even the most difficult news and/or situation becomes ‘manageable’. If the situation is still unbearable, maybe you are trying to do things in your own strength. Jesus wants to help you carry that burden, problem, or difficulty. He doesn’t want you to go through it alone. In fact, the circumstances will seem so much worse if you try to handle it on our own. God is still God, and God is still good even when things are not easy. If we go through the hard times with Him, He will not only be glorified but our faith grows also, and then we receive that indescribable peace. Others will also see God at work in your life and may be drawn to come to know Him too!

Sometimes our struggles are discipline from the Father; sometimes it’s just life. Hebrews 12:10b-11 says “. . . but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” It wasn’t easy for Jesus to leave the Heavenly realms to come down to earth to be a man. Have you thought of what He left? Wow, not only what He left but what He took upon Himself so we might live!!! Nothing we go through compares to what He left and what He did for us. It wasn’t easy for Jesus, and it’s not easy for us but He certainly blesses us with friends, pastors, family, the body of Christ, and most importantly Himself to help make the rough road smooth. Isaiah 26:7 says “The path of the righteous is level; you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth.” Praise God we have Him to help us carry the load to help make it easier; to help make it comfortable; to help make it manageable!

For my page today, I used two verses from Matthew:

Matthew 11:28 and 30 “28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” “30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

I also used the wonderful Fish Background from Our Daily Bread Designs. Now this background measures 4 1/4"x5 1/2"; however, I just stamped a portion of it and cut it into strips for layering behind the Tim Holtz film strip ribbon. I then stamped it onto white Hero Arts flowers then spritzed them with Glimmer Mist. Backgrounds can be used in SO many different ways, and ODBD has MANY great ones! Check them out here (scroll to the bottom for a link to all backgrounds). I then used one of the new frame stamps from the ODBD "Eternity" set to be released March 1st along with a special customized Eternity die made for ODBD by Spellbinders to journal my verses and make the tab for the top of my page. Papers: Memory Box Skylights, Mint Ripple, and French Toast; Paper Trey Ink cs
Our Daily Bread Designs Stamp Sets: Fish Background and Eternity
Stamp Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink walnut stain
Embellishments: Spellbinders/ODBD Eternity die, A Million Memories lace trim, Kaiser Craft pearls, Glimmer Mist moonlight, Basic Grey Olivia chip alpha, Tim Holtz film strip ribbon and tiny attacher, Hero Arts flowers

As you share your pages, please be sure to use Keyword ABCSCRC11 when posting your creations in any online galleries. Also, please leave a link to your creation here using Inlinkz! To see all of our previous lessons, please visit this post here, and I pray this week that you will share your burdens with Jesus so that He can help you make the daily load easier to carry. Blessings,

Organizational {Friday} Markers on the Go

As I shared my Copic Marker articles yesterday, I thought today I would share how I plan on traveling with my markers now that I have found the amazing Snapware pieces. If you missed the Snapware post, look here. If you missed the Copic Marker articles, look here. :)

Even though I absolutely LOVE my Copics, I rarely travel with them. I think the expense keeps me from wanting to take them anywhere. :) Anyway, when I do take them, I take them in the super cute wallets I posted about here. Unfortnately, those wallets are no longer available as far as I know. Anyway, I will continue to use the wallets for my Copics.

Now, that being said, I just purchased the Tombow Dual Brush Pens. I did not have any water-based markers, and I really wanted a set to use for my classes since the store carries them also. I also want to color directly onto my stamps, and you cannot do that with Copics. So, now that my Tombows are here, and I will be traveling with them a lot, I wanted to share with you how I will store and travel with them.

Storage
I am going to store these markers in this piece of Snapware. The top tray holds marker numbers 0-600's. The second tray holds marker numbers 700-N's, and the bottom tray holds several other goodies we will go over separately in a moment. Here is how my container looks:

Now, let's look specificially at the bottom tray. This tray contains my waterbrush, a Mist-It filled with water, a blender pen, scrap computer paper for scribbles and such (in the pink binder clip), and a copy of my swatches (secured with the metal ring). There is also plenty of room for a few stamps and ink pads.
Keeping everything stored liked this makes it easy for me to carry around the house and use or to "grab & go" to class! Also, the swatch sheets are invaluable to me! We will look at why below. So far, I am loving this!

Swatch Sheets
Swatch sheets are invaluable. I use my swatch book for EVERYTHING! I have shared many of my swatches here for other crafting items before. I think a future "Organizational {Friday}" post will go into detail each swatch contained in my book! But for now, let's look at what I did with this particular swatch sheet.

First, Tombow does not have the marker color name on the barrel of the pen. It only contains the color number thus my swatch sheet is in numerical order. Next to the number, I noted the color name, then a swatch of the marker, and a swatch of the marker blended with a bit of water. Note, I just used regular computer cardstock so the "water swatches" do not look that great. Anyway, here is what I now have in my swatch book:

I always refer to the swatches first when choosing what markers I will use for a creation. Then when I choose which colors I will use, it's easy to find them by the barrel number on the pen. That is why I have them stored by number in each tray. It's really quick and easy to find the pen(s) I am looking for.

Next, I made a photocopy of each swatch page. I just let the copy print on regular computer paper. I put the copies in page protectors, clipped them together with a metal ring, and I keep that in the bottom tray of my container. This makes it very easy to have swatches with me without taking my entire swatch book. I also don't have to create a second set. The photocopy was really true to color. Also, if I lose this set or it gets messed up in any way, it will be easy to copy the original again. I was quite impressed with the photocopy. Keeping it on the ring keeps them together yet makes it easy to flip through the pages. Compare the photocopies below with the originals in the photo above. Can you tell a difference?
So, I hope you find today's post helpful. The Snapware and swatch sheets can be done used for ANY markers you have. Enjoy, and happy coloring!

{Miscellaneous Fun} Copics, a Layout, and Class!

**Note, if you are looking for today's Faith Journaling post, please go to the post below this one or click here. Thank you!**

Today I wanted to share several things with you from Memory Box Co. and Scrapbook.com. First let's look at some Memory Box fun!

Memory Box
I wanted to share another 8x8 layout I created for Memory Box. I had fun creating the stamped corners on my cardstock using one of the newest stamps. To see how I created the corners, a list of products used, close-up photos, etc., please see my post here.

Next, I will be teaching a Memory Box Altered Printers Tray workshop in March. If any of you are in the area, I would love to have you join me! To see complete workshop details, please see this post here. Here is a photo of the tray we will be making:
Scrapbook.com
Many of you know that I became a Copic Certified Designer last year after attending a wonderful training class with Marianne Walker, Jenn Balcer, and Sharon Harnist. Well, Scrapbook.com is now carrying the complete Copic line, and I will be doing specialized Copic articles for them. I will share them here as they are published as I am hoping you find them helpful! The first two articles were published on 2/11/11 so I thought I would share them today. Click on the article title to read the full article.

Copic Markers--Choosing the Right Paper

Copic Markers--Choosing Stamp Inks I hope you find the articles helpful. If you have questions about anything, please don't hesitate to post in the comment section or e-mail me. I will respond to question in the comment section just be sure to check back for my response. :) Have a blessed Thursday!

{Faith Journaling} Challenge #63

As I watched a YouTube video of a pastor new to me, he talked about the love and high view of God that we need to have. In BSF, we also talk a lot about having a high view of God. So today, let's journal about this:

**Do you have a high view of God, and what makes you in "awe" of Him?

Isaiah 44:6 "This is what the LORD says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God."

I pray God will show you Himself mightily today and that you will be in awe of Him! Remember, all previous faith journaling questions can be found in this post here. Have a blessed Thursday!

Week 4 {ODBDLYLS2} Scrapbook Challenge

Okay, you only have 6 more days to get your entries in! We can't wait to see your pages pour in over these next few days! Remember, your challenge for this month's Let Your Light Shine Challenge is to use 1 striped paper, 1 scripture stamp, and 1 embellishment. You can add more but there must be a minimum of 1 each! Your pages can be any page size, and you can add as many or as few embellishments as you want. Use your creative imagination.

For my 8x8 page, I used the wonderful ODBD single stamp called "Butterfly Single." I stamped it onto my patterned paper and then used watercolor pencils on the wings and distress stickles on the body of the butterfly. I also used a scripture from the ODBD set "Light of the World." I stamped the scripture onto vellum and stapled it to the corner of the page. Papers: Memory Box magnolia, mint ripple, glimmer, butterfly ballet, and robin's egg; Paper Trey Ink cs; misc. vellum
Our Daily Bread Designs Stamps: Light of the World and Butterfly single
Stamp Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Inks walnut stain
Embellishments: Spellbinders lacey circles and grand labels 1, Sizzlits little leaves die, Tim Holtz tiny attacher, Glimmer Mist pearl and gum drop, Paper Trey Ink buttons and rustic twine, Hero Arts flowers, Rose Moka alpha stickers, Derwent watercolor pencil blue grey 68 and cedar green 50, Distress Stickles frayed burlap, Basic Grey Olivia chip stickers, pop Glue Dots, CM circle punches, misc. lace from A Million Memories

I hope y'all will play along. Incorporating stamping into your scrapbook pages is SO fun and really I don't scrap without a stamp now! I really hope you will give it a try, and join in on the fun this month! I would love for one of my blog readers to win the $25 gift certificate to the ODBD store!

Now, how do you play along and get entered for the $25 gift certificate? You need to visit this post here on the ODBD blog. Be sure to follow the rules because I would hate for someone to miss out on the prize opportunity! Once you create your page or pages, link them to that same post on the ODBD blog. The challenge runs from today through Monday, February 28th, at 6 pm EST. You have all month to enter, and you can enter as many times as you like just remember to link your creations to the ODBD blog post. The winner will be announced with our new challenge that will begin March 2nd! Be sure to use Keyword ODBDLYLS2 when linking to SCS or other public galleries.

Thank you for stopping by! We are very excited to see your scrapbook pages. Have a blessed day,

{Faith Journaling} Challenge #62

This year, God has really put it on my heart to mail handwritten cards to those hurting or needing a word of encouragement. Most of us don't get much "fun" snail-mail anymore and what a wonderful way to minister to those that need to hear His Word. So today, please share:

**Do you send notes of encouragement with scripture to people hurting or in need?

Psalm 10:17 "You, LORD, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry."

I pray God will use each of us to encourage someone today! Remember, all previous faith journaling questions can be found in this post here. Have a joyous Thursday!

Tuesday's {Tip} Kokuyo vs. Scotch Comparison

So, I am an avid user of Kokuyo adhesive. Yes, I know it is no longer sold in the U.S.; however, I have a nice stash still set aside. Whew! Anyway, I had heard several months ago that Scotch was now using the Kokuyo forumla in their new dot roller adhesive. It has been hard to find, and I have not been able to do a comparison. Well, Jet Pens is now carrying the Scotch dot roller, and from what I understand it is much cheaper than other stores. I do know the refills are about $1 more on Amazon.com, and they are usually the cheapest.

There also was some confusion as to whether the adhesive in the red dispenser was the same as the adhesive in the blue dispenser. Well, Pegg on SCS, e-mailed Scotch, and they said that there is no difference in the adhesives just that the red dispenser is sold through office supply stores and the purple one is sold through crafting stores. Jet Pens sells both dispensers so I thought I would buy both, compare both, and compare them to my Kokuyo. Here is what I found:
Cosmetics
**Scotch dispensers both contain 49 ft. of adhesive.
**Kokuyo's small dispenser contains 43 ft. of adhesive.
**Kokuyo's large dispenser contains 85 ft. of adhesive.
**The plastic housing on the Scotch dispenser is thinner and not as "solid." I prefer the Kokuyo dispenser.
**The Scotch refills will not fit in the Kokuyo dispenser.

Adhesive
**So far so good and seems the same.

So, what this all boils down to is that if you are a Kokuyo fan and have no desire for the ATG, you will want to run and get the new Scotch Dot Roller! It really is the closest adhesive yet to my favorite that I have found!

On another note, don't forget to enter this month's scrapbook challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs. You can see today's newest inspiration here. I would LOVE to see some entries from my blog readers!!!!!!!! You have until 2/28 to get your pages in! :) Enjoy everyone and have a blessed Tuesday!

ABC Scripture Challenge {Word #4}, Delight

Challenge Word #4: Delight

I found it interesting as I began studying this week’s word. I noticed that the word ‘delight’ was repeated over and over again in Psalm 119. So, as I researched, I found that Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible and almost every verse mentions God’s Word and how we are to delight in it. A few wonderful verses include:

Psalm 119:16 “I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.”
Psalm 119:24 “Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.”
Psalm 119:35 “Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.”
Psalm 119:47 “for I delight in your commands because I love them.”
Psalm 119:77 “Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight.”

I encourage you to read Psalm 119. There are 22 sections based off of the Hebrew alphabet. Maybe you could read a section a day for 22 days. Now that certainly would help get everyone in the daily habit of reading God’s Word and delighting in Him!

Dictionary.com defines ‘delight’ as “something that gives great pleasure; joy.” My Life Application Bible describes it as this—“To delight in someone means to experience great pleasure and joy in his or her presence. This happens only when we know that person well. Thus to delight in the Lord, we must know Him better.”

In whom or in what do you delight? Your computer time? Shopping? Spending time with friends? Or do you delight in God? None of the things I have listed here are bad; however, if we delight in them more than we delight in God, then they certainly become our idols, and God is no longer our delight. The things we do, the people we interact with should all help in building our faith. If not, they can hinder our growth in Christ. But we must also be out in the world sharing Him with non-believers. We just need to be aware of how we can fall and ask for God's protection as we minister to those that do not know Him. We will be blessed as we try to obey God’s word and live for Him each day. As I was studying, one of my favorite hymns came to my mind which is taken from Psalm 1:

Blessed is the Man (v.1)
Blessed is the man,
the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly;
blessed is that man.
He who rejects the way, rejects the way of sin
and who turns away from scoffing:
blessed is that man.
But his delight, by day and night,
is the law of God Almighty.

Is your delight God and His Word? Where are you seeking counsel—friends or His Word? And do you know that God delights in you too? He delights in us as we read His Word and obey it, when we follow Him, glorify Him, etc. Zephaniah 3:17 (NIrV) says “The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty enough to save you. He will take great delight in you. The quietness of his love will calm you down. He will sing with joy because of you.” Isn’t that beautiful? Some of you may know the contemporary song based off of that verse also. So, this week will you commit to delighting in Him and reading His Word? I know I have mentioned that I have been down lately but reading His Word and studying His Word puts me right where I need to be. There is nothing else on this earth that will bring us such great joy and delight!

For my page this week, I used three of Our Daily Bread Designs stamp sets: Scripture Series 1 for the scripture, Easter Blessings for the 'repeated delight', and Brocade Borders to divide the two scriptures on my page. I also used some older Memory Box papers that I just love along with some new trims and butterflies I got on clearance. The scriptures I chose were Zephaniah 3:17 and Psalm 119:16 (both listed above).
Papers: Memory Box Sweetbay, Paper Trey Ink distressed dots and cs
Our Daily Bread Designs Stamp Sets: Scripture Series 1 (scripture), Easter Blessings (repeated 'delight'), Brocade Borders
Stamp Ink: Memento rich cocoa
Embellishments: A Million Memories lace trim & mini butterflies, Zva Creative pearl flourish, Paper Trey Ink just the ticket border die

Enjoy your studying and reading of Psalm 119! :) Please be sure to use Keyword ABCSCRC11 when posting your creations in any online galleries. Also, please leave a link to your creation here using Inlinkz! To see all of our previous lessons, please visit this post here.

Have a blessed week ahead, and remember to delight in Him daily!

My {Guitar} Sewing Project

Well, in an effort to do something different, I decided to finally work on my daughter's quilt. I actually bought fabric for all 3 of my girls last September or so. I thought that I would make each of them quilts for Christmas. Well, Christmas has come and gone, and no quilts. Yesterday, I decided to get one done! I finished it this afternoon, and I wanted to share it with you. Here is the front of the quilt:
And here is the back: (Don't mind the lint. I tried to get it off but it really sticks to that fabric.) Fabric: Michael Miller Groovy Guitar and Teal Ta Dot

This quilt is for my tomboy that LOVES to play guitar. I knew when I saw this Michael Miller fabric that it would be perfect for her. I really love how it turned out, and most importantly my daugther loves it too. I can't wait to do the other quilts now. The fabrics I chose for my two other girls are definitely their personalities too!

Well, thanks for letting me share an "off-paper topic." :) Have a blessed Saturday!

{Faith Journaling} Challenge #61

This week I have been weary--really just tired of "doing" and just feeling down. I had to really pray and seek what God has for me, and I thought it would be something good to journal about:

**Share a time when you were weary and how God helped you through it.

Isaiah 40:28-29 "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak."

I pray God will lift you out of your weariness! Also, here is an article I wrote on "Family Journaling." I thought it might be something fun for some of you! Enjoy, and have a blessed time of studying and journaling! Remember, all previous faith journaling questions can be found in this post here. Have a joyous Thursday!

Week 2 {ODBDLYLS2} Scrapbook Challenge

So, are you working on your layout for this month's Let Your Light Shine Challenge? I hope so! This month's challenge is to use 1 striped paper, 1 scripture stamp, and 1 embellishment. You can add more but there must be a minimum of 1 each! Your pages can be any page size, and you can add as many or as few embellishments as you want. Use your creative imagination.

For my page, I used two stamps from the ODBD set called "You are the Potter." The small pots were actually part of the stamps that says "Handcrafed just for you!" They were small enough to put right next to the scripture stamp. I loved that. So, I just inked up that part of the stamp and stamped them directly onto my page and stamped the scripture right next to the pots. This scripture was perfect for these photos!
Papers: Basic Grey Curio and Basic Manila, Paper Trey Ink distressed dots and cardstock
Our Daily Bread Designs Stamps: You are the Potter
Stamp Ink: VersaFine vintage sepia, Ranger clear ep
Embellishments: Making Memories Noteworthy chip alpha, Rose Moka alpha stickers, Bazzill blossom spritzed in suede Glimmer Mist, Paper Trey Ink buttons, hand-dyed seam binding, Zva Creative flourish

Grace played along with me this week so please be sure to stop by and see her page. You can see her page here.

I hope y'all will play along. Incorporating stamping into your scrapbook pages is SO fun and really I don't scrap without a stamp now! I really hope you will give it a try, and join in on the fun this month! I would love for one of my blog readers to win the $25 gift certificate to the ODBD store!

Now, how do you play along and get entered for the $25 gift certificate? You need to visit this post here on the ODBD blog. Be sure to follow the rules because I would hate for someone to miss out on the prize opportunity! Once you create your page or pages, link them to that same post on the ODBD blog. The challenge runs from today through Monday, February 28th, at 6 pm EST. You have all month to enter, and you can enter as many times as you like just remember to link your creations to the ODBD blog post. The winner will be announced with our new challenge that will begin March 2nd! Be sure to use Keyword ODBDLYLS2 when linking to SCS or other public galleries.

Thank you for stopping by! We are very excited to see your scrapbook pages. Have a blessed day, and I would love to know if you use stamps on your scrapbook pages or maybe why you don't! I encourage you to play along and give it a try! Blessings,

Some {Memory Box} Layouts

Happy Friday to everyone! Are you staying warm? It is crazy here! On our news last night they said we were colder than Alaska! Now that's nuts! Anyway, it's finally up to 38. We were in the 80's on Monday, in the 20's Tuesday through Thursday, and now finally the 30's. Whew! Anyway, I do have some Organizational {Friday} posts in the works but nothing is done yet. Sorry! So, instead I thought I would share some of my latest Memory Box layouts with you. For complete details and product used on each layout, just click on the layout title, and it will take you to the appropriate post! I hope you enjoy these, and stay warm this weekend everyone! Blessings,

Oh Sugar! (8x8 layout)
My Journey is Done (8x8 layout)
Trolleys & Trails (8x8 layout)

{ODBDLYLS2} Second Scrapbook Challenge

Welcome to another ODBD Let Your Light Shine Scrapbook Challenge!!! Chrissy has started off the post for this month but I certainly didn't want my subscribers to miss out on playing along! To see all of the details on this month's challenge and to see the winner from the January Challenge, please see Chrissy's post here on the ODBD blog.

I hope y'all will play along. Incorporating stamping into your scrapbook pages is SO fun and really I don't scrap without a stamp now! I really hope you will give it a try, and join in on the fun this month! I would love for one of my blog readers to win the $25 gift certificate to the ODBD store! Speaking of that, don't miss out on the new February ODBD releases. They are AMAZING! You can see them here.

Now, how do you play along and get entered for the $25 gift certificate? You need to visit this post here on the ODBD blog. Be sure to follow the rules because I would hate for someone to miss out on the prize opportunity! Once you create your page or pages, link them to that same post on the ODBD blog. The challenge runs from today through Monday, February 28th, at 6 pm EST. You have all month to enter, and you can enter as many times as you like just remember to link your creations to the ODBD blog post. The winner will be announced with our new challenge that will begin March 2nd! Be sure to use Keyword ODBDLYLS2 when linking to SCS or other public galleries.

Thank you for stopping by! We are very excited to see your scrapbook pages. Have a blessed day, and I would love to know if you use stamps on your scrapbook pages or maybe why you don't! I encourage you to play along and give it a try! Blessings,