Tuesday's {Tip} Need a Christmas Card Template?

Okay, first, don't be upset with me when you hear that I do not make my Christmas cards. :) I am so busy, and the "assembly line" thing has never interested me. And in defense of myself, the kids love helping stuff, stamp, seal, etc., the pictures and Christmas letter I write each year. Okay, so now you know that I don't make Christmas cards. What I usually do is create a photo of some sort in Photoshop Elements, and then I write a Christmas letter to go with it. This year, I found some GREAT Christmas card templates. There are several so I could save them all to use in the years ahead. Let's look at what I found through a post on 2Peas.

The ones that are free for your use are from Rebecca Cooper, and they are amazing! You can find this year's templates here. There are 3 of them to choose from. And if you look here, you will find last year's templates along with many other links to free Christmas card templates. So, you have even more to choose from! Lots of great ones to use or save for later use! Thanks Rebecca for such wonderful templates!

Here is the one I chose and how I changed it for our family. These are photos of the kiddos that I loved from this year. Shhhh, don't let my family and friends know I posted this. This is part of what they will be receiving in the mail this year. :)

Oh, and I had them printed at scrapbookpictures.com. I ordered them last Monday, and got them 4 days later!!! I picked the deep matte option, and wow, do I LOVE that!

So, I hope you are able to find a Christmas card template you love. Enjoy putting it together, and have a blessed Tuesday.

P.S. Don't forget to check out the ODBD November Scrapbook Challenge! You have until tomorrow night to get your pages in! I would love to see many, many entries this month! Who doesn't want the chance to win a $20 gift certificate to ODBD? The December releases are a must have, and that GC would be able to help you get the new stamps (see a sneak peak here). :)

Announcing {Hymn & Scripture Challenge} for 2012

Since we do not have a post for this weekend, I wanted to share where the Lord has led me for 2012. Some of you have asked, and I know I certainly have been asking the Lord too. And just as last year, He wasn't clearly calling me to stop these challenges, so I will continue on. They are a blessing to me, and I certainly pray they have been for you too! One thing He has showed me recently is how many truths are in old hymns. I love old hymns, and I am always singing a hymn. How about you? Have you seen God's truths in hymns?

This year I will be using a book called "Then Sings My Soul" to find the hymns we will use. I will also use my hymnal but this particular book has information on the author of the hymn and background on the writing of the hymn.

There is also a scripture reference for each hymn. I will then use the scripture reference to prepare a study over the scripture and truths from the hymn. Our study will always be taken back to the Bible.

There are several different versions of this book, and each book contains different hymns. I have 3 of these books. You can search on "Then Sings My Soul" on amazon.com, and all of the versions should come up. I have seen many used editions going for $1.39-$3.59. You by no means need one of these books for the study. The Bible is the only thing you need. I will be posting parts of each hymn too in each study. At some point in the study, I may be "RAKing" a book or two. :) Be on the lookout! I also hope many of you will continue this year and that many more will join in too! Now let's look at the details.

Album, ATC, Cards--What Will You Use?
So, what will you use for your album this year? What have you used in the past? Maybe you are new to these challenges and would like some ideas. Here is what I have used in all of the past challenges. Please feel free to click on the link (title) to each challenge to see that year's study.

2008 Scripture Challenge
*ATCs
2009 His Holy Name Challenge
*6x6 Pages in D-ring Album

2010 Scripture Challenge
*6x6 Pages on a Wooden Stand

2011 ABC Scripture Challenge
*5x6 Pages on 7Gypsies Photo Carousel

Of course, if you are doing pages, you can create any size and use any album you want! You can do hybrid or digi pages, or you can also create cards and mail to people. You can create anything you wish. These are just ideas!  I am not exactly sure yet what I will use for this 2012 study. I will post when I decide. :)

If You Participate, Do You Have to Create Something?
Absolutely not! :) You can just study God's Word and keep notes. You do not have to create a thing! I personally love the creating part and someday my kids can have these pages too as part of my faith legacy. For those of you not creating pages, etc., you may just want to keep a journal of each hymn and scripture along with your study notes.

What if You Want to Study with People at Church?
Wonderful! Please do have them study along. However, I ask that you not copy my work. I also ask that you have the participants print the study directly from my blog post each time. It takes me many, many hours to prepare these studies, and they are inspired by the Lord. The studies are copyrighted, and I pray that you respect that. Thank you! For more information, please see the section below titled "Will this challenge be hosted on other sites? What about posting on my own blog?"

Now let me share a bit about how this challenge will work.
**I will post a study every other Sunday beginning January 1, 2012. Mark your calendars, and see the entire 2012 calendar below! :)
**Challenges will be posted usually by 5 p.m. Central Standard Time on challenge Sundays.
**My post will also share some thoughts, the hymn, and scripture or scriptures that I chose (usually from the NIV), and a picture of my page.
**Then you will study your Bible and find scriptures that are meaningful to you based on the study and truth posted for that week.
**I love using Biblegateway to look up single keywords in the Bible. It is a great resource for this study.
**Then you will create your page using your selected scripture/thoughts based on the study for that week.
**Feel free to look at previous studies linked above to get an idea of how this Hymn and Scripture Challenge will work.
**For more information, also see the Scripture Challenge {Study Resources} post here. You may find it helpful.

Is there a time limit to complete the challenge?
No, there is not a time limit to complete the challenge. This is for you so that you can study and learn to apply God's truths to your daily life! You do what you can when you can. On occasion, I may offer RAKs, and at those times there will be a deadline. Watch out for those. :) You may join this challenge at ANY time throughout the year!

Do I need to sign up?
No, you can just subscribe to my blog to get the updates.

Will this challenge be hosted on other sites? What about posting on my own blog?
No, you will only be able to find the challenge here on my blog. Please do not copy the post to other websites or your own blog. You may certainly link the study but do not copy the study. Feel free to post a quote but not the entire study. Remember, this study is copyrighted. Thank you! And make sure you subscribe to my blog if you haven't already. :) If you have friends that you think may be interested in joining us, feel free to send them the link to this post! For more information, please see the section above titled "What if You Want to Study with People at Church?"

Where can we share our work?
A lot of us will be sharing on our blogs and in various galleries such as Splitcoaststampers, 2Peas, Scrapbook.com, etc. Wherever you share, you can use this keyword and it will help others find your work more easily--HSCRC12. I will also use inlinkz.com for this challenge so that you can leave a link to your work here on my blog for others to see.

Is there a blinkie for this challenge?
Yes, but let's call it a button instead of a blinkie. :) It's a miniature version of the picture at the beginning of this post. I did not make one that blinks. It is a "stand alone" button. You will find it in the sidebar of my blog and below this paragraph. Right-click and save it to your computer to add to your blog. I also ask that you link it back to this post or my blog. Feel free to add it to message board signatures too. I hope you like it.

2012 Hymn and Scripture Challenge Schedule:
Challenge 1: January 1
Challenge 2: January 15
Challenge 3: January 29
Challenge 4: February 12
Challenge 5: February 26
Challenge 6: March 11
Challenge 7: March 25
Challenge 8: April 8
Challenge 9: April 22
Challenge 10: May 6
Challenge 11: May 20
Challenge 12: June 3
Challenge 13: June 17
Challenge 14: July 1
Challenge 15: July 15
Challenge 16: July 29
Challenge 17: August 12
Challenge 18: August 26
Challenge 19: September 9
Challenge 20: September 23
Challenge 21: October 7
Challenge 22: October 21
Challenge 23: November 4
Challenge 24: November 18
Challenge 25: December 2
Challenge 26: December 16

To see all of the current challenges thus far for 2012, please click here.

Whew, sorry this post got so long. Book mark it. It will be the "main information page" for the Hymn and Scripture Challenge. Please e-mail me if you have more questions, and I would love to know your thoughts on this upcoming challenge. Feel free to leave comments here! Blessings, and see you January 1st with our first hymn and study!

We Give Thanks To God {Special}

First, I would like to say that I pray each of you have a blessed and joyous Thanksgiving today! Even if you are in another country and do not celebrate Thanksgiving, I pray that your day is blessed and that you find time to share what you are thankful for today! In God's amazing grace, He blesses us with new mercies each day. Will you thank Him?



Now onto some fun! Are you ready for a sale? Well, Kelley at Our Daily Bread Designs is having a "We Give Thanks to God" sale. This will include 10% off and free shipping! Several of the design team members also created cards and layouts with the ODBD Give Thanks set for today. Here is my card using Distress Inks to paint the image:

Papers: Cosmo Cricket Nutmeg, Memory Box notecard
Stamps: Our Daily Bread Designs Give Thanks
Stamp Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink frayed burlap
Distress Inks for Coloring: fired brick, dusty concord, crushed olive, walnut stain, peeled paint, spiced marmalade, scattered straw, wild honey, antique linen
Embellishments: Spellbinders Labels 17 and Long Classic Scallop Rectangle, Sizzix woodgrain embossing folder, Paper Trey Ink button, misc. baker's twine, sewing machine

To see more details and the other designers' creations, please see this post on the ODBD blog. May you enjoy time with family and friends giving thanks to our precious Lord and Savior. Blessings,

Tuesday's {Tip} Need Color Inspiration?

I found a great color inspiration site a couple of weeks ago, and I thought I would share it with you. It is called Design Seeds. Of course I found it through Pinterest, and I really love the features the site has. Look at this amazing palette:

This is just one of many amazing color palettes on the site. One feature on their site I love is their great search feature! You can search on color, season, or color collection. For instance, if you want to use pink on a layout, altered item, art journaling, crocheted blanket, anything, you would click on the color 'pink' and then all of the color palettes containing pink are shown. How awesome! They even have an iPhone/iPad app for $5.99. I haven't tried it but how fun to have color palettes on your phone or iPad.

I hope you enjoy today's tip. I suggest subscribing to the blog so that the Designs Seeds come directly to your e-mail box. That's what I do! Love it. Have a blessed Tuesday!

P.S. Don't forget to enter the ODBD Let Your Light Shine Scrapbook Challenge! We don't have any entries yet, and you can win a $20 gift certificate! Who would want to miss that opportunity! :)

ABC Scripture Challenge {Word #24}, eXercise

Note: To see the give away winner, please see this post here or scroll down to the next post. :)

Challenge Word #24: eXercise

How many of you love to eXercise? Even as a previous certified aerobics instructor, I can’t say I love to eXercise  Doctors tell us that we must eXercise ‘x’ number of hours each week to stay healthy. Well, how about staying spiritually healthy and maturing spiritually? We need to eXercise our spiritual muscles, and we need to eXercise them daily not just ‘x’ days a week. Are you eXercising those spiritual muscles daily or are you a little weak in some areas? How do you measure up to the fruits of the Spirit?

Galatians 5:22-25 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

In what area do you need to grow? Ask God; He will show you. Things we can do daily to become spiritually healthy and to grow in our spiritual walk are to:

Love Him
Luke 10:27 “He answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

1 John 4:19 “We love because He first loved us.”

Pray Continually
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Read, Hear, and Apply His Word
Revelation 1:3 “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.”

His Strength not Ours
Philippians 4:13 “I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.”

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Apply His Word to Your Life
Philippians 4:9 “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

Witness
Isaiah 43:12 “I have revealed and saved and proclaimed— I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “that I am God.”

Serve
1 Peter 4:10 “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

Worship
Psalm 99:5 “Exalt the LORD our God and worship at His footstool; He is holy.”

So as you go out today and the days ahead, be sure to put your faith into action by eXercising those spiritual muscles—get spiritually fit!

For my page today, I used two scripture that I thought were quite appropriate:

Micah 6:8 "What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

Deuteronomy 30:14 "The word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it."

Those scriptures are from the ODBD sets Scripture Collection 2 and Scripture Series 2 respectfully. I also used the ODBD set called Time to stamp the background. I thought the clock was quite appropriate for our word today.

Papers: My Mind's Eye Rosy, Paper Trey Ink cs
Our Daily Bread Designs Stamps: Time, Scripture Series 2, Scripture Collection 2
Stamp Ink: Jenni Bowlin brown sugar, Tim Holtz Distress Ink walnut stain
Embellishments: Spellbinders eyelet circles, Memory Box loop border die, Memory Box pearls, Zva Creative pearls, October Afternoon mini market stickers, misc. ribbon

I pray that you will see eXercise in a new and enjoyable light! And remember as you post 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. Blessings,

Give Away Winners!

Oh I can't tell you how I loved your comments about your favorite crafts. Some made me laugh, some sounded just like myself, and all of them were a joy to read! And now to share the winning comment. Random.org picked our winner, and here is the lucky number:

That number belongs to: Becky Dunham.  Becky said:

"This afghan is going to be gorgeous Patter! I am like you - I crochet, knit, paper craft, paint, make jewelry - I want to try everything! I like to sew too but don't do much of it. In fact, my craft room is so full of stuff for my crafting hobbies that I don't have any room to work. Nor do I really have time for all of them! I have about 15 boxes of fabric - the big clear plastic boxes - and I have already given some of it away. I do landscape painting plein air with oils so those of course need their own special place so the oils don't get on anything else. Lately I have been doing nothing but paper crafting and I try to keep that stuff organized, but with as little room as I have, it is not easy. Now, that is not to say I don't want to win your fabulous goodies - I would love it! Thanks for the chance :)"

Congrats Becky! Please e-mail your address to me so that I can get your goodies off to you! I did find some other goodies to part with but I will save that for a give away at another time. Be watching, and thanks to all of you for posting! Blessings,

{Faith Journaling} Challenge #99

So this week I got to thinking about how much we drive back and forth to church. Sometimes it's quick, and sometimes it's not depending on traffic and time of day. So today:

*Describe your drive to church--how far, scenery, traffic, etc.

Genesis 22:4-5 "On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, 'Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.'"

Have fun journaling this week, and remember, you can see all of the previous journaling questions in this post here. Blessings!

A Giveaway & Some Crochet!

I have taken this week off to catch up on deadlines and to devote time to my house and family. It has been so crazy here that the Lord really put it on my heart that my family is my first ministry! Yesterday I completed many deadlines, and today I began work on cleaning my craft room. Funny how when I get busy it's so easy to "throw" instead of putting things away. I couldn't stand the mess any longer. I am not done but I am praying by morning I will be finished because other deadlines loom! So, today I have a few "off-the-wall" things for you. Let's see what I have:

First
Pinterest is dangerous. Yes, I say again, Pinterest is dangerous. Eeek! I have found my passion for crochet, sewing, cross stitch, paper crafting, etc., all over again. I want to do it all but of course there is not enough time. I found this amazing afghan on Pinterest, and Sunday night I sat down and started my first two circles. I have many colors to use (pinks, purples, blues, greens, teals, etc.), and I can't wait to see my circles pile up!

They are SUPER fast to make, and I am weaving in my ends as I complete each circle so I don't have to do them all at the end. Fun, fun!

Edited to Add:
Find the pattern here.
Find an AMAZING and free online crochet school here. You will not be disappointed!





Second
As I have been cleaning, I am finding things I have never used or barely used and have decided to part with them. So today, I have this to offer to one blessed reader:

There are 10 stamp sets by Stampin' Up and smART Works along with some Design Adhesives and glitter. All you have to do to enter to win is to tell me what crafts you like to do. Do you love them all like me? Do you have time for them all? What's your favorite? You have until Saturday at 11:59 p.m. Central time to leave your comment. The winner will be posted Sunday. And who knows, I may find more items to give away before Sunday and choose more than one winner. :)

So, enjoy your Wednesday, and as always, thanks for stopping by. I appreciate you!

Week 2 {ODBDLYLS11} Scrapbook Challenge

So, have you seen the new November scrapbook challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs? If not, your scrapbook challenge for November is to create a layout of any size and any theme using ODBD stamps and this photo as inspiration. Use any or all of the colors. Feel free to add basic colors such as brown, black, or white, and have fun with it!

Using the above photo, I created an 8x8 layout of my husband. This photo was actually taken on Christmas Day last year but I decided not to make this into a Christmas page. I really thought the photo looked like it could have been taken any time of year, and the colors were perfect for the color challenge. And the precious little puppy is my parent's adorable dog! Now that girl has some spunk!

To make the background on my page, I used the He Shall Be Called background stamp. Because background stamps can sometimes be hard to use, I also used the AWESOME acrylic block sold at ODBD called Mega Mount. Wow, does that make using background stamps super simple! I also used a scripture from the Scripture Collection 7 stamp set. The papers are My Mind's Eye Breeze and Sunshine.

Papers: My Mind's Eye Breeze and Sunshine, Paper Trey Ink cs
Our Daily Bread Designs Stamps: He Shall be Called, Scripture Collection 7
Stamp Ink: Jenni Bowlin brown sugar and seed packet
Tools: Mega Mount, Creative Memories 1" circle punch
Embellishments: Authentique Diction stickers, Making Memories acorn acrylic paint, misc. burlap, Paper Trey Ink buttons, Tim Holtz paper clip, sewing machine

To see more information, on the challenge and to join in with a chance to win a $20 gift certificate, please see this post here. The challenge runs through Wednesday, November 30th, at 6 p.m. Eastern. You can enter as many times as you like, and I hope you will join us! Have a blessed day, and happy scrappin'!

{Faith Journaling} Challenge #98

Okay, this past week as I was preparing to give lecture at BSF, I realized I have SO many Bibles. How blessed we are in the United States that we have such access to God's Wod. I have many different versions and many different study Bibles. I love them and use them all for different reasons. Have I counted them? Eeek, no! I might be embarrassed! So today I thought it would be fun to share:

*How many Bibles do you own? Why do you own the number that you have?

Proverbs 30:5 "Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him."

I hope you enjoy looking at how you study and use God's Word. Be sure to see all of the previous journaling questions in this post here. Feel free to join us anytime. These journals will be a beautiful faith legacy to pass down someday. Blessing to each of you!

ABC Scripture Challenge {Word #23}, Weary

Challenge Word #23: Weary

Have you ever felt so physically or mentally exhausted that you just wanted to stop everything around you and just do nothing? Do you ever just feel like giving up? I know I have many times and most recently was this past week.

On Saturday, I pulled out my Bible as I was working on something totally unrelated to this lesson, and God had me open up to Galatians 6. On that particular page in my Bible, I found two notes I had written on November 30, 2008, and September 5, 2009. God gave me the same scripture during both of those years. It was Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” God showed me how He helped me in both 2008 and 2009 with that scripture, and He again will help me this coming week as I still feel exhausted. I am also seeing a pattern that the Fall tends to bring a time of weariness to my life. Praise God He had me keep these notes in my Bible so that I could see that He was faithful then, and I can trust that He will be faithful now.

Have you seen how God has helped you when you have been weary in the past? Maybe you are weary now. Maybe you need a little encouragement. Cry out to Him, and remember the times He was faithful in the past because He will be faithful again! Endure patiently in confident hope but be sure to slow down and listen for Him. He does not grow weary; He strengthens us. His Spirit carries us along. Isaiah 40:28a “He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.” Praise God for His strength and unending patience.

For my page today, there were only a few scriptures to choose from. I searched on many different versions, and I still did not find many. I loved Psalm 138:3 which says "When I pray, You answer me! You encourage me by giving me the strength I need." That's what I need now--His strength. How about you? The scripture is from the ODBD set called "Scripture Collection 2." I also used the Mojo Monday 213 sketch. :)

Papers: Authentique Bundle, Memory Box Dots key lime, Paper Trey Ink cs
Our Daily Bread Designs Stamps: Scripture Collection 2
Stamp Ink: Archival Ink coffee, Jenni Bowlin brown sugar
Embellishments: Spellbinders lacey ovals, Heidi Swapp Center of Attention chip alpha, Zva Creative flourish, Hero Arts pearls, KaiserCraft pearls, Copic RV 95 (to color pearls), Hug Snug seam binding
Sketch: Mojo210

As you post 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.

So, if you are weary, I encourage you to spend some time in His Word, in prayer, and let Him uphold you and give you the strength you need! Blessings to you!

Art {Journaling} Daily Notes

Note: To see today's {Faith Journaling} prompt, please click here or scroll down one post. :)

Okay, so I found an idea on Pinterest that I LOVED! So, this week I am sharing my version of the daily journal. I have been so absolutely swamped here that this little sheet is all I have had time to do. I pray I keep it up because it will be fun to look at years later. It's not fancy, and it doesn't take much time at all!

First, here is the Pinterest version (click here). And here is my version:

As you can see, mine is VERY similar. I doodle my lines but don't add the weather doodles like she does. Not sure I can even draw a sun. LOL! And I even added a little feather one of my precious parrots lost yesterday. To color in each column I just use my 1/2" brush with my NeoColor Crayons.

I dab my brush into my water container, touch it to the crayon to pick up a little color, then paint the column. I did stamp over the first four entries too using the Stampers Anonymous She Created Art set. I may do more to this page, and I will share as these pages develop. Definitely easy and fun.

So, grab a journal, and get started! A super easy way to start art journaling! Blessings,

{Faith Journaling} Challenge #97

This weekend for those of us in certain parts of the U.S., we will turn our clocks back for one hour. I have been getting reminders via e-mail from our church all week. This made me think:

**Have you ever gone to church at the wrong time when you have forgotten to set your clocks to "Fall back"?

Luke 1:10 "And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside."

I hope you enjoy today's little fun prompt, and remember to set those clocks back by one hour! Blessings to you!

ODBD {New November Releases}

Hello dear online friends! Today Our Daily Bread Designs is having their November Release Blog Hop! You should be well on your way and joining me from Debi's amazing blog! If not, you might want to start at the Our Daily Bread Designs blog and start from the beginning. If you get lost along the way, simply return there where the entire hop is listed with links.

I am blessed to have worked with the new set called "Warm Wishes." It was perfect for a photo of our "rare TX snow" last year and my 8x8 scrapbook page! We got a whopping 2 inches, and it came down fast and beautiful! We didn't have enough to make a snowman but this stamp set makes up for that!

Papers: Authentique Gathering, Paper Trey Ink cs
Our Daily Bread Designs Stamps: Warm Wishes
Stamp Ink: Jenni Bowlin brown sugar, Archival Ink coffee
Embellishments: Basic Grey Oliver chip stickers, Derwent watercolor pencils, Paper Trey Ink buttons, Authentique Petite Type Square, misc. bakers twine, sewing machine

To see all of the hop details and prizes, be sure to see the details on the ODBD blog. Remember, you must leave comments on each designer's blog to be eligible to win. You won't want to miss out on the prizes!

Now it's time for you to hop on over to Lori's awesome blog. Enjoy, and have a blessed week! Thanks for stopping by!