Crochet {Creations}

Today I thought I would show you some crochet items I have been working on. First, I must show you my absolute favorite yarn for afghans and scarfs. It's from Hobby Lobby, and ironically the name is "Pitter Patter" yarn. :) It comes in many colors--solids and variegated. For each of the afghans I am making, I will use the variegated yarn for the body of the blanket and a solid color for the edging.

The pattern I am using is from the "The Prayer Shawl Ministry: Reaching Those in Need" (Leisure Arts #4225) book. You can find it on amazon.com here. I am making four afghans right now, and all four are in various stages. These afghans are for my daughters, and they chose each chose the yarn they wanted. Here is a close-up photo of the stitches. It's a combination of chains, single crochet, and double crochet. Super easy and fast to do. I have the pattern memorized too which makes it so easy to take this on the road with me. And look how soft this yarn is! Oh my, if you are in Hobby Lobby, you just need to grab a skein and touch it! :)

This afghan is finished. I just need to add the border which will be a solid green. The true color of the afghan is in the close-up photo above. Not sure why it photographed funny when I took a photo of the whole thing.

This afghan I just started a couple of weeks ago since my daughter finally found the yarn she loves. I will crochet the border in a deep purple to finish the edges.

This afghan is complete also. I just need to do the border on this one. This border will be done in solid brown.

This afghan is about half way done. Not sure what color I will use for the border yet. Since I am partial to pink, I may go with a solid pink. :)

And here is a scarf using the same stitch that I made for one of my girls at her request. It was a very quick scarf to make. I made it in a matter of hours. I used the same pattern I am using for the afghans. The only difference was that I just chained 19 stitches for the width and then made it 68" long--which is plenty long for us shorties!

I hope you have enjoyed these. I am truly enjoying crocheting each night as we have family time. I am always too tired to do anything else, and this works great when sitting with the family! Have a Merry Christmas, and see you after the holiday! Blessings,

Art {Journaling} A Tree

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

If you saw my post last week, you know that I am taking a sketch class with Alisa Burke. If you missed that, see my post here. Well, part of my homework was to look for things in my neighborhood to sketch. As I was walking our puppy this morning, one of the neighbor's yards had a metal Christmas tree in it with colorful balls on it. It was quite whimsical and cute. So, since I don't sketch, I figured I could try a triangle and some circles. So, here is what came of my sketching:

Supplies Used: Sakura Koi watercolors, Sharpie poster paint white, Pentel Ener-Gel pen

And I am so embarrassed I am even sharing this with you. It looks like a Kindergarten drawing but oh well. It was a fun process, and now I have a journaling page all about seeing this as I took Kody for a walk today. I doubt sketching will be my "life time" style but it will certainly be a fun addition to my regular art journaling pages!

Thanks for looking, and have a blessed Christmas!

{Faith Journaling} Challenge #103

Earlier in the week as I thought about favorite Christmas gifts received, I realized that one of my most favorite gifts over the years was not an actual present that I unwrapped. When I was a Children's Leader in BSF, there were identical twins in my 3 year old class. These precious boys gave me one of the most amazing gifts I have ever received--they sat beside their mother and recited all of the scripture they had learned in the year. I cried buckets, and it is a memory I truly cherish. So today,

*What is one of the best Christmas gifts that you have received?

Matthew 2:11 "On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh."

Also, if you would like to see the gift I made for my aunt using all of my {Faith Journaling} questions, please see my Memory Box post here. I pray she likes it! Also, to see all of our previous {Faith Journaling} questions, please look here. I pray that each of you has a joyous and Merry Christmas! Blessings,

ABC Scripture Challenge {Word #26}, Zeal

Challenge Word #26: Zeal

Zeal: fervor for a person; enthusiastic diligence; intensity; passion

In the Bible, you will find a lot about God’s zeal but today I wanted to focus on our zeal for God. So, first, think about when you began this challenge. Maybe you began in January when we started this year. Maybe you began in 2008 with my first Scripture Challenge. What was your zeal for the Lord like when you began? Can you say it has increased today as we dive into our last word for this year? Or is your zeal for the Lord about the same as when you started these studies? Has your passion or eager desire to follow God increased? Do you have such zeal for Him that you are willing to protect His name? I know I pray that your answers to these questions are that your zeal for Him has increased and that you have a hunger and thirst to study and serve Him even more.

**Our zeal for the Lord should consume us, and we grieve when He is insulted.
Psalm 69:9 "For zeal for Your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult You fall on me."

**Our desire to glorify Him in all things should wear us out.
Psalm 119:139-140 "My zeal wears me out, for my enemies ignore your words. Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them."

**We need to know God and follow His will for us and not just step into the unknown.
Proverbs 19:2 "It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way."

**In any work we do, we need to do it with zeal and remember that as Christians, we are servants of the Lord.
Romans 12:11 "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord."

**The Bible is God’s true word and all teachings must line up with His Word.
Galatians 4:17 "Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them."

**Zeal is good as long as it is for a good cause.
Galatians 4:18 "It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always and not just when I am with you."

So, what does your zeal for the Lord look like?

For my page today, I chose papers from October Afternoon. I loved the chair paper as it went so well with the Bible image from the Our Daily Bread Designs set called ‘The Word of God’. It makes me think of sitting down to study His Word to know Him more, to learn His will for me, to meditate on who He is, to know truth, etc. The scripture comes from the ODBD set called ‘Scripture Collection 3’. I wanted to add the Romans 12:11 verse from above as it was so perfect but I didn’t have room. Oh well. And before I forget, ODBD is having a huge sale (some sets 30% off). Look here for more information!

Papers: October Afternoon Farmhouse, Paper Trey Ink cs
Our Daily Bread Designs Stamps: Scripture Collection 3, The Word of God
Stamp Ink: Archival Ink jet black, Tim Holtz Distress Ink pumice stone and black soot
Embellishments: Thickers jewelry box, Prima flower, Sakura Koi watercolors, Spellbinders Labels 3, Tim Holtz Alterations scallops die and tiny attacher, Memory Box index card die, misc. baker's twine

Remember 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 if you haven’t seen the information on my 2012 study, please be sure to look at my post here. I hope you will join us beginning January 1st, and I truly pray that you have enjoyed this year's ABC Scripture Challenge! Blessings to each of you and Merry Christmas!

Art {Journaling} Sketching!

Note: To see today's Faith {Journaling} question, please scroll down to the next post or click here.

So, did you think I had given up on art journaling? I know I haven't posted in a while but I have been absolutely swamped. Most of you know that from previous posts. Well, now that I have a 3 week break for the holidays, I am taking a sketch class with Alisa Burke and getting back into the mixed media fun that I miss so much! Now if my mother or my sister read this, they will probably laugh because I am NOT the one in the family that can draw--my sister is the most amazing artist! God didn't bless me with sketching skills; that's my sister's gift. Well, I know sketching will help me in my art journaling so I thought I would dive into the art I am scared of the most--sketching.

Now, Alisa's class is not one that is going to tell me step-by-step how to draw something but she is going to help me discover what I can do. Everyone is different in how they approach sketches so what I think is dreadful may just be my style. LOL!

After the first week of class, here is what I have done thus far:  I have made swatches of pens, pencils, watercolors, markers, etc., trying to find what I like best and how they work together. Here are some sample pages:

I am using my favorite Strathmore Visual Journal. I am using a 5 1/2" x 8" size journal instead of the 9"x12" size that I am using for my art journal pages. I figure I could never sketch on a larger page--not yet anyway.

So far I have found that I love my new Koi Watercolors. Oh wow! They are amazing and so portable!

And they don't have to be used just for art journaling. I used them on a card yesterday for Memory Box.

I even shared step-by-step instructions if you want to see how I created the card--just see my post here for that. :)

Well, whether your are great at sketching or horrible like me, I highly recommend you just try it. So far I am really having fun! I couldn't even believe I could draw a shell. Wow! Anyway, be sure to check out Alisa's blog too to see her amazing work and sketchbook. Now there's awesome inspiration! Have a blessed day, and thanks for stopping by!

{Faith Journaling} Challenge #102

As the Christmas cards begin pouring in, I thought it would be fun this week to share:

**What do you love the most about receiving Christmas cards each year, and what do you do with them after Christmas is over?

Luke 2:11-12 "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Enjoy each card that you receive! To see all of our previous {Faith Journaling} questions, please look here. Blessings,

{Faith Journaling} Challenge #101

I found this great Christmas scripture reading plan on Pinterest. Gosh that place is full of great stuff. Anyway, I wondered if you have any scripture reading traditions during this Christmas season. So today, please share:

**Do you have a Christmas scripture reading plan that you follow each year with your family? Describe it.

Luke 2:11-12 "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Enjoy the season, and remember, it's all about Him! To see all of our previous {Faith Journaling} questions, please look here. Blessings,

Week 1 {ODBDLYLS12} Scrapbook Challenge

Happy December everyone! A new month means a new scrapbook challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs. I hope you are as excited as I am. And because December is a busy time of year and sketches are so easy and fun, we decided to challenge you to another sketch challenge this month! So your scrapbook challenge for December is to: create a layout of any size using ODBD stamps and the sketch below. Have fun with it! Turn it, add more than two photos, make a journaling box, etc. There are lots of fun things you can do with a sketch.

I left the sketch "as is" but used one collage photo instead of two separate photos. I created my own background paper using the new ODBD Honeycomb Background along with the Mega Mount. The Mega Mount makes stamping backgrounds a piece of cake! I then used the Blessed Christmas set for the title and poinsettia on the bottom right-hand corner of my page.

Papers:  Melissa Frances Deck the Halls, Paper Trey Ink cs 
Our Daily Bread Designs Stamps:  Blessed Christmas, Honeycomb Background
Stamp Ink:  Tim Holtz Distress Inks aged mahogany, frayed burlap, fired brick, peeled paint, and mustard seed; Archival Ink coffee
Tools: Mega Mount 
Embellishments: Spellbinders large deckled rectangles, Paper Trey Ink buttons, misc. twine, Tim Holtz distressed doily die, Basic Grey writer's block tags, misc. ric rac, sewing machine

I hope you have enjoyed my page today. Suzanne, our guest designer, is also sharing a layout using this sketch so be sure to see Suzanne's blog post here.  And to see all of the guidelines and to join in the fun with the chance to win a $20 gift certificate, please see the ODBD post here. You have all month to enter, and we can't wait to see your pages! Have a blessed day, and happy scrappin'!

ABC Scripture Challenge {Word #25}, Yield

Challenge Word #25: Yield

How often do you yield to God’s desire for you? Do you push ahead with your own plan or yield to what He has for you each day? Do you look for the opportunities He puts before you? God gave me our word for this week on Friday as I was at the grocery store. Of course I was in a huge hurry, and I had my own plans for the day—one of which was to get in and out of the grocery store quickly. But God had other plans. I could only yield to His desires and set mine aside. At first I was on the cereal row wondering why I have been so tired and grumpy. I was also telling God that I wanted my joy back. Then I headed over to the produce section, and as I was standing in front of the red peppers I was approached by a lady. The conversation went like this:

Stranger: Hey, how are you today? I am here buying carrots for my rabbits.
Me: Hi, I am fine thanks. I am buying peppers for my parrots.
Stranger: Hey, have you heard that eating red pepper can raise your metabolism?
Me: Yes, I have heard about that.
Stranger: Do you believe it?
Me: Yes, I think it probably does help.
Stranger: Well, you wouldn’t have to worry about it as you don’t have a weight issue.
Me: Well, as a matter of fact, I just lost 48 lbs.
Stranger: You did! Wow, how did you do that?
Me: Weight Watchers and God has helped me to continue to eat right with a scripture.
Stranger: Really? What scripture?
Me: 1 Corinthians 10:23
Stranger: Well, what does that say?
Me: “All things are permissible but not all things are beneficial.” So, I can eat whatever I want but eating too much of it is not beneficial. I still have my real ice cream every night.
Stranger: Wow, that is really interesting. Something to put on Facebook.

I ended up talking to this woman for 15 minutes and inviting her to Bible study. She has 3 boys—two of which are twins—funny we both have multiples and “different” pets. Of course God already knew that! I had SO much to do but God showed me between the cereal row and the produce section that He has the plan, He wastes nothing, and that He is my joy. He completely restored my love and joy for Him all in the space of a few rows in the grocery store but the key was that I had to yield to His leading. Had I not followed through and listened to His leading, I would have missed the joy and the blessing He had for me.

Psalm 85:11-13 “Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. The LORD will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps.”

He alone led me to share but I also had to give Him the glory. Isaiah 48:11b says “. . . I will not yield my glory to another.”

He will not yield His glory to anyone or anything else. All glory and honor belongs to Him. I couldn’t give Weight Watchers the credit. It is only God that has kept me straight and losing weight every single week since I began on May 10, 2011.

So, how will you yield to the Lord? How will you let Him use what He has done for you to glorify His name? Will you listen to that indwelling Holy Spirit and yield as He leads instead of pressing on with your own agenda? I encourage you to follow Him and don’t miss the opportunity to be blessed where He may lead you!

For my page today, I used the Psalm 85:11-12 passage quoted above. The two verses are in two different stamps sets by Our Daily Bread Designs—Scripture Collection 6 and Harvest Blessings. I used the number and month tags to remind me that I need to yield to God and His will each and every day. The tags are found in the Cosmo Cricket Odds & Ends pack.

Papers: Cosmo Cricket Odds & Ends, Memory Box Moroccan latte, Paper Trey Ink cs
Our Daily Bread Designs Stamps: Scripture Collection 6, Harvest Blessings
Stamp Ink: Archival Ink library green, Tim Holtz Distress Ink frayed burlap, Ranger clear ep
Embellishments: Spellbinders oval square label die, Glimmer Mist sugar cookie used to dye Hug Snug (seam binding), Tim Holtz tiny attacher, flower from Wild Orchid Crafts, Basic Grey flower embossing folder, sewing machine

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. And, if you missed the announcement for the 2012 study, be sure to check out this link here. So, will you yield your heart to the Lord today as He leads? Blessings,

Some {Memory Box} Fun!

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

It seems it has been a long while since I have shared my Memory Box creations. So, today I thought I would share some Memory Box Christmas ideas. Just click on the name of the item, and it will take you to the post with more details and close-up photos.

Dec. 25th

Spool Ornaments

Christmas Wishes

Ruffled Christmas

Rolled Tree

I hope you get some fun ideas. Have a blessed Thursday, and thanks for stopping by!

{Faith Journaling} Challenge #100

Wow, can you believe this is our 100th {Faith Journaling} question?  Awesome! Are you keeping up? Anyway, this week and next week, we have many rehearsals and performances for our orchestra Christmas Concert and then our orchestra Christmas Cantata. It is a busy time but I always end up crying during our last performance. It is so beautiful and all the glory belongs to God! So, as we begin this busy Christmas season:

**In what way do you participate in Christmas performances at your church? Are you an audience member or a participant? Describe the performance and how it effects you?

Psalm 98:4 "Shout for joy to the Lord all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music."

Enjoy the season, and remember, it's all about Him! To see all of our previous {Faith Journaling} questions, please look here. Blessings,