Painted {Fabric}

So, after creating my new "to-do" book, I wanted a bookmark to match. If you missed my new painted book, click here. To get a matching bookmark, that meant that I needed to paint some canvas. So, I cut a piece from my bolt, and went to work. I painted away, and then I watched our favorite team play football yesterday and competed the doodles. I love it so much that now I don't know if I can cut it up into bookmarks. Maybe I should just make one bookmark, and then sew the rest into a pencil case. Hmmm, decisions, decisions.

I used the same Stencil Girl stencil and products that I used for the "to-do" book. I just added one more paint color--the light lavender which is Apple Barrel Wisteria.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you like today's creation. Enjoy your week! I'm off to paint another book and more fabric! :)

Painted {Book} Cover & Update

Has it really been since June since I posted last? Wow! I do have good reason, and I have not created since then. I have been diagnosed with spinal stenosis, osteoarthritis, and disc degenerative disease. I have been in horrific pain since the very last week of May (the week before turning 54). I was finally diagnosed in July and have been trying various treatments since that time. I still suffer with pain daily but thankfully it is no longer in the 7-9 range. Praise God! Learning to deal with chronic pain has been hard, and I am still asking "Lord, what are you teaching me through this?" But yesterday I created for the first time in a very long time. It brought me such incredible joy that I have to try to make myself do it each week. It is healing to be able to just get my hands messy in paint and create.

So, what did I create? I painted a book cover. Oh my goodness, I am in love. This is a book I have had, the pages are empty, and I have decided that it is going to be my new "to do" book for home and for work. Yes, I am now working part-time at our church, and that also has been a great joy and blessing.

To create this book, I used the Deconstructed Floral Bouquet stencil from Stencil Girl. I then grabbed a few paint colors and began finger painting. Yes, I used my fingers. I started with a makeup sponge but I can't blend the paints as well so I dove in and finger painted. I actually prefer that. Here is what it looked like as I started:

Then I added more leaves and let it dry overnight. After it was dry, I used my Posca pen to add all of the white doodling. Once I did that I finished with my favorite paint splatters. I must always finish with that. :)

The leaves were created from a Sizzix die cut called "Leaves." I just die cut the leaves using an old folder. It was then very easy to use it as a stencil. I will use that technique again for sure. I really had a great time doing this. I hope it inspires you in some way! Have a blessed week!

A {Journal} Prompt Entry

In our March Glory {Art} Scripture Challenge, one of the journaling prompts was:

"What can you praise the Father for today?"

If you missed that post, click here. Anyway, I decided to use that prompt, and here is how it turned out in my journal:

Stencil Girl stencil: Circle 6

I love this particular prompt because you can use it over and over. This would be a fun one to have "sprinkled" through your journal at different times through the year.

I hope you are enjoying your journaling time! Thanks for stopping by. Have a blessed week!

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Glory {Art} 2017 Scripture Challenge #3, Daily

The Study

I posted this on my Facebook page one morning last week:

"Just walked outside to this beside the house. Stunning! The Father greets me in glorious ways every morning!"

This photo was taken at 6:35 a.m., and I began thinking about the morning and each new day. He truly does greet me in glorious ways each and every day. How can I look at that and not see the Father? How can I look at that and not give Him the glory? How can I look at that and not pray? He is drawing me to Him. Am I listening? How about you? 

Isaiah 50:4 "The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed."

Do you see how He greets you each day? Are you drawn to Him or are you so busy running and thinking of your to do list that you miss Him? Seeing His beauty, I can trust and know that He is there to help me each and every day. Why wouldn't I want to seek Him and have Him help me each day? Life is so much harder when we don't rely on Him. He is there waiting!

This past Sunday, we sang this hymn in church. It was perfect for today's lesson. It's called "Day by Day." Listen to it below. The lyrics are also included.

Hymnary.org says this about this hymn: "Carolina Sandell wrote this hymn several years after witnessing the sudden drowning of her father, a tragic event that caused her great distress. Having been through that experience, she still could write about God, 'He whose heart is kind beyond all measure gives unto each day what He deems best.' In the second stanza, she refers to Deuteronomy 33:25b: 'as your days, so shall your strength be' (ESV). As this hymn is sung, remember that, though no human can accurately foretell the future, God knows what will happen and is also in complete control of all coming events."

And read verse one of this hymn:

"Day by day and with each passing moment, 

Strength I find to meet my trials here; 

Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment, 

I've no cause for worry or for fear. 

He whose heart is kind beyond all measure 

Gives unto each day what He deems best-- 

Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure, 

Mingling toil with peace and rest."

You can read all of the lyrics by clicking here. So, so comforting. He is there standing with you in your trials. He is your strength each day. We have no need to worry or fear. Read these scriptures, and I pray they bless you as you think about Him being there for you and never leaving your side.

1 Chronicles 23:30 "They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord. They were to do the same in the evening."

Psalm 5:3 "In the morning, Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait expectantly."

Psalm 59:16 "But I will sing of Your strength, in the morning I will sing of Your love; for You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble."

Psalm 65:8 "The whole earth is filled with awe at Your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, You call forth songs of joy."

Psalm 68:19 "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens."

Psalm 90:14 "Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days."

Psalm 143:8 "Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I entrust my life."

Isaiah 33:2 "Lord, be gracious to us; we long for You. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress."

Lamentations 3:22-23 "Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness."

I hope you will remember that He is there for you each day. Rest in Him even when things are chaotic. There will be adversity in our lives but don't let it consume you. Remember Him as you wake up in the morning. Remember Him each day. Abide in Him, and He will get you through. Do you live daily defined by Jesus or do you let the world's chaos define you?

Below is a prayer I wrote from the verses above. I love praying scripture back to the Lord. If you don't know what to pray, pray His word back to Him!

"Father, I stand here each morning and evening and praise You. I will sing of Your strength and Your love. The whole earth is in awe of Your wonders. Your compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I praise You that You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. You hear my voice, and I lay my requests before You and wait expectantly for You are our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress, and You bear our daily burdens. Show me the way I should go in my day today. It's in Your Son's name I pray, Amen."

Journaling Prompt

Today I have several journaling prompts for you again. I hope you are enjoying these.

• What does your daily devotional time look like?
• What can you praise the Father for today?
• Do you enjoy singing older hymns? Why or why not?

The Art

Today I decided that I would make some Scripture Art Cards. I have not made these in so long, and I need to add to my album. There were also so many great verses above that I couldn't choose just one verse so this worked perfectly to share a couple of verses. 

And if you look closely, I have two things I forgot. First, I forgot to add my pen marks around the words on the first card. I was waiting for it to dry and forgot. I have fixed that now but didn't reshoot the photos. Second, I forgot to use my Dorland's Wax on the printed scriptures. So, when I used my waterbrush with the Stabilo All pencil, the verse address smeared. I quickly added the wax to the rest of the scripture so it wouldn't smear. Dorland's Wax is awesome. Does it bother me? Absolutely not. That's what makes mixed media fun; there are no mistakes. :)

Stencil Girl Stencils: playful bloom

Thanks for joining me today. Feel free to join us on the Facebook page where some people will be sharing their creations. To see all of the information regarding this challenge and the previous studies, please see this post here. Let's watch for Him today and let Him be your strength and guide!

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{ICAD} Jan. 22-28, 2017

Happy Saturday. It's time to share a few more ICADs. I will also share the before and after on a few of them. I hope that will be helpful to you to see how they started out. I will reference them by date. First, let's look at the finished pieces.

Stencil Girl stencils: Illegible, Circle 6, Frazzled Ruffled Feather

Now let's look at how some of these cards started out.

#2 became January 25 above.
#5 became January 28 above.

January 24 and 27 looked like this to begin with. I punched a few cardstock circles with my circle punch. For the January 24th card, I placed the circles on the card and then painted over them (bottom card). I did use a bit of adhesive to hold them down. Then I used the piece of cardstock that I punched the circles from, put it down on another card, and painted the green circles you see on the top card to start the January 27th card. These cards were inspired by a bag on etsy by Julia. You can see her bag by clicking here.

I hope showing you how some of these started out help a bit. Also look for inspiration all over. It was so fun using Julia's bag as inspiration for two of my cards this week! Enjoy, and have a blessed week!

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{ICAD} Jan. 15-21, 2017

It's Saturday so I thought I would share another round of ICADs. I used a few different things on my cards for this week. I used:

• Modeling paste
• Map paper
• Tissue paper
• A catalog photo

And I even messed up the date on January 19th. Be sure you look at how I fixed it. A mistake can always be fixed. And sometimes mistakes left alone turn out to be great design elements. Also, use these cards to try new techniques. They are small, and it's a fun way to try something new.

Stencil Girl stencils: Repitition, Sporn, Puddles, Clustered Leaves, Inky Circles, Square Dancing, Circle Play, Imaginary Bloom

Thanks for joining me today! Blessings,

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Glory {Art} 2017 Scripture Challenge #1, The Bible

Note: Please click here to see the post below. You may want to bookmark it as it will have the links to every study for this year.

The Study

Welcome to our first Glory {Art} Scripture Challenge of 2017. We are going to look at the Bible in today's study. So, why did you join this study? Why are you here today? God wants to be in the midst of your life right now. He doesn't want you looking in the rear view mirror at the past or looking through binoculars at what could be in the future. He wants you to focus on today. What does He have in store for you this year? How can you truly know His will and His love for you? The answers to those questions are through knowing Him through His Holy Word in the Bible. What is the Bible? Is it true? Do you believe it is imperative to your life? Let's first look at the basics.

The Bible is comprised of 66 books; 39 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books. There are more than 40 human writers. God chose people to write His words down; therefore, because the words were inspired by God, He is the author. It's God's special and unique revelation of Himself to us; therefore, the message is authentic and reliable. And because of this, we need to read it and apply it to our daily lives.

2 Timothy 3:15-17 "And how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

2 Peter 1:20-21 "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

The Bible is truth, and it is without error since God cannot lie.

Numbers 23:19 "God is not human, that He should lie, not a human being, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?"

2 Samuel 22:31 "As for God, His way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; He shields all who take refuge in Him."

John 17:17 "Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth."

The Life Application Bible says this about John 17:17 "Scripture points out sin, motivates us to confess, renews our relationship with Christ, and guides us back to the right path." See why reading it and applying it to our daily lives is so important?

The Bible is the best selling book of non-fiction. The Guiness Book of World Records says:

"Although it is impossible to obtain exact figures, there is little doubt that the Bible is the world's best-selling and most widely distributed book. A survey by the Bible Society concluded that around 2.5 billion copies were printed between 1815 and 1975, but more recent estimates put the number at more than 5 billion."

His word is living and active, and it endures forever. I have seen examples of that over and over in my life. For instance, because I was in Bible Study Fellowship leadership, I was blessed to take part in several of the studies multiple times over the years. I have been through many of them at least twice. I remember one year as I was studying Matthew for a second time, I said to one of my fellow leaders "I am so embarrased to say that maybe last time I did not study. I don't remember any of this." The reason was because my season in life had changed. God was speaking to me differently as I went through the same book again. So when you read that familiar scripture, don't just glance at it quickly. Ask God to show you something new. What does He have for you as you read it today? Remember, it is living and active. He will always have something for you even if you have read it over and over your entire life. Don't miss out on the blessing by skimming over His familiar word.

1 Peter 1:23-25 "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, 'All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.' And this is the word that was preached to you."

The Bible consitantly shares one great theme--the story of redemption, and it does not contradict itself. God promises to work through the Bible to accomplish His purpose including saving the lost.

Isaiah 55:11 "So is my word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

The longest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119; and the shortest is Psalm 117. And the middle verse of the Bible is (depending on the version; I use the NIV):

Psalm 103:2 "Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His benefits."

When you are complaining or down, read Psalm 103. David gives us a whole list of blessings in which you can praise God! Sounds like the perfect verse(s) to be at the center of the Bible!

He is not forceful in what He has written, and He doesn't force it on us. God's word is perfect and true. He desires to communicate with all of His people through His word. Can you imagine that? He desires to have a conversation with you. So, do your daily conversations include your dependance on God? Do you look for Him each and every day?

This year is a fresh start. Live your daily life by the Book--His Word. Do you need a new beginning? Where do you need to grow? How will you move forward in your faith daily? Fill your daily life with Him, and look to His word!

Romans 15:4 "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope."

Journaling Prompt

I have decided to add something new this year for those of you that do not want to do any art. I am going to include a Journaling Prompt with each study. You can use this prompt to journal. For today's study, I am actually including four journal prompts for you. You can do one a week until our next study if you like. I will not always have four prompts, and you certainly don't have to use them all. You can just pick and choose the one you want to use.

• What Bible version is your favorite to use and why?
• When did you get your first Bible? Do you still have it?
• Do you write in your Bible? Why or why not, and what do you write?
• Do you know the order of the Books of the Bible? How did you learn them? If not, how do you find what you are looking for?

The Art

Today, I am going to share my journal. I thought it would be a fun alternative for those of you that don't want to do art. I also wanted everyone to see the "journaling option" this year. While you will see a bit of art in my creation today (because I just can't create without some color), I hope you realize that you don't even have to do this. This study is for you. Do whatever you feel led to do which could be just reading today's study and that's it!

Note, this journal is from amazon.com, is 7"x5", and is available in an 8"x6" size also. Click here to order this journal or see more details. 

So, how did I create this page? First, I typed out the question on book paper. Then I put a wash of watercolor at the top of the page. Once that dried, I used a glue stick to adhere the question and scribbled around the box. I then created one flower, cut it in half, glued to the page, and doodled around each portion of the flower. 

To create the flowers, I use flower stencils. For this particular page, I used the Stencil Girl Nonsensical Bloom stencil. My favorites are in the photo below. I use book paper, apply a bit of acrylic paint with a makeup sponge, let dry, then cut out. I do not doodle on or around the flower until it is on my piece. I use these flowers in my written journal like above, on my art journal pages, on ICADs, Journaling Bible pages, etc. You can use them anywhere. They are truly my favorite to do. Watch closely because you will notice they are on a lot of my work.

Stencils: Stencil Girl Nonsensical Bloom, Imaginary Bloom, Playful Bloom, Let Yourself Bloom; Delta Daisies

This year is a fresh start. Will you move forward in faith and live your life by His Word? He is the first in all things, and He should be first in our lives. Thanks for joining me today. Feel free to join us on the Facebook page where some people will be sharing their creations. To see all of the information regarding this challenge and the previous studies, please see this post here. May He bless you as you dive into His word each day!

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{ICAD} Jan. 8-14, 2017

Today I wanted to share my next seven ICADs. And be sure to check tomorrow's post when I share how I make some of the flowers you see on my creations. It's super simple! It will be in the art section of the first Glory {Art} Challenge I post tomorrow.

Also I have been asked how I create the text on the cards. There are several things I used on today's cards:

• Vintage Smith-Corona typewriter
• Stamps (scripture stamps and alpha stamps)
• Stickers

I usually stamp or type on book paper or ledger paper. I used a paper bag for the Jan. 10th card. I hope that gives you some ideas. Mix it up and raid your stash. Be sure to ask questions in the comment section. I always answer there.

Stencil Girl Stencils: Imaginary Bloom, Sea of Skiffs, Circles Circles

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy these! Blessings,

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