Springtime cards

I had some paper left over from another project that I hated to just toss so I started looking at my stash of embellishments to see what I could do with it, and came up with these two cards that both have a definite spring-like look to them.

Even though the greens are not the same, I think the card looks like spring!  I embellished the inside of the 3-flower card a bit also ...

Songbird mini album

I bought a set of papers from my favorite papercrafting source, Paper Wishes, and have been saving it for a while.  However, in my effort to stop "saving" paper, I decided to try a new pattern for a mini album with this set and I love how it turned out!

Inside, on the left side, there are two pockets with tags.

And the right side is a "waterfall" of tags that can have pictures or journaling on them.  Each page in the waterfall is two-sided and has some kind of simple, small decoration as well.

The theme of songbirds and music is such a sweet outcome for someone who loves birds.  The album is 7 or 8 inches tall and is about 4 inches wide.  The spine is one inch wide.  When I make this again, I think I will make the spine slightly narrower, but overall, I am very pleased with how this looks.

Easter blessings

I wanted to make some Easter cards today for several special friends so I got out a set of Easter stamps that I bought at a yard sale sometime this past year and a set of paper that seemed appropriately spring-ish but not too whimsical, seeing as this is a solemn, albeit joyful, holiday.  I used the same paper for every card and was surprised at myself for coming up with four different designs using that same paper!  I added some dark pink, almost purple, metallic paper to add some extra life to each card.

Here is a closer look at each one separately ...

They all have the same message inside:

I had wanted to use the cross on more of them, but there is a flaw in the stamp that made it too difficult to use so I gave up after only one use.

New cards

I keep busy making cards but my old-age brain keeps forgetting to take pictures of the cards!  BUT I finally remembered to do so yesterday, so here are three of the four I made yesterday.
The first one is a sympathy card ...

Then there is a get-well card ...

And finally, a thinking-of-you card ...  This one is a cut-off front.  The blueish-green portion with the rose on it lifts up to reveal a message under it. 

These were all made with a small packet of papers that blended colors in somewhat unusual ways and it was a challenge for me to find ways to put some of them together.  I also used a piece of metallic textured paper to add some more glittery look to some of the cards.  It did not seem to be truly gold but neither was it brown and sure enough, when I looked at the back of the paper there was a sticker that said the color was "jasper."  In any case, it seemed perfect for these papers.

My Knight in Shining Armor

Deuteronomy 33:26 There is none like God … who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in his majesty.

When reading the final words of Moses before his death, I must admit these words not only captured my attention, they captured my imagination.  I feel almost fixated on them right now!  Picture the classic dream of any young woman, that of being rescued, swept off her feet by a knight in shining armor riding a white horse.  That is exactly what popped into my mind when I read this verse.  I am in need of help and when I call out, my Knight in Shining Armor comes galloping across the heavens in all His majesty to rescue me.  It is such a comfort to know how much God will do for me any time, any circumstance, whenever I call out for His help.  God is my KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR.

Handmade paper on a handmade card

I cannot remember just how long I have held onto this sheet of handmade paper that I bought many years ago because I was so taken in by the gorgeous gold embossing with the little navy blue flowers.  I hated to see it go, but of course, that makes no sense, really!  After all, I bought it to use it, so in my effort to clear out my stash of paper, I decided to make a really stunning birthday card for someone with it, and I am glad I did.  I really liked using plain gold metallic paper along with dark blue to enhance the original paper.  I am mailing it out today to a dear shut-in from our Sunday school class and I hope it will help make her birthday in a new assisted living place a little brighter.  I think it will.

He is your praise

Deuteronomy 10:21 He is your praise.  He is your God.

What is praise?  This verse says God is my praise but what does that mean?  The phrase has a lovely sound, and attracts my attention but I am not sure just what it means, so I have looked up the word “praise” in the dictionary and found four meanings, each of which brings a new level of insight to my understanding of who God is to my spirit:

1. He is my expression of approval and admiration.  I am who I am because of who He is.  I am a reflection of His approval of me as His child.

2. He embodies my worship.  My true worship is His praise.

3. He is “the state of being approved or admired.”  My act of worship is a main source of showing God’s greatness to all creation.

4. He is the ground for praise.  Nothing and no one else is worthy of praise.  Only God has that honor.  He is the essence as well as the source of praise.

I can tell I need to meditate on this for a while longer … this verse has a much deeper meaning than I ever dreamed I would find by looking that word up in the dictionary!

I've only just begun

Deuteronomy 3:24 O Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand.

These are the words of Moses as he neared the end of his long, productive, eventful, leadership-filled life.  He had seen almost unbelievable miracles from his birth up until now.  He had had an extraordinary relationship with the people around him (think of everyone from Aaron his brother up to Pharaoh in Egypt) and most especially with God Himself (Think of the burning bush, the Red Sea and Mount Sinai).  He had seen and experienced more of God and divine activity than any of us have.  Yet now at the end of his life, he expresses some of the vastness of God’s greatness in there words: “You have only begun to show your greatness…”  It makes me pause for thought.  I have seen some of God’s greatness and mighty hand in my own life experience but, like Moses, I realize I have only seen a tiny morsel of all there is of God.  Heaven will be an eternity of learning the rest.

The shout of a king

Numbers 23:21 The Lord their God is with them, and the shout of a king is among them.

This is part of the Moabite prophet Balaam’s prophecy to his Moabite king Balak concerning the children of Israel who where camped nearby.  It is particularly powerful, seeing as this was a prophet of the enemy who nonetheless heard a message from God Himself.  Aside from that, what caught my attention even more is the phrase “the shout of a king is among them” .  It speaks to me yet again of the victory we have when God is with us as our Guide and Jesus is our Savior.  As the people of God, we have the shout of a victorious King among us.  As a following verse says, “there is  no enchantment against [the people of God’ and no divination against [them].” (v.23)  There is only victory over our enemies that want to destroy our souls.