Pink flowers birthday card

I used a new set of tools for this card... the set had an embossing folder, which I used on the white background, a set of flowers and leaves, which I used to make the pink flowers and green vines, and a set of (mostly) flowered papers, which I think suits this card very well.  I am pleased with the outcome and can hardly wait to give this card to the person for whom I made it!

Woven embossed strips

I have done a very poor job of recording my cards lately... too much going on even though I've made a lot of cards.  I never seem to remember to take photos of them.  I think it is a combination of my never having been a big "take a picture" person (I've left that to Russ and he does a good job) and not thinking about the social media aspect of what I do (I am just old enough to have to have taught myself to think about that).  Anyway, I've been working with a new set of dies, stamps and embossing folders that I got from Paper Wishes and this card that I just made fits right in with the Freshly Made Sketches challenge for this week, so I am going to submit it that challenge.

The embossing folder makes a strip of five squares of designs, so I embossed two strips of gold, one of grey, one of pink, one of turquoise and one of purple and wove them together into a square-ish shape for the front of the card, then cut out the letters with the new die in that same package of materials.  I added the black flower to make it 1) a stark contrast to the other colors, and 2) less feminine-looking, so I might be able to use it for a man.  I kind-of like the way it turned out although it is definitely out of my comfort zone!

This is the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches:
and here is my take on the sketch:

ADDENDUM:
I am soooo surprised and pleased to say that this card made me a Princess at Freshly Made Sketches this week!    I never dreamed I could make a card nice enough to receive any recognition, but I am so pleased.  It gives me the mental energy to keep trying to improve my skills all that much more!!

Keeping myself

Joshua 6:18 But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction.

God’s command to Joshua and the children of Israel was to not leave anything that lived and breathed when they took over the Promised Land because of their vulnerability to being led astray from God and His Word of commandment for a pure and holy life.  From the remaining part of this verse we know that to leave anything would bring trouble to them.  God knew how easily the people could be led astray.  As I read this verse this morning I was reminded that I too must keep myself from anything that is a part of the sinful world that might lead me astray in my walk with God.   In the words of the Apostle John, I must not love the world, neither things of the world because if I do love the world, the love of the Father is not in me.  This was true for Joshua and his time, and it is true for me in my time. 

Before the Lord

Leviticus 1:3b … before the Lord …

As I read the first four chapters of Leviticus this morning I was struck by the repetition of the phrase “before the Lord” in the descriptions of the various sacrifices.  Those who were offering sacrifices did not do the sacrificial acts on their own or privately.  It was done in a public area of the tabernacle.  So the offering and sacrifice were fairly public even though the reason for the sacrifice may have been a private or individual one.  I think the repetition of the phrase “before the Lord” would have been a good reminder to the people that even though the offering was public, they were in reality having a private interaction with the Lord.  The Lord was the One to whom the sacrifice was being made and the public nature of it was secondary to their communication with God.  A good reminder to me today that the most important part of my spiritual life is my "before the Lord” activity, even when that activity is public in nature, such as teaching or corporate worship.  It is all “before the Lord.”

Letting go

Exodus 35:22 So they came, both men and women.  All who were of a willing heart brought brooches and rings and signet rings and armlets, all sorts of gold objects, every man dedicating an offering of gold to the Lord.

In chapter 33 we read of the children of Israel taking off their gold ornaments to show their humility and submission to God, a big step for them, and it is very revealing to read here of a main result of their doing so.  Recognizing the “unimportance” of those ornaments brought them to the place of being able to let go of them.  As a result of that rather momentous step, when the opportunity came, they were able to give away some of those ornaments, freely and generously I might add, towards the work of the Lord.  Their generosity made the building of the tabernacle possible.  And what a change that was for those people!  This is a great example of how God can work in our lives a we let go of the hold our “ornaments” have over us.

Take off your ornaments

Exodus 33:5b So now take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do with you.

This was the message God gave Moses for the children of Israel.  As I was thinking about what this meant to them, I began to see a message for me in this as well.  So what ornaments was God referring to?  It probably referred to the gold and silver the Egyptians gave to the people as they were leaving Egypt.  It sounds like the people had taken to wearing a lot of that jewelry themselves.  It represented freedom from slavery and most likely new-found wealth also.  In that day, both men and women were jewelry for appearance as well.  To take it all off meant visually talking away pride in your appearance but also taking away things that kept you tied to Egypt in a sense.  God was telling them to take away all they thought or saw as important so He could work with them in mercy and grace rather than in anger or punishment.  In that I see a powerful reminder that whatever “ornaments” I have that make me feel valuable or useful or that keep me tied to my earthly life need to take second place – to be taken off – in order for God to be able to work in me.

Thinking of mew

I love the cute stamps that one of my newest discoveries, Newton's Nook, has to offer.  Of course, a big part of my reason for falling in love with their stamps is the delightful plays on words that they use.  For example, the stamps I used in the card I made yesterday using a "get well" set I purchased  recently.  Here is how it turned out:

Newton's Nook has a weekly challenge and I decided to submit this card as my take on that challenge.  This is the sketch for the challenge: