Another birthday & no regrets

Here is a birthday card that I made with a little bit of sparkly! The turquoise paper had glitter all on it and then the stars are all sparkly too. I used a sticker that I got from a set of birthday stickers and added the paper behind it. It's pretty simple, but it works.

I've been thinking lately on the sermon series that my pastor is doing -- living a life with no regrets (go here to listen to the sermons he's done so far). I had shared about the frog before and not leaving things to tomorrow. The challenge this past Sunday was how we use our money. This is something difficult when you feel like there's hardly enough to pay bills, but when we consider that everything we have is God's, then it reaffirms that we need to consider what God would have us do whenever we pull out our wallet. I hope I can do better here, too.

A few cards

This is a duplicate card that I made for my co-worker. I had made one for a birthday and then was asked to make one for a friend of theirs. I used 5 papers. I added bff stickers to a piece of iradescent piece of paper and added it with 3-d tape. I also put a vellum sticker on the bottom square and added a sequin in the middle.

I made this card to put with a gift I sent with my boss when he visited the city that my brother lives in. I used this paper that had all kinds of family members all over it. I added the polka dotted paper and different stars to match the colors on the paper. I traced around the edge of the stars and added we love you! to the stars.

This is a birthday card that I made for Barry's brother. It was his 40th birthday. He is big into deer and hunting. I did the fall-ish colors since his birthday is in the fall. I added bronze brads in the upper right corner.

It's been a busy few days and we're trying to get on top of things. Hopefully things will settle down in the next little bit and we'll be back on track.

Thank Yous for Church

There were several people at church that I wanted to let know that I was thinking of them so I designed this little card to send out to them. I have these cute flower stickers that I used for the color scheme. I used a die cut to get the Thank You and the star under the a. I used yellow paper and pink paper to add more color. I think they turned out pretty well. I cut the cardstock to fit some envelopes that had been given to me.

Isn't it amazing how just hearing Thank You can make everything feel a little bit better? I know that there are people who do so much -- not expecting anything -- but just a simple thank you can encourage them to keep going. I hope that as a leader people realize that it is important to give compliments and not just "You should work on...."

Hope you have a great weekend -- especially if you're serving at your church!

Glasses & GPC

I've been struggling for a couple months with my contacts and couldn't figure out what the deal was. I just had my annual check-up in June and wondered if it was the new contacts. But after trying different pairs, it just wasn't making a difference. My eyes were itchy (but not red) and at times the contact would fold up into my eye.

So, Friday, I went to the doctor and found out that I have Giant Papillary Conjunctivitis (GPC). Basically it's bumps on the underside of my eyelid. So, there's irritation because the longer you wear the contact the more stuff sticks to it and rubs against the sore eyelid. The doctor said that it's something that takes a while to show up -- probably I've had symptoms for 4-6 months and just didn't know it. He had to flip my eyelids (like what little boys do to gross out the girls!) to see that this was the problem. Women are 5 to 1 more likely to get GPC.

So now I've been doing eye drops and should be back to contacts over the weekend. I CAN'T WAIT! I'm so sick of glasses! He also suggested that I try a different contact solution so I'll do that too. There's no way to really know if this will happen again. They don't really know what causes it.

My friend, Judy

You know, it's interesting when God puts someone on your heart. I had made this card thinking I was going to give it to one of the ladies at my church who's had surgery. But, as I was writing in some of the other cards I had made, God put the idea that I should send it to Judy. Judy & Dave are dear friends of ours from church. Dave has been out of a job since May and very actively looking for a new one. Unfortunately, with the field that he's in, it's more likely that they will end up moving. In any case, we're trying to enjoy their company while we have them here. So, through various events over the weekend, I thought I'd let her know I was thinking of her. I got this text from her, "I got your sweet note today. It was such perfect timing... you have no idea of how it made my day." Isn't it neat how God uses us?

I used this turquoise sparkly paper and added some purple organdy ribbon and a white chip board flower. I wrote on the flower, "thinking of you." I tried to make the flower look like the ones on the background paper.

Birthday Cards for Ellie

My boss's daughter was turning 6 and he asked me to make two cards -- for her party & her actual birthday. Since he calls her Ellie-bug, he wanted one with lady bugs on it. I found this really cool paper that had the lady bugs all around the edge. Then I wrote in the funky font that I like. I used a piece of grosgrain red ribbon that I've had hanging around and also added some ladybug stickers.

The second card he just wanted something to just say "I Love You." With that freedom, I used pink papers and an "e" sticker. There is a piece of pink organdy ribbon too.

He had me make up a couple other cards for some other birthdays too. I just didn't get pictures of them.

It's amazing how when you have to stick to a certain theme how hard it can be, to be creative! I struggled with the other cards I made for him because of the parameters that I had to work with. Sorry I didn't get pictures of them.

First Frog Fix

I was checking out the Pioneer Woman's website the other day and came across an article that has had me thinking (go here). She listed out some things that she's learned while blogging. Now, there is no way that I'll ever have a site like hers -- she has multiple entries a day, but in seeing what she found as valuable, it made me think about the purpose of my blog.

Initially, I only wanted to have a record of the things that I made, but the more that time passes, I realize that other things are important to me too! I've added pictures of family and things that my husband & I have done. I've added pictures of recipes that I've tried. But, in all of this, I've been pretty superficial.

So, today is a new day! I'm going to work at keeping more of a record of what I'm thinking/doing/experiencing as well as the crafty side of me in hopes that it may be helpful in the development of me. I am committing to do better at writing a few times a week.