Hands, Head and Heart

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Pieces of JOY...

It was my delight to receive this beautiful card last Thursday from my stamping friend Joy Hadden, one of our StampTV CenterStage Alumni designers, who was enjoying my Pretty Patterns stamp set. I love this sophisticated color combo, the addition of the Swiss dot patterned paper with the borders, and how she she cut the scalloped bottom with a PTI die. This is a wonderful design any time you need a fantastic card in a pinch!

If you aren't familiar with this wonderful lady from her blog, Pieces of Joy or StampTV gallery, you are in for a real treat. But I was extremely saddened to read in her enclosed note, however, that her husband Sandy had very recently been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer (which is the one of the most aggressive of all cancers with one of the poorest survival rates), yet the family trusted God's sovereignty and his doctor was optimistic he would be one of the few who could beat the disease. It touched me all the more she made time to reach out to me with a hand-stamped card to thank me for something small while her family was dealing with his illness! Immediately, the family went on my prayer list and my spirit was hopeful hearing the good prognosis and that they were at peace, placing Sandy in God's hands.

While it is *never* too late to pray, I learned this Monday that God had already called Sandy home just after Joy wrote to me. I can't even imagine what a shock it must have been to lose him so suddenly. I am very thankful to know he is in heaven and didn't suffer long, and was able to say goodbye to his family and friends. My heart goes out to Joy for her loss. Please help me support this dear woman who is a light in the world and our stamping community.

Here is a message from Joy, that I am sharing with her permission:

"Please pray for my 3 girls - they are grown with families - but they were very close to their Dad and are missing him, that our God that comforts will be evident for my girls.

The last verse Sandy asked our family to quote together was his life verse:

In the day of prosperity be happy, But in the day of adversity consider—
God has made the one as well as the other.
Ecclesiastes 7:14

In my mind I know that confidence in God's timing is a choice to delight in God's goodness even when it looks like one's life is falling apart. I have peace - I'm sometimes sad but I want to live a joyous life, living according to Gods time and eternal perspective - something I know Sandy would desire.

(Photo a family friend took of the family at Sandy's memorial, Joy's daughter added this scripture)

(The service) was a blessing and an encouraging time, where the gospel was clearly presented (something he wanted) with a lot of worshipful singing led by one of my son-in-laws, who is a music minister in a church in College Station.

My daughters (Tess, Tara and Stori) would be touched by cards from stamping friends - my address is

Joy Hadden

11187 County Road 168

Tyler, TX 75703.

I will be sure they get them."

Joy and Sandy's testimony ministers to my heart, and reminds me of something a grieving character (whose young daughter died in an accident) put so well in the movie Courageous (paraphrased, I can't find the quote, but the message stuck with me): "I can be angry that I lost her, or thankful for the time I had her...and I choose to be thankful." I am praying for their family as they move forward. God bless you, Joy, for your choice to live out your name and life of abundance as Sandy would have wanted, and clinging to God's promises.

Please pray for Joy and leave her some love and encouragement today! I will share a sympathy card here soon, thank you for reading!

Monday, November 5, 2012

BUNNIES!!

So our family has expanded again, we went from 2 rabbits to NINE on Halloween, with our doe Pegasus having seven kits sometime that night after we all hunkered down after trick or treating! Knowing by counting the days she might have had her babies, Jonathan went out with a flashlight at 6 AM the next morning and discovered a thick new lining of her fur in the nest box that hadn't been there the day before and was gently rising and falling like a heartbeat (the mom buries them to keep them warm). I started crying when he told me, couldn't help but remember they day each of my sons were born, there's just nothing like new babies! He was so proud to make the discovery, I'm sure he'll remember that forever. Her is one in Willima's little hand, they are about 2-3 inches long.

We get to bring them on once a day for a just a few minutes to count them over and inspect them all for health and changes (and just a few minutes for cuddling) before putting their box back in the hutch so the mom doesn't worry they aren't coming back and they don't miss a feeding.

If you've never seen new brand spanking new rabbit...well, they don't look much like rabbits at first! This one above in my hand looks like a rat on day 2...

and this one looks like like a sleeping puppy on day 3. They will change a lot though in the next week or two, over just few days it easy to see how much their ears are lengthening and their fur is coming fast. Here are Jonathan's larger hands holding two "matchers".

The kids are just in love with them. No telling how many we'll actually be able to keep and how many will go to the the pet store, but we'll really enjoy them all the next few months.

The boys are in love and have names picked out for every one (after Halloween candies, hee!) I'll continue to post some pics so we have a record, hope you enjoy!

Also to remind you what the parents look like, I posted these back in March when we got them for Easter.

The mom at 6 weeks...

The dad at 6 weeks (all white)

We had no intentions of breeding them for characteristics when we got them, but all these bunnies that look like they might be black were a bit of a shocker, that's the really fun part to see what you get! Also both parents are very small breeds so we were also very surprised she had seven, average for a little Dutch like her s 3-6, and we are so thankful they are all thriving. Not really sure who they all fit inside of her but I am vaguely remembering how crowded things were for me in month nine, LOL! We are so proud of how our first time mama is taking care of them. It just amazes me the way she knows exactly what to do. (and again, super glad I didn't have to go through my labors unassisted, oy! or have multiples, hee hee!)

And if you are interested, here is a video we watched the day before that shows a doe giving birth, and it was so cool we saw that ahead of time to know how things must have went down! (although this mom looks three times the size of ours!) This video IS appropriate for children, starts with photo montage and then switches to the video.The boys are really going to learn a lot abut development the next few weeks and plan to make some power point presentations for their class listing when they open their eyes, begin to hop, etc.

So that's what we've been up to! I will need to update you on some other big family events, and let you know I just completed a big project which frees up more time for blogging again (hurray!), and enjoying playing around with my upcoming set (HINT: no flowers!!) any guesses?

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Inspiration Hop, Day 3; STVKit and Free with Three

Good morning! The Design Team for Gina K. Designs welcomes you to another fabulous Inspiration Blog Hop! Gina and the Design Team will inspire you with many beautiful ideas, and as you hop through their blogs, make sure to leave a comment on each of them because a few random comments will be chosen and those stampers will each win a grab bag of Gina K. Designs products! To see the full list of winners, check the Big News forum at Stamp TV a couple of days after the hops.

First up we have the new StampTV Kit, which comes with both of these awesome holiday sets, Merry Little Christmas and City of David!

I chose to work with City of David today. This is a simple two layer card! Stamp the greeting, image and the star above in Memento Tuxedo Black on Pure Luxury White. Next I cut a piece of scratch paper in a tall triangle long enough to cover my card.

I put the tip under star, then started sponging Memento Sweet Plum over both sides of the mask. The I moved a bit and sponged on some Memento Paris Dusk, concentrating ink on the edges of mat, going off the sides. Repeat on the other side. Remove the mask. Add some bling!

The masking really spotlights your sentiment. I added white dots randomly with a marker for stars. Cardbase is Pure Luxury In the Navy.

Next we have this month's Free with Three set Holiday Tags. Very useful little set!!

I went very literal this month and used them as ...yep..tags. :) Cardstock is Pure Luxury Ocean Mist, Grass Green, Turquoise Sea, and White. I also stamped the chevron from Pretty Patterns in Memento Love Letter and Bamboo Stalk to tie the separate tags together in the design. I love how those look nested together like that, like the pattern on a Christmas-y scarf or socks! Piercing with the Scor-Bug around the edges of the mat "anchors" the chevron.

Ciircle punches are 1", 1 1/4" and 1 3/8",

And an even simpler one on Pure Luxury Red Hot. Don'tcha love when your twine holds those bends and seems to defy gravity sometimes? hee!)

( PS I prefer spearmints to peppermints! num num num!)

Please see the rest of our team for more inspiration using these fabulous sets! Don't forget to comment to increase your chances of winning a grab bag!

That's it for October Inspiration Hops! Of course, keep checking back with us for more fun GKD projects through the month!

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Inspiration Hop, Day 2: Simple Snowflakes, Mistletoe Memories, Deck the Halls

I really like the stitch detail around the leaves and berries. I stamped the mistletoe in Memento Cottage Ivory and used Rhubarb Stalk to give it more color.

Pattern is from Merry Little Christmas pack.

Cardstock is Pure Luxury Ivory and the new Christmas Pine. I added a pierced detail with the Scor-Bug embosser to coordinate with the stitching in the image.

TIP: Do your Scor-Bug embossing on the back of your mat and flip to give it a raised bump, which is sometimes more noticeable than the pierced holes.

Next we have Simple Snowflakes by Tami Mayberry. I love a "punchy" set like this, so I stamped them several times in the same colors as above with a 1 1/4" punch and arranged them on an ivory base.

I added a 1 3/8" circle punch of the new Christmas Pine CS to accent the center flake. I also added some small adhesive rhinestones.

Our last set today is Beth Silaika's Deck the Halls. Do you love these two step ornaments, or what?

This awesome print from the new GKD Designer paper pack Merry Little Christmas inspired the design and color, those little diamond bursts I thought went so well with the ornaments.

I popped the cut ornaments over the stamped wire and used a scrap from another print in this pack to make a border. Cardstock is Pure Luxury Ivory and inks are Memento Rich Cocoa, Cottage Ivory, Love Letter, and Rhubarb Stalk. TIP: Stamp the ornaments twice with different inks then snip them up or punch to paper piece for a two tone ornament.

I also some added some adhesive rhinestones to bling up the details in the ornaments.

Please see the rest of our team for more inspiration using these fabulous sets! Don't forget to comment to increase your chances of winning a grab bag!

Gina K

Tami Mayberry - Illustrator Simple Snowflakes

Beth Silaika - Illustrator Deck The Halls

Melanie Muenchinger (you are here, thanks for visiting!)

Monday, October 29, 2012

Inspiration Hop, Day 1 Stately Flowers 5 and Vogue Vases 2

First up, we have my newest stamp set from Gina K Designs, Stately Flowers 5. This is the fifth in a series of hand drawn official state flowers, and is available for purchase in both premium quality clear photopolymer and red rubber. This set includes flowers for Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Kansas, but the mistletoe and sunflower have been specifically grouped together with all your upcoming fall and winter holiday cardmaking needs in mind, and the sentiments to match!

I predict you see will lots of expertly colored versions of the large sunflower in our hop today, it seems to be the "favorite" so far and I also believe it is one of my best illustrations to date. ( A couple hours making all those dots paid off! Such a happy flower, I like to use these all year on cards.) Since I have done a few Copic versions of it myself for the blog, I wanted to go a little more whimsical today and stamp it on a patterned paper instead, with just bit of green Copics over the stem and leaves and darker yellow at the middle, allowing this plaid to show through. No paper piecing, just one cut cut image! Paper is from the GKD Poppy Prints Designer Paper Pack

The trick was lining up the pattern in the plaids when I added this cropped strip to the side, as well as stamping the image with the lines at right angles so the pattern wouldn't go wonky at a tilt when I went mount it on my card! Isn't that fun with a big ol' button in the center? (and some gray bakers twine) Card base is Honey Mustard. Chevron is from my Pretty Patterns set, stamped in Memento Cantaloupe.

If you wish, you can add some piercing and faux stitching with a Toffee Crunch marker to step it up (but all the "men folk" here in my house preferred it without!)

This next card was inspired by a quick trip to Target last week! Walking through the store, I spied this funky banner above the girls department, white with gray, pink, red and black line art flowers, and knew it would translate beautifully to a card!

Collage stamp a background with the small sunflower using Memento Love Letter, Rose Bud, London Fog and Tuxedo Black on layering weight White CS, then add your sentiment. TIP: After using the ScorBug embosser and Scor Buddy for piercing the gray mat, I put the brush tip of a black marker into each hole to help them pop.

I stamped two more sunflowers on cuts out I made with the coordinating Silhouette cut file for the set and colored them with the Copics you see pictured above. Love these unconventional colors, who says they're just for Fall? Cardstock is Pure Luxury Black Onyx, Moonlit Fog, and Passionate Pink. (By the way, I got to attend a Design Camp last week, and HOT PINK is the HOT color for 2013! Use a touch of it everywhere!)

Finally, I challenged myself to see how CAS I could go with this set for Christmas cards in a pinch! I hadn't used the smaller mistletoe image yet, and I gotta say, I like how this turned out! Just some Gina K Designs Pure Luxury Ivory, a strip of adhesive rhinestones, Memento Rhubarb for the sentiment and Tuxedo Black for the image. The scale here I think is key: tiny rhinestones, tiny image, delicate fonts, but a luxurious heavy creamy cardstock like this is a must if you are going to go this simple.

(Too CAS for you? Hey, you might get a card like this if I run out of time after all the Christmas baking!)

****Now can you help me welcome some super special guests? ****

*I am honored and delighted to have two of my stamping idols*

Beate Johns
and
Laurie Schmidlin

joining in our hop and designing with Stately Flowers 5 this month! Huzzah!

Can't wait to drool over what they made, please check those links and leave them some love! Thank you, ladies, for sharing your talent and ideas! I'm thrilled with your enthusiasm for these flowers!:)

Next up, we have Theresa Momber's follow up to the one of her bestselling sets, Vogue Vases, yep it's Vogue Vases 2! (also available in red rubber) I adore stamping with sets like this, so fun to mix and match! These new additions are slightly smaller but also have a simpler, earthier quality than the fancier vases and arrangements in the first set.

As much as I love her scenic sets, these vases and additions are super cool for CAS cards, check it!

Stamp the bold and line art vases in Tuxedo Black on Pure Luxury White Base Weight CS. The vases are great for paper piecing and shading with markers, but I love the simplicity of just black on white. Trace flower additions loosely with markers and add silver adhesive nail heads to the centers for shine and dimension. Isn't that a sharp card? But super simple?! I love how the curves of her vases nest into one another, what a cool look! Check back as I plan to make some fun patterned background with these vases, no flowers required.
(Now I don't know why everyone was reading so much into my card at the party and asking if I was "the black sheep of the family" at the release party because of this one vase, LOL! Thank you, but NO, I am the apple of my parents' eyes, hee!)
Awesome set, Theresa!!

Now please check out the rest of our fabulous design team's newest creations, you won't want to miss a single post! Don't forget to leave comments for more chances to win a fun grab bag of card making goodies!

Thank you for visiting me today!

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