It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

Ok, I could not resist. I had another stint in the Crop Cave today to learn another technique- Exploding boxes!! I decided on the Christmas theme so I can enter it into several challenges this week. They are : Crafty Creations, Cricut Cardz, More Than Favors, My Creative Time and You Had Me at Craft. I cannot believe how cool this came out! I will give as much detail as possible. Here are the pics:

The paper is Stampin' Up, the stocking from Doodlecharms and check out the lace!

The snowflakes are Jolee stickers

Here is a peek of the inside

This pops open and has 4 slots for pics. Stamps are Stampin'  Up and the photo mats are cut from Elegant Edges

 I plan on making more of these as presents for Christmas. I hope that you are enjoying my creative journey to broaden my horizons. If you want to try your own, I used this site as a guide: 

http://www.scor-pal.com/dec_magazine/Explosion%20Box%20Tutorial%20Scor%20Pal%20Feb%201.pdf

Until next time.....

Trifold Shutter Card with Echo Park Paper

Well, I posted on Facebook yesterday that this card took me 5 hours to complete. It was 5 hours but there was lots of family activity mixed in there including dinner. I actually got a bit carried away with the embellishing of this card and that is what took me so long. The easiest part was my paper choice. I used Echo Park's Summer Days paper pack that I won in a blog hop. I am so excited about this paper and need to get my hands on the Holly Jolly Christmas collection. I used a variety of materials for this card including Jolee stickers, Ink It Up Stamp Pads, Stampin Up ink pads, stamps, brads and Markers and other miscellaneous stamps. I am so impressed with how it turned out but it is very labor intensive. I can see where you may want to make a load of these at one time. I have two more new projects that I want to work on but not a whole lot of ambition today. Isn't Sunday supposed to be a day of rest . For now I will leave you with some pics of the card I made and the two sites I used for guidance:
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/trishuttercard
http://rainbowkreations.blogspot.com/2009/05/tri-fold-shutter-card-tutorial.html

Until next time.....


PS - gonna link this one up for Made It Myself Monday's :)

God's Promises Blog Hop, Day 3

Good morning all. Today I have chosen not to share a project for this hop. I wanted to add a short post in Thanksgiving. Being thankful sometimes is very hard. During those times when everything hits at once (like now), I wake up and begin thanking God even for the tough stuff. Well today I am thankful for the wonderful women I have been honored and blessed to come to know during my last two blog hops. This last hop has so touched my heart and I am so glad to have found these Sisters from a different Mother but same Father.


So in closing, God brings people into our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime. I pray special blessings for my new online friends and hope to share more creativity with you all. Until next time.....

God's Promises Blog Hop, Day 2

Welcome to the God's Promises Faith Blog Hop.  If you arrived here fromTammy's blog you are in the right place.  If you just arrived at my blog, you should go to Paper Tree House Studio (www.mypapertreehouse.blogspot.com) in order to start at the beginning.  Every month a group of brave women get together to showcase the Glory of God.  This month we want to showcase His faithfulness during trying times, so kick back, relax and let the Lord touch your heart with His Truth! 

Did you know that there are 1260 promises in the Bible?  I did not count them myself, but am blown away by the fact that each and every promise the Lord gives, He is faithful to fulfill.  It is pretty easy to believe this when times are easy and abundance surrounds our lives, but is that the same when trouble hits?

The Bible says that our hearts are deceitful above all things and then it adds WHO CAN TRUST IT? Have you ever considered that maybe the reason why we dont trust God is because we spend more time looking at how big the waves in our lives have become and forget that God created the entire UNIVERSE with just His breath...  Think about it, the Lord spoke the ENTIRE World into existence... the only thing created that was made with His hands was man and woman.  That is why He says that if He provides for the birds and the plants, how much more to His children?  You are precious to the Lord and He will not fail you, even when it feels He might. 

In this hop you will read the stories of women like you that have faced trouble and probably even lacked the faith to believe in the miracle the Lord performed at the very end! Our prayer is that you would open your heart to the Truth found in these promises and that you would even share with us what God has done in your life.  Your victory may become our hope... :)

During the hop you will find many chances to win prizes! All you have to do to be considered for one of those prizes is leave a comment and become a follower of the blogs you will hop through.  For the Grand Prizes , make sure to leave a comment, become a follower, and "LIKE" Paper Tree House on Facebook.  This will allow you to find out about future hops we will be having.  

Here are the brave women that dared to share their stories:

Paper Tree House - http://mypapertreehouse.blogspot.com/

Nana - www.youniquereflections.blogspot.com
Tammy - http://www.fromme2upapercrafting.blogspot.com/

Susan: http://susanascorner.blogspot.com/  <-- YOU ARE HERE
Jennifer E. - www.createoften.blogspot.com  <--- Next stop
Candy - http://sweetstamper.com

Amanda - http://asjmade.blogspot.com/

Wendy - http://wendyscrappings.blogspot.com/

Nicole - http://scrapmethis.blogspot.com

Jessie - www.scrapbookingmiami.blogspot.com

Diane - http://dianemarra.typepad.com/

Vicki - http://mawmawsthoughts.blogspot.com/

Lynne Kirsch  --- http://slasewcraftiness.blogspot.com/

Carolyn Phillips - http://messmuddleandfun.blogspot.com/

ScrappyZeni Pradel --- www.scrappyzeni.blogspot.com

Grand Prizes:

Stamping Things: The Topper Ink Pad Holder (http://www.stampinthings.com/stamp-pad-holder.html)

Paper Tree House Studio: Exclusive PDF file tutorial for Mini-Book Taught at CHA.

K Andrew Stamps: Stamp Set

Tombow: Grand Adhesive Set

Another of God's Fulfilled Promise in my life:

I pray that you have found all of the stops of day 1 to be a blessing to your life as it has been to mine, Today's card contains one of my favorite verses in the bible. It is from Jeremiah 29:11:

"For I know the plans I have for you.... plans to prosper you....

plans to give you hope and a future."

This verse has always struck a chord deep within me. You see, I am the type of person who used to expect a road map from God. When I was 19, I was full of spit and vinegar but thought very little of myself. I met the man that I was to marry and spent too many years in an abusive relationship. I lacked one thing - Hope. My daughter was the catalyst for us leaving and moving down the street to my parents house (she was quite wise for an almost 10 year old). As I began to work on me, I saw some of that hope shine through the dark days of my separation. I can still remember that first few weekends when my kids went on visits that I cried and swore off men. Well, God had a bigger plan for me. Once my divorce was finalized, a friend of mine encouraged me to start dating again. I felt strong enough as a person and figured why not. Well, I received the most beautifully written email from a man that I did not notice lived over 2 hours away. We started emailing back and forth and then started talking on the phone for hours a night. I finally agreed to meet him at a local diner and that was the beginning of my journey. He led me to the Lord, not with harsh words and threats, but lovingly as Jesus would have done. He gave me hope that there will always be a brighter day. 6 years later (and almost 4 years married) we are striving to raise children that love and serve the Lord. At the moment we are having a mini family crisis but I have HOPE that everything will work out for the greater good. For now I place one of my children in the Lord's care and pray each day that she will make wise choices. HOPE is so powerful so I pray you take that chance to hope for a brighter day, a better future and ask God for what you need. I still don't have my road map but I don't need it. I have faith to go with my hope and extra helpings of love.

Here is my card inspired by this verse:

Now I will have a giveaway for this hop. It will be the card that was made for today's post. All you need to do is become a follower of this blog and leave a comment. Can't be easier than that .

Thanks for hopping through this faith hop.  Know that we are praying for you and really hope your eyes are opened to the Truth about the Lord's Faithfulness! :)

Now hop on over to Jennifer's blog (http://www.createoften.blogspot.com/). You will love her blog!

Love in Christ,

God's Promises Blog Hop, Day 1

Welcome to the God's Promises Faith Blog Hop.  If you arrived here from Tammy's blog you are in the right place.  If you just arrived at my blog, you should go to Paper Tree House Studio (www.mypapertreehouse.blogspot.com) in order to start at the beginning.  Every month a group of brave women get together to showcase the Glory of God.  This month we want to showcase His faithfulness during trying times, so kick back, relax and let the Lord touch your heart with His Truth! 

Did you know that there are 1260 promises in the Bible?  I did not count them myself, but am blown away by the fact that each and every promise the Lord gives, He is faithful to fulfill.  It is pretty easy to believe this when times are easy and abundance surrounds our lives, but is that the same when trouble hits?

The Bible says that our hearts are deceitful above all things and then it adds WHO CAN TRUST IT? Have you ever considered that maybe the reason why we dont trust God is because we spend more time looking at how big the waves in our lives have become and forget that God created the entire UNIVERSE with just His breath...  Think about it, the Lord spoke the ENTIRE World into existence... the only thing created that was made with His hands was man and woman.  That is why He says that if He provides for the birds and the plants, how much more to His children?  You are precious to the Lord and He will not fail you, even when it feels He might. 

In this hop you will read the stories of women like you that have faced trouble and probably even lacked the faith to believe in the miracle the Lord performed at the very end! Our prayer is that you would open your heart to the Truth found in these promises and that you would even share with us what God has done in your life.  Your victory may become our hope... :)

During the hop you will find many chances to win prizes! All you have to do to be considered for one of those prizes is leave a comment and become a follower of the blogs you will hop through.  For the Grand Prizes , make sure to leave a comment, become a follower, and "LIKE" Paper Tree House on Facebook.  This will allow you to find out about future hops we will be having.  

Here are the brave women that dared to share their stories:

Paper Tree House - http://mypapertreehouse.blogspot.com/

Nana - www.youniquereflections.blogspot.com
Tammy - http://www.fromme2upapercrafting.blogspot.com/

Susan: http://susanascorner.blogspot.com/  <-- YOU ARE HERE
Jennifer E. - www.createoften.blogspot.com  <--- Next stop
Candy - http://sweetstamper.com

Amanda - http://asjmade.blogspot.com/

Wendy - http://wendyscrappings.blogspot.com/

Nicole - http://scrapmethis.blogspot.com

Jessie - www.scrapbookingmiami.blogspot.com

Diane - http://dianemarra.typepad.com/

Vicki - http://mawmawsthoughts.blogspot.com/

Lynne Kirsch  --- http://slasewcraftiness.blogspot.com/

Carolyn Phillips - http://messmuddleandfun.blogspot.com/

ScrappyZeni Pradel --- www.scrappyzeni.blogspot.com

Grand Prizes:

Stamping Things: The Topper Ink Pad Holder (http://www.stampinthings.com/stamp-pad-holder.html)

Paper Tree House Studio: Exclusive PDF file tutorial for Mini-Book Taught at CHA.

K Andrew Stamps: Stamp Set

Tombow: Grand Adhesive Set

God's Fulfilled Promise in my life:

I came to Christ a little later in life than most. Prior to this I had experiences where God's love was evident to me and I knew that I was never alone. Recently we have had an upheaval in our family and I know that it is not the working of God but of the enemy. I was praying as I was so upset that I was having difficulty with the day to day of life. How much should one person have to endure. I knew that I could not handle this on my own and then my answer came, "If you have the faith of a mustard seed..." (Matthew 17:20: "...Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move"). Nothing will be impossible for you.”Things may not work out the way that I want them too but they will work out according to God's plan. I am choosing to have faith and believe He has it in under 
control and I will be led for what he has planned for me.


Should you wish to check out some promises on your own, here is a great site: God's Promises


Here is the card that I made for this verse:

Now I will have a giveaway for this hop. It will be the card that was made for today's post. All you need to do is become a follower of this blog and leave a comment. Can't be easier than that .

Thanks for hopping through this faith hop.  Know that we are praying for you and really hope your eyes are opened to the Truth about the Lord's Faithfulness! :)

Now hop on over to Jennifer's blog (http://www.createoften.blogspot.com/). You will love her blog!


Love in Christ,

Happy Thursday all.....

I was able to get pics taken of some of my most recent projects and had some time in the Crop Cave today. Very little time but I managed to finish two cards and gather my 10 cards for a birthday swap. Thanks to hubby for taking pics for me today...

This was Easter of this year

We made some cookie angels

This is a card made by my friend Erin as a get well to me

Here is a Stampin' Up card front we made at our July Club

Here is a great gift card holder we made. This was fun

A great blog hop win from Lynne of 

http://slasewcraftiness.blogspot.com/

I just love all these fun projects and look forward to sharing more. Until next time...

I'm just saying....

I know that this blog title is going to make my family chuckle as it is my least favorite saying. It actually makes my hair stand on end but is so appropriate at the moment. I am preparing to go make some projects for the blog hop that I am participating in this weekend and I decided to take an accountability of my current life situation. Do I have health issues/restrictions at the moment? Check. Do we have some family relations problems? Yup. Am I still in transition (aka laid off)? Absolutely. Should I give myself a pity party? NOPE.



So I am focusing on the positive. My life is not ideal but it is a good one. I feel like George Bailey from "It's a Wonderful Life" and I would not change a thing. I will have some projects posted for you all later. Until then.....

MIA.......

I have a short post today as I am still recovering. I have some projects to post when hubby takes pics. I must get some blog hop projects done this week too. Hope there will be more for me to share with you all soon. For now, I wish you a scrappingly good week :) Until next time....

We have a winner...

and some pages too :) I finally got done everything I needed to do done and had a free moment to pick a winner for the Scraps blog Hop. Without further delay here is the breakdown:


Day 1: 32 posts
Day 2: 21 posts
Total = 53


Random.org pick = 24


kricketts said...

I LOVE your card! I have never seen that die but I really love it! Thank you for sharing!

Congratulations Kim. I will be emailing you shortly.

My Facebook friend Scrappy Jak and I decided to share the "All about me" project that some bloggers have done in the past. Since I had a head start, I promised to just post the pages that were to be completed that week. My scrapbook was 8x8 and I am shocked how hard it is to work on a smaller page . Here is what I have done so far:

 

Wasn't I so cute? I look forward to completing this project. If you would like more information let me know. I some other projects to share but this will have to wait until Monday :) Tomorrow is teaching the preschoolers and Harry Potter Part 2. Until next time....

Woe is me....

I was really hoping that we would have hit 250 followers so I could do a second giveaway. I have to run a bunch of errands and then help my brother get packed for his move to Florida. Once things settle down then I must try and cut a huge kite on my Cricut Expressions and some bows for my Sunday school lesson for tomorrow. So, after all of this activity, I will be picking the winner from the Scraps Blog Hop. Should I sign in to discover that we are at 250 then I will pick the 2nd winner as well. Remember that you must be a follower and leave a comment on the posts. Here are the posts from the two days of the Hop:


http://susanascorner.blogspot.com/2011/07/scraps-blog-hop-day-one.html
http://susanascorner.blogspot.com/2011/07/scraps-blog-hop-day-two.html


Wishing you all an amazingly wonderful and creative day. Until later.....

Scrapbooking in Old Virgini.....

As I described in my last post, I managed to get a few pages done. I came home and did another and two cards (which I cannot show until the end of the month). Here they are:

Here is hubby and I in March of this year

A Trip to Hershey in 2004.. boy the kids were small!

Erin and I before an all day crop :)

I also wanted to share a very special blog hop that I will be participating in at the end of the month. 

It is the Standing on God's Promised Faith Blog Hop. I am so honored to be participating in this hop; especially in this season of my life. I hope you will join us for this 3 day hop :)

I also have not forgotten to pick a winner from the Scraps blog hop. I was putting it off a few days to see if we hit 250 followers. Should we hit it by 11:59PM tomorrow (Friday the 15th) there will be a second winner. So send your friends on over :) Until tomorrow....

Did you all miss me?

I have not posted in a bit because I was out of town spending precious time with my parents- 10 days to be exact. It was a long time coming and I enjoyed every minute of it. Since returning there has been some personal uproar and I am praying for wisdom for all parties involved. Enough on that though. While I was away. I participated in the Scraps Blog Hop and received this awesomely cute blog award from Lynne of Her Craftiness. Thanks to Lynne for this award:

The only 'rule' for this award is to pass it on to other creative bloggers. There are so many deserving bloggers but I picked 3. They are in no special order. Here is the recipients:

Cristi of http://scrappin5littlecupcakes.blogspot.com/

Madison of http://funkycards.blogspot.com/

Ellen AKA Cardmonkey at http://cardmonkey-business.blogspot.com/

While I was away I did go to the local scrapbooking store for their 14 hr crop (was there for 3 1/2 hours-thank you honey) with my cousin Tabby. We had so much fun and I got some layouts done. Today I finished another and made my two cards for my monthly Scrappy Jak card kits. It has been so hot that it is perfect to be down in the craft cave. I will share the pics with you tomorrow :) Until tomorrow.....