Monday, February 27, 2017

Lenten Journal

Lent begins this week with Ash Wednesday on March 1st. Many Christians use the 40 days leading up to Easter as a time of special reflection, repentance, and drawing closer to Jesus. Some commit to "giving something up" in order to better focus on Jesus' suffering and death. Some add special devotions or attendance at mid-week services in their churches.

Lutheran Hour Ministries offers a free daily devotional on their website HERE. You can download to your e-reader, print, or subscribe to daily e-mails or podcasts to stay in the Word throughout the 40 days of Lent. I'll be using this devotional and journaling every day. To prepare, I've put together a separate notebook to record my reflections and creative journaling. I'll be posting daily on Instagram and my Facebook page and then doing a weekly round-up here on my blog.


Check out this video to see what I've done in the past and my Lenten journal for this year.




What are your plans for Lent? 

Thursday, February 23, 2017

Sweet Spring Mini Cards

Mini cards are so fun to make! They are a great way to use up all those little scraps of paper and bits that you just couldn't bring yourself to throw out. Today I'm sharing a sweet set of mini cards using all kinds of goodies. 
I was going for a fresh spring look, so I started with 3 of the new twine colors from SRM and matched up some stickers and papers and got out my new SRM Faith stamps, too.
Each card measures about 2 1/4 inches by 3 inches. Starting with that cute polka dot paper as the base, I added stamped sentiments or stickers along with a tied bit of twine. On card I added a cute bit of doily. To finish each off, I also doodled an outline with a black pen.
These came together quickly and, I'll warn you, are a bit addicting to make. Tuck one into your kid's (or husband's) lunch, next to the alarm clock, or keep a few in your purse to hand out at a moment's notice to someone who needs a little pick-me-up. You never know when a thoughtful little card can really make a difference in someone's day.
Here is a quick video so you can see the inside of the cards, too. Each has an additional stamp and then I chose to write in a bible verse. I hope you make a few of these cards with your SRM goodies!

For this project I used:

Monday, February 20, 2017

Whimsical Watercolor Birthday Card


For this whimsical card, I used my Marvy Uchida LePlume II markers as watercolors. To do this, lay down color from your marker onto a non-porous surface (plastic sheet or your acrylic stamp block). Then simply use your watercolor brush to lift up the color. 
I used a small sheet of watercolor paper which I first spritzed with a bit of water and  used the pink marker to create the rough shape for a cupcake stand. I added a table with some blue to anchor the stand and then added lots of splatters of color, still using the markers and waterbrush.
Once it was completely dry, I went back in with my black LePen to sketch out the whimsical-style stand. A yummy cupcake sticker was placed on the stand (I trimmed the bottom dots from the circle). 

I added the Happy Birthday sentiment and the stitches along the side to complete this fun and pretty card. Can't wait to send it out to someone special!

For this project I used:
Stickers By the Dozen - Birthday | Sticker Stitches - Black | Marvy Uchida LePlume II Markers | Watercolor Brush | LePen Black