Tying the Knot Blog Hop

Hello, sweet friends! Praise God we survived Hurricane Irma and suffered only minor damage, but my heart aches for the thousands who have lost loved ones and everything...their homes, jobs, and entire towns and villages. Let's all continue to pray and to do whatever we can to support those who are helping after the three hurricanes and the earthquakes in Mexico. 

Both the Bloom Brigade and the Instant Gardeners are teaming up to celebrate a very special day...and couple. Our dearest Marcy is getting married — she and Doug are "tying the knot" — tomorrow. We have been keeping it a secret, and I know she will be delighted when she reads all the lovely things her teams share and sees the cards we have made.

I decided to use a favorite flower of Marcy's mom, and I colored it with pencils and did some "extreme" fussy cutting. I sponged the background to give it some blush...all brides blush at some point, right? Then I positioned the branch, carefully stamped "love," and then adhered it all to the card base. I used a number of small clear adhesive pads to add the delicate branch and flowers and adhered it to the card...breathing a sigh of relief...sort of how a bride feels when she is finally ready to walk down the aisle. So, here is my card!

I have to admit that initially I was a bit overwhelmed at making a card for our artist extraordinaire, Marcella Hawley! However, I realized that this isn't about art per se but rather celebrating the love Marcy and Doug have for each other.   

Love is patient and kind;
love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way;
it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7, 13

Whether you are a stamper or not, I hope you will visit the posts below to see what each of the team members is sharing. And I encourage you to visit the Power Poppy blog and wish Marcy and Doug a blessed wedding day. 

Allison Cope

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Julie Koerber

Kathy Jones

Katie Sims

Stacy Morgan

Tosha Leyendekker

Jennifer Dove

Broni Holcombe

Cheryl Scrivens (that's me)

Barb Walker

Nancy Sheads

Jessie Banks

Elizabeth Zaffarano

Marcella Hawley

Sweet Marcy, I wish you, Doug, and your entire family a beautiful and fun day as you and Doug join together as husband and wife. May God bless you with increasing love for each other (and for God) as your love matures over the years, and may you have a lifetime of happiness, health and — most of all — love. Know that you are dearly loved! Big ole hugs and love, my precious friend! xoxo

Thank you for visiting with me today, and may God continue to bless each of you. 

Blessings, dear friends,

Stamps:  Planning for Magnolias, My English Rose (Power Poppy) 

Paper: Solar White (Neenah), White and Autumn Rose (PTI)

Ink:  Tuxedo Black (Memento), Onyx Black (Versafine), Spun Sugar Distress Ink
Tools/Accessories: Chameleon Color Tone Pencils, A2 Devine Eloquence and Labels 28 dies (Spellbinders), Stamp-a-ma-jig, Multi Mono Liquid Glue (Tombow), clear foam adhesive pads (Kool Tak)
Techniques: Fussy cutting

Card Size:  A-2

Splitcoaststampers Product Focus - Chameleon Color Tops

Hello, sweet friends! It's been more than a month since I've last posted...time sure flies. But we are praising God for surviving Hurricane Irma with minimal damage. There are so many people still without power, and it's been an extraordinary effort by the thousands of workers from Canada and throughout the United States who are helping to restore power in this extreme heat. Please continue to pray for all those impacted by Irma here in the States and in the Caribbean...and all the people helping in so many ways.

It's Product Focus time at Splitcoaststampers today. The Product Focus team has been working the last month with the new Chameleon Color Tops that are a new edition to the Chameleon Pens system. We have been creating projects and are sharing our thoughts and tips about this new product. Be sure to visit the Product Focus Page: Chameleon Color Tops to read the reviews, and check out the special Product Focus Gallery filled with beautiful projects created by the design team. Here are the three cards that I made.

My first card is a simple one with a small bouquet of posies.

For my second card, I used a digital image and hand-drew a broken frame and colored it in.

My third card is my favorite because I love hydrangeas. I enjoyed coloring the flower petals with the Color Tops to achieve a nice variation of colors. 

I certainly have loved experimenting and coloring with the Chameleon Pens and the new Color Tops. You will definitely be seeing more cards with them. 

Rather than list my card recipes, please feel free to visit my personal card gallery at Splitcoaststampers for all the details.

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As I close, here is a link to John Piper's Prayer in the Path of Hurricanes. You can listen to it or read the transcript, but I am sure you will be greatly encouraged by it. Among many good avenues for giving and going, please consider The Salvation Army (where my grandfather served many years ago), Samaritan's Purse, and the North American Mission Board's SEND Relief. These organizations and others have been on the ground helping both Harvey and Irma victims.

Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and He delivered them from their distress.
He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
They they were glad that the waters were quiet,
and He brought them to their desired haven.
Psalm 107:28-30

Thanks so much for visiting with me today, and may we all continue to pray and help those in their distress. May God continue to bless and encourage you! 

Blessings,