Casting all your cares on Him...

Hello, sweet friends! It's been a busy time, and I know we are all looking forward to spring. While our weather has been lovely, I know that snow still is falling in parts of the country. Wishing you warmer weather soon!

This month I am honored to be a guest designer for the Splitcoaststampers Color Challenge. It's a challenge that I love but one that has often stumped me. So the best way to fix that is to meet it head on! As a guest designer, I know the colors ahead of time and place half sheets of the card stock on my table to be inspired by them and visualize what I might do with the colors. This week's colors are Blackberry Bliss, Mossy Meadow, and Soft Sky (Stampin' Up), and they just spoke flowers. You know my love for coloring flowers, right?!

I found a Penny Black stamp that I could color with my Copic markers blending from the darkest areas out to the petal edges with Blackberry Bliss (and just a wee touch of yellow in the center -- can you see it?). Of course the leaves were easier with Mossy Meadow, and then I added some shading using Soft Sky with pointillism. My positioning of the flower allowed for the precious Scripture verse that I know will encourage my friend.

I used a decorative die, added some paper piercing, and then adhered it to the base. I added a make-shift easel on the back that folds flat for mailing, but it allows the card to be displayed like a normal card. 

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This Scripture verse is such a great reminder for us all that no matter what our cares are (and we all have them -- big and small), God cares for each of us and wants us humbly to place all our burdens and cares on Him. I sometimes think that "Oh, I have this under control." But He wants us to bring all our cares to Him. Nothing is too big or too small for God to handle. That brings me great peace, and I trust that it will bring you peace as well.

Cast all your cares on Him
for He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7

Oh, sweet friends, thank you for your visits and comments. I love reading each one and pray for you and your requests. Your prayers for me continue to be an encouragement, and I thank you! May God bless you and give you joy today and every day.

Blessings,

Stamps: Full of Glee (Penny Black), Faith Medley (Verve)
Paper: X-Press It Blending Card, Soft Sky (SU!)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Onyx Black (Versafine)
Tools/Accessories: Copic markers, Grand Decorative Labels One dies (Spellbinders), MISTI tool, Mat Pack (SU!), piercing tool, Tombow Multi Mono Liquid Glue
Card Size: 5" square
Copic markers used: Flower Petals - V01, V15, V17, V09; Flower Center - wee touch of Y15; Leaves - G20, YG91, YG93, YG95, G99; Shading - BG000, 0

Come Before His Presence with Thanksgiving

Hello, sweet friends! Well, it's been a very challenging time here in the States, but I hope this morning that we can focus on this wonderful Scripture verse from Word Art Wednesday that is available today.

This week's verse is Psalm 95:2-3. "Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise until Him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, and a great king above all gods."

I used a floral stamp that I've had for some time and that had not seen ink, and I used some fall-like colors (for me anyway...what do we know about fall in South Florida, right?). I printed the digital verse, and then I stamped the flower onto Eclipse masking paper and cut it out so I could mask the flower around the verse. It was fun to do masking again, and I will definitely do more of it. I stamped the first flower in the bottom left and went around until I thought it looked like enough but hopefully not too much. Then I colored, which is the best part of making a card...and so relaxing. Once the coloring was done, I decided a black mat would be nice along with two curved corners...don't you think? It needed that little something extra.

Karen Letchworth shares a devotional about each Word Art Wednesday challenge verse, and I know you will be greatly encouraged by reading it. 

Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,
and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms.
For the LORD is a great God
and a great King above all gods.

Psalm 95:2-3

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you will visit the Word Art Wednesday blog to see the projects made by the rest of the design team and to pick up your free digital image. After reading the devotional about this Scripture verse, be sure to check out the fantastic sponsors. Word Art Wednesday is so blessed to have Simon Says Stamp as the primary sponsor for our challenges. 

As always, precious friends, it's such a joy to hear from you. I love reading each of your comments and am blessed by your friendship. I am always happy to answer questions regarding digital images...so don't hesitate to ask anything. May God bless you richly this week.

Blessings, dear friends,

Stamps:  Best Thoughts (Stampin' Up!)

Paper: Solar White 80# and 110# (Neenah), True Black (PTI)

Ink:  Tuxedo Black (Memento), printer
Tools/Accessories: Copic markers, Eclipse masking paper, Mini Perfect Layers tool, corner rounder (EK Success), white tape (X-Press It)
Techniques: Digital images using Microsoft Word, masking

Card Size:  A-2
Card Size:  Flower petals – R00, R01, R02, R22, R14; Leaves – G20, YG61, YG91, YG99; Shading – E81, 0