A Touch of Grace

Hello,  thank you for stopping in, I wish you all a wonderful day!

Over the last several weeks I’ve struggled with the decision as to where I want the direction of my stamping life to go.  I was blessed and honored to serve as a design team member for the Dirty Dozen Design Team at Splitcoaststampers. I’ve made many wonderful friends that I dearly treasure. 

So now that my term is up, where do I go from here?  Hence - my struggle. I’ve been fortunate to have received offers to do design team work for stamping companies, and until recently my heart was headed in that direction.  Recent events in my life changed that focus.  In May my pastor and his son were taken from us in a tragic plane crash.  On the day of their funerals my three year old niece drowned in yet another tragic accident.  My heart was burdened with grief and I wondered how I would finish out my term with the Dirty Dozen.  God stepped in and gave me comfort as no other could. 

After much thought and soul searching I’ve made the decision to step back from design team work and to spend the precious time we’re given with my family.  As many designers will attest, design work takes a tremendous amount of time.  There is so much I want to do and I hope this Fall to move forward with my dreams.  I would like to take drawing and painting classes to further develop watercolor techniques.  Over the next few weeks I hope to be posting what I’ll call my “work from the heart”.   What is work from the heart?  Well, in my case, it will be work that inspires me.  I hope you join me on my journey. I would like to share a devotional with you, followed by a verse that touches my heart:

*The world bombards us with promises - promises of beauty, popularity, wealth, and fame.  But most of the worlds’ promises are empty - just glitzy advertising that fails to live up to its promises.  And so we become cynical and feel that it might be “safer” to live without hope.  Failure to live up to expectations - our own and other’s - surrounds us on every side.  And we wonder if there is anyone we can trust completely.

Then we turn to the Bible and find that it offers a higher hope: the ability to endure the difficult days we face, and the promise of a life filled with God’s presence, now and forever.  As we focus on the promises of God, we find a hope that sustains us, and a peace that passes all understanding.  Because God is faithful to His Word even when we lose heart.  Let the promises of God fill your heart with joy and your mouth with praise, today and always.

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord . . Jeremiah 17:7

*Promises From God for Women

I love the Christmas in July theme and thought I’d better get this project in before the end of the month.  I designed this watercolor picture in December 2007 for a color challenge that my Dirty Dozen sister, Emily Giovanni, hosted.  Emily I love your color challenges girl, you took me out of my traditional Christmas “color” box and forced me to explore.  I would never have thought to use Real Red, Certainly Celery, and Taken With Teal for a Christmas project and look how beautiful it turned out.  Thank you, Sweetie!

• Stamps:   Flourishes
• Paper:  Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Canson watercolor paper
• Ink:  Versamark
• Accessories:  Tombow markers, watercolor brush, Ranger gold EP, heating tool, Swarovski crystals, Dimensionals, sheer ribbon, gold cord

I designed this poinsettia card for a few of my friends.  You may have seen it back in December when Sharon Johnson posted it on her blog.  It’s in my SCS gallery as well.  The Me & Carrie Lou stamps are so versatile, this card shows the full image of the poinsettia in the card above. 

• Stamps:  A Muse sentiment, IBB, Fantastic Foliage
• Paper:  Basic Black, Real Red, Old Olive , Canson watercolor paper
• Ink:  Basic Black, Versamark
• Accessories:  sheer ribbon, gold cord, circle punches, Yarka watercolor paints, SU markers, Ranger gold EP, Dimensionals, heating tool, watercolor paintbrush