Psalm 42:1-2

1. As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So my soul thirsts for You, O God.
2. My soul thirst for God, for the living God;
When shall I come and appear before God?
Psalm 42:1-2

The word pants in Hebrew means "to have a keen, consuming desire for". The psalmist here has a overwhelming passion, like an unquenchable thirst, for God. Not for people, fame or possessions, but for the living God. His very soul thirsts for God.

"the living God", not some piece of wood or a rock, carved by the hand of man. This is a real living God, that can not be bound, bought or limited by man's petty smallness. A God with no ulterior motives, who is eternal, pure and unshakable. A God beyond our human comprehension.

Then he asks, "When shall I come and appear before God?", it is a longing to be in God's very presence and amongst God's people. A desire for a deep personal awareness of God is expressed here. Do I have that same desire? That deep unquenchable thirst for God, to be in God's very presence?

God's Blessings

There is just something about this card. I don't know yet who will receive it in the mail, but it will be someone special!!!!

The paper are from an old Anna Griffin stack. I love her classic Victorian papers.

I used Spellbinders Labels Long Rectangle Nestabilites to cut the dies. The stamped phrase is from Our Daily Bread Designs. The little flourish thingy is a bar punch. No idea who made it.

From the Psalms

I waited patiently for the Lord,
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
Psalm 40:1

During these troubled and worrisome times the Lord has provided comfort. My commentary on Psalms says that the phrase "waited patiently" actually means, waiting, I waited. For me that means double patience. Being still in the midst of trouble. Waiting also implies to me a quietness to the waiting.

It says that God paid attention, that God heard David's cry.

Now if anyone would know about patience and waiting for the Lord's timing it should be David. I have read the from the time David was anointed King of Israel until he actually assumed the throne was 15 years. That's right, 15 years of waiting on the Lord. 15 years of running and hiding in the desert and in foreign cities or countries from the mad King Saul.

During those 15 years David had opportunity to kill Saul with no danger to himself. Yet he knew that Saul was also God's anointed and that it was vital to his future to wait on God's perfect will. It was in those 15 years that David became a mighty man of God. A man fit to be one of the most memorable kings that ever ruled Israel. A man who has become an example to all Christians and Jews. In spite of his many mistakes (sins) he returned to God over and over, contrite and repentant and God forgave him.

I see in the Bible the mistakes and triumphs of David. He was a man. He messed up, often in spectacular fashion, BUT God forgave him, just as he forgives us.

So my waiting has purpose. It is to grow me for God's service. To change me into a more Christ like person. I fear it is going to be a long difficult task for the Lord, but He is known for his miracles.

I Am With You

More Spellbinders Labels, Blossoms and Flourishes. Add a craft paper card stock base, an Our Daily Bread Designs stamp and some dark brown ink for sponging the edges and you have all the elements used on this card design.

I used only part of the label, letting 1/3 of it disappear over the edge of the card. On some designs I simply fold the piece over to the back of the card adding a different touch.

On Safari Again

When I got the Safari stack from DCWV I was stepping totally outside my comfort zone. The idea behind the purchase was to make more neutral or even man type cards.

The card on the left is a very very simple design. The card front has been totally covered with scrapbook paper from the DCWV Safari 8x8 stack.

The bar on the left was attached to dark brown card stock and cut with decorative scissors. My thinking on using the scallops was to match the circular patterns on the paper.

Next was stamping the paw prints. These were an unmounted stamps that I have had for ages and have absolutely no idea who made them. I punched them out with some Punch Bunch punches. The bottom layer is from a paint chip.

The Happy Birthday is from Hero Arts, with partial paw prints on the top. This punched square was then layered onto corrugated paper that had the edges heavily sponged with dark brown ink.



There is nothing creative about this card. It is the image that was already on the paper found in the DCWV Safari 8x8 stack, simply glued to a card base.

With the right scrapbook paper cards can be really really fast and simple.

It would take nothing to stamp or computer generate a small phase, punch, cut or tear it out and attach somewhere on the front. Ten minutes at the most and you have an attractive card.

Wishing You Blessings

I am finally back from a wonderful but very exhausting trip to Houston Texas.

This is an example of a type of shadowing. I cut two of the larger label then glued the main one over the "shadow", offsetting it slightly. With the white label used for the phrase and a white label used for the shadow there is a continuation of color.


Acknowledgment of products: Die cuts - Spellbinders, Stamp - Our Daily Bread Designs, Border folder embossing - Cuttlebug, Papers - Anna Griffin by All Night Media












What is on the inside? Using a scrap of the paper from the large printed label leftovers, place it along the right hand side. A decorative scissors will give you a pattern to match the style used on the outside of the card.

Be gone for a few days

There will be no new cards for 10-12 days. I am off to Texas to visit my cousins and just have all kinds of great fun!!! God Bless, Shelly

Happy Birthday

The papers used in this card are from DCWV Linen Closet stack. These are such soft colors, I really do like the whole stack.

The embossed right edge was created with a Cuttlebug border folder. Sanding the raised portion of the embossing reveals the white core of the paper and makes the design pop.

A computer generated Happy Birthday is cut with a Spellbinders label. The embossing on the left is from another Cuttlebug border folder. The edges of the label have been sponged.

Bettye's card

I had such a lovely surprise in the mail today. My friend Bettye Smith checks this blog fairly regularly. She put a note in with the card, saying, "Your quilted card inspired me, but had to use what's available. Sizzix Puzzle die cut, Swirl die cut and a tag punch. Had to share my inspiration you gave me from your blog.

I really really do like everything she has done with this card. The metallic gold outlining of the puzzle parts makes them pop off the card. The swirl and the photo corner are great accents that add finishing touches to an overall pleasing design. That little tag is just so cute too.

Great job Bettye!!!! AND I loved getting a card from you in the mail.

Now I want that puzzle die, LOL.

Just Thanking God

Start with a white A2 card base. Attach the pink Anna Griffin scrapbook paper to cover the entire front of the card. White card stock is used for the lacy die cut on the right, the phrase and the punch out on the upper and lower left side.

Using the same Spellbinders die cut but in different sizes adds interest. Both die cuts have the edges sponged in a dark pink to define and add depth to the edges.

Romans 8:28

I am just not sure that I really like this design. It just didn't come together like the vision that was in my head when I started. I like the separate elements, but together it is just missing something.

Comments please, what does it need or not need.
Is the patterned paper too busy? Does the flourish on the left fit? Is it the black scallops on the top and bottom?

Isaiah 4:10

Begin with a craft paper tan card base. Sponge about the edges. Now add a Blossom die from Spellbinders cut from DCWV Linen Closet stack paper and sponge those edges. A brown or a black ink will work, just something to add a little more definition and depth to the die cut.

The phrase from Our Daily Bread Designs was cut out with another of Spellbinders Nesting Label dies. It was also has sponged edges.

The leaf flourish die cut is from Bosskut and is the perfect finishing touch.

Quilted and a Window

Here is another of the quilted cards that was made at the last Wild Women of the West Stampers meeting that I was able to attend.

Before the quilting was layered onto the dark brown card stock a die from the nesting dahila by Spellbinders was used to cut a "window". Another of the exact same size was cut in dark brown cardstock and placed in the window after the quilting was attached to the brown layer.

Using one size larger of the nesting dahila's in dark brown, a frame of sorts was cut. The piece of quilting from the window as then attached. A glitter pen was used to draw around the edges of the dark brown dahilas.

Lazy Tiger

You can do a lot with a stack of paper. I love that everything coordinates so well.

Decorative scissors were used around the edges of the zig zag print. The corners of the large rectangle were cut with a corner cutting scissors from Fiskars.

The stamps are from and unknown source. That means before I knew that I would be blogging and teaching and people would want to know where to get the stamps I used. Now I try to write on every unmounted stamp the name of the company. If you put cling mount on them the you can't see the name of the company on the back of the rubber. Some do have the name of the company on the CD case that they are stored in, but not many. Oh well, there are lots of tiger and paw print stamps out there. Happy hunting!

It's Melting

I was out working today, at my part time job, as a enumerator (gatherer of raw data) for Nebraska Agricultural Statistics Service. This means I drive around the Nebraska Panhandle collecting data from farmers and ranchers about their operations. I feel that I work a a very good class of people. Even if these guys refuse to do the surveys they are nice about it.

The county roads were for the most part driveable, for the most part, LOL. There were several place where the melting snow had caused water to run over the road. I just put my trusty little Jeep in 4-wheel drive and chugged through. There was only one road that I turned and around and go back. A sure way to get a farmer to refuse a survey is to get stuck and he has to pull you out.

Happy Birthday

It is so much fun to get out a stack of scrapbook paper that coordinates. Then the Spellbinders labels are pulled out and the fun begins.

The Happy Birthday is computer generated and the labels are cut and embossed. The edges of all the labels have been very lightly sponged with tan ink. Flourish die cuts on the far left and right are from Quickutz. The paper is from DCWV's newest stack called Linen Closet. Very soft beautiful colors.