Ways to Use - a Birthday card...

If you are looking for day three of the Mark's Finest Papers Blog Hop please scroll down to the next post.

I wanted to share some cards that I made for the ways to use it challenge at SCS. Today we were challenged to make birthday cards. I know my cards don't have balloons, cake or candles, but they are definitely birthday cards. I made them for 3 special ladies in my life that have February birthdays. The first one if for my niece Laura. The second one is for my mom and the third one is for my mother in law. All three cards have Mark's Finest Papers butterflies. I used the butterfly from the Daffodil and Anise set as well as the butterfly from Take a Peek. The sentiment on the second card is also from the Daffodil and Anise set. For my mother's card I also used the gerbera daisies from the newly released Mark's Finest Papers set called Greet the day with Gerber. I made the card for my mom and for my mother in law pop-up cards.

I Trace the Rainbow through the rain...

Close up of butterfly.

The ways to use it challenge today at SCS was to make a card with a rainbow. The StampinB's challenge was to make a card inspired by a song. This is the result of both of those challenges. I made my rainbow by taking acetate and scribbling markers side by side. I then took a coffee filter and sprayed it with water. I then carefully laid the filter on top of the acetate. The markers slowly mixed giving me this great rainbow. When it was dried I printed this hymn onto it. I picked this hymn because of the line "I trace the rainbow through the rain".

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go (George Mattheson pub 1882.)

O LOVE that will not let me go, I rest my weary sould in thee; I give thee back the life I owe, that in thine ocean depths its flow may richer fuller be.

O LIGHT that followest all my way I yield my flickering torch to thee; my heart restores its borrowed ray, that in thy sunshine's blaze its day may brighter, fairer be.

O JOY that seekest me through pain, I cannot clos my heart to thee. I TRACE THE RAINBOW THROUGH THE RAIN, and feel the promise is not vain, that morn shall tearless be.

O CROSS that liftest up my head, I dare not ask to fly from thee. I lay in dust life's glory dead, and from the ground ther blossoms red Life that shall endless be.

George Mattheson the author was engaged to be married and at the age of 20 started going blind. His fiance left him because she didn't want to spend her life with a blind man. After he was completely blind his sister took care of him. He wrote this song in 5 mins the night before his sister was to get married. This hymn was based on the following scripture:

But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
Psalm 13:5

Grace Greater than Our Sin

The Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge this week was to make a vintage card to remind us of God's unchanging love for us. I used the VINTAGE hymn GRACE GREATER THAN OUR SIN. This may not be the first song or thought that might come to you when you think of a love song, but what shows love more than a God who loved us while we were still sinners. He loved us so much that he gave his only son for us. I have 4 kids that I love, and I can't imagine "Giving" them for someone who didn't know me or care about me, but that is what God did. Before I knew him, HE LOVED ME. Before I wanted a relationship with him, HE LOVED ME. Before I repented of my sins, HE LOVED ME. HE LOVES ME STILL AND ALWAYS WILL.

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord. Grace that exceed our sin and our guilt! Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured, there where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.
Sin adn despair like the seawaves cold. Threaten the soul with infinite loss. Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold, points to the refuge the mighty cross.
Dark is the stain that we cannot hide. What can we do to wash it away? Look! There is flowing a crimson tide. Brighter than snow you may be today.
Marvelous infinite matchless grace, freely bestowed on ALL who believe! You that are longing to see His face, will you this moment His grace receive?
Grace, Grace, God's Grace, Grace that will pardon and clease within. Grace, Grace, God's Grace, Grace that is greater than all our sin!

This card was also for the Technique Lovers Challenge at SCS. We were to make faux tiles. I made my faux tiles with the hymn page that I printed on dp. I added lace, pearls, and ribbons for the vintage look. I stitched the panels on to the card. I used the butterfly from Mark's Finest Papers TAKE A PEEK set and the sentiment is from Mark's Finest Papers HAPPY PANSIES.

Thank You Notes

One of the leaders of my sons' scout troop said she needed thank you notes to send out on behalf of the boys. I made these this week for her to use. I used this cute little guy from Mark's Finest Papers set called take a peek.I plan to take my supplies in sometime to let the boys make the notes for next time.

From White canvas to Poppy Field Tutorial

Cindy's teapot challenge was to take the white teapot and use that as our blank canvas. I sure had a lot of fun making this card. I added sewing for the Technique lovers challenge yesterday.
Materials I used:
White cardstock, cheap crayola markers, acetate report folder, spray water bottle, paint brush, heat gun, prisma colored pencils, sewing machine, rub-on flourish, green and turquoise cardstock, black stazon, Mark's Finest Paper TAKE A PEEK butterfly, scissors and Aleene's tacky glue.



I started by drawing on the inside of the report folder with a variety of green markers.

I then sprayed the folder with water and shut it. This is what it looked like when the folder was shut.

I opened the report folder. There are puddles of color. I placed a piece of white cardstock on the puddles. There were lots of white spaces that didn't get color. That is the look I wanted.

I then scribbled on the report folder with blue markers.

How the blues looked sprayed and smashed.

I turned the paper sideways so that I could place only the WHITE part into the blue puddles.

It overlapped just a little.

I let the white cardstock with greens and blues on it dry. I then scribbled on the folder with orange, red, yellow and pink markers.

I sprayed a drop of water on the folder.

Using the folder as my paint pallet, I mixed and matched colors. I then randomly painted splotches onto the cardstock.

I then let the paper dry completely before going on to the next step. I used my heat gun to make it dry faster.

I then took my yellow prisma colored pencil and added some yellow outlines to the flowers.

After outlining with yellow I outlined some flowers with an orange prisma colored pencil.

I then took my black prisma colored pencil and added centers to some of the poppies.

Next, I took my white prisma colored pencil and added highlights to the black centers.

I then took a light green prisma colored pencil and randomly drew grass blades. I let some of the blades draw over the flowers. That gave the illusion of depth.

I then added a slightly darker green followed by an even darker green.

I layered the white cardstock with the green and turquoise cardstock and put on a white cardstock base. I used my sewing machine to do a decorative stitch around the edges.

Of course I had to add a butterfly. I stamped the butterfly from the Mark's Finest Papers set called TAKE A PEEK. I stamped it on white cardstock with black stazon. I heat set the ink with my heat gun. I then just scribbled over the butterfly with yellow, pink and orange colored pencils. I didn't have to color in the lines because I was going to cut it out.

I cut my butterflies out this way. I cut around the butterfly and leave the top at the antennea for last.

I then cut away the part that is next to the wings on both sides.

I cut the inside V last. I leave a little extra room so that I don't accidentaly do an anteneaectimy.

I fix the little extra white by coloring it in with my black prisma colored pencil.

I then make a cut on both wings that goes from the outer wing towards the body, but I stop before I hit the body.

The cuts allow me to bend the wings to give them dimension.

I used rub-ons for the butterfly's flight trail.

I cut out the red flourish so that it would be easier to rub on.

I then glued the butterfly on.

Birthday card for Dot

This card took me most of the day to make because I wanted it to be a very special card. I made it for one of my former employees, named Dot. I knew her health was not the greatest, but I had no idea how sick she was. Today she quit because she is going home to die. She told one of my other employees that her organs are shutting down and she only has a very short time left. Her birthday is this Saturday. This will probably be one of the last cards she will ever recieve. I've been so close to tears all day. I W.I.S.H.ed the background and sponged the vine. I used my Layers of Color stencil for that. I had started quilling these flowers last night. This porcelain paper butterfly (from Layers of color -flutterescent set) had been sitting on my desk for weeks. I decided to add beads and wrap his wings with gold wire. I added stitching around the edges and gold brads in the corners. I used the Happy Birthday Sentiment from Mark's Finest Papers Take a Peek set. Just last week I was talking with Dot and showing her Splitcoast and we spent a long time talking about stamping, and the cards that I make. I hope she will feel all the love that went into making this card. I plan to print out the lyrics for Ordinary Miracle to put on the inside. This card is also for the Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge to make a card to encourage someone. I don't usually put birthday cards in that category, but this time I will.