ENCOURAGEMENT

We all need some encouragement from time to time to get us over the rough spots in our lives. I had not thought of myself as being "gifted" as an encourager, but I do have a "don't give up" attitude which I guess you can say falls on the positive side of attributes.

My friend Emiline fell out of her bath tub and was in such pain and they couldn't find the problem. Xrays didn't show anything but after 3 weeks and not being able to put weight on her left leg, they finally did an MRI and found two fractures to her pelvis.

I felt she needed some encouragement and so made this card for her. I also made a duplicate for my Mom because I thought it would make her smile and lift her spirits too. She is 88 yrs young and going through grief over the loss of her husband.

So I guess I am an encourager sometimes. We all need to practice lifting each other up in spirit, and in prayer to the Lord. So no matter the circumstances, there is a bright side to everything. We have to search for what God is trying to teach us or show us about ourselves.

For those who make cards. the baby orangutan image is PSX E-1160 from 1999, the sentiment is The Cottage Stamper, H 672. The corner punch is a Marvy scalloped corner used on the white, and the CS colors are black, white, solid green and a small leaf patterned single sheet paper purchase from Hobby Lobby. I used off-white cotton yarn for the knotted string. Inside is the sentiment "Just to let you know you're in my thoughts today" by Hero Arts 2004.

COLOR THROW DOWN

Well, I have decided to enter a card in a contest. I've never done it before and my style is certainly not as complicated as most mainly because I don't have all the stuff some of the card makers have and use. But I thought I would try.

The throw down required the colors Bermuda Bay, Green Galore, and Barely Banana. I didn't have the exact colors but made do with what I had that was similar. My green was a shade lighter, so I took my Green Galore SU marker and just colored the edge that showed. : ) We also were required to use a frog and I only had one and it has hearts on its body...a real Valentine frog if I ever saw one! I searched and searched through my paper and CS and couldn't find anything but florals with those colors. Very frustrating, because I feel like I have lots of paper and CS and still NOT the right look. : ( Is this a common experience for others?

I decided to make the card itself out of the Barely Banana color and layered the Green Galore with the Bermuda Bay on top. I had a dotted paper with different colored dots that are glittered. I put that on top and SU scalloped the bottom edge short and it made it look like blue water on the bottom. I don't have a machine designated for sewing paper, so just "drew "stitches around the edges on the green only. The dotted paper is from Doodlebug Design, Inc.

I found a Darcie's saying" Love Hits The Spot" and stamped it on the barely-banana-look-alike CS in black Momento ink. I matted the heart first in green and then in the blue and popped it up on the dotted CS. I tied a turquoise ribbon from Wal-Mart that is striped sheer and satin. I put the bow near the point of the heart to draw the eye there. I drew my own lily pad and added a little Green Galore shading. I ruffled the edges to give it dimension but stuck it down fairly flat with the red double-sided tape. The frog is a Judith stamp H-95 that I bought off of ebay. I stamped it on the barely banana CS and colored with SU green galore marker and pixie pink hearts and a yo-yo yellow tummy. I covered the frog with Crystal Effects but found that it curled a little because I had cut it out first. When I tried to flatten it , it cracked a little. So I stuck it down with pop dots and added more of the Crystal Effects to cover the cracks, and it did. I also discovered a little stain of something near the bottom right corner, so I added the three homemade hearts that are glittered with Stickles. Necessity is the mother of invention they say!

So that is my offering. I came down with a virus and so won't swear to any of the above information, but I think it is all correct. Hope you like my first humble offering.

I am thinking my card is simple compared to some, but I realize that since it is only 4 1/4 x 5 1/2", I may be limiting the "canvas" I am working on. I don't know the size of the cards most gals make, so if any one will share their nuggets of wisdom with me, I would appreciate it.