Shine...

 {jane bosi}

I super wish my photography set up could actually do justice to the projects I create using these amazing stamps!!  The exact minute I saw the Fantastic Flower stamp set, I knew I had been holding on to this $4 wooden mirror purchased a decade ago for a reason!  I am not kidding when I say I've been hoarding it for a decade.  I've had it "on display" in my current studio for the last 4 years we've lived in this house--because I discovered it in the unpacking process.  For the last 4 years, I knew I would eventually be inspired by what was an unpainted 12 x 12 mirror in shrink wrap.

It's been a bit like prayerful waiting.  I knew the answer would come.  Several times, I thought I knew only to realize "no" was the response.  And then, without a doubt, the answer was clear--pretty much after I surrendered and decided it would tell me rather than the other way around!  Fantastic Flowers with a bit of Worthy King.....the project just about did itself!!  :)

Enjoy; be blessed--Jane

You can call me Flower

Hey friends! I am a lover of Disney movies and Bambi is one of my favs! I love the part when Thumper's mom reminds him of what his father tells him, "If you don't have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all." Good advice! Then my other fav quote is when Bambi thinks that the skunk is a flower and the sunk says "You can call me flower if you want to , I don't mind." Two great quotes to remind us to use our words for good and to always see the best in people.

I printed a coloring page that I found online and traced it into my interleaved bible. Then I water colored the skunk "flower" and then I stamped the flowers, Not the skunk;) lol! from the Fantastic Flowers stamp set on some water color paper. I water colored them using mermaid markers to get the bight vibrant colors. I cut the flowers out and attached the flowers with my tape runner to my page. I used the Kindness Matters stamp set to stamp the quote at the top. This movie reminds me of my childhood and I love having a piece of that in my bible now. I journaled it with the verses in Job 3:3-4 Behold, you have instructed many, and you have strengthened the weak hands. Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, and you have made firm the feeble knees. We need to remember that our words can either make people stumble or help strengthen weak knees! That's so good! Lift eachother up! The world can tear us down but we can lift each other up by using kind words, so simple right?

Robed in Majesty...

Hi friends,

One of the things I love to do to help with my study of the Bible is to do word studies. When I get a new stamp set I often look up the key words in a concordance or online search and read the scriptures with that word in it. I also like finding out the meaning of the Greek or Hebrew word from which the English comes from. When I received the new Child of the King stamp set I saw the word Majesty and knew I needed to study this word. Majesty means to inspire awe or reverence in the beholder; greatness of appearance, dignity, grandeur and glory. When I looked up the word majesty in the Bible I was struck by how many verses speak about God being clothed or robed in majesty... wow! God is covered with glory, grandeur and dignity and when we behold Him we should be inspired to awe and reverence!

I took a few photos as I created this page so here's a quick tutorial...

Step 1: Stamp the robe and crown image. Use a circular shape to draw around it then a ruler to draw lines to the edges of the pages.

Step 2: Stamp words and letters and arrange alpha stickers to create the text. Go over pencil lines with a fine pen (I used Micron). I stamped the little words on scrap vanilla card and punched out to create the little arrow pieces.

Step 3: Add colour using a water brush and Inktense blocks and some pearl and gold paint.

Step 4: Trace over pen lines with a Faber Castell gold marker and add shadows and darker lines to letters and image.

Be encouraged - no matter what you may be facing, our God is robed in majesty and armed with strength! He is more than able to deliver us from our trials as well as strengthen us while we are in them.

Be blessed!

x Amy x

The Word of the Lord

The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the Lord. And so it is with people. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever. 

Isaiah 40:7-8

I love flowers. Ironically enough, I can't keep a plant alive for anything. Seriously, I somehow killed a succulent. Try as I might, the green thumb is non-existent in my limbs. However, I have something much bigger alive inside of me that stands firm. I have the word of God living inside of me ready to be poured out and flourish among others. 

The word of God is alive and powerful...

Hebrews 4:12

Only His word lasts forever. Many people have come and gone preaching and hearing the Gospel. And that's just it. The people preaching and hearing will change, but the word of the Lord stands firm forever. I'm always left in awe when I'm reminded of how constant our Father is. It is the greatest comfort. 

With love,

Lynzee

Stamps Used: 

Mini Grunge Alpha:

http://www.sweetnsassystamps.com/creative-worship-mini-grunge-type-alpha-clear-stamp-set/

Mason Jar Bouquet 

http://www.sweetnsassystamps.com/mason-jar-bouquet-clear-stamp-set/

Happy Places

“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth.The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more."
Isaiah 65: 17-19



Hey friends! Do you have a "happy place"? Maybe a nail salon, massage parlor, mall, CRAFT STORE, church... maybe even your pantry with the door closed behind you eating a snack cake and NOT having to share...#momprobs. Hopefully we all have a happy place to get away from the non happy things in our life and bring a little light to our lives. Our FOREVER happy place though is coming soon! Some day we will wake up everyday in our happy place and rejoice with our Lord! How refreshing it is to know that! Keep pushing on and hiding in your pantries folks... one day we'll be there and there will be no worries or sadness!

 

For this page I tried a new technique I've been seeing! I used the plastic packaging to one of my letter sticker sheets and put watered down water colors on it and then smooshed it down on the page. Here's a little snapshot of what it looked like while I was doing it! (Not the best picture but I did it at night time in my little "area" I've created in my living room.)

 

 

I enjoyed making this page and used ALL Sweet N' Sassy Stamps!
The stamp sets I used are listed below! Remember Korin still has all the stamps 25% off right now to lighten the load a little bit for her move to Georgia!

Remember to use #sweetnsassystamps on Facebook and Instagram so we can see what you're up to!



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<3 Brittany
@britcarleton
Personal Blog: Journaling Through Motherhood

Enthusiastic Obedience

The Lord your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. You have declared this day that the Lord is your God and that you will walk in obedience to Him, that you will keep His decrees, commands and laws—that you will listen to Him. Deuteronomy 26:16-17

Hi Friends!

There are quite a few stories in the Bible where God or Jesus tells someone to do something and they IMMEDIATELY do it. In those stories, they don't question God/Jesus. They don't give Him a lot of excuses. They don't wait for the right time. They just do what He says. Can I be frank? A majority of the time, I would have to say that I am not that quick to obey. Sure, if it's something that's easy or doesn't take me out of my comfort zone. Then I'm quick to obey. But if it's something that might be hard or include struggles or something that I'm not comfortable with? Well, then I take my time. 

God wants us to trust Him enough to obey Him NO. MATTER. WHAT. He wants us to enthusiastically obey Him with our whole heart and soul. What He asks us to do may not be easy, friends, but we can trust Him. He deserves our obedience. I pray that all of us will be enthusiastic in our obedience to Him!

For the page,  I used the following Sweet n Sassy Stamps: Outline Alpha, All Your Heart, Chunky Alpha, Scribble Flowers, Just Be, and Fantastic Flowers. I used watercolors for the background and a white Sharpie pen to color in/highlight the words.

Fantastic Flowers was released this month and I've enjoyed using it. Here's another page using another of the flowers from the set.

Have a blessed day! Andrea

My God is Worthy!

I will bless the Lord at all times;

His praise shall be continually in my mouth.

Psalm 34:1

How many times during a single day do you find the praises of God on your lips?  What kind of words crowd out those praises?  I'm guilty.  When I think of all that God has done for me, in the world, everyday...really, there should be nothing I speak except His praises.  He is worthy enough that every breath I exhale ought to contain His praise.  Our goal should be David's declaration in Psalm 34:1.  God is certainly worthy of that much.

I tried a couple of new things with this page.  Overall I like it, but I'd change a few things next time.  First I prepped the page with clear gesso.  I didn't like doing that before, so I'm not sure why I thought I'd try it again.  There is a huge variance of opinion about prepping Bible pages.  I definitely fall on the "unprepped" side of the spectrum.  Here I wanted to do a lot of watercolor paint work...and when the page is prepped the watercolor sits on top longer.  The good part of that is that you can continue to work with it; while the negative, in my opinion, is just that the effect isn't as splashy and layered looking.  The second new thing I was to use metallic paint and inks.  I splattered gold metallic watercolor paint (Kuretake) and used a sponge to apply gold ink over a stencil.  I really liked that.  

I chose this page (Psalm 47-48) for my design because it is full of praises to the the Lord. The entire page starts with praise and ends with praise.  I thought that was symbolic of the way I want my days to be.  I want to start each day with praise on my lips and when I close my eyes, I want to whisper His praises in the still of the night.  It is my heart's desire to praise Him all day long, because He is worthy of those praises.  

Sets used:

Fantastic Flowers

Worthy King

Have Courage & Be Kind ♥

Hello lovelies!! 

Sharing with you a page I created inspired by one of our favorite Disney princesses... Cinderella! 

If you look at 1 Peter 3:3-5 it tells us:

Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. 

When I think about Cinderella and her beauty that radiated beyond the rags and dirt, I think of her gentleness and kind spirit that charmed even the animals. Just as quickly as a pretty outfit, makeup, and heels can fade away, did Cinderellas coach turn into a pumpkin. Outward beauty is temporary, but being able to glow from within with the beauty of a kind spirit, shining for Him, is the secret to a beauty that can withstand age. In the movie, before Cinderella loses her mother, she gave her some advice... 

to have courage & be kind. I know this is pretty simple and short but what differences could you make or impacts could you have if applied this two principles to your daily life?

So let me tell you how I created this page. I watched a video from Lindsey Decor on Youtube, and I took the cotton swab technique she showed and use it to fill in my silhouette. First I found the image I wanted to use and traced it onto my page, then applied masking fluid around it so I would have a nice crisp outline. 

Using my Keurtake Watercolors I picked out my colors I wanted to use and gathered 2 bundles of swabs just like Lindsey showed in her video, and started applying layers, drying in between with my heat tool. 

I added some splatters and once those were all dry I began to remove the masking fluid with an eraser.

After the masking fluid was removed I watercolored around my verse and added a few more splatters, and then grabbed my stamp sets I wanted to use to stamp out "have courage, be kind"

I used the following stamp sets:

Mini Grunge Alpha, Kindness Matters,  and the Rebecca Script Alpha.

I stamped them all with Ranger Archival Ink since it is permanent and waterproof. 

To finish it off I added the date with my Mega Date Stamp, and added some washi and a cute bow tabbie to mark my page!

So that's it for today! Hope y'all enjoyed my page and are maybe even inspired to create your own cotton swab art!😉

Make sure to hashtag us #sweetnsassystamps on FB and IG so we can see how you 've been inspired & inspire us! Be sure to check out the Creative Worship facebook group as well! 

Until next time!

xo

Maria

♥

Kindness Matters

Hey friends! I am loving the new releases! These Fantastic Flowers- are just that-Fantastic! Big Blooms in my Bible? Yes , please! I also used the new set Kindness Matters. I was looking for verses that talked about kindness and came across this in Michah 6:8- No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and that is what he requires of you:to do what is right, love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

So good! How many times are we in situations where we are not treated fairly? But as Christians our reactions should differ from people who don't know God like we do. We should make sure that we are Kind, always! I know it's not easy- but scripture says that's what we are to do. I stamped several blooms on some watercolor paper and used my new mermaid markers. Basically they are just water color pens with the water color in them. Then I stamped a stem and leaves and the words kindness matters. I attached a bloom , but then decided I wanted to layer them! I added some Washi tape and done! I love when pages can be simple, but still have so much meaning!

Today and this week, I'm going to give a little extra effort to be kind to everyone I come across! Praying that you will all challenge yourselves to do this too. That is what He requires of you. Have an amazing week friends!

A Calm and Quiet Soul

Hi there!

I'm excited and privileged to be joining the Creative Worship team as a guest designer, and to be playing with some fab new stamps from Sweet 'n Sassy!

My process for choosing verses to illustrate involves me putting little sticky note tabs next to scriptures that grab my attention during my daily Bible reading or ones that God drops into my heart through a variety of other ways (a sermon, a book I'm reading, looking at other people's Bible journaling!). Then when I get time I flip through those tabs until I find one that I believe God wants me to meditate on in that moment.

This week the verse that really jumped out at me was Psalm 131:2 -
"But I have calmed and quieted my soul
like a weaned child with its mother
like a weaned child is my soul within me."

I'm in a time right now where my soul needs to be calmed and quieted so it was timely for me to meditate, illustrate and study this verse. When I looked into the whole Psalm I was so blessed to learn how we are to calm and quiet our soul... Really, it all comes down to humility before God and dependence upon Him.

In the first verse of this psalm we see the psalmist praying to the Lord and stating his position of humility. We can see humility of heart ("my heart is not lifted up"), in attitudes towards others ("my eyes are not raised too high") and in what he thinks about, in that this psalmist knows his limits ("I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvellous for me"). This posture of humility leads to being able to calm and quiet his soul before God. I loved reading Spurgeon's Treasury of the Psalms on this verse, where he says "Quieting yourself is not easy. It would be easier to calm the ocean, rule the wind, or tame a tiger... only grace can quiet us under affliction, irritation and disappointment." Oh how true! This state of quiet and calm is not an easy one to be in, and it is only by the grace of God that we are able to dwell here. But friends, it is possible and it is encouraged!

I love the picture of a weaned child in this Psalm. As I reflected on and researched this, I discovered that weaning speaks of maturity - moving from milk to meat. When we are weaned we no longer demand our wants and immediate desires, but rather find our comfort and solace in the safe arms of our Father - we want to BE with Him, not just to get things from Him... That is the place of quiet and calm. Spurgeon spoke of being weaned from several things over the course of our Christian walk: from worldly things, from self-righteousness, from sin and self. As we allow God to wean us from these things then we move on to maturity, to heavenly things, to a life lived in Christ. What an amazing reality at the end of the uncomfortable weaning process!

On this page a played around with paints and stamps to create a look inspired by the fabulous artist Megan Wells. I applied acrylic paint in several colours using a paintbrush, then once dried I stamped the flowers from the new Fantastic Flowers stamp set over the top, painting around them with some white paint. I went back over the stamped images with a marker then added the sentiment with a mixture of alpha stickers combined with the new Mini Grunge Type Alpha and Message of Hope. Here's a pic of my main supplies...

And here are the stamp sets I used:

I pray that you are able to calm and quiet your soul before the Lord in this next season as you meditate on Him in His Word...

x Amy x