We are the Clay

Howdy Friends! I am sharing a new background technique I tried using plastic wrap today, but before I get into all the nitty gritty I have a fun sale to share with you... Sweet N Sassy stamps is having an amazing sale on all their alphabet stamp sets ...buy 2 get 1 free (no code necessary). This is a great time to pick up your favorite sets to use in your Bible journaling, card making, scrapbooking, etc. Okay now on to the fun....

To begin I got my page super wet then plopped (my beautiful technical word) color all over the page. Next I pulled out some plastic wrap and scrunched (yet another technical word) it around to create an interesting texture. Now comes the super boring part....I walked away, grabbed a cup of coffee and let it dry.

When I came back it was almost dry, I pulled off the wrap, but I really wish I had waited it would have created a more vibrant and interesting texture....but I patience and me are not always friends. After the page was completely dry I used StazOn black ink to stamp my title out and used a few tabs, washi tapes, and stickers in matching colors.

Isaiah 64:8 "But now, O Lord, you are our Father, we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand."

You and I were created for a beautiful unique purpose. We are continuously being shaped and molded by the master artist. It's ok if we don't look like our friends and neighbors, we all are called to fufill a different purpose. It can be so easy to see the beauty in others and often overlook our own. I can't tell you how often I look down at my wrinkled, stained leggings and baggy tee shirt and wish my life was a little less messy, but those stains and wrinkles mean I have littles whom I cherish and depend on me. I encourage you today to see the beauty in yourself. You were created for a purpose!

Thanks for dropping by I hope you are leaving encouraged and refreshed.
Don't forget about the alpha sale going on now through the 18th.

Love and prayers,

Jenn @creativegurl85

Supplies Used:

Stamps- (In His Image, Typewriter block alpha, Sunshine girl alpha

Watercolors- Illustrated Faith, Black Ink- StazOn, Washi tape- cross, and arrows (Illustrated Faith), Black and White Stripes (Hobby Lobby), Tabs- Illustrated Faith, Ephemera- Illustrated Faith, Heart Stickers- Illustrated Faith

God's Foundation

"Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." (2 Timothy 2:19)

Today is the 17th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.  Who doesn't remember those exact moments when you heard about the terrorist attacks, or the planes crashing into the Towers or the Pentagon, or when the Towers fell to the ground, or the plane crashing in the field in Pennsylvania?  I was shopping at Wal-Mart at the time, and I first heard about it at the checkout.  People were gathered around in the electronics section watching the news on the TVs.  I hurried home with my three year old and six month old boys, and remained glued to the TV for most of the day--as much as I could while trying to shield my little ones from my emotions and the chaotic scenes on the television.

How our world was forever changed on that dreadful day.  Lives were lost, reality was upended, and for many, it was a time of reflection on what was truly important in our lives.  The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center came crashing down upon themselves, revealing not only weaknesses in building design, but vulnerabilities in security.  The towers' frame could not hold the flaming infernos, so the buildings and their very foundations gave way.  As two towers of dust and smoke replaced the once gleaming towers of steel, our own social, cultural and emotional foundations gave way as well.  We each realized our weakness.  We each realized our mortality.

The tragedy of that day will forever be burned in our minds and hearts.  But to the believer, and to many who began searching for answers, the tragedy caused us to grasp the truth of God's sure foundation.  Money and power will fail, but God's security is firm and forever.  He has redeemed us by the blood of Christ, and we are sealed and secure.  We can choose to remain in Him, and to depart from iniquity (sin); or we can choose to depart from Him, and remain in iniquity.  

We have a firm and sure foundation in Christ, one that will never falter.  On that truth we can build our lives.  

For this entry, I began by spritzing some Shimmerz Vibez ("Don't Rain on My Parade") and then spreading it around with a wet paint brush.  I dried that with my heat tool, and then stamped the words and tower from the Mighty Fortress stamp set.  I added some texture to the tower's blocks by painting with my aquabrush and more of that Vibez spritz.  I then splattered some of the Vibez and some black paint around the page.  I stamped a little bit of brick texture with a stamp from Texture Tiles 2.  I added some washi tape, a tab and a bow, and some journaling to complete the page.  

I pray that you find your firm and strong foundation in Jesus today, rather than in the things of this world.  Build your life, your future, your eternity, on His sure foundation!

--Julie

I CHOOSE FAITH

"For we walk by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7

Faith is choosing to believe in something that we cannot see.  We can't see the world spinning on its axis, but we believe it to be true.  We can't even feel it happening around us, although the world is spinning at the breakneck speed of roughly 1000 mph!  We simply have faith in gravity that we won't be catapulted into outerspace.  

Likewise, we cannot see the person of God, but we have faith that He is real.  We may not feel His presence, but we can choose to believe that He is with us.  Often, we can base this faith on what we see God doing, or what He has done for us in the past.  However, there are times when we may struggle because we can't see any evidence of God at work.  That is when we have to CHOOSE TO HAVE FAITH!

I created this colorful, interactive page in my 100 Days of Bible Promises Devotional.  I wanted to graphically demonstrate the spinning world, so I made a stamped and colored world that spins on a paper-fastener-axis.  I used the Send Me stamp set for the world and the arrows.  I then wanted to create a texure-full background of outerspace, so I used all three Texture Tiles sets to randomly stamp the fabric and fiber of the cosmos, and colored them with Jane Davenport Watercolors.  I embossed the word "faith" from the Life in Jesus set, and fashioned a tiny tag with "I choose" stamped inside.  I finished on the page with a tag, washi tape, a date flag, and bow.  

You can see how the whole page came together in the process video on my YouTube channel or using the link below.  

Have faith, my friends!  And when you don't, then choose to have faith anyway!

SEND ME

TEXTURE TILES 3

LIFE IN JESUS

TEXTURE TILES 2

TEXTURE TILES 1