Card and Nature share

A huge thanks for all the heart-warming reactions to my last blog post - I had not expected to be so spoiled, it really blessed me. Such a wonderful community!

It is beautiful in the evenings where I live and when we take a walk I take my camera with me. Here is a collage of the evening sun catching the flowers. I love this kind of light fall. Some of these photos are from my garden too.

I am so happy to see that red and pink DO go together! At least God thinks they do!

A couple of card shares, inspired by Nature.

I just love using birds, flowers and butterflies on my projects, brings so much more movement to a card. I used scraps from the scrap basket to make these.

I used random distress colors to make the background (watercolor). Cut out the bird from the Timely Bird collage stamp from Hero Arts, used the Hydrangea and a sentiment to fill in the top and the bottom.

Just to mention, I'm getting so much spam on the blog at the moment, seems the Blogger spam filter is not working as it should. Does anyone have the same problems?

Thanks and have a lovely weekend, it too cold here for this month!
Jacqueline

Winners of the Home Decor projects for my Blog Anniversary

Hi. I asked DH to write down four numbers between 1 and 37.

First is: rcwidow (Linda) - first project
Second is: Em (Elaine)    - second project
Third is: Dee                   - card
Fourth is: Donna G          - card

I have contacted Linda and I have Dee's address, but I will need Elaine and Donna to contact me. You can find my email on my profile page.

Why did I choose today because DH and I have been married for 26 years. It is God's Grace that has kept us all these years and we give Him all the glory!! I couldn't make a nice photo of us together - these are two separate photos.
Jacqueline

Tuesday Trigger - Right on Target

We had such a beautiful weekend, although there was a lot of wind, the sun was shining and the light that falls in the mountain areas was breathtaking. We went to a 'Vide Grenier' (Flea Market) just up the road to us. I got some wonderful bargains. I found a huge frame for a butterfly collage that I have cleaned up, just for €3. I have already made my butterfly collage in it in pinks, browns and turquoise.  I also found some lovely old-looking French pottery  for €1! Apparently it is used to keep Duck fat in which can then be conserved for quite some time. I am going to put a plant in it for in the garden. DH found some beautiful professional wine glasses, five for €2 and to top it all, a lady offered me some beautiful plates of all sizes, starting at €5 and I ended up getting the lot (about 25 in total) for €3! That's how I love to spend a Sunday afternoon, in the open air, beautiful scenery, bargains etc.!

This is for the Tuesday Trigger which Cath posted today, here.

I love the inspiration photo.

I used most of the colors to make a watercolor background with distress inks and then just stamped a collage over the top with a Spring theme.

I will be back tomorrow with the winners of my Blog Anniversary give-away.

Jacqueline

Blogging for five years - two give aways - CLOSED 15/05/2013

At the beginning of June I will have had this blog for five years. It is still going strong (although I have slowed down a bit) so thanks to you for all your encouragement and visits. I am so happy to have this 'link to the world'. To all the wonderful creative ladies who I can visit and who visit me too! Thank you all so very much!!

So to celebrate I am going to give away this Grid Home Decor project which I made recently. I chose the tones of orange/turquoise/shades of brown/green and black. I am aware that it might not fit in many home decors but for those who have these colors somewhere in their home, it could be an asset.

For those who are not interested - I don't mind at all - even if you don't comment, it is for those who have a place for it as I wouldn't want it to remain in a drawer either!

*As these are paper-crafted gifts, I am entering these into the Moxie Fab World: 350 Cards & Gifts Week, with today's challenge being 'The Gift Challenge'*

This is what it looks like when it has been framed. The size of the grid is 12"x8,5". The size of the frame here is 16"x12,5". (I will only send the grid not the frame). They look very decorative in a small space, like just above a low cupboard for example. It is not suited for a huge wall as it will loose itself on it.

The second name that gets picked will receive one which is about half the size, 7,5"x4,5" and is suited for a frame which is 12,5"x10" as you can see in the picture below, in red and brown tints with a nature theme. I am not sending the frame, it serves simply as an example of how it could look. I have framed this in a Terre Cotta color frame (these frames are as cheap as can be) and will be enjoying it in my craft room until the winner gets picked :)

  
I will also be having a third and fourth prize - that will be a grid card.

I will keep this open until 15th of May as that is a very special day for me - I will tell you what it is then.


Have a lovely weekend!
Jacqueline

Nature

I love this time of the year, especially being in the countryside where the vineyards are turning green, the trees and shrubs are flowering and the curbs alongside the road decorated with red poppies, blooming thyme, yellow, blue and white flowers. The cherries and peaches, although very small at the moment will  be ripening into delicious fruit during the next months. The birds which we have missed in the winter time are singing and the butterflies and bees are regular visitors in the garden.

So this was made by stamping the frame on the patterned paper (thanks Kailash!) and cutting it out. I had the pond-flowers already cut out in my scrap basket so adhered that to the bottom of the frame. The bird was stamped and cut out on a gingham scrap and I put him between the flowers. Adhered the frame to another piece of PP and then to a piece of cardstock, added a few pearls and it is finished. Oh yes, the sentiment is from an acrylic stamp set that my friend Sue sent me, cannot tell you who makes them.

I have been busy buying pot plants to fill three huge wine barrels we bought last week to decorate the veranda. Oh, how I love flowers!  Maybe this card was inspired by that. I used all the little stamps that you can find between the sentiments on the acrylic stamp sets from Hero Arts, that hardly ever get used. They were just the right size.

A little peek into my garden at the front. Can you see the wine barrel - I hope the flowers will grow over the edge.
My sentiment reflects what I love - simplicity in life.

Hope you have a beautiful, sunny weekend!
Jacqueline

Playing with a diecut

It is cold, rainy and 7°C here. It's gone from beautiful sunny warm weather to puddles and warm coats again. So I have to create my own Spring! As I don't have any machines I am so thankful to have received lots of diecuts in the past, which I have saved to use.

So thanks to Sue who sent me some in this shape. I used a Darkroom door daisy stamp for the flowers and the Fabric design background stamp from Hero Arts. The strip that the bird is resting on is also a diecut.

Hope you are enjoying the sun where you live!
Jacqueline

The Wonder of Watercolor challenge

I have changed what I originally posted as I wasn't happy with posting oldish cards, so here is a new card for the challenge on the Moxie Fab World blog called The Wonder of Watercolor, the link of which is here.

I used an acrylic blog with different distress ink colors and then sprayed with water before coloring the cardstock. I then randomly stamped with leaves and flowers. I have used a darkroom door stamp and a Postcard stamp from Stampendous.

Now I wanted to share the second part of the message I shared last week about understanding Grace - so are you ready?

Quote

The world tells us that our value is connected to our ‘doing.’ Growing up, we’re constantly compared. When asked why we were not doing as well as our brother or sister, we felt we were doing our best and we had no answer. So we resolved to try harder, but no matter how hard we tried, someone still wasn’t satisfied. We were still getting the message, ‘Something’s wrong with you.’ This leaves us burned out, confused and turned off. It drives many of us into counseling, when all we need is the assurance of God’s unconditional love! Your wrong behaviors won’t be changed until you know you’re loved by God apart from what you do. And that’s what Jesus made possible through the cross. Why is this important to believe? Because until you know who you are in Christ, you’ll stumble along believing that your acceptance with God is performance-based. Your acceptance with God is based on performance, but not yours—Christ’s! Jesus loves you unconditionally and is committed to working with you. And the best part is, He doesn’t condemn you while He’s doing it! He understands your temperament, your struggles, and even the faulty foundation upon which you’ve based your self-worth. He not only understands—He cares. Once you enter into a personal relationship with Christ He begins a process of relieving your pain, revealing your true value, and releasing your gifts. Bit by bit, He restores everything the devil has stolen from you. And while all this is happening, you are positioned securely ‘in Christ.’ Therefore you’re always acceptable to Him. 

1 Kings 12-13, Matthew 18:10-20, Psalm 53 , Proverbs 6:9-11

Unquote

Hope it blesses you!
Jacqueline