My Comeback Card!

Good morning girls! I am so excited to be able to share this card with you today!!! The Sugar Creek Hollow Design Team and I have been working hard behind the scene creating cards to share with you for the Grand Opening. We couldn't resist holding back!! We want to share with you just a preview of what is to come.

I used Fall-to-Layout 75  for my card. After being off pretty much the entire month of January, it was so nice to have some help with the layout! I am really thankful that so many of you have stuck around - your patience and your encouragement put a smile on my face and in my heart!

I used the Barn Swallow image from Sugar Creek Hollow - at this moment, it's my favorite image! But ya'll know me --- my favorite always seems to change almost daily. When I first saw this image, I immediately thought of this passage in Matthew that tells us not to worry:  "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Matthew 6: 26-27"
Powerful words from Jesus himself. And so true - worrying doesn't accomplish much that is positive. I have always found that when I am beginning to worry about something - usually late at night when I'm trying to sleep, a simple prayer asking God to take that away and grant me rest is amazing. Within minutes, I can feel the stress leaving my body. Isn't He just amazing in His faithfulness to help us follow His word?

Overstamping is one of my favorite looks. And I love to create with grey and pink! I changed the color of my swallow to pink and then added another layer over with my verse in a dark grey. The card base was partially embossed and then lightly sponged with grey ink. The main image panel was also distressed. What do you think? I'm really happy with "my come-back card!" hahaha!

CLICK HERE and visit the page with all the design team members - you don't want to miss their blog posts as they are sharing their favorite creation so far!

Want to earn this digi for FREE? Become a Sugar Creek Hollow Follower. Be the 150th or 200th follower and you will receive a FREE digi of your choice!!!

Deadline is February 7th at 10pm eastern time. The winner will be announced on February 8th Preview Week!

Flutter By Blog Hop Winner

Good morning - um, evening!! I hope your Wednesday was fabulous! We went on a quick trip with my SIL to meet my MIL for lunch - it was great to see her - I know she enjoyed the chance to see my little man and her was certainly excited to get to see her! It's been go, go, go all day until just this moment!

I do want to announce the winner of my blog candy.

Burt first, a little bit about my picture. I wanted my prize to be a surprise and so I went in search of a question mark clip art.

And found the Question Mark Butterfly!

Crazy huh?

This is a photo of the butterfly in the spring phase (found here)

But you see the Question Mark when it's wings are up - see the next photo (found here)

Do you see it? It's not a perfect question mark shape and it is upside down where the dot is on top. But look in the middle of the upper wing and you should see it!

Random.org generated #39 as the winner of my prize. Thanks so much to each and every one who visited and/or left a comment. Have a wonderful rest of the week!

#39 - Georgia Ehrmann! Congrats girl!

FLutter By Wednesday: A Hunt for Butterflies

Good morning girls!
I hope you day is off to a beautiful start!
Today we are hunting for butterflies as part of Flutter By Wednesday!

As you visit each of the Flutter By team members, look for a butterfly in their post - if you see one, that means they have blog candy for this week! Visit the challenge blog to see a complete list of who is posting today!

So, yes, I have a little somethin' somethin' I'm going to send out to a lucky winner! All you have to do is leave a comment. I really appreciate all the sweet little words that ya'll leave so thank you!

Have fun fluttering around blogland today! Be sure to make Cuttlebug Challenge and The Diedrich Dare as part of your rounds. Also take a moment to visit Sugar Creek Hollow in anticipation of the stores grand opening!

Just some Cool Info

Good morning everyone!
I hope your weekend has been wonderful! It's been a cold snap here - but the last few days it warmed up nicely. High 20's --- but after the bitter cold, it felt downright balmy!

The first thing I want to share with you is that 2 Red Bananas is BACK! For the first challenge of 2010 we want you to THINK ROUND! Create something with curves. I actually am anxious to participate in this challenge and am bummed to not have an example to share with ya'll today. My little man opened some birthday presents this evening and the wrapping paper totally inspired me! So hopefully I'll be able to find some time (and stuff) to bring my vision to life! In the meantime, please visit the 2RedBananas blog to see what the rest of the bunch came up with!

And before I go, I wanted to share another little somethin' somethin' with you. I loved being a part of the Paper Popsicles team last fall and as you know, some really big exciting changes are planned for 2010! One of my favorite products is Melissa's shaped card templates. And guess what. As the countdown begins for the New Launch on January 15th, she's got a free template up for everyone! Head on over to grab it while you can! You can find it HERE!! I hope you'll grab it and upload a link over at the blog - I can't wait to see what ya'll come up with! It's perfect for a CHA assignment I've got!

Flutter By Wednesday Blog Hop

Hello girls!
I am pre-posting this and when you read it it will be 2010! I am amazed at how quickly the last 10 years have gone by - it seems like just 3 or 4, not TEN!!!

I am looking forward to 2010 and all that the new year will bring.

It's Wednesday and that means it is time for 3 new challenges from 3 of the teams that I am privileged to design for. I am (more than likely) still on hiatus. Please see The Diedrich Dare for the new challenge there (the new year brings a prize each month!) and the Cuttlebug Challenge blog returns today with some NEW folders being released shortly at CHA - so be sure to see the inspiration there!

Wednesday is also Flutter By day and today it is the FIRST Flutter By Blog Hop. It's been in the works for awhile so I acutally made a card before the holiday hit as I didn't want to miss out on this. You can find the entire list on the NEW Flutter By Wednesday BLOG. If you are just visiting here, be sure to swing over there and get the links for the rest of the girls and see their cards for today.

Since I was on limited time (nothing new) and have been in purge and re-organize mode (definitely something new) I kept my card pretty Clean and Simple. Not a surprise really as it seems like ALL my creations for Flutter By Wednesday are CAS.

The layout was from FTL 72 at the clean&simple blog. I used up some scraps in my scrap drawer for this. The theme is supposed to be new --- something I didn't remember to consider when I sat down to create. SOOOO, we'll just say that this is a NEW creation with some OLD supply. Yeah. That'll work!

I love the theme of NEW for our challenge this week. It brings to mind the verse from 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

It always seems like such a letdown after Christmas is over, the gifts are unwrapped and the decorations are put away. We must remember the everlasting gift that we each received so long ago. It was the moment that ultimately leads to our HOPE and PEACE and JOY. The end of the holiday has no power to lead me into sadness since I know that Jesus has the power to create a NEW me. A better me. It's kind of a cliche' saying but it's a great one because it rings so true: He isn't finished with me yet. Thank you Jesus for that!

Have a beautiful day and may you feel God's arms wrapped around you today!

Sugar Creek Hollow

Hello girls!
Are you having a terrific weekend? It's wrapping up and we've been enjoying the beginning of the New Year!

I wanted to pop on real quick and let you know that there Sugar Creek Hollow will be opening on March 1, 2010. I'm really honored to have been asked to be part of the team and can't wait to share some creations with you. Doesn't the name just grab you - Sugar Creek Hollow? It did me! And I was really thrilled to learn that it's a company with a Christian focus and that there will be scripture and religious offerings. The Lord really convicted me last fall to use my talent and creativity to bless other women and to bring Him glory. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited about this new venture!

Click on over to visit the Sugar Creek Hollow blog/store. Sign up as a follower so that you won't miss out on any of Grand Opening festivities. You'll also see how you can win a $50 gift certificate to the store. I look forward to seeing you there!

On another note, I have been working on some things that I can't share yet and should be back to my normal posting schedule in the next few weeks. In the meantime, have a beautiful Monday and know that you are loved!