My DIY Prayer Retreat- Part 2

 Last time, I told you about my DIY Prayer Retreat. 

It was so good. I also promised to share with you a few of the insights I had during my retreat. 

1. I love listening to Praise and Worship Music. Why don't I listen to it more?!  Therefore, I will listen to my Christian Music playlists when I craft and during my quiet time - maybe not everyday, but so much more than before. 

2. Memorising Scripture really changes my mindset and it helps me to focus on God's love. Therefore, I am going to start using my scripture memorisation app again. Why did I stop? If you want to learn more about this app, click here. 

3. I need to give myself more opportunities to both be still and move.  Not at the same time.  LOL. I also need to do some mindful breathing from time to time, because breathing is important and focusing on my breath is like a little reset button. I always wanted one of those. 

I hope you have found these posts about Prayer Retreats helpful and you can use them to design your own. Of course, it would be wonderful to go to a retreat that is designed and lead by someone else, but we have to be practical about these things. Sometimes in some seasons of our life (often when it's most important to take time to retreat) a weekend away is not feasible. You can do it yourself.  I did. 

Until next time

Recreating cards

I made this card in 2018. It was very near the beginning of my card making journey. I had limited supplies, but my stash was starting to grow. I love this card.

I thought it would be fun to recreate/ CASE this card, using my current supplies. I don't have the Happy Birthday die anymore. I gifted it to a crafty friend. I used a different die, but the stencil is the same. I tell you, it was much easier to make this card this time around. A paper trimmer makes a huge difference and so does experience! 

I also used different inks- Catherine Pooler instead of Memento.  I decided to do the ombre inking horizontally down the card instead of vertically. I also used glossy accents on the word die cut which was stacked for dimension. 

Even the photo is better! Haha. 

Bye for now. 

Wedding Card Creations and a Bonus Card

Love is definitely in the air. 

Check out these wedding cards I made recently. 

The Love Birds

The love birds with their bird house are a stamp
from a Gina K, which is now retired. 
The "Congrats" is from the You Did It Stamps set
by Catherine Pooler. 

 

Mr and Mrs Shake it up

Glitter cardstock frames these heart shaped sequins in a shaker card.
It doesn't get any better than this! 
The sentiment is stamped using silver embossing powder. 

Congratulations- Bonus Card

This Clean and Simple card has some heart shaped texture
created with a 2D embossing folder. It's hard to capturein a photo.
Gold heat embossing for the sentiment sets off the gold foiled border. 
No need for sequins or other embellishments on this simply elegant card. 

This one might be more appropriate for an engagement card. I did some experimenting before landing on the designs of the two cards above. The experimental pieces and some scraps were laying on my desk and before I knew it, I had made this card.  This is the best kind of bonus card. It's going in the stash, because engagements do seem to sneak up on me. So rude how people don't give me warning when they are thinking about getting engaged. Lol. 

Until we meet again,

Encouragement Cards

We could all use some encouragement at the moment. Here are some easy encouragement cards I made recently. 

I'm loving this "paper hug" sentiment die from Picket Fence Studios! 
It is so versatile.  This sentiment works for any and every occasion.
The background on this card, was made using ink on my Gel plate
and a stencil.   

You might think I'm crazy, but I can see
the water colours hugging in this
background. Then the rainbow sequin mix
(also from Picket Fence) compliments
this card perfectly! 

There's something to be said about big word dies
that fill a chunk of your card! Some simple stamping
or a quick inky background, is complimented nicely
by a big word die and some bling or even a 
simple mat. 

 

A Great You Tube Channel

From time to time, I like to share something "Great" with you.  Something worthy of A Great Title.  

Today, I'm sharing with you, Amy's Wares.  

Photo Credit: these are thumbnails I copied from Amy's Website. 
These cards are just beautiful and I can't take credit for any of them! 

Amy is a lovely lady who makes some great cards.  She loves to use stencils (mostly from A Colorful Life Designs- ACLD) to create backgrounds, focal points and even sentiments on her cards.  She also likes to pre-stamp sentiments and store them in a big binder.  These seem to make her card making process quite quick. We all need to make a card in a hurry from time to time, so seeing how she does it helps me so much.  

I learned about Amy from a Facebook group I belong to (called Prokraftination) when Amy shared one of her 5 cards in 10 minutes videos.  It was around Christmas and I'm always looking for simple Christmas card designs so I clicked her link!  I checked out the video and I was hooked.  It also helps that Amy shares my love of Catherine Pooler Inks!  When I first saw how versatile stencils can be and the lower price point, I have been slowly growing my stencil collection.  I love using stencils to make backgrounds for cards, so a crafter who uses at least one stencil in almost every card, is a crafter I want to follow.  

The 5 cards in 10 minutes videos are nice and short and show some lovely clean and simple designs.  While I can't purchase from ACLD right now... that's a story for another day... I am making myself a long wishlist of products that I want to purchase from them.  I'm also looking at the products in my own stash and thinking about how I can use them to create simple cards.  It's so good to find another crafter who inspires you! :) 

Today you got three "Greats"- 

Amy's Wares - a great You Tube Channel- short videos that show simple techniques for quick and easy cardmaking! :) 

A Colorful Life Designs- a great small business that has a variety of innovative and versatile craft products. 

Prokraftination- a great facebook group where anyone can share their craft projects, link to their blog/ instagram/ You Tube videos and other social media accounts.  The owner of the group, Koren Wiskman, also shares special offers, giveaways and prizes with group members.  I love Koren and I have included her in a blog post before. The members of this facebook group are so encouraging too. 

Now that makes 4 'Greats'.  You are so lucky! I hope you are feeling inspired! I know I am. 

Until next time, Happy Crafting!