A Blessing A Day {Day 22}

Last night I got to hang out with some fellow crafters at a stamping class. Most were old friends, but some were new. We had fun creating together. One of my friends comes to almost all of my stamping classes, but she really doesn't like stamping very much. She comes just to support me and usually has her daughter make the projects. This time, however, she "played" along with us. What a good sport she is! She even allowed me to take her picture with one of the items we made.

Here's some pics of our other projects...

And the final picture for the day is my project for today's blessing challenge. Our church secretary's mother passed away last week. The funeral was held while we were out of town. Since she and Pat are coworkers, I wanted to make a special card for her.

The Lord has richly blessed me with my friends and family and I am thankful for every opportunity to let them know how I feel. Hope you are doing the same!

A Blessing A Day {Day 21}

It is so good to get back home! I had a great time with my fellow Stampin' Up demonstrators at the regionals in Branson and I got plenty of fresh ideas. Wichita was a LONG way away, but I enjoyed the time with my husband and son. On the way home we stopped in Walnut Ridge to eat dinner with Christina and one of her roommates. :)

Yesterday was one of my dearest friend's birthday. Because I had been sick before I left, I hadn't made her a card. That was one of my first tasks this morning. Here's what I came up with...

Today was also our homeschool co-op day and this week I do have pictures of our craft. The name of my class is "Crafts-n-Junk." We are making craft/gift items out of things that might otherwise be thrown away. Our project this week was a bookmark that we made our of a scrap of material that was used in packaging some towels I bought a while back. The 4th-6th graders did a great job sewing & stamping on these today.

Anxious to be back on track with my blessing a day challenge! Hope you'll join me.

A Blessing A Day {Interrupted}

Well, the month was going pretty good until Tues. That's when I got sick. Not bad sick, but annoying & with a fever. Yuck. Anyway, I haven't created anything! Today I leave town for a Stampin' Up conference in Branson. YAY! Hopefully I'll come back with a ton of ideas to show you. From Branson we head to Kansas for another gym meet. So... look for more posts next week on my journey of blessing others daily.

A Blessing A Day {Day 14}

This past weekend we went to the movies with some friends to see Gnomeo & Juliet. Christina and Andrew were already fans of lawn gnomes from the Travelocity commercials, but the movie just increased their liking. So for Valentines Day I couldn't resist making some gnome themed cards. This is Andrew's. I can't post Christina's yet because she hasn't even seen it.

Of course Valentine's Day was an easy day to find ways to bless others, especially my family. I also got to work with some 4th thru 6th grade girls at our homeschool co-op today. We made a special valentine treat for them to share. Wish I had taken pics, because they did a great job! Next week I will definitely post pictures of our craft.

My journey continues tomorrow...

A Blessing A Day {Day 12}

Ever since my kids were little bitty, I have been sewing their costumes. Halloween, theater, costume parties...all of it. I have made princess costumes, Robin Hood, elephants, dinosaurs, three musketeers, dwarves, elves, etc. etc. etc. My daughter has several events coming up that require my sewing skills (limited though they are). One of the events requires her to present a talent in front of judges. She has chosen to do a karate routine. We decided to make an outfit that is different than the one she wears to class each week and maybe add some bling to it. :) Here's a pic of the pattern and the shiny material we chose.

So we are cutting & pinning & sewing this weekend. We also attempted to apply fake fingernails, but in the end all she had was blue fingers! Apparently the die from blue nail polish remover really soaks into your skin. I told her it would surely be gone before her semi-formal dinner on Monday....we'll see. I am so blessed to have a daughter that will spend her Sat. evening shopping and hanging out with her mom. :) And I am blessed to have a mother that helped me to learn to sew also. I guess doing this for her is as much a blessing for me as for my daughter, but I'll count it for today anyway.

A Blessing A Day {Day 11}

Yesterday I told you about the family from my sister's church that was going through a major struggle. She is making a box of cards to donate for the silent auction to help raise money for them. She asked me if I had some cards I would send for this as well. So I looked through my stash and came up with several, but couldn't pass up the opportunity to create some new ones to send also.

Both of these use one of my new embossing folders. My husband pointed out that I must really like my new "toy." I suppose I have used it a lot this week, especially if he noticed! But I can't help it, I just think it's so elegant and adds such a nice touch with little effort. :)

I also worked on some Valentines today, but if I post them my family will see and I want it to be a surprise. Maybe I'll post them Monday. The month is not half over yet. You still have plenty of days to bless others intentionally if you want to join me in my challenge for the month. I am loving it and can't wait to see what the rest of the month holds.

A Blessing A Day {Day 10}

As part of the body of Christ we are called to rejoice with others when they are happy and to weep with others when they are sad. My sister told me today about a man at their church who is going through a battle with cancer and a struggle to provide for his single income family since he's currently unable to work. They are having a silent auction at the end of this month to try and raise funds for him and his family. I knew this was the perfect project for me today. I made a couple of framed items to send to her for their auction.

The first one has the fruits of the Spirit listed along with the reference in Galaltians.

The next one is a small 4X4 quilted picture. I was so pleased with the way my quilted card turned out yesterday that I just had to repeat that technique. The picture really doesn't do it justice. It turned out so cute!

So what do you think? Would you bid on these? I am praying for this family and for the church as they support and encourage them. I hope you'll join me. My journey continues...

A Blessing A Day {Day 9}

SNOW DAY! My friend came over and we spent the day in my craft room being creative and just having fun together. That was certainly a blessing to me. My dear hubby fixed us lunch and "delivered" it to us...another blessing. And to top it off, I got to play with some new stampin' toys that arrived at my house last night! (Thank you UPS) So here's what I came up with using my new toys. I'm mailing these out to some special people tomorrow, so you might see it again in your mailbox---but I'm not telling who ;)

The blessing a day journey will continue tomorrow. I am so thankful for opportunities to show others that I care. Hope you are doing the same.

A Blessing A Day ~Catching Up

I know, I know... It has been days since I've updated. I have been spending time creating every day in my craft room, but have neglected my blog. I'll post several projects today and try NOT to get so far behind again.

{Day 5}

This is a gift I made for my friend Jo who's birthday is Feb.5. I printed the verse on my computer and then dressed it up before framing it.

{Day 6}

I am so pleased with this project, but not with the pictures I took of it! Another friend celebrated her birthday on Feb.6. She has a little grandbaby named Lilly so I made this scrapbook box with a lily on the lid. With the help of her son, I printed out pics of her sweet little granddaughter and surprised her with this on her birthday. It wasn't hard to make the inside of the box look good, of course, because of the sweet little baby pictures. Love that paper lily (and the cute little cuddly one too)! I'll try to post some better pics later.

{Day 7}

Today I had deadlines to meet. I have been mass producing these tags and had to get them in the mail today for a swap with other demonstrators. I'm excited about the tags that I'll be receiving next week. I'll post some pics when they arrive.

{Day 8)

Just to change things up a bit, I'm not going to post a craft today. My blessing today was a service provided for my family---grocery shopping! Maybe you don't get too excited about that, but these days I do. I have started participating in a program called "The Grocery Game." If you know me, you know that I am pretty competitive. I like playing games, but I like WINNING games more! The Grocery Game is not really a competition, but I figure if I go to the store and save more money than I spent, then I WIN! You can find out more about The Grocery Game here.

A Blessing A Day {Day 4}

Today I am thinking outside the box. I spent zero time in my craft room today. It was one of those days where life happens and you just go with it. I spent the day cleaning my house, running errands and cleaning some more. We were suppose to host small group in our home, but the weather turned a little nasty and instead I spent the evening watching a movie with my family (in my nice clean house). So my blessing to others today was a pleasant family/home environment to share a snowy evening together just hanging out. What I'll share with you is the creativity of someone else, but it is what inspired us to watch the movie we chose...

Do you recognize her? This is Edna Mode from Disney's movie The Incredibles. She was made using Stampin' Up punches! I am always amazed at the creativity God has blessed others with. You should check out Ellen's blog. She is quite the punch art artist.

Check back later in the weekend and I'll have some other fun projects to show you :)

A Blessing A Day {Day 3}

I have several good friends and a parent who have birthdays scattered throughout February. This weekend 2 of my very dear friends & small group members from church will be celebrating birthdays. I won't say which one this is for so I don't spoil the surprise. :) My craft room is getting pretty messy from the card making I have been doing. I am an extremely messy stamper! But we don't have a gym meet this weekend so I should be able to get it back in order before the Super Bowl Party here Sunday evening. I have to have it back in order by then, because I plan on stamping with a friend during the big game. I do enjoy football, and if Denver was playing I would be glued to the TV, but this year (as last) stamping wins out.

Enjoy what's left of the week, and take time today to bless someone!

A Blessing A Day {Day 2}

I know this isn't the warm summer card that I talked about making yesterday, but I had a friend call today for some encouragement. She has a lot of stuff going on in her life both at work and at home and was feeling overwhelmed. I made this card for her. Hope it will lift her spirits a little. And I hope the Scripture I wrote inside will lift her burden some too. You can check it out in Isaiah 43:2 and the first part of verse 3. Praying that God will continue to bring people into my path each day that I can encourage. Hope you're doing the same. :)

A Blessing A Day {Day 1}

Well it is Feb. 1 and that marks the beginning of my Blessing A Day challenge. I made this card for my parents. They are both dealing with health issues right now & since I can't reach my arms from Arkansas to Indiana, I sent them a hug in the form of a card. :) Hope it brightens their day. Tomorrow I may send a card with a summer theme to my friends in Columbia, MO who are dealing with blizzard conditions! Wish I was there with you....really I do. We have rain here, but no snow :(

You can still join me in the quest to be a blessing to someone, somewhere everyday in Feb. I personally am commited to creating an item each day, but you can be a blessing to others with an intentionally spoken kind word, a smile shared with a stranger, or by cooking a meal for your family. The point is to focus on someone other than yourself and let them know you care. I hope you'll join me.