There's No Place Like Home!

Last week I went to visit my Mum in Gibraltar - it was her 87th birthday!  It was touch and go as to whether I'd be well enough to go and at one point I thought I would have to postpone my visit.  But... I prayed that I would receive strength and lots of people were praying for me too so its not surprising really that I was well enough to go - God does hear and answer prayer :)  Thank you so much to all of you who prayed.  I had a great time with my Mum and also my brother, my nephew and his lovely wife and kids, my great-niece and great-nephew!!!  Teresita, my great-niece, 6 years old, kept wanting to do 'art' with me and of course I was delighted to oblige.

However, it was pretty exhausting and I was really pleased to get home again.  When I picked up my art journal again I did a quick, really fun to do backround and it turned into this page:

I've used this Crafters Workshop Mini Cubist stencil before to make a house shaped card (see it here).  With texture paste it works very well for a house.  The roof, windows and doors are washi tape.

 

I'm linking up at:

 Art Journal Every Day

Create With Joy Friendship Friday 

Recovery is Never a Straight Line

One of the things about cfs (chronic fatigue syndrome) is that you've just got to be patient - I've just got to be patient!  Last week I said I was definitely on the mend and no sooner had I written it that the very next day I had a big dip.  However, that's the way it goes and I didn't let it get me despondent - recovery is never a straight line.

This is the theme for the journaling on the page which actually goes all around the edges but I cut it off in the photo!  I was inspired by Clare Lloyd at the PaperArtsy blog where she did a journal page starting with a backround where she picked up three colours of paint at the same time on a big paintbrush.  Clare painted stripes but I was having so much fun that I did a sort of check using the PaperArtsy Freso Finish chalk acrylic paints which I love, the ones I used are translucent (some of their colours are opaque).  I like the way Clare stamped leaves all around as a border so I thought I'd stamp all around with flowers (a £1 clear stamp).  Then I stencilled Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's stencil Mini Indian Leaves in the middle because the pattern is an up and down one - like recovery :)

You can sort of see the painted check effect here.  I  swooshed a couple of colours on cardstock and stamped and cut out the flower heads and these became the points on my trend chart.  The white lines are white raffia.

As my chart shows, the trend is UP!  Praise God.  It is always Jesus who gets me through these times - Christ Furnishes Strength!  A psalm I've found very helpful recently is this one:

O my Strength, I will sing praises to thee;
    for thou, O God, art my fortress.
 My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
    my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.

Ps 59: 9-10 

I love calling the Lord my Strength!  That is what He is at these times and always.  

If you are struggling with your health or any other difficulty at this time know that the Lord He is God and your Strength and He will help you overcome in your situation.

Blessings and grace to you.

More Snowflake sparkle

Here is another sparkly snowflake card for the Country View Challenges Sparkle and Shine challenge.  This time I used the largest snowflake from the set I got at the craft sale while on holiday in Scotland which I wrote about here.

 

I stamped and embossed the large snowflake in tinsel snowflake embossing powder and it gives a really lovely sparkle.  I sponged with distress inks, flicked with water and then sprayed with Pearl Cosmic Shimmer and it really does shimmer beautifully.  I edged with Winter Dawn Mega Flakes and then mounted  on the card which I'd stamped a snowflake border on with the smaller snowflake stamps in the set.  I love the frosty snowy look of the card which you can't quite see in the photo.

I can't stop making snowflake cards so here are two more made in a similar way but this time with no sparkle:

And one with no border:

That's it for now, but more snowflake cards to come:)

Snowflake sparkle

Today I'm sharing a sparkly card made from a gorgous big Hero Arts snowflake backround stamp.  I found this stamp while on holiday with Hubby, Dominic, in Scotland earlier this year.  We'd been for a lovely walk and popped into a coffee shop for a break and a hot drink.  To my glee I found that a local craft group were having their monthly meeting and HAVING A CRAFT SALE!!! :D  Well, Dominic sat down with his coffee in a resigned kind of way while I met the lovely people and chatted and browsed and found this stamp and another snowflake stamp set at 'you can't not buy me' prices.

Snowflakes is a perfect theme to enter into the Country View Crafts Sparkle and Shine Challenge.

 Since it was a sparkle and shine challenge I went to town with all things sparkly and shiny.  I stamped and embossed the snowflakes, then sponged with distress inks and sprayed with pearl Cosmic Shimmer.  The card is edged with Winter Dawn mega flake as is the bauble which I die cut from a magazine freebie.  I added gems in the snowflake centres.  I printed Peace and Joy and mounted on silver ribbon.  The embossing powder is snowflake sparkle which I love - can you see the multi coloured sparkle?

- 

I love taking a stamp and seeing how many different cards I can make with it, so stand by for more snowflake cards.

Its very therapeutic playing with inks and stamps while trying to recover from this current bout of c.f.s. (chronic fatigue syndrome).  Recovery is never a straight line and some days are better than others, but no matter what I know that C.F.S. - Christ Furnishes Strength and He is here every step of the way on the healing process.  Jesus is the Light of the World and shines his love and His light into every situation.  Where He is there is no darkness.  As I made this card using all things shiny, I thought, yes, Jesus brings sparkle and shine here to me right now, no matter how I'm feeling physically.

Thank you Country View Crafts for a great challenge.

Pleasant words ... thank you!

On Monday I posted (see it here) about being in the middle of a bout of c.f.s. (chronic fatigue syndrome) and how I try and cope by claiming the truth that C.F.S. Christ Furnishes Strength!

I had some really lovely encouraging comments.  I just want to say THANK YOU to my lovely friends :D  Your words really blessed me and helped me as did your prayers.  I can feel when people are praying for me because, well, prayer works!  Yes, I am feeling a lot better, not totally yet but getting there. 

I was well enough today to sit at my arty table and do a journal page - which was just so great :D
My page was inspired by Ellen Vargo's ledger journal page at the PaperArtsy blog.  I loved her coneflowers and lovely blue backround.  Ellen used the PaperArtsy EEV09 stamps for the petals.  I didn't have these so I cut the petals out of paper which I'd painted and stamped.  I used Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic paints for the backround and petals.

I love this proverb and it is so apt for the blessing of your comments - thank you again!