I Fell Off the Wagon...But I'm Getting Back Up!

So I said I was going to get more involved in doing challenges...and I stuck with it for like a week! Are you kidding me?!? I stuck with exercising longer then that (okay, not MUCH longer, but still longer then a week!). Well, I have been fighting some sort of cold/virus thing for 3 weeks now. I'm almost ready to cave and go to the doctor. I've had no energy to do ANYTHING! The house has gone from messy to just plain disgusting, the laundry has piled up, and all I want to do is sleep! So this week, I'm getting back on track. If I don't feel better tomorrow I'm going to the doctor and I'm going to GET BETTER! The house will get a thorough cleaning, the laundry and ironing (UGH) will get done, and I will get back to my stampin' challenges! I made an attempt at VSN over at Splitcoast this weekend...just to give me something to do. My cards were...well...gross! I actually uploaded one, deleted it, and threw it away!! I would like to say that I reached for my little Cuttlebug so many times yesterday and almost cried every time! I almost replaced it this week at Mike's -- they were half off! But I'm holding out and saving up for a Big Shot (thanks Tess!). I just kept repeating that to myself yesterday. Okay this blog post is getting way too long (does anybody read it when it's this long?!?) Here's a few cards to share from VSN. They are gross, but it's all I have! :)

First up, the Wee Bit of Love Challenge: We had to create a card using "inchies" (1 inch squares)
Stamps: Jan. Kit of the Month (Unity), Greeting Galore (SU)
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: label punch, ticket corner punch, ribbon, rhinestones, square punch

Next was the Joy Fold Card. I've never made this type of card before, and I'm not so sure I did it right, but I attempted it anyway!
Stamps: Oct and Feb Kit of the Month (Unity)
Paper: Stampin' Up Holiday Collection, Soft Sky, Taken with Teal
Ink: Blue Bayou
Accessories: District Ribbon (SU), Slit punch

And the last one that I'm going to share is the "L" word challenge. You had to create a card using things that started with the letter "L." I made a Little Lavender card with Leftover scraps and the Loads of Love set...with just a Little bling and a Lovely ribbon (yes, I used Little twice...not very creative here!)
Stamps: Loads of Love (SU)
Paper: Lavender
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Ribbon, Dew Drops Pin It Now!

R.I.P. My Little Cuttlebug

It's a sad sad day today. My cute little green cuttlebug has bit the dust...bought the farm...cashed in it's chips....kicked the bucket...dead as a doornail...Enough with the clíches, I know! I was innocently running a die through my little bug, when the side blew off (it did not pop off it literally went flying) and it cuts and embosses no more. Jon tried to give it CPR but there was no saving. So take a moment of silence for my little bug. May it rest in peace! Pin It Now!

His Holy Name -- Righteous

Here is my page for the name Righteous. The verse I chose was Psalm 36:6— Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, Your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike (NLT).
Supplies Used:
Flower stamp is from Unity's November Kit of the Month. I believe it is now available as a single called Flowers from Neverland.
The paper is Basic Grey Mellow, and Very Vanilla from SU. The chipboard is also from Basic Grey, called Hip. I used Chocolate Chip, Only Orange, and Garden Green ink from SU. And the ribbon is from American Crafts.

Third Day sings a song called "Your Love, O Lord" and it comes from this Psalm. Here is a link to the video on you tube. It's a good song! Pin It Now!

Be There or Be Square!!

Okay, so I don't really know what that means, but I do remember hearing it all the time in high school. I guess it means if you aren't there, you aren't cool!! And that's for sure what it means on Saturday, Feb. 28th! You like challenges, right? Blog candy? Sure you do! Chattin' it up? Of course! Join Ashley and her Etsy-Inspired blog hop. Check out all the details at her blog here! Pin It Now!

H to the 3rd Power!

That's right, it's Hip Hop Hangover!! And in honor of the 3 H's, I have 3 pages to share! I finally started Patter's His Holy Name Challenge. I have been wanting to do it for awhile now, but just never made the time! So Monday I sat myself down and did it! I'm trying to watch my spending, so I looked around for something to put my pages in and found a cute photo album that I got for Christmas and thought it would be perfect... That's what I get for thinking while having a fever and being medicated! The pages are too small!!! They are 4x6. But it's okay, I'm sticking with it! And if I need to make two page layouts, then that's what I will do.

HOLY

Verse: You must be holy because I, the LORD, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own. Leviticus 20:26(NLT)

I used the Almighty God stamp from the September Kit of the Month, but I just colored the words Holy One and stamped that.

Ribbon is from American Crafts, paper is Basic Grey Mellow collection, and I used the Top Note die from SU.

SOVEREIGN

Verse: The Sovereign LORD is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights. Habakkuk 3:19(NLT)

Stamps: Alphabet Appeal (SU!), Deer from November Kit of the Month
Paper is from Basic Grey. Not sure where the journal card is from...maybe My Mind's Eye.


PROTECTOR

Verse: God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1

On the journal card I listed other names for Protector: Advocate, Backer, Savior, Defender, Safeguard, Supporter, Shield, Bulwark, Champion, Guardian

Stamps: Thanks to You! (Unity)
Paper is Basic Grey Mellow collection, journal card is from My Mind's Eye, ribbon is American crafts. I cut out the word "protector" using my Silhouette (which by the way, has a new update where it will weld the word. VERY exciting!!) Brads are from Spare Parts (Hobby Lobby brand). Ticket Corner and Slot Punch (SU!) Pin It Now!

My Hot Tamale!!

Over at 2 Sketches 4 You they are giving away blog candy for posting your eye candy! Here's my sweetie. I love this guy!! :) Pin It Now!

Sympathy Card

We had somebody from the church pass away this weekend. Jon is performing the funeral on Wednesday. I was able to make a sympathy card for the family today.

Stamp is from Our Daily Bread Designs
Paper is Basic Grey Mellow
Ribbon is American Crafts
Brads are Spare Parts (from Hobby Lobby)


Jon and I would appreciate your prayers for this week. He's performed funerals before, however this is the first funeral he'll be performing for somebody that he spent a lot of time with. Pin It Now!

Where'd the Time Go??

I had time to make ONE card this entire week...And when I finished it, it was ugly and not at all what I pictured. But since I have nothing else to share you get to see it anyway! :)
Supplies:
Spring in the Mail (Unity)
Cardstock and DP from SU!
Ribbon from Martha Stewart
Brads (brand unknown) Pin It Now!

Chris Tomlin Concert!

The concert was pretty good! It was nice to have a night out with Jon for a change! Things around here have been pretty crazy lately. Jon has been at the hospital so much they know him better then I do, I think. Friday night we were going to have an "us" night and just unwind...pizza and a movie. Simple! But, of course, he got a call and he had to be at the hospital. So, Monday night I decided I wanted to go to the concert. I asked him if he thought he could get away and he said yes! So our seats weren't awesome, but they were facing the stage, they were just kind of high up. I could see and hear just fine, the pictures just aren't the greatest! Of course, we had been at the concert about 5 minutes when his phone rang... somebody else was in the hospital and they wanted him there. He told them he would visit them this morning but wasn't able to make it last night. It was so nice to have a night with him!

Anyway, on to the concert. I'm not a HUGE concert fan. I can pretty much tell you every concert I've been to, and it's not many. But I've been to enough to know that all christian concerts have about a 15 minute "please help this cause" segment. The one last night went for over 30 minutes! I was disappointed...It kind of ruined the flow of the concert. The first half was great, but after the "speech" everything was kind of... blah. Of course, I could sing all night so I kept cheering right along with everybody else! Probably my favorite part of the concert was when he sang the chorus to "How Great Is Our God" in a few other languages and people in the arena sang along. It was just a small section of people that knew the language and it was beautiful. I also surprisingly liked the band that opened for them - Israel Houghton and New Breed. I hadn't really heard them before, but apparently they write the songs that a lot of people sing at church Sunday morning...(not us! we're still stuck in the 60's). Who knew!! I enjoyed them a lot. ALMOST bought a CD. That's pretty good for me. :)








The video is of the encore. Ignore any awful singing in the background...it must have been the person next to me! ;)


I have tons more pictures on my facebook page if you so desire:

Oh! One more story (yes I'm aware, this is the world's longest blog post!!). This was too funny though. The guy sitting next to me (who later moved behind me because it was completely empty behind us) was a middle-aged white guy.... who thought he was a gospel-singin' lady! I kid you not! He kept trying to sing "Mmm-hmmm" when they were praying. You know what I mean if you've ever gone to a gospel concert, an African American church, or even watched it on tv :) And then when he didn't know the words he just kept going "ohhh ohhh ohhh" in a really high pitch, I want to be a gospel singing Aretha Franklin type sound... only it didn't sound too good. Once I busted up laughing and had to bury my head...Jon had no idea what was so funny because he couldn't hear it, until he moved behind us... LOL! This is a had to be there story, but funny none-the-less!
Pin It Now!

Etsy Inspired Challenge 22

Here's my Etsy Inpsired Challenge Card. I used this blanket as my inspiration.

Go to Ashley's blog for more information about the challenge:

Supplies:
Stamps: Thanks to You! (Unity)
Paper: Chocolate Box (Coredinations), Very Vanilla (SU)
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Ribbon, Brad, Rhinestones, ticket corner punch, sanding block, stylized flowers embossing die (cuttlebug)
Techniques: sanding, paper tearing

I'm going to a Chris Tomlin concert tonight. I am soooooo excited. I'm going to take TONS of pictures and I plan on singing as loud as I ever have before!! CAN'T WAIT!!!!!! Pin It Now!