I Can Do All Things Through Christ

Hi Friends!

I am so excited to be the Guest Designer for the Retro Rubber Challenge Blog #113 “Anything Goes” Challenge! 

 What an honor- I love their challenge to use older stamps (they have to be at least one year old)- right in line with my desire to try to give all of my stamps some “love” this year (although, who am I kidding? It will take years for me to ink all of my stamps for sure, lol!).  

I decided to use a stamp set from Anna Griffin named Perfect Patterns Coloring Cards and Stamps (that I purchased from HSN a year or more ago- no longer in stock, sorry…). I paired the Anna Griffin floral image with a sentiment from Words of Encouragement (Stamp Simply Clear Stamps).

I am also linking this card to the Inkspirational #189 Garden Challenge .

If you have not had a chance to drop by the Retro Rubber Challenge Blog or the other challenge sites yet, I hope you do so- wonderful inspiration from all!

To create this card:

1).  De-static a piece of vanilla cardstock with an embossing powder tool, ink the floral image from Perfect Patterns with Versafine™ Onyx Black ink and stamp onto the prepared panel.  Apply clear embossing powder and heat set with a heat tool.

2).  Once the embossing has cooled, watercolor the image with water-based markers and use a sponge dauber to add Tim Holtz™ Vintage Tea Distress Ink to “antique” the background.

3). Trim the panel, mount onto black cardstock and lightly distress the edges with your fingernail.

4). Die cut another piece of vanilla cardstock with a stitched rectangle die, mount onto a piece of black cardstock, trim close to the edge and add a strip of crochet lace and 7/8” black satin ribbon (wrapping the ends of the ribbon behind the panel).  Mount the entire panel onto a white (or vanilla) card base.

5).  Repeat step 1 to stamp and emboss the sentiment from Words of Encouragement onto a piece of scrap vanilla cardstock.  Add the distress ink to “age” the paper, die cut with a stitched rectangle die, mount onto black cardstock and lightly distress the edges (I used my fingernail vs. a tool). 

6). Mount the floral image along with the sentiment using dimensional foam to the card front.

7). Add a few pearls to the opposite corners of the sentiment. 

8).  Finish off the card by using a clear glitter pen to add shimmer to the flower petals and a white paint pen to add highlights to the stamens. 

Stamp Sets: Perfect Patterns (Anna Griffin), Words of Encouragement (Stamp Simply)

Ink/Mediums: Versafine™ Onyx Black, Tim Holtz™ Vintage Tea Distress; Stampin’ Write Markers- Sweet Sugarplum, Pretty in Pink, Wild Wasabi; Spectrum Noir™ Clear Glitter Pen, Sharpie® Extra Fine White Paint Pen

Cardstock/Paper: Very Vanilla, Basic Black

Accessories: Big Shot™,  MFT Stitched Rectangle A1 & A2 STAX, Embossing Buddy®, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Ivory Crochet Lace, 7/8” Black Satin Ribbon, Pearls

2014- Angel, my sweet "girl"

Right after surgery- on my lap

Also, on a personal note, this week has been a tough one for us.  Last Thursday June 13th , we had to put our sweet kitty “Angel” to sleep.  

She was 14 ½ years old and had major surgery in March to remove a large fatty tumor from her side (tests revealed it could be cancerous). 

Surgical staples out- yea!

She healed marvelously from that surgery and was acting like her “normal” self again. A few weeks ago, she starting to act a bit like she did before her tumor was removed, plus it seemed as though her back was very sensitive near her tail bone.  We thought it may have been scar tissue causing problems so we made an appointment for Fri., the 14th. 

On this past Wed. eve,the 13th, when she came up the stairs from the kitty litter area, she limped into my craft room with a “club” paw on her right front foot. Her little foot was curled and she could not put any weight on her leg.  I called the vet immediately to try to get her in, but they were about to close and we made an appointment for Thurs. am. 

 She looked at me so confused, like “Mom, what’s wrong with my foot?” I carried her everywhere the rest of the evening and she slept on my lap the entire night. 

Angel on my lap- RIP, sweet baby

She would not eat anything at all before the vet visit, so we knew that she was in pain plus she hardly ate Wed. pm (normally she had a voracious appetite and would eat all her food plus her sister’s).  

 The vet was a bit stumped as well but suspected nerve damage. We did not want to put her through a battery of tests  to try to determine the cause (plus the stress on her) and still possibly have to put her to sleep, so we decided the most loving thing we could do for her was to let her go. We are totally heartbroken and miss her so, but know that we made the right decision.   

She was the most intelligent, loving, affectionate "fur-baby" - my little buddy who followed me everywhere, was a “lap” kitty since she was a kitten, was always either on my lap, craft table or by my side (she always slept on my lap all night).  Her presence in our home is greatly missed and her sweet spirit will be in our hearts forever. She was truly beloved. 

Angel and Queenie- very rare to be
 this close to each other :-)

Her sister, “Queenie”  may miss Angel, but it a bit hard to tell since she is more like the normal “cat”- lovable, likes to be petted but “don’t pick me up, please”, nibbles her food,very playful, stays in the room with us, more independent and not a lap cat at all. 

Queenie, like her sister, has a very sweet dispostion (unless she is at the vet). She looks like a Maine Coon (or Norwegian Forest Cat) mixed with a Ragdoll- we can even hold like a baby to trim her nails (for a short time:-).   Looking at the two, it is hard to believe that they are from the same litter but we understand that the female cat can mate with several males.  While they have been together for 14 1/2 years, Queenie seems to be taking it all in stride.

As sad as we are that Angel is gone, we are thankful that we had the chance to love Angel, be loved by her, have her in our lives and that we still have her sister, Queenie.

In addition to my Angel's passing,  my darling hubby will be having surgery to remove his bladder and prostate this week (he finished chemo for the bladder cancer at the end of April).

We understand that this is a considered a major operation, so we are praying that there will be no complications, that the cancer is contained in his bladder and has not metastasized, that he will be able to come home quickly as well as get used to his new “normal” . 

 Thank you for all of you who have been praying- we know that the Lord has the perfect plan for us and are resting in His Promises for sure!!  This verse, Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" has definitely been a comfort for me during this time. 

Thanks again for taking the time to visit, for all your prayers and your friendship!  I know that I have not met most of you in person, but feel that through our love of stamping and creating, we have become friends!  

I hope you have a fabulous week and come join us at for the Retro Rubber ChallengeBlog #113 “Anything Goes” Challenge!  The challenge is open until June 28!