Bright Shining Star of 2014 Award from Our Daily Bread Designs

          I am so very honored to be among the Bright Shining Stars of 2014 chosen by Our Daily Bread Designs.



     ODBD chose my black and silver Christmas card to feature in their  awards post today.

        I love ODBD and all they stand for. They make it so easy for me to share my faith and love of our Heavenly Father.  I am especially fond of their scripture stamps and dies.
     You can see the other Bright Shining Stars of 2014 here: http://ourdailybreaddesignsblog.blogspot.com/2014/12/introducing-graciela-and-our-bright-and.html
     May God be glorified in my work,

Pamela

Sketch Challenge ODBDSLC220

          Thanks for stopping in on such a busy few days as we all prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior. Hope you all are surrounded with friends and loved ones.

     I made this card for the challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs. This time ODBD gave us a sketch to work with (below).
     I used two die collections from ODBD for my card - Fancy Foliage and the new Asters & Leaves dies. I just got the Aster dies and have been anxious to find some time to play with them. They are as fun as I thought they would be. I'm so happy I got them. And, my favorite die of all time is the vine that comes with the Fancy Foliage dies. For this card I die cut a vine then cut it in half to give some balance to my card.
     The papers are Teresa Collins' Summer Stories 6 x 6. She has really been on my mind with the recent loss of her husband, so I thought I would use her papers for my card.
     Check out all the details here to submit your own card:  http://www.ourdailybreaddesignsblog.blogspot.com/2014/12/odbdslc220-sketch-week-2.html
     May our Lord richly bless you and your families as we soon begin a new year.

DCWV December Stack-a-holic Card Challenge

      Where does the time go!?! Already time for another monthly challenge at DCWV!

     I do thank you for stopping in. I know how busy we all get just a few days out from Christmas. I'm planning to send this Christmas thank-you card to Mom. She loves red, so I know this card will be a hit with her!

     I used the CANDY CANE LANE STACK from DCWV to make my card for this month's Stack-a-holic Challenge.

     Other products I used are:

          Fiskars:  All Year Cheer (sentiment)

          Our Daily Bread Designs: Sparkling Snowflakes stamps

          Our Daily Bread Designs: Snowflake dies

          McGill:  tag punch

          Ranger:  white pigment

          StampinUp:  white embossing powder

          Recollections:  white pearls

     There is still time to join in the fun. Here's a copy of the sketch DCWV gave us to work with as well as the link to get all the details.  http://dcwvinc.blogspot.com/2014/12/december-stack-holic-challenge.html

     Thanks again for popping in! Hope you have a wonderful Christmas,

Pamela



Gingerbread Tea & Review

     Looking for a special Christmas gift for a child in your life?

     The Franklin County Arts Council in Mt. Vernon, TX has invited local children's book authors to speak and autograph books this Saturday, Dec 20th. I'll be there with "Max, the Boy Raindrop". And, if you have not gotten a copy of my Alaska book, "A Deliberate Life: A Journey into the Alaskan Wilderness", I'll be autographing those books as well.
Hope you make it out.

~~~The Gingerbread Tea & Review~~~
1:00 - 4:00, December 20th
100 Rusk
Mt. Vernon, TX

Our Daily Bread Designs Guest-Designer Week 4

     Thanks so much for stopping in for my fourth week as a guest-designer for Our Daily Bread Designs.

      I could hardly wait to show my next card to you. I just love how the Christmas tree came out! I used the stem-with-leaves die from ODBD's Fancy Foliage die set. I'll get to the details in just a minute.
     To begin, I made a 7 x 5 white card base. Using some gorgeous ODBD patterned papers, I cut various sized panels and matted them with  a tan/taupe/beige paper.
     I die-cut the snowflakes from another sheet of patterned paper. I adhered them to the card as shown. I used foam tape on the snowflake nearest the tree and heat-embossed the sentiment.

     Now for the tree! I love finding new ways to use my dies and other supplies, and that is just what I did to make my tree.  I adhered a 1/8" x 3.25" strip down the front of the panel. I die-cut 10 stems. To get them to flow - or swoop - in the right direction, I die-cut 5 of the 10 stems with the right side of the paper facing me. I die-cut the other 5 stems with the wrong side of the paper facing me. Beginning at the bottom, I layered the stems as shown allowing the stems to overlap and fall at a steeper angle as I went up. I added clear gems as ornaments and a tree-topper-star.

 

Our Daily Bread Designs products used:

 

          paper: Christmas Paper Collection 2013

          stamps: Snowflake Sentiments #ECS06

          dies: Snowflakes

                   Fancy Foliage

 

     You may also see my card on Our Daily Bread Designs' blog here: http://ourdailybreaddesignsblog.blogspot.com/



     I have so enjoyed my time as Guest-Designer for Our Daily Bread Designs. Your comments and visits to my blog are always special to me. It has been an honor to share my paper art with you. I hope you have found inspiration and encouragement. Wishing you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas season,

   

     ETA:  I am linking my card to the Tree-mendous Tree Challenge in the Moxie Fab World. There's still a little time left if you want to play along with us. Find the details here: http://www.moxiefabworld.com/2014/11/challenge-tree-mendous-trees.html

 

         



     Pamela



Our Daily Bread Designs Guest Designer - Week 3

     So happy to have you stop by my blog today on my third week as a guest designer for Our Daily Bread Designs. Today, I have an easel card that celebrates winter. 

     This card is 4.25" x 5.5" overall. I started with a white card-base folded to be an easel. I trimmed a patterned-paper panel from ODBD's Christmas Paper Collection 2013 to fit the front of the card. I just love the tone-on-tone snowflakes on this sheet, so much so that it was hard for me to actually cut it. I inked the edges in red and added pearls to the center of some of the snowflakes.

     Using a red patterned-paper from the same collection, I stamped and heat-embossed five snowflakes in white. I die-cut them, and as you can see on the bottom-left, I used two of them together to give depth to the card. I added lots of pearls to each snowflake because I love pearls!  

     I added a few red and white striped strips and tucked another of my snowflakes behind the sentiment tag which I stamped in red. I inked the edges and adhered the tag with foam tape.

     Now just for fun, here are some close ups of my snowflakes. I so love this collection of snowflake stamps.

     Thanks so much for popping in today. I always enjoy your visits and comments.

  ***

Our Daily Bread Designs products I used to make my wintery card:

 

paper - Christmas Paper Collection 2013

 

stamps - Sparkling Snowflakes #ECS08

              Snowflake Sentiments #ECS06

 

dies - snowflakes

 

For more info, you can see my card on the ODBD blog at: http://ourdailybreaddesignsblog.blogspot.com/





DCWV November Stack-a-holic Card Challenge

Update: So excited to find out my card won the challenge at DCWV!
     Time for another fun Stack-a-holic challenge at DCWV.

     I used The Handy-Dandy Stack from DCWV to make my Christmas card. I know that lime-greenish and pinkish are not the go-to colors for Christmas, but I have a rebellious side when it comes to 'rules' about colors and design. So, pink and lime green it is!

     In the stack, there are several sheets of random letters all over the page - different fonts, sizes, colors. I cut some of them out to make my Merry Christmas sentiment. There are enough letter styles that you could use the sheet for your favorite style.

     I added a few snowflake stickers to finish it off. The big snowflake is a shaker-sticker.



     There is still plenty of time left if you want to join in on the fun. Here's a copy of the sketch we had to work with and the address for all the details. http://dcwvinc.blogspot.com/2014/11/november-stack-holic-challenge-is-here.html

     Thanks so much for stopping in today. As we come to the time of year to think more about the things we are thankful for, I add you, my followers and visitors, to my list. Have a wonderful day,

Pamela





Holiday Challenge ODBDSLC217

     UPDATE: Just found out that my black and silver Christmas card won the challenge! So excited! Thanks so much to Our Daily Bread Designs for picking my card!

     I made this card for Our Daily Bread Designs' Holiday Challenge. I've always enjoyed using non-traditional colors for my Christmas cards. For this one, I used black and silver to get a more elegant look. I think black and white would also look good. Or, what about black and green!?! I guess I will be spending more time in my studio today.

     The patterned paper (DVWV Silver Script) already had the silver script on it. I used ODBD's Sparkling Snowflakes stamps (ECS08) to stamp all the snowflakes in silver and added a "diamond" to the center of each. I used ODBD snowflake dies to die-cut the big snowflake which I adhered with foam tape.
     For the sentiment, I used ODBD's Snowflake Sentiment stamps (ECS06). I stamped "Christmas Blessings" with black ink onto silver, satin ribbon. The whole stamp reads Snowy Christmas Greetings. But, since I only have this size of silver ribbon, I used just part of the stamp. This two words that I did use fit perfectly on my ribbon. I've been experimenting with stamping onto things other than paper. I'm pleased with how the stamp looks on this ribbon.
     There is still time if you want to play along with us. You can find all the details on Our Daily Bread Designs blog at: http://www.ourdailybreaddesignsblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Shining%20the%20Light%20Challenge
     Hope you will try some non-traditional colors on your cards this year. Hope you have a wonderful day!    

Our Daily Bread Designs Guest Designer - Week 2

ETA: Some of asked what the trim is behind the main panel of this card. It is a sheet of patterned paper that came with the collection. It has small, thin chevrons running across the paper. I just let a little edge peak out the sides to get this affect.
     Thanks so much for stopping in on my second week as a guest designer for Our Daily Bread Designs.

     I know we are headed into winter now, but I love this paper and the flowers on it. So, here you have my next card with pretty flowers, but they are in fall colors. That must count for something, no?

     I started this card by making a 5.5 x 4.25 card base. I cut a panel to fit the front and another panel about .25" smaller on each side. Then, I cut  a panel from a fence-and-flowers sheet as shown - I call it an envelope edge because it reminds me of the back flap on an envelope. I matted it with the same paper as my largest rectangular panel and adhered it with foam tape. The flowers were already printed on the paper. I added my own pearls and ribbon.

     I stamped the sentiment with ColorBox chalk in Wisteria which matches perfectly. Again, I used the same paper to mat the sentiment tag as the other panels. I fussy-cut flowers, added more pearls and adhered the flowers to the sentiment tag.

     To add balance to the design, I added pearls in graduated sizes in the upper left corner.

 

     Our Daily Bread Designs products used:

 

          Papers: Rustic Beauty Collection

          Stamps: No Words #F515

 

     I'm so excited to show you next week's card! It turned out really nice, but I'll have to keep you waiting and just say I created it with the winter season in mind.

     Thanks again for stopping in.

 

     My card on ODBD is here: http://ourdailybreaddesignsblog.blogspot.com/

Our Daily Bread Designs - Guest Designer Week 1

     I am so excited to tell you that Our Daily Bread Designs has asked me to be a guest designer for the month of November. Each Wednesday during November, I will create and share a card on their blog and mine.

     I have never cried over a card before, but this one brought tears.  I'll get to that later, but first I have to tell you how I made the flowers on my card. I so love how they turned out!



     I began by making a 5.5 x 5.5 card base. I cut a same-size panel and adhered it. Then, I matted a matching panel with black. The rebel in me made me scoot it off to one side. I kind of like my cards being a little different from others. I cut and matted a tag shape and stamped the sentiment in black. I used foam tape to adhere the tag.
    Now for the flowers! Again, the rebel rises up in me. I used the Fancy Foliage leaf die to make my flower petals. I love making my dies / stamps / embellishments work differently than for that which they were intended. I die-cut but did not emboss seven large leaves in purple and seven more in black. In the same manner, I die-cut seven small purple leaves and seven more in black. To give shape to the petals, I rolled them gently around a pencil. I glued one black petal to the back of each purple petal allowing the black to show just a little on one side to create shadow and depth. Then, I overlapped the petals and glued them in place. I found it was easier to first glue all the petals to a piece of scrap and then adhere it to my tag. I added a blue gem to the center of each flower and tucked a Fancy Foliage vine which I cut in half around the flowers. Now, for the tears.

     As I was looking through the papers in the ODBD Christian Faith Collection, I found a sheet that had stakes like those used to nail our Savior to the cross. I was so moved by the image of the stakes lashed together and the sentiment I chose to use with it. I made a point to cut each petal with an image of the stakes showing. I've been a Christian my whole life, and to be reminded of the sacrifice of our Lord just hit me in an unexpected way. I love our Lord so much. I tear up again as I write about it now. I will be keeping this card. I'll frame it and hang it over my desk so I am reminded every day of the sacrifice made on my behalf.

     Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. You can see more about my cards each Wednesday in November at http://ourdailybreaddesignsblog.blogspot.com/.

    

     Our Daily Bread Design supplies used:

 

          Papers - Christian Faith Collection

          Stamps - Earth Verses #F494

          Die - Fancy Foliage CSBD33

 

Scripture Inspiration Challenge - ODBDSLC216

     Hello my friends, so nice of you to stop by. Today, I have a card for Our Daily Bread Designs bi-weekly challenge.

     The challenge this time was to create a card that is inspired from this scripture:

        Ecclesiastes 3:1 - To everything there is a season and a purpose for every time under Heaven.

     One could go in a lot of directions with this inspirational scripture. I love the changing of the season from summer to fall when the morning air is crisp and leaves begin to change. I used ODBD's Birch Background (#D213) stamp for my card. And, for the inside sentiment, I used their Friendship (#B52) stamp set. 

     The deadline for this challenge is Sunday so you have a little while to get your card ready. Here's a link to the details if you want to join in the fun: http://www.ourdailybreaddesignsblog.blogspot.com/2014/10/odbdslc216-scripture-inspiration_28.html
     Have a wonderful day and be sure and check back here and on ODBD's blog on Wednesday to see the card I designed for them.
      Love and hugs coming your way, Pamela

Other stamps used: birch leaves - Martha Stewart Leaf and Branches MA331036

DCWV October Stack-a-holic Card Challenge

Update:  So exited to find out my card made it to the winner's list at DCWV!
     Thanks so much for popping in. I really love your visits. Today, I have a card for the DCWV Stack-a-holic Challenge which I am getting in at the very last moment. Not like me, but I've been super busy this month.

     I used DCWV's Heirloom Stack to make my card for this month's challenge. I bought this stack just for the sheet of paper you see under my card. I have still not been able to cut it! You now how that goes - right!?! It can't just be me.

    I love using unexpected colors for my Christmas cards. Teal and taupe/tan/dark ivory. Let's go with taupe because it's fun to say teal and taupe!  

     If you have an idea for this challenge, you might still have time to get it in. The deadline is today! Here's a copy of the sketch we had to work with and the address for all the details.

     Thanks again for stopping in. I wish you a fun and meaningful holiday season. http://dcwvinc.blogspot.com/2014/10/october-stack-holic-challenge.html

I also used La Petites stickers (the Paper Studio) and sentiment stamps from Hero Arts #CL469.

Anything Goes with ODBD Stamps Challenge - ODBDSLC215

     Thanks so much for stopping in today! I love your visits and comments, as always.

      I created this card for the current challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs. For this challenge we can make any card we want that uses ODBD stamps.

     I began by making a 5" x 7" white card base. I diecut a shaped hole and heat-embossed the sentiment on the inside of the card so that it would show through the hole.

     I heat-embossed and diecut two snowflakes and added rhinestones to one snowflake. I adhered the two snowflakes together with foam tape. Then, I adhered the pair to my card as shown with foam tape. Here's a close-up of the snowflakes. 

     Here's a close-up of the sentiment inside the card. 

     ODBD stamps and dies I used today:

          Snowflake Sentiments #EC506

          Sparkling Snowflakes #EC508

          Snowflake Custom Die Template



     There is still plenty of time to join in the fun. Check out the details here: http://www.ourdailybreaddesignsblog.blogspot.com/2014/10/odbdslc215-anything-goes-with-our-daily.html

 

     Are you familiar Our Daily Bread Designs? They are a Christian stamp / die / paper company. I love their products and am excited to tell you that I am their guest-designer for November. You can sign up for their email list and/or like them on Facebook and you won't miss any of my cards in November. Sign up here: www.ourdailybreaddesigns.com

     You can also join my blog and you won't miss my cards. Just click on  "Join this Site" over there in the right-hand column and follow the easy steps to get my posts. 

Sharing Max with the Head Start Kids

     What a fun day Max and I had with the 55 Head Start kids at the Cooper Library! The kids were great! They listened so politely and got the point of Max's story without any prodding. Max, on the other hand, was quite rude. He kept interrupting me. He is really shy and will talk only to me and only in my ear.

     Max really liked the kids and wanted them to know how scared he was, and how much braver he is now. Maybe he will become brave enough one day to speak to others.

"Max, the Boy Raindrop" Reading

     Max, the boy raindrop, and I have our first public reading next week at the public library here in Cooper, Texas. Some of the kids from school are taking a field trip to the library, and I get to read my new book to them. It will be lots of fun for us all!

     I must say that I have learned a lot in making the real Max pictured here. I've sewn since I was nine-years old. I've made a wedding dress, and jackets, and all kinds of other challenging projects. Max just about got the best of me. But, he is finished at last.

     I did find this great fabric called glitter-knit. I had not seen it before. It looks wet, no? It worked out perfectly for what I had in mind. I did make Max so that he could sit on the edge of a table, desk, podium, etc., and have his feet dangle. I put beans in the bottom of his body and his feet so he can sit nicely. He also has an extra layer of fabric on his back so I can hold him like a puppet when the occasion calls for it.

     Thanks so much for stopping by today. I appreciate the time you spend here.

DCWV August Stack-a-holic Challenge

UPDATE: Thanks to DCWV for featuring my card on their blog!

    So nice of you to stop by my blog today. Love your visits and comments. I had lots of fun making this card for the monthly challenge over at DCWV.

     I used DCWV's Chickadee Mesange Pajaro Stack to make my card. Love the colors and designs in the stack. To make my pennants pop, I shadowed each one with a different color to create a 3D-look.

     I usually make all my own embellishments, but I had these great stickers I won from Pink Paislee's Hey Kid collection. How could I not use them here? The sentiment is also a sticker from the Paper Studio.

     There is still plenty of time if you want to join in all the fun. Below is a copy of the challenge sketch we had to work with, and here's the link to the rules at DCWV: http://dcwvinc.blogspot.com/2014/08/august-stack-holic-challenge.html

 

Sketch Challenge ODBDSLC211

     Thanks so much for popping in. Today I have a card for the sketch challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs.

     From Our Daily Bread Designs, I used the Fancy Foliage die and the No Words collection to stamp the sentiment.
     The cardstock is from  DCWV's Chickadee Mesange Pajaro Stack.
     I think putting a shadowed-square behind each of the border squares really makes them pop. Adds a 3D look without the bulk of extra layers and foam tape.
     There is still plenty of time if you want to play along with us. You have until Sunday, Aug 17th at 8 p.m. EST to get your card in. Here's the sketch ODBD gave us to work with along with the link to all the details.
http://www.ourdailybreaddesignsblog.blogspot.com/2014/08/odbslc211-sketch-week-2.html

Sponging-or-Stencils Challenge ODBDSLC210

     Today, I have a card for Our Daily Bread Designs Sponging or Stencils challenge. I went with sponging and had lots of fun creating my card.

     I sponged green pigment ink onto a good part of a sheet of white cardstock using a regular sponge from the kitchen. After the pigment dried, I die cut my label with Spellbinder's Labels Twenty Two and die cut two vines using ODBD's Fancy Foliage die. I stamped the sentiment using ODBD's No Words stamps. I love how the sponging turned out! I'll be using this technique again and often. I'm planning on using it in my next children's book too. If you have not tried, I encourage you to give it a try.

     I usually get my challenge cards posted in time for you, my wonderful followers, to play along. But, I've been so busy getting material ready for the writer's workshop I'm teaching that time has gotten away from me. The deadline is a few short hours away. If you are faster than I am, you could still get a card in. Deadline is 8 p.m. Eastern tonight! Check out the details here: http://www.ourdailybreaddesignsblog.blogspot.com/2014/07/odbdslc210-sponging-or-stencils-week-2.html

     As usual, I love having you drop in and look at my cards or read about my writing. Thanks so much.

DCWV July Stack-a-holic Card Challenge

UPDATE: So excited to learn my card was among the winners for its challenge. Thanks, DCWV! Love playing along in your challenges.


     Thanks so much for stopping in. Today, I have a card for the July Stack-a-holic Challenge over at DCWV.

     I used DCWV's The Home Spun Cardstock Stack to make my card. I had lots of fun making this card! I got to use several embossing folders and die cuts too. I used the darker teal/turquoise and cream cardstock from the stack. This color combo is my fave and I've saved every little scrap of these sheets. And, see? A good thing I did - look at the little flowers I had to make.

     There is still plenty of time to join in the fun with us. Here's the address for all the details and a copy of the sketch we had to work with.
http://dcwvinc.blogspot.com/2014/07/july-challenge-post-and-giveaway.html