God Speak - Journal Entries

The first page I brought out my pastels and I had an image of a woman praying. It isn't me as I have brown hair, but it may have been me when my hair was much blonder. What I wrote was what I was feeling at a particularily hard time in my life ~ how I would cry out to God earnestly seeking His presence in my life. He was good and is always to be with me. He has brought such healing and peace and joy to my life, a comfort straight from the arms of God that I will share to others as God places them in my life.
The next two pages I created with Tim Holtz distress inks for the backgrounds. CHF Stamps of trees and Ranger Products Acrylic Daubers. The images just called for verses from the Word. The one page I haven't been urged with the verse that is trying to speak to me ~ I will add it in His timing not mine. I love playing with distress inks and alterable items. They are so much fun.
Well, Happy Creating once again everyone.

I Had To Add These Pictures To My Journal

I was at work one day, a day in which was particularily slow... and so after getting the mail I saw a magazine that my boss Cynthia ordered ~ April 2008 Country Living and so I browsed through it because I was bored and I came across the most beautiful advertisement I have ever seen. The above pictures are the ones that came from that advertisement. The colors drew me in and the whimsical feeling of all the pictures. It made me wish that I was a size "2" so that I could where clothing like those pictured. I don't think they would look as good on my size "12" body. Maybe one day I will miraculously lose the weight and then I can order clothing like them. I don't know why but it felt very "Southern" ~ and I don't know what "Southern" means except that it was the first thought that came to my mind. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I did.
Happy Creating Everyone!

What Has Lil' Ol Me Been Up To???

Well, let me see. We went away for springbreak which was basically the last week of March. We drove out to Kelowna, British Columbia. I always bring my journal when I travel because I like to record different aspects of our travels in my journaling. This trip I had to draw all the funky things in the apartment - the home decor items. I loved this apartment and the way it was furnished! The decorator knew exactly what and where to place little items throughout the apartment that added just the right touch. I personally do not have this talent ~ however that may be due to the fact that my hubby doesn't like nick-nacks. I have my nick-nacks though - I collect willow tree angels and family. They are so peaceful and my youngest son loves buying them for me.
On our trip I went to the dollar store and found these funky templates that are usually used in drafting for $1.50. They came in a small and large set. So I had fun with them and was able to create a page in my journal that was really cute and funny. I added little monsters from "CHF" that I had purchased for scrapbooking and my son Ben loved these little guys. I will add more of them to this page.
So... I can't remember the last time I made a card... I think they were for Easter - but I never got around to sending or selling them because Easter came to quickly this year. God is really changing my focus and I am growing more as an artist. I used cardmaking as an outlet for 6 years during the times that were hard ~ now I want to accomplish something with my art work ~ I want to touch people's lives through what God is doing in me now. So my focus on my blog is going to be more art and art journaling from now on. I hope this won't deter too many of you crafters out there as I still love hearing from all of you.
So that's the deet's on me. With working 4 hours per day I haven't had a lot of time for my blog ~ but I am focused today.
Happy Creating Everyone!

Fact #41 I Love To Play With New Craft Items

I received my order from CHF (Cornish Heritage Farms) a few weeks back but have not had the time to play with my new stuff. I love discovering new things to play with even if I don't know what to do with them. On this page I used the new background stamp with the dried up ground, and the new foam swirls, and this pearly colored 3D stuff that I don't actually know what it is for yet - LOL! Hence this is where the "Playing" comes into play.
I 'needed' to buy a new trimmer (right!) and I loved the fact that it had interchangeable blades with different uses! I am having a great time playing with it. So far I have made some tickets for my son Ben to draw on and I have been able to cut through 10 pieces of paper at one time. I still want to purchase different blades for it as I don't have them all yet. I am waiting to do this until I know that I absolutely must have them and will use them.
I LOVE TO PLAY!

New Journal Page With (Of Coarse) A Tree

I went shopping with my gal pal Nancy and her Mom Bev last weekend at Paper Past Times and I found this funky little template/embellishment underneith a shelf on the bottom of a little basket of sale items. It is a foil with (glue gun glue) shaped like scales or something. I bought it thinking I would use it for an embellishment but then I decided to put it on the page and spray my glimmer mist on the page and use it as a template. It worked out well but I needed to wipe off the access mist with a towel. Then I used my tree template that I purchased at The Scrapbook Pantry where Nancy works and I cut out the image, colored it and then put two layers of self-leveling gel, then I put a few drops of alcohol ink into the gel to ad deeper colors. It turned out so nice as it dried. I decided to add it to this page and I think it goes really well. What do you think. I haven't written anything on the page yet because I'm not sure if I want to write on it or leave it the way it is.
I hope you enjoy it.
Happy Creating Everyone!

Fact #40 - Collages

Collages are one thing that I have never really enjoyed creating. I never understood what they were all about. With looking through different art blogs I have noticed the rise in the amount of collages being created. So many artists have perfected this art and maybe that is why I have never really caught onto it ~ if I can't perfect it my way, why do it? I am getting much better though. I am trying new things and getting more comfortable with the idea of things not being exactly perfect.
This collage is made from different pictures of women in the 1500's-1800's. I went googling to find different pictures of women's fashions during these times. I love looking at the fashions but I know that I would hate wearing them day in and day out! I couldn't imagine having to wear layers and layers of heavy fabric on my body - even in the summertime. Sure their gowns were exquisite and beautiful but I think that it would have been rather difficult to pull off every day of your life.
I covered this page with a sheet of laminant and then stamped images on top with Staz-on ink. I really like the outcome of this page.

Fact #39 I am a Romantic

I love romantic movies - where chivalry still exists! Where courting was something that occurred without "going all the way"! Where women blushed at the mere thought of their betrothed passing by. I love period pieces of artwork that captures moments like these, books, artwork etc. I drew this picture from the cover of a book I am currently reading. Although there are a few words I don't like in the book, (these words only occur once or twice)the book in itself is very innocent and romantic in a sense that the main character keeps her purity for her marriage bed. I loved the picture on the cover of the book Philippa by Bertrice Small. The main character looks strong and bold and beautiful. I distressed the background to make it look like a "London" grey day. I wrote out some of the idea of the story of the book around her because I really liked the story.

Fact #38 I LOVE BABIES

I think I have a radar for babies! I don't know how it works but it seems the second a baby is in my vicinity my radar goes off and I am all goo-goo and ga-ga over them. My son's make fun of me because they know that I am going to get like this. They tease me saying "Mom it's okay... we know you like looking at babies more than you like us!". I know they are just joking. I got to hold little baby Sarai all through Church yesterday and I was in my glory (she is just two months old - unfortunately I didn't hear much of the sermon because I was so concentrated on the beautiful little miracle in my arms. Every newborn is such an amazing little miracle. Thank you God for each and every one of them.

What Happened to My Puppy????

Just yesterday my little Mila was a little "fur-ball" and then I dropped her off at the groomers... so... I was a little shocked when I came home from work to find we had exchanged our toy-poodle/papillion for a Chiauaua. I had to go to Petland to find a sweater for her because she was shaking so much. The day before yesterday I needed to tie Mila's hair up so that she could see! She does not look too happy in either pictures does she? She looks so frail now I am not certain as to how to hold her except to cuddle her like a little baby. LOL. My poor girl.

Fact #29

I wish I could be more organized at home! I find that I do not know how to be organized. I gather so much "stuff" that I don't know where to put it! I am a 'collector' of things, meaningless things to anyone else really. I don't think anyone would be able to organize me. It is rather strange that I can be so organized when I am working, but a total mess at home!

My New Journal Dedicated to My Dad

My girlfriend Alice has asked me to bind up some journals for her. She is making up a number of "gemmed" journals to sell at a Greek Festival she is involved in. I have really enjoyed binding them up and it has gotten me excited for making my own. This is my third gemmed journal. The gems I chose for this one came out of a tin box my Mom gave me with a number of different items that my Dad collected while metal detecting. He passed away in 1994 so the items I used meant alot to me. I have a 15 year Union pin that my Dad received from his work. Somes rings and earrings and chains etc. I used red and black buttons to accent the journal as well because to me they represented my Dad's blood, his life lived I guess. The other half I painted yellow to represent where my Dad is now - Heaven. I also put a heavy chain around the outside of the front cover and a thick heart attached to the chain that represented to me the addictions my Dad had in his life to alcohol and smoking, yet the heart represents the overcoming of these addictions during certain periods of time through his life. I also used some other items that meant something to me in different areas of my life... a pin from my sister that says "sister" with an angel. My hubby's tie clip, a little ring my son gave me from a vending machine. I also included some keys; diary, bike and apartment keys from my teen years; some necklaces that I had been given from friends and other miscellaneous items. I chose the items very specifically and colors were important to me because I wanted it overall to represent life and death, but death as a hope to new life through Jesus.
It is much darker than my other journals but I think it will inspire me to draw and journal.
The first entry was inspired from the back of an Archie Comic. I saw this bird and it made me think of how busy people are. So I started by drawing the bird and then journaled around the bird. It looks like a bird going after it's prey and that made me think of what really 'busy' people look like. They are so busy minded and physically busy going from one place to another... but in the end what do they accomplish? ... are they happy? ... do they have peace? What has all their busyness achieved for themselves? I think we can get much too busy and it is so easy to lose track of what really matters. This thought occurs alot with me ~ maybe God is trying to tell me that I need to slow down and appreciate my blessings.


Happy Creating everyone!

Journaling With Benjamin - My Entries

The last two days I have been working on some journaling pages. I purchased some 'Grundgeboard' alphabet and then some lined 'grungeboard' from Tim Holtz. I let Ben use the BEN in the last entry for his page - DON'T YOU JUST LOVE IT??? For my first page I cut out some swirls that I drew on the grundgeboard ~ they weren't so easy to cut out, maybe I don't have the right scissors? I have discovered that grundgeboard is kind of leathery or suede like and is not so easy to cut out on the blank sheets with design on them. It is definitely manageable though. I won't rule it out that's for sure as it adds a whole other layer to my journal pages that I truly love.
I also used my Robins Nest Dew Drops, however, my glue does not keep them on the page. I have tried two different kinds of glue, one from 3M and one from UHU and both have not adhered the drops securely. If anyone has any suggestions I would gladly receive them. Nancy, what do you use???? (She is a wealth of knowledge).
The second page I did was done with a little stamp set I purchased from Michael's for $5.00. It is called "Mood De Jour" I think it is quite fitting for my many moods.
Happy Creating!

My Little Faithbooking Journal

After starting the Sharing The Journey: Faithbooking blog I decided that I would make a little Faithbooking journal. I went to Co-op the other night and found this cute little notebook ~ so I brought it home and embellished it right away. I seem to be using the same products over and over again... I'm still working through my big box of scrapbook paper from Costco. I am trying to get over my fear of 'tearing' paper so I made sure I tore some to put on the cover. I am slowly learning to like this technique. I used some of my brads that I have had for awhile but haven't used. And I embellished the cover also with my new dew drops and square shaped paper clips. For my first page I used my distress inks to color the page and just wrote and doodled what was on my heart! I am going to have a lot of fun with this journal.
Happy Creating Everyone!

How Fast Can You Type????

63 words

Speed test

Another New Look

I know... I am playing around too much with the look of my blog. However I must say that I am learning a lot! I have not liked the banners that I have made previously, they just didn't 'do-it' for me. So... I sat down and got out my pen-tablet and opened up my Adobe Photoshop and I was determined to create a look I liked. This was not as easy as I thought it was going to be. I first chose the size 12"x3" so that it would go across the top of my blog. Then I chose the color and filled it in with the salmon pink. I needed some sort of "effect" to the pink background, I couldn't just leave it plain. So I chose "Render" and "Lens" and this gave me a brightening as though from a flash of a 35mm camera. I then proceeded to draw the image of the flowers with my pen tablet. (These are wonderful to use if you want to create your own images, I use a 4x5 Wacom Pen Tablet and find that it is all the work space I need for my projects). For drawing the flowers I zoomed in to ensure the drawing was properly filled in. I then chose the font of the text and the size of 36 for the Kelly's Art Journaling, and then 18 for the other text at the right hand side. I then saved it as a picture for the web and then added it as the header of my blog by choosing to "add" a picture from my computer.
I am pleased for now with the look. I also chose a different template for my blog because I was sick of the green and I really like the black. Let me know what you think if you get a chance.
Happy Creating Everyone!

Introducing Dot

Dot is our new addition to our family. Joshua has been talking about getting a Gecko for a long, long, long, time. So... his birthday is this month in a week. So Randy took him to Pisces pets and helped Josh pick out Dot - A leopard Gecko. She's actually rather cute and I don't mind holding her at all. In the first picture Dot was on my head and I was a little concerned looking. The other two pic's are of Joshua getting to know his new pet.

Two Dalia Cards Specials

The brown Dalia card was made using different pattern paper, dollar store brand brad and some bella doo-dads (pink). I love these little things. My girlfriend Nancy gave me some of these little beauties. What a cool little embellishment these make!

The next card I made with other scrapbook paper patterns and "God's Blessings" SU Sentiments and my SU Word slot punch. The sentiment didn't say all these words in a row but I was able to stamp and punch them out to make the words say what I wanted. I like this technique. So... a few more cards for the fundraiser done!

Well I hope you enjoy.
Happy creating everyone!

Fairy Page - Blissfully Art Journaling

Blissfully art journaling posts ideas for journal pages every now and then and one of them was "Fairy". The only rule is that you must include the word "Fairy" on the page. Now that's not too hard to follow! I had already drawn the fairy when I was drawing with my son Ben so I just added a few embellishments to the page and voila!

Happy Creating Everyone!

It's Fundraising Time - How To Get Inspired

Okay, I am getting all set up for round 2 of Fundraising for Kid's Camp at Church to help kids go to camp this summer. So far I have made approximately 80 cards... only 320 or so to go. How do I keep inspired while making cards? I hang my cards up around me on strings so that it seems like I have made hundred's of cards already ~ when I have actually only made about 80 - LOL. I don't know why, but it makes me feel like I don't have as far to go.
The last two cards I made are fairly simple though I used a concept I am not prone to using - mixing different patterns of paper together. I have seen this more and more throughout the web ~ there are some amazingly talented people out there! I have just started using this technique and I'm not too sure about it yet.
I also used my Spellbinders Nestabilities to form a simple layered card. For the blue card I used "Glorious Gift" SU Stamps for the flowers, Sentiment "Michael's Clear Acrylic $1.50", SU Stampin spot Bordering Blue.

Happy Creating!

Sharing The Journey : Faithbooking

Dear readers of my blog, wonderful friends that I have met while blogging... I would like to share with you an idea I had and if you are interested in taking part I would love it if you would e-mail me at ksun_1999@yahoo.com.
Iam starting a different blog, on top of this one, completely dedicated to women sharing their journey with the Lord. As you can see from the title of this post I will call it "Sharing the Journey: Faithbooking". You can go to this blog at www.sharingthejourneyfaithbooking.blogspot.com
I have been thinking about the gifts the Lord has blessed me with and I am urged by the Lord to use them to further the Kingdom of God. I want to start sharing my journey in faith with others and I want to learn about other women's journey's as well. I want to hear testimonies, I want to know what other women have struggled with and what God has done through them. I don't know about you but I know that my trials have not been in vain, they happened for a reason and I know that God can use my experiences and yours to help others. I want to start a blog that logs these journey's, shares encouragement, shares creative ideas and is an outlet for Christian women. I am going to post questions and YOU can answer them with your own testimonies, or you can ask questions for others to post answers to. Eg. How did you find the Lord? What are some lessons God has taught you? Etc. You can answer them by posting pictures of your journals, scrapbook pages, or even simply just answering the questions. The only rule is that in everything we do, we glorify God.
If you are interested in signing up for something like this... please e-mail me: ksun_1999@yahoo.com
I want to be apart of the Community of Christ and together we can make a difference.

Happy Creating Everyone!

Fact #8

Fact #8 My Life is devoted to serving God. I gave my life to Jesus when I was 11 years old, my family all gave our lives to Christ on the same day. It wasn't until after I was married at 22 that I fully understood what that meant, that God desired a relationship with me, that I could talk to Him, pray to Him and He would answer my prayers. I read my Bible numerous times since I was 11 but it wasn't until someone told me to ask God for wisdom to understand His Word that my eyes were opened to it's meaning. This changed my life forever and I am so thankful for that friend that revealed this to me and to God for choosing me to be His child, adopted into the Family of God.

Happy Creating Everyone!

Journaling, Journaling, Journaling....

My girlfriend Rhossana leant me a book called "The Heart of the Artist" by Rory Noland, and I am so enjoying it. I have been praying that God would show me a way to use my art for Him... for His good and perfect purposes. I don't want to create art just for the sake of creating it... I want to touch people's lives. I want people to look at my art and see God, or see how God has touched my life. He has helped me through so many trials that I want to give back to Him through my art. Maybe my art can minister to a lost soul. God is so good.

My "Heart of the Artist" page is filled with yummy tidbits of information and questions and answers of things that were brought up in the book. Artists have always struggled because artists view, and feel and take things in differently than non-artists. We feel deeply.

Interesting fact: In the middle ages "artists" with the Melancholy Temperment were seen as in-sane and most were placed in sanitariums. Having an "artist temperment" was seen as a physical disorder. Then during the Renaissance era artist's made a comeback (so to speak) and they were seen as having a divine gift.

My other journal page was made with my Tim Holtz Distress Inks layered in the background. I used one of my Dalia flowers and the circles are the leftovers after I cut out my circles for the flower. The verse "To Live is Christ, to die is gain" is from Philippians 1:22. Paul was speaking of his life when he was imprisoned for preaching the life of Jesus. His meaning was that if he lives his entire life being is Christ, to die would mean that he would be with Christ, so either way his life was devoted to Christ. I love this verse, it is so powerful... it is how I desire to live. I often find myself falling short though. I serve a forgiving God though, one full of mercy and grace. When I fall He lifts me back up again and brings me back to Him. This is the God I serve.

Happy Creating Everyone!

What Do I Do With My Acrylic Stamps????

I was at my girlfriend Nancy's house on Friday, I haven't been to her house in a long time so she had a lot of things to show me. One of these things was the way she stored her acrylic stamps. She used empty CD cases and stuck them inside and taped the pictures to the cover. What an awesome idea! We went to Future Shop after lunch and I picked up a package of empty CD cases. When I got home I went to work. I didn't think I had enough acrylic stamps to fill the 30 cases I purchased but I did manage to fill more than half of them. One case can accomodate two small acrylic sets or half of a large set.
I am starting to get organized and it feels great!!!

Nancy has also posted another wonderful storage idea for storing your Spellbinder Nestabilities. She is full of awesome ideas so go and take a peek!

Happy Creating Everyone!

Fact #7

Fact #7 - I got my son's addicted to Archie's. Yes it's true, and now I have to hide them in my closet during the week so they don't read them! I remember when I was a little girl I loved reading Betty'n'Veronica... so I wanted to introduce them to a cute little comic that I thought they might enjoy. I had no idea that they would be reading them every minute of every day; eating breakfast, before bed, after school, etc. Oy vay!

Happy Creating everyone!