Finally on Folksy!!!

Finally I have made a sale of Folksy...YAY...
I was beginning to wonder if anyone actually sold anything there? but I now have my first order for one of my personalized baby girl cards. Here's a sample of my pram design which can be made in blue, pink, lilac, lemon, with either dotty or gingham background and with ric rac instead of lace on the pram if desired...

I have been holding off putting lots of items on Folksy as I wasn't sure if it was gonna work for me but maybe now I should go for it? I also list items on Etsy but again I have no sales yet.
I have looked at many designs of personalized cards and they all seem so minimal like just a little square or two in the middle with very little work in them, so I think my designs are good and I'm thinking through some new ones too. Here's my baby bear design which is available in the same colours as the pram card...

I would love to hear from anyone who has had success with these sites and find out what the secret of success is? however, I am not trying to make a big business, I just want to fund my hobby really, so that I can buy a new stamp or dies here and there and pay for the card I use.
So what should I do? just make one off cards and sell them at a cheaper price? or specialize in personalized cards made to order? all constructive advice would be really appreciated. 
Now off to make that card! but having a peep at some challenges first......

The Greatest Step

I heard yesterday about Neil Armstrong's death at the age of 82. He was the first man to walk on the moon. His famous words have resonated ever since...."One small step for man ....one giant leap for mankind!" he achieved a lot in his lifetime, you can read his biography points HERE.  I am a lady who makes cards and walks the Christian life day by day with my God. Most of what he has achieved I will never understand, just like the moon it's way beyond my comprehension! But I have had one thought running through my mind for the last couple of days.....

did he also take the greatest personal step? did he give his heart to Jesus? He went somewhere very very few of us will ever go...far away beyond the sky that we can see! But will he be walking in heaven with God? I don't know anything about his personal life or beliefs.... but this I do know, no matter how we have lived our lives what great achievements we have made we all need to make that step of faith to receive Jesus as our Lord and Saviour

want to know more? contact me, 
no debates, no politics or anything like that, just the simple truth of the greatest, best step we can ever take to change our lives here on earth and beyond

God bless you.

WOW WOW WOW

WOW

A very small word really but today I said it out loud three times as I read my mail! My first...WOW...I found out that I am one of the winners over at House Mouse and friends challenge this week. My second ...WOW...I have won $10 worth of digi-stamps from Di's Digi-downloads! I have never used digi stamps before so I am looking forward to collecting my prize and having fun playing with it!

My third ...WOW...was news that I have been invited to be a guest designer over at the House Mouse and friends challenge This is such a big WOW for me as I have always admired the superb work of the HM&F Design Team and found so much inspiration from the beautiful creations they produce. I feel so blessed and really honored to be invited and I hope that I can create something extra special for my time as guest design team member. 

Now time to gather my House Mouse and Gruffies stamps together.......

Blingy Forever Friends Tunnel Card

I found a Kanban Tunnel card blank at my local arty shop which was half price. there were two blanks in the pack. So I have used one of them to make a 50th birthday card for a lovely lady at church who is so young at heart.

The tunnel card blanks are so easy to use but just dont stick the two sides together till you know you have finished decorating it!
Over at the Forever Friends & Co Challenge blog there challenge #43 is "ANYTHING GOES" I am really pleased to be entering a Forever Friends challenge again as I was on the DT about 3 Years ago. I think my card fits the challenge LOL, I still love my Forever Friends bear stamps a very lot!
"ANYTHING GOES" on the Ready Teddy Go Challenge blog too so i am entering my cute birthday bear to that challenge too! I hope that's not against any rules?!

Over at Cute Card Thursday Challenge blog, their challenge #231 is "BLING IT UP" well I think my card is well blinged up LOL and coincidentally the Dutch Dare Card Challenge blog have also asked for bling in their challenge #179  "BLING IT ON" so I am sure theirs enough bling for both of these blingy challenges

The biggest challenge for me was taking a photograph I was pleased with! it was real hard to illiminate the shadows but still show it was a shoadow box type of card! think I got there in the end though!

So here's what I used for my card...
Kanban Tunnel Card Blank (but I would call this a shadow box card)
Forever Friends Stamp FFS9061012 H it may be called "For You" which I chopped from my image.
Nestabilities Scalloped Rectangles (stripey background is Renae's House scrapbook paper)
Cheery Lynn Die "Fanciful Flourish" which I cut and re-arranged to fit
prima flowers
basic grey bling on flowers, numbers and corners of the image.
number "50" cut with cuttlebug die (cant remember the name of the set sorry)
X-Cut labels die cut behind the number 
and a small amount of lilac ribbon

IN GODS HANDS

I am trying to find a stockist in the United Kingdom of the best Christian Rubber stamps I have ever seen. 
The company that makes them is Our Daily Bread Designs. The images and text on their stamp sets are superb and by far are the best on the market. below is the set that I am desperate for. I fill up with emotion every time I see this image of Jesus' Hand, not because I am sentimental as such but because I know the price He paid for my sin! and how much he loves me... 

The set is entitled "Gods Hands" and can be found HERE at ODBD. I already have so many cards in my minds eye that I could create with this set along with a scripture set or two. I just can't afford to buy the set and pay the import duty on top ;o( Well The Lord knows the desire of my heart and how He can bless others through the cards that I make so I will just have to be patient and hope someone stocks it here soon. One thing is for sure....

There really is no safer place to be 
than in Gods hands!

PRAISE IN THE PARK at Ashton Gardens, St Annes

Churches in the St Annes area (just down the road from Blackpool, England) are getting together on Sunday afternoon for "Praise in the Park" see poster below......

Come and join us, all ages welcome and there is some puppet and song fun for the children too!

So, whether you want to sing along or just listen, to know more about God or just enjoy a picnic in the park. Come along and have a great afternoon in Ashton Gardens with us.

House-Mouse & Friends Challenge Double Trouble

After blogging my card yesterday I popped over to the House-Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge  just to peep at my old Mousey friends! sigh! I love my House-Mouse stamps almost as much as my bears! I used to love entering their challenges when I lived in my previous house and had a craft room (another sigh). 

Well moving swiftly on... I noticed it's "Double Trouble" for the current challenge meaning more than one mouse in the image so I thought I would dust off this cutie stamp which I bought in a closing down sale over 2 years ago and never got to use it.

The stamp is named "Baby Shoes 02" (HMIR1006) I used my cuttlebug embossing border die for the embossed buttons down the side, the ovals and  gingham label background are all cut using my nesties and the heart is from a nellies set. buttons and gingham ribbon finish my card off.

I am so glad to be getting back in the flow of cardmaking again.

Happily Crafting Again....Entering Card Challenges Too!

I haven't done a card challenge for at least a couple of years now. I am so glad to be making cards again and now even entering challenges again, I have so missed the creative side of me! Crafteresa is back!

I created a card today for someone who is just pondering her future, where God wants her to be, what he wants her to do with her life? She will be returning to university after the summer break. I will miss her at church so I made this just to bless and encourage her.....

She is a lovely young lady with long hair just like in the image and she even has some lovely stripey tights too (but not the same as these!) my prayer is that she will know God's direction when she needs it. That reminds me of the saying .....never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God!

I used my newest rubber stamp, it's a Whimsy Wee stamp "Sweet Blossoms" 
I think she will be used a lot as she looks so different when using different colours.  I used the Cuttlebug "Stylised Flowers" embossing folder on the yellow card layer, the card blank was already embossed with circles and I used nesties to cut the scalloped circle for the image and the red labels background. Red ribbon and assorted flowers with amber gem centres finish the card off.

I am entering this card into the Wimsy Stamps Challenge, they ask for LOTS OF LAYERS! so I hope three on top of the card blank is enough!?
I 'm also entering this card into another challenge... Chocolate, Coffee & Card Challenges EMBOSS IT is there challenge, Well there's plenty of embossing on this card!
Please excuse the quality of the 2nd image, it was taken a lot later in the day with different light!

Fellowship at Williamson Park Lancaster

I went to Wiliamson Park in Lancaster today with my Kev and some members of Fylde Christian Service Church

It was a good day although the weather was a bit dull and damp till the afternoon, we all had a good laugh and enjoyed each others fellowship.

This time last year I didn't know any of these people, I joined the church on January 1st 2012 after visiting during December. God had led me there after the funeral of a very close friend. He told me very plainly at the funeral that He wanted me back in fellowship. I had not been to church for a while, life had been tough and I had stepped away. But at the funeral I made a decision to seek after God again and trust Him to lead me to a new church home! The goodness of the Lord leads to repentance!

I never understood that fellowship was that important, I believed the lie that I could walk with God alone, how wrong was that! Now I am enjoying life as part of a church family, I have new friends fantastic cell group leaders and a Pastor and leadership who have already loved me and Kev through some heavy stuff.

I will never dismiss the importance of fellowship again. Kev and I are going through some even tougher stuff now and the thought of battling through this serious life changing stuff without the love and guidance of my pastor Steve Moss, his wife Tess and the people of Fylde Christian Service church is now an incomprehensible thought, I know I would have crumbled by now on my own, I am so glad I heard him call me back into fellowship and gave me the heart to obey Him!

Thank You God that you love me, that you have placed me in a fellowship where I can know You, a place where I can live the life and share the life! AMEN

Rambling Ted

Something I havent really mentioned yet is my love of teddy bear stamps. I dont have many of the stuffed cuddly bears in my home as they don't really do it for me LOL its the images I love!

I have collected quite a few teddy stamps over the years and intend to add some more to my collection too! I absolutley love a Penny Black range of stamps released in the 1990's named Rambling Ted and Rambling Rosie

so I have shown you a few images of them....

I can't help myself from smiling while I am stamping and colouring my teddy stamps, they are very special to me, Ihave quite a few forever friends stamps which I will show you in another post along with others but will have to dig them out lol
My sweet hubby Kev purchased these 5 stamps from America for me for my Christmas gift, I chose them myself but felt absolutely blessed when they arrived. Thanks again Kev

have great day xx

Live The Life Share The Life

I am really enjoying my life at Fylde Christian Service Church. This sunday Pastor Steve Moss shared a fabulous message but I just want to share one phrase with you that has resonated within my heart all week......

LIVE THE LIFE

SHARE THE LIFE

Perhaps you are thinking whats so amazing about that? well that IS the point! that's what Christianity is all about.

LIVING THE LIFE, walking through my life step by step with Him, the good days and the bad days in fellowship with Him, talking, listening letting Him minister to me, my failings, my hurts etc recieving His strength, his love joy peace direction etc and justsimply doing what the disciples did...they followed Him.

SHARE THE LIFE, doing just that!! sharing with others what God is doing in and through me, being a vessel for Him to work through, loving people, listening to them, having compassion for them praying for them and helping them to find Him. its such a simple message why complicate it?

Jesus walked amongst the people. He shared His life, that abundant life that He came to give (John 10:10). it's not complicated at all, He came so that we may come to Him!

If you want to know more then contact me, I dont want a big scriptural debate I just want to help anyone who wants to find Him, I just want to touch people and share the love I have found in Him, my heart just wants to Live the Life and Share the Life

Thursdays Three

Wow, Time flys by so quickly its Thursdays Three time againLOL
Today I have selected three of the toys that I cherished most from my childhood...

PIPPA

I loved my Pippa doll she was a lot smaller than Barbie or Sindy and I thought she was wonderful. I had a few outfits with accessories and enjoyed dressing her. I dont know why but she appealed to me a whole lot more than Barbie or Sindy, my friends had them with houses and cars etc but I was just happy with my simple Pippa! Maybe its because she was less materialistic and she didnt have stuff that other dolls had? just like me really my parents did there best but there were lots of girls around me who seemed to have everything!

MASTERMIND

I loved this game and if I ever get the chance to play it now I would still love it. I found it so exciting that I could most times work out the colour code, I felt very clever when I played adults and beat them. This gave me a lot of confidence in a world that seemed full of girls who were better than me...they all had nicer clothes and lots of possesions my family couldnt afford. I was never teachers pet and was always the last to be chosen to do anything at school. so when I mastered Mastermind it felt like finally I was good at something that everyone else couldn't seem to do. That sounds such a sad statement now but back then thats how life was!

CHOPPER BIKE

I got my 2nd hand chopper bike I loved it. Everyone had yellow, blue or red chopper bikes, they were very popular but mine was metallic copper coloured and it glistened in the sun. I loved the freedom it gave me, I loved to feel the wind blowing through my hair as I rode it. I felt 10 foot tall because my daddy had managed to get me what I really wanted. They were happy innocent days I have some lovely memories of that time in my life.

Thanks for looking in please leave a comment so I know who's visiting

have a fab week and remember Jesus Loves You! no matter what your background is, rich poor or whatever, you are on His love list!