It is about LOVE

At the first of 2010, I mentioned I really didn't have any resolutions except to pick out one verse from the Bible each month to think on. You can have a verse a day or a special verse for the year, but I thought using an entire month to think on a verse would be a good thing and at the end of the year I would of course have 12 verses that were more special then before. I really like reading the Message Bible, so my verses are from that.

Here is my verse for February and fitting to that month, it has to do with LOVE. It just so happens that I am reading Corinthians right now.

But for right now...

we have three things to do...

Trust steadily in God,

hope unswervingly,

love extravagantly.

And the best of the three is love.

1 Corinthians 13:13 (Message Bible)

I have read the verses about what love is and what love isn't for many years but what got me in reading this this time through was that word "extravagantly". Isn't that pictureque? I LOVE a whole lot of people in my life and I try to show love to people I come in contact with because they are very special to God, but somehow doing it "extravagantly" look on a whole new meaning. That is like "chocolate covered with whipped cream" or something like that.

I also believe that these three things are possible when they are done together. I can't love on my own, I need to be steadily trusting God and I need to hope unswervingly. Then I have a strength that is not my own to love extravagantly.

***

And here is a card to share. It was published awhile back in a Paper Crafts Magazine publication.

The invoice stamp is by Art Declassified. That is like one of those stamps you could use on about everything. The Flourish, heart and wings are by Crafty Secrets.

The flourish is accented with Tulip Glitter 3-D Fashion paint. I use that for added glitter because it adds some bling while still letting the underneath design show through plus I don't have glitter that is falling off. The wings are also coated that way and the heart has a coat of Aleene's Paper Glaze for a great, epoxy look.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

CPS and 2 Sketches 4 You cards

Sunday starts a new Card Positioning Systems sketch and it also means the last day to post a card using the last weeks 2 Sketches 4 you sketch so I'm getting in on both today.

This card uses the 2 Sketches 4 You sketch #44 by Laura. I just love to play along with their team when I have the time and this gave me a really great reason to show off this amazing new embossed cardstock from Core'dinations! It is from the Cosmo Cricket collection where the embossed design is already in the cardstock, it just needs a little bit of sanding. I took the photo of a yummy cupcake my daughter brought home the other day thinking that this would make a great way to tell a friend Happy Birthday.

I added a little strip of a printed transparency by Prima across the card and can you guess - I have a new Martha Stewart border punch! LOVE those things and this one is just precious. The letter for "sweet" are by My Little Shoebox and I coated them with Aleene's Paper Glaze so they look like they have an epoxy coat.

This is my Card Postioning Systems card for this next week. Some of the gals will be playing with JustRite stamps on their cards. I really wasn't part of the group that was to play with their stamps but since I have so many, I just had to pull mine out.

I stamped it with Versafine black and I did emboss it with clear embossing powder. I just love the finished look with the embossing. I added a couple little Queen & Co rhinestones so my card had a touch of bling.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

SWEET – PHOTO CUPCAKE card
Materials:
Cardstock – Cosmo Cricket Core Collection/Core’dinations
Heart border punch – Martha Stewart
My Own cupcake photo
Ribbon – May Arts
Prima transparency
Imaginisce flower
Doodlebug glitter brad
My Little Shoebox mini sticker letters
Clear Paper Glaze – Aleene’s®

SKETCH 152 – THANKS SO MUCH card
Materials:
Cardstock – Vintage/Core’dinations
Patterned papers – We R Memory Keepers
JustRite stamps
Self Adhesive rhinestones – Queen & Co.
Sandpaper
Scallop scissors – Family Treasures
Versafine black stamp pad
Clear embossing powder
Foam tape

It is SKETCH time!

I have mentioned this before but I will say it again, sketches just inspire me. This first layout wasn't created with a sketch but the next too were.

What inspired this layout was this adorable photo and a layout that Ali Edwards posted at Two Peas in a Bucket. She used one large photo and I so love that look so I figured it would work good with this cutie. Notice the two tiny photos. I love to use one large photo and then accent with a couple smaller ones to tell more of the story.

Do you know what the totally yummy cardstock on this layout is? NEW Core'dinations, from the new Cosmo Cricket collection. I just sanded it and it is amazing. The layout was created with the Unscripted Sketch #39 for this week. I am so far behind on having a complete album for our youngest grandson so I have been trying to pull out some of those photos and getting them scrapped.

For this layout I used the Ella Friday sketch #2. If I do all six, I be six layouts ahead of where I was before! That works!

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

IT IS REALLY DATHAN… layout

Materials:
Cardstock – Core Essentials/Core’dinations
Patterned paper, sticker label and sticker letters – October Afternoon
Fine black pen
Circle punches for the Mickey head

XOXO layout

Materials:
Cardstock – Vintage/Core’dinations
Shaped Patterned paper, mini sticker letters and Tickets – Jenni Bowlin
Other patterned papers – We R Memory Keepers
Circle template – Coluzzle
Chipboard heart/circle shapes – Maya Road
Mod Podge/Plaid
Calendar date stamp – Technique Tuesday
Versafine black stamp pad
Letter stickers – October Afternoon
Sandpaper

BUDS-COUSINS layout

Materials:
Cardstock – Whitewash and Cosmo Cricket Collection/Core’dinations
Patterned paper – Cosmo Cricket
Letters – Thickers
Tiny sticker letters
Sandpaper

Even more CHA goodness - Photos

I would say this was my most favorite SURPRISE! Paper at the Queen & Co booth! Nice prints, nice thickness, nice feel and let me tell you, when do you get a CUTE Disney themed collection of papers with a great black and white damask design in it??? Plus they had some other serious new goodies that I need really quick and they have added a color matching system with Core'dinations cardstocks!

My next favorite was the Melody Ross booth and collection of goodness. I just loved the booth. Pretty stuff everywhere. I just had to show you this adorable creation.

One view of some new stuff from Melody Ross and g.c.d.

This uses the new tool that you pound designs into chipboard with! What a wonderful wall hanging.

The Flower Soft booth. Not sure if you have seen much done with this good stuff but let me tell you. If you need ANYTHING to create a snow effect, this is it! Wonderful and soft just like it's name says. If you use the Aleene's Tacky Glue like they suggest, you will have very little of this stuff fall off and it really is soft when it dries. It also works wonderful to accent lace. More good news about them is that I get to start playing with all of their products so you will see more of this coming from me.

More Flower Soft
More Flower Soft. How cute are these daisies.
I know I need these good things from Studio Calico real soon! LOVE the doilies

Cute stuff from the Nikki Sivils booth

Her papers also come in these little pads and they created a really cute cupcake to match each one. I know I need these prints.

Really high on my "must have" list is this new collection from BasicGrey. It is designed to be dog and cat but I was just plain happy to see how many of the patterns were going to be perfect for layouts about my grandsons. Just love the colors and prints.

Coordinating good things to go with this collection. A lot of times I don't bother with all of the little gadgets that go with a collection but I am going to want lots of this.

I can't wait to find these papers. This is one of the color schemes and I'm sure I need all of them. They are your everyday, use on everything because they are the perfect little accent with everything kind of patterns. Like notebook patterns, etc. They come in little pads for cards and the big pieces.

Is this the cutest?

And you have to have some bling - the Zva Booth.

And, leave it to American Crafts to have the best looking booth ever! Everywhere you look are cute things. And, yes, new Thickers because I seem to think I need almost every kind they put out.

I just had to show you this shadow frame with these brads and buttons and other things in it. ADORABLE!

Love the Kaiser Craft booth. This mini album is wonderful, love the design and the papers they used on it.

More Kaiser Craft.

How cute is this from Kaiser Craft?

This is from the My Little Shoebox booth. It was so packed, I didn't get more of their goodness.

I think this was Pink Paislee. I was just taken with how amazing it is.

A more recent fav of mine are all things Little Yellow Bicycle. How cute is this little creation!

I don't remember what booth this was in but how can you not love the use of that frame? (my friend filled me in, this is Hambly!)

This cutie was in the PLAID booth!

I love Petaloo and this was a great gathering of flowers they had in their booth. They have some white flowers and since their flowers are made from paper, you can color them in a variety of ways. What a great, versatile accent!

Bo Bunny always has fun collections that go together so wonderfully. Here are a couple new ones. If nothing else I NEED that paper with the cute marshmallows on it!

And, here is the greatest find in ribbons ever! The dots are on both sides of the ribbon! If you have even tried to tie a bow on a card, you understand how important this is. Not to mention the colors are just wonderful.

That's it! Hope you enjoyed my journey through CHA. I'm sure I missed a million little things but I sure found plenty of goodness too.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

My favs from CHA - photos

My favorite and more unexpected find was this adorable booth for "the girls' paperie."

Everything was so cute and I loved the product.

The Jillibean Soup booth

On the top of my list of "must haves" are these great, corrugated letters by Jillibean Soup. Is this project just adorable?

This is how the letters come and so when you punch them out, you also have the left over background paper.

The letters used and their really cute buttons too.

The October Afternoon booth
I have a couple companies that I could just use everyday and October Afternoon is one of those. Here are two of their new lines.

The October Afternoon gals used small layouts for their examples. They were so cute, like mini 12x12's. I liked how many they could get in a small space.

***

The Tattered Angels booth

I always love what Tattered Angels comes out with but a fav are those adorable, little black transparency shapes. They are the perfect accent for all kinds of things and can be used just like they come or they can be accented.

A new find at Tattered Angels that I want right now are Chalk kinds of sprays. They are more matte and just look wonderful.
***

The Maya Road booth

Their design team always just plain rocks the examples. They need step by step demoes of everyone of them.

Here is another "must have" on my list, more cute Maya Road flowers. I just love this style.

How cute are these little blocks to show the colors of the Claudine Hellmuth paints?

***

The Jenni Bowlin booth

I have a couple more "must haves" on my list from this company. These buttons! LOVE the colors and the shapes.

And these way adorable butterflies! Love the thickness of them and the prints and colors.

Look at how the butterlies and the buttons are used on this layout.

Adorable use of the Core'dinations cardstock.

Love the simplicity of this layout.

***

The Cosmo Cricket booth

Can you see the Core'dinations cardstock for the background? Such a perfect look with these papers. Cosmo Cricket is one of the companies that have partnered with Core'dinations with some amazing embossed cardstocks.

One of their new collections.

More photos later

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)