Thursday, June 22, 2017

WINNERS :: Growing In Unity

Thanks to all who stopped by and commented throughout my week as the Growing In Unity gal...and a very special thanks to each of you who are followers of this blog.
and
Congratulations!

Please send me an e-mail with your US mailing address so I can get your information to Unity Stamp Company. (You will each receive 25 random stamps - mailed to you directly from Unity.)
{You can find my e-mail address on my Blogger profile.}
Note: You only have 2 weeks to claim your prize.

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Parrot Shaker Card {Ink Blot Shop, LLC}

As I'm gearing up for taking in a little bit of sun this summer, I just couldn't help making a bright, tropical card. 
The stamps are from the new Flopsy Birds and Tiny Bubbles stamp sets from Ink Blot Shop. I took the feather images from the Flopsy Birds set and used them as leaves to give my bird a safe place to hide. 

Tropical vacation? Yes, please. 

Have a great day!
Supplies:
Stamps: Ink Blot Shop, LLC (Flopsy Birds, Tiny Bubbles);
Cardstock: Discount Cardstock (Brilliant White 130#);
Ink: Ranger (Archival - Jet Black);
Colored Pencils: Prismacolor (Premier Colored Pencils, Soft Core);
Clear Film: Grafix (Dura-Lar Clear Film); 
Sequins: Pretty Pink Posh (Silver Heart Confetti, 4mm Charcoal); MultiCraft (Craft Medley - Go Green);
Dies: Spellbinders (Circles);
Tools: Fiskars (Trimmer, Scissors); Scor-Pal (Scoring Board);

Monday, June 19, 2017

Embossed Bird Shaker Card {Ink Blot Shop, LLC}

I don't know if you have tried shaker cards yet or not, but if you haven't - just be aware that they are a little bit addicting to create!
For today's card, I embossed this cute bird image from the new Flopsy Birds stamp set on the shaker window. (Perfect for the current SSS embossing challenge.) I kept it clean and simple, and I love how it turned out!

Thanks for stopping by today!
Supplies:
Stamps: Ink Blot Shop, LLC (Flopsy Birds);
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Smokey Shadow); Discount Cardstock (Brilliant White 130#);
Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye (Cut & Paste - Adorbs 6x6);
Ink: Tsukineko (VersaMark Watermark Ink);
Embossing Powder: Hero Arts (White);
Clear Film: Grafix (Dura-Lar Clear Film); 
Sequins: Pretty Pink Posh (Silver Heart Confetti, 4mm Charcoal); Martha Stewart (Glitter - Sugar Cube Hearts);
Dies: Spellbinders (Wonky Squares);
Tools: Fiskars (Trimmer, Scissors); Scor-Pal (Scoring Board); Wagner (Precision Heat Gun);

Friday, June 16, 2017

New Releases from Ink Blot Shop, LLC!

I'm so excited to tell you about two new stamp sets (available now!) from Ink Blot Shop, LLC

Introducing...
Flopsy Birds:
(6x8 Clear Stamp Set)
 ...and Tiny Bubbles:
(4x4 Clear Stamp Set)

You may have seen my sneak peek last week, but I wanted to share a couple more cards with you today.
The Flopsy Birds set contains lots of bird stamps, plus a few options to help your birds feel at home...this cute bird swing (with two ways to hang it), some branches, and a nest. There are also a couple little accessories tucked in so you can dress up your birds for a variety of occasions.
With the Tiny Bubbles stamp set, you can make your birds (or other little critters and characters) speak. There are a few included sentiments, but you can also combine them with other small sentiments or alphabet stamps (like the Skinny Mini Alphabet).

I'm excited about these two new stamp sets, and I hope you will love them like I do!

Head here to get them.
Supplies for Hey Bird Cards:
Watercolor Paper: Canson (Watercolor XL 140# Cold Press);
Cardstock for Card Base: Discount Cardstock (Brilliant White 130#);
Patterned Paper: Shimelle (True Stories 6x6 - Yellow and White Polka Dot, Yellow and White Pattern); My Favorite Things - MFT (True Blue Houndstooth 6x6);
Stamps: Ink Blot Shop, LLC (Flopsy Birds, Tiny Bubbles);
Ink: Ranger (Archival - Jet Black);
Other: Watercolor Paints (Master's Touch Watercolor Paint Set - 24 Colors); 
Tools: Fiskars (Trimmer, Scissors); Scor-Pal (Scoring Board);

Supplies for Flamingo Cards:
Watercolor Paper: Ranger (Distress Watercolor Cardstock);
Cardstock for Card Base: Discount Cardstock (Brilliant White 130#);
Patterned Paper: Studio Calico (Brighton Pier 6x6 - Black and White Pattern); Amy Tangerine (Plus One 6x6 - Pink Pattern);
Stamps: Ink Blot Shop, LLC (Flopsy Birds, Tiny Bubbles);
Ink: Ranger (Archival - Jet Black);
Other: Watercolor Paints (Master's Touch Watercolor Paint Set - 24 Colors); 
Tools: Fiskars (Trimmer, Scissors); Scor-Pal (Scoring Board);

Growing In Unity - Day 5: Just A Card Again

Well, I am back again for the final day of my week as a Growing In Unity gal. Thank you so much for checking in on me all week long! 

If you haven't already, please be sure you are following me on Facebook and on Instagram. I'd love to keep in touch with you there.

As for my project for today...sorry, it's just a card (again):
This card is a simple one...just a bit of stamping and watercolor. I did add a few hand drawn accents to the focal cardigan (I love argyle!) and popped it up on some foam tape to give it dimension.

Be sure to leave a comment on each of my Growing In Unity posts for the week to be entered to win 25 random stamps from Unity Stamp Company!
(Don't forget...I'll be choosing TWO winners.)

Thanks for stopping by today!
Supplies:
Watercolor Cardstock: Canson (Watercolor XL 140# Cold Press);
Stamps: Unity Stamp Company (Card Again);
Ink: Ranger (Archival - Jet Black);
Other: Watercolor Paints (Master's Touch Watercolor Paint Set - 24 Colors);
Pens: Faber-Castell (PITT Artist Pen - Black);
Tools: Fiskars (Trimmer, Scissors); Scor-Pal (Scoring Board);

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Growing In Unity - Day 4: Pray Continually (Bible Art & Journaling)

I am back again for day 4 of my week as a Growing In Unity gal!

Before I go on - please make sure you are following me on Facebook and on Instagram. I'd love to keep in touch with you there.

I've got another Bible journaling entry to share with you today:
For this page, I added some acrylic paint to my page using a paint scraping technique to give it a fun burst of color. (Note: I did prep my Bible page before doing any painting or stamping.) I then added my stamping...and that's it! Easy, but I love the result.

Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered to win stamps from Unity Stamp Company!
(I'll be choosing TWO winners who will each be getting 25 random stamps.)

Thanks for stopping by today!
Find all my posts pertaining to Bible art or journaling here.

Supplies:
Bible: Zondervan (NIV Holy Bible, Journal Edition);
Page Prep: Ranger (Dina Wakely Media - Clear Gesso);
Stamps: Unity Stamp Company (Pray Continually);
Ink: Ranger (Archival - Jet Black);
Other: DecoArt (Media Fluid Acrylic Paints);

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Growing In Unity - Day 3: Shaker Card

I am back again for day 3 of my week as a Growing In Unity gal!

If you haven't already, please be sure you are following me on Facebook and on Instagram. I'd love to keep in touch with you there.

I thought it would be fun to create a shaker card for today's post...so I did!
I heat embossed the floral image from the Blossomy Condolences stamp set using black embossing powder on clear film. I then added some doodling around the die cut window. I layered that over some patterned paper, enclosing some sequins into the shaker portion of the card. A sentiment can be stamped inside to fit the occasion whenever I am ready for it. 

Be sure to leave a comment on each of my Growing In Unity posts for the week to be entered to win 25 random stamps from Unity Stamp Company!
(I'll choose TWO winners when the week is over.)

Thanks for stopping by today!
Supplies:
Cardstock: Core'dinations (Smooth White - 110#);
Stamps: Unity Stamp Company (Blossomy Condolences);
Ink: Tsukineko (VersaMark - Watermark);
Embossing Powder: American Crafts (Zing! Embossing Powder - Black);
Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye (Indie Chic - Nutmeg 6x6);
Sequins: 28 Lilac Lane (Blues);
Pen: Faber-Castell (PITT Artist Pen - Black);
Dies: Spellbinders (Circles);
Other: Grafix (Clear Dura-Lar Film);
Tools: Fiskars (Trimmer, Scissors); Scor-Pal (Scoring Board); Wagner (Heat Gun);

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Growing In Unity - Day 2: God's Word Is Sweet (Bible Art & Journaling)

I am back again for day 2 of my week as a Growing In Unity gal!

If you haven't already, please be sure you are following me on Facebook and on Instagram. I'd love to keep in touch with you there.

Today I have a Bible journaling entry to share with you:
Since I was having so much fun doing watercolor on yesterday's card, I decided to give watercolor a try in my Bible. (Note: I did prep my Bible page before doing any watercolor or stamping.) I stamped first, added a wash of watercolor, and then went back in and added some extra tint to the stamped hearts with more watercolor paint. I then added in some hand lettering ("God's word is sweet") using a fine-tipped black pen.

Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered to win stamps from Unity Stamp Company!
(I'll be choosing TWO winners who will each be getting 25 random stamps.)

Thanks for stopping by today!
Find all my posts pertaining to Bible art or journaling here.

Supplies:
Bible: Zondervan (NIV Holy Bible, Journal Edition);
Page Prep: Ranger (Dina Wakely Media - Clear Gesso);
Stamps: Unity Stamp Company ({Jar Full Of} Sweetness);
Ink: Ranger (Archival - Jet Black);
Other: Watercolor Paints (Master's Touch Watercolor Paint Set - 24 Colors);
Pens: Faber-Castell (PITT Artist Pen - Black);

Monday, June 12, 2017

Growing In Unity - Day 1: Choose Joy

I am excited to be back participating in another week of Growing In Unity. I took a look back at my blog and realized that this will be my 7th year participating in Growing In Unity - wow!

Before I go on - please make sure you are following me on Facebook and on Instagram. I'd love to keep in touch with you there.

Okay...on to my card for today:
I created a watercolor background (who doesn't love stripes and polka dots?!) and then added the Choose Joy With A Heart stamp to finish it off. I filled in some of the blank space of the stamped image and added a few tiny dots with a white Sharpie to add a little interest and help the sentiment pop.

Be sure to leave a comment to be entered to win 25 random stamps from Unity Stamp Company!
(I'll choose TWO winners when the week is over.)

Thanks for stopping by today!
Supplies:
Watercolor Cardstock: Canson (Watercolor XL 140# Cold Press);
Cardstock: Discount Cardstock (Black 130#);
Stamps: Unity Stamp Company (Choose Joy With A Heart);
Ink: Ranger (Archival - Jet Black);
Other: Watercolor Paints (Master's Touch Watercolor Paint Set - 24 Colors); Sharpie (White Paint Pen);
Tools: Fiskars (Trimmer); Scor-Pal (Scoring Board);

Friday, June 9, 2017

Hi. (Coming Soon!)

Be on the lookout...there are two new stamp sets coming soon (next Friday!) from Ink Blot Shop, LLC.

Here's a little peek:
Check back again on Friday to see more projects from the new sets!
Supplies:
Watercolor Cardstock: Ranger (Distress Watercolor Cardstock);
Patterned Paper: Studio Calico (Wanderlust - 6x6);
Stamps: Ink Blot Shop, LLC (Flopsy Birds, Tiny Bubbles);
Ink: Ranger (Archival - Jet Black);
Twine: The Twinery (Solid Charcoal);
Other: Watercolor Paints (Master's Touch Watercolor Paint Set - 24 Colors);
Tools: Fiskars (Trimmer, Scissors); Scor-Pal (Scoring Board);

Friday, June 2, 2017

(Audio)Book Review :: Breathe Bible Audio New Testament, NLT

The Breathe Bible Audio New Testament, NLT comes packaged in a heavy chipboard box with a slipcover. Inside the chipboard box is where you will find the "binder" (for lack of a better word) of 18 CDs. The binder has a sturdy chipboard cover with plastic CD storage sleeves inside. (CD storage sleeves are directly attached to the cover. There are no rings or other mechanisms.)
Inside the binder cover are some references to popular portions of Scripture with notation of where you can find them. (Ex: "The Beatitudes", Matthew 5:3-11, Disc 1, Track 5) This is a handy quick reference, but other than looking on the cover of the CDs themselves, this is the only reference of what Scriptures are on which discs...and it is incomplete. I would have appreciated the full reference list to also be placed on the product packaging itself, rather than multiple references to the actors who are involved in the project.

There are a total of 18 audio CDs in the Breathe Bible Audio New Testament, NLT collection. Each CD has around 75 minutes of content, with the total New Testament dramatization coming in at 21 hours. This contains only the New Testament - this is not the full NLT Bible in audio form.

Each voice/character in the text is read by a different actor/artist. Some of the actors do seem a bit lackluster compared to other dramatizations I have heard, but I wouldn't consider this version to be boring. In the background, there is music along with some mild sound effects. Although this may not be as "exciting" as some of the other dramatized versions, it is a definite plus that it is mild enough that you can clearly hear the words being spoken. There is no audio mark of where you are in the text (Ex: the narrator will not say "Matthew 5"); there are, however, track breaks between each chapter.

As for the text, it is read almost word-for-word from the NLT (New Living Translation). I say "almost" word-for-word, because there are instances where a person is quoted in the NLT with something like "he said" or "the man said" stated in the text, but those are not included. Also, portions of the text such as "Then Jesus said to him" (in Matthew 8:4) are often omitted completely, even when the narrator was already talking. Even little clues in the text, such as the word "shouting" are excluded from the phrase "The disciples went and woke him up, shouting..." (in Matthew 8:25). 

Here's an example from Matthew 8:
NLT text of Matthew 8: 1-4a - 
1 Large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside. 
2 Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him. “Lord,” the man said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” 
3 Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared. 
4 Then Jesus said to him, “Don’t tell anyone about this."... 

Breathe Bible Audio New Testament, NLT dramatization of Matthew 8:1-4a - 
1 Large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside. 
2 Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him. “Lord, if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” 
3 Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing, be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared. 
4 “Don’t tell anyone about this."...

Sure, things like this make it more movie-like, but since you are not able to see the actors, it can be difficult to tell who is talking. It can also make it harder to follow along if you are trying to read along with the NLT text. 

Although this may seem like a small change, it really has a bigger impact than I think the creators of this project realized. Imagine only being able to listen to a story without having clues as to who is talking. Without reading along in the NLT (which will skip around a bit because the text is not identical to what is being read), you may have no idea who is doing the talking.
  
If the full word-for-word text had been included in the Breathe Bible Audio New Testament, NLT dramatization, I would have rated this higher. The packaging, the background music and sound effects, the music to voice ratio...all of these were great...but I just felt that the content was changed enough by these "minor" changes to the text that it makes a difference in how I will recommend this product. 

If you do choose to buy the Breathe Bible Audio New Testament, NLT, I would definitely recommend that you sit down with an NLT version of the Bible to follow along while you listen.
FTC Declaration: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this product through their book review bloggers program. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.