Mojo Monday #482

Five Monday's in January means we get a bonus sketch this month :)   Love working with square sketches.  It is such a nice, compact size and the smaller space is always fun to work with.

I pretty much copied the sketch as it had a big old heart on it and you know how much I love hearts {grin}.

Pulled out my Jotted Heart and Flag It die sets along with Love Notes  and went to work.   The background paper is another of my hoarded papers that came out to play this week.  It is a lot more dramatic than my usual papers, but I just love the heart flowers it has and the colour combination is always fun to work with. A little Valentine love for all of my followers :)

All the challenge details are over on the Mojo Monday blog and you can also view all the wonderful Mojo Makers samples.  Should you wish more details on the Mojo Maker's cards, you can also visit their individual blogs noted below.

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Justin Krieger

  Lori Tecler  

Marisa Ritzen (that's me)

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Wanda Cullen

We are back in soccer mode again after a seven week hiatus due to the  snow and ice which caused the fields to be closed.  The rain and warm temperatures are back and through everyone is sucking wind pretty badly after almost a two month break, everyone is glad to be playing/reffing again.  My son had five games to ref this weekend and was able to pick up some games in another district which gives him more experience and exposure so we are celebrating with him :)  With the days getting longer again, I can't wait for spring soccer to start for as much as I am a huge Ref Mom (alumni soccer mom LOL) I do not like the cold and rain which come with the winter soccer season.

Wishing you all a fabulous week and thanks for popping in to visit my little corner of cyber world ((hugs))!!

Challenge:  Simon Says



 
  

What's In It?

Stamps:  Love Notes (Verve Stamps)

Paper:  Hugs and Kisses (American Crafts), Turquoise (LSS), Pretty in Pink, Rose Romance (Stamping Up) 
Ink:   Black, VersaMark

Accessories:  Jotted Heart and Flag It Die Sets (A Cut Above by Verve), Doily Die (Top Dog Dies),  Word Dies (PTI), Twine, Button, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #481

Another great sketch to use for a Valentine's Day card - any excuse will do to be able to use some hearts on a card {grin}.

Since I still had MME's Lost and Found Heirloom papers on my desk, I decided to use them again.  Chose this fun, bold chevron paper for my background as it really packs a punch!  Tamed it down a bit with the neutrals and added this wonderful sentiment from Stronger Love.  The double hearts are from The Cats Pajamas and dressed things up a bit with the twine, buttons, and half pearls.

All the challenge details are over on the Mojo Monday blog and you can also view all the wonderful Mojo Makers samples.  Should you wish more details on the Mojo Maker's cards, you can also visit their individual blogs noted below.

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Justin Krieger

  Lori Tecler  

Marisa Ritzen (that's me)

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Wanda Cullen

This girl turned another year older this weekend.  The big five-five this year - meeep!!!  Where do the years go and how did I get this old LOL!  Actually, my age doesn't bother me much at all as it is only a number and I thoroughly enjoy every day I am given and am still a big kid at heart.  When it comes into play is when I begin to ponder the fact that I have one less year on this earth to make and impact in the lives of my kids, those I love, and those who cross my path.  Each day is a such a gift, and I want to maximize my time on this earth by touching the lives of the people I come in contact with and continually growing towards the person I was created to be through living out my life verse of Philippians 1:6:   "for I am confident of this very thing, that He who has began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus".

My word for 2017 is prayer, and my two main goals are fitness (I was a slacker last year and the flab factor from lack of working out sure comes around much more quickly the older you get LOL!) and reading through the Bible as it has been some time since I have done that.  Happy to say, all three are going strong :) 

Have a wonderful week, and I look forward to seeing your creations in the gallery!



 
  

What's In It?

Stamps:  Stronger Love (Verve Stamps)

Paper:  Heirloom (My Mind's Eye), Early Espresso, Rose Romance (Stampin' Up), Cream 
Ink:   Black

Accessories:  Heart Die (The Cat's Pajamas), Doily Die (Top Dog Dies), Stitched Rectangle Dies (Lil' Inker), Twine, Button, Half Pearls, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #480

Happy Monday everyone!   Time to play with a new sketch by the sketch master, Julee {grin}.

With Christmas over and Valentine's Day approaching, I jumped at the chance to use some hearts (my favorite accessory for this time of year).   The papers are from MME's Lost and Found Heirloom collection and I paired them with my beloved Jotted Heart Die and the Love Notes, and Stronger Love sets.   I was really wanting to add some ribbon to girly it up a bit, but everything I tried didn't work so went "commando" LOL!   

All the challenge details are over on the Mojo Monday blog and you can also view all the wonderful Mojo Makers samples.  Should you wish more details on the Mojo Maker's cards, you can also visit their individual blogs noted below.

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Justin Krieger

  Lori Tecler  

Marisa Ritzen (that's me)

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Wanda Cullen

My body clock has finally adjusted back to kids-at-school and work mode schedule (was pretty rough for a few weeks there!).   However, due to our cold temperatures (well, cold for us anyway!!) and snow, my son has yet to ref a soccer game.  He has had a seven week hiatus and I have a feeling both players and refs will be sucking wind big time when games are back in full swing LOL!

Have a wonderful week, and I look forward to seeing your creations in the gallery!



 
  

What's In It?

Stamps:  Love Notes, Stronger Love (Verve Stamps)

Paper:  Heirloom (My Mind's Eye), Kraft, Burgundy
Ink:   Black

Accessories:  Heart Quartet and Jotted Heart Dies (A Cut Above by Verve),  Word Dies (PTI),  Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Icicle

Happy January and welcome back to the Curtain Call :)   It is time for a brand new year of inspiration photos to play with and this time round we are still in winter mode!  Pretty well suited to the weather much of the country has been experiencing over the last month or so! 

I pulled out one of my hoarded papers by Bo Bunny (love this paper!!) as it was the perfect icy, glittery fit for this photo.  I also pulled out one of my favorite PTI snowflake dies for a wintery feel, added a sentiment flag and a button with some twine.  Nice, quick and easy card.

 ICICLE

Betty Wright

 Kim Singdahlsen

Leigh Penner

Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler 
Lynn Magnan

Marisa Ritzen

Maureen Plut

Melody Rupple

Monika Davis

Sheri Gilson
Silk Ledlow

Stacey Schafer

Tammy Hershberger

Tara Godfrey 

We had more snow in December than we have had the prior six years combined, not to mention some rather cold temperatures for our neck of the woods, which means the snow has stuck around for weeks (versus our usual snows one day and washes away in the rain the next day).  Been quite the adjustment for us West Coasters!  Must say, I do enjoy the brightness the snow brings as it is a nice change from the grey skies and rain we usually get.

Can't wait to see your creations in the gallery!

Challenges:  Simon Says




 
  

What's In It?

Stamps:  Treasured Words (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Snowflakes (Bo Bunny), Silver Shimmer (Paper Store)  
Ink:  Black  
Accessories:  Stitched Rectangles (Lil' Inker), Snowflake Die (PTI), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Cherish

I have never done this on my blog before, but I just had to share this fabulous book with you!!

I had the joy of being both Gary and Lisa's (his wife) friend while we all attend university together.  We shared many great conversations and fun times, and I was honored to be a guest at their wedding.  I watched the birth of Gary's desire to become a writer as he wrote paper after paper in his dorm room, and loved his heart's desire to impact people through his writing.    Fast forward thirty odd years and it has been nothing but a joy to see how God has used his writing to impact the lives of countless marriages, Christian and otherwise.

I have personally read four of his books (Sacred Marriage, Sacred Influence, Every Body Matters, Sacred Search), and my marriage has been blessed because of them!  My teenage daughter is currently reading Sacred Search - a fabulous book about choosing a spouse - and loving it!     

If you have read Sacred Marriage (if not it is another powerful book!) this takes it to another level.  The book affirmed what I knew to be true, opened my eyes to a few things, admonished me in his gentle way of wording things, challenged me to evaluate my level of "cherishing" my husband, and provided some ideas to deepen and grow "cherish" in our marriage.  And provided a wonderful tool/  opportunity to grow as a couple and strengthen our marriage.      

He did not delve into abusive relationships, nor did he say if you cherish each other that would diminish/cease. What he does provide is a gently worded challenge to evaluate our level of "cherishing" our spouse to allow the relationship to grow to a deeper level.    As Gary says: "you can love someone and not cherish them, but you can't cherish them and not love them", "love and cherish never compete - they compliment and even complete each other", and "cherish" is like being the male ballet dance who is grateful to helps the prima ballerina shine more brightly than if she were just dancing on her own and being glad to play that supportive role". 

I will definitely be buying a hard copy of his book and re-reading it with a highlighter in hand.  It is full of powerful words that can dramatically change any relationship, especially your marriage.   Love Gary's mandate for Christian couples:  "Cherish is a simple formula but a powerful one:  preach the gospel to yourself and then live out the gospel.  That is the power to cherish - believing and receiving the gospel in which we are cherished beyond all measure and then living out the implications to cherish each other".   That being said, though written with Christian couples in mind, this book has something for everyone in any sort of a relationship.

A great read I highly recommend!!



 
  

Mojo Monday #479

The first week of January is over, and we are on to the next one so, it's Mojo Monday time!! 

It took some getting back into the swing of things after two weeks off with no set schedule, late nights reading in bed and slow moving mornings!  I had to shift my time clock by over three hours to get back into work mode and the old body was not very happy with me!  Work was running in fourth gear and my brain and body were grinding it out in first gear!  Thankfully the second day was much better and we are back on a decent schedule.

However, I slipped twice on this card....  Good friends of ours daughter got married on Sunday, so I fudged the sketch just a bit to make it work for what I needed...and, once it was all put together, photographed and posted, I realized the sentiment I used is from a retired set!!! Ugh!!! My apologies!!  Didn't have time for a redo so I am dutifully heading to my time out corner.    Fingers crossed this week all pistons will be firing properly LOL!

All the challenge details are over on the Mojo Monday blog and you can also view all the wonderful Mojo Makers samples.  Should you wish more details on the Mojo Maker's cards, you can also visit their individual blogs noted below.

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Justin Krieger

  Lori Tecler  

Marisa Ritzen (that's me)

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Wanda Cullen

Hope your start to the new year ran a bit more smoothly {grin}.  Have a fabulous week, and I look forward to seeing your creations in the gallery!



 
  

What's In It?

Stamps:  Love Story (Verve - Retired)

Paper:  Wedding Words (Recollections), Black, Silver, Rose Romance (Stampin' Up) 
Ink:   Black

Accessories:  Scalloped Trim Trio (A Cut Above by Verve), Lacy Square and Square Nestabilties (Spellbinders), Heart Die (MFT), Silver Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #478

Happy New Year everyone!!!  We are back with more fabulous Mojo sketches for 2017, and since this is the first sketch of the month, we are starting the new year off with a contest.  The more entries the greater your chances of winning some free Verve :)

I pulled out some scraps from my favorite MME paper pad, In Bloom, added a pop of colour with the red.  After three snowfalls in three weeks -- no great accumulations in our area (most we had was four inches), but it is a novelty around these parts as we have had snow three times in three weeks and are usually lucky to get it once a year!  In addition, it usually only lasts for a day if we are lucky before it turns to rain and washes away, not so this time.  All that to say, I pulled out my life verse (Phil 1:6) found in Scripture Medley 3 and the paper colours lead to a flower and a butterfly - a tribute to spring I think ;) - so went with them.

All the challenge details are over on the Mojo Monday blog and you can also view all the wonderful Mojo Makers samples.  Should you wish more details on the Mojo Maker's cards, you can also visit their individual blogs noted below.

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Justin Krieger

  Lori Tecler  

Marisa Ritzen (that's me)

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Wanda Cullen

We had a gloriously relaxing Christmas and it was exactly what the doctor ordered.  Lots of fun family time, puzzle making, jammie days purging the basement, reading late into the night and simply enjoying not having an agenda.  Happy sigh....  New Years was also quiet (I am not a big New Year's girl) and I had a wonderful time reflecting on the past year, counting my blessings, and deciding on what I wanted to focus on in 2017.   Still working on my word for 2017 as I have a few bouncing around in my head (fitness - as I kind of fell off the bandwagon this year which is not like me at all!) and prayer.  Think I may go with two as they cover two very  important areas in my life.   How about you?  Do you have a word for 2017? Would love to know if if you do.

Cheers to a fabulous 2017, and I look forward to seeing your creations in the gallery! 



 
  

What's In It?

Stamps:   Scripture Medley (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  In Bloom (MME), Going Grey, Read Red, So Saffron, Mellow Moss (Stampin' Up) 
Ink:   Black

Accessories:  Lacy Circle and Circle Nestabilties (Spellbinders), Rolled Rose (MFT), Leaf, Butterfly and Lacy Border Punches (Martha Stewart), White Seam Binding, Black Half Pearls, Glue Dots Dimensionals