GIFT

October 22nd's WOIW is GIFT

Words of Inspiration Wednesday #WOIW in the Kraafters Kommunity on Google Plus.

I had so many thoughts flying thru my grey matter about this word and so many visuals in my mind's eye for how I would depict this word. It has so many meaning -- you receive a gift, your gifted, you have gifts, you gifted another, etc.

Then it hit me -- everything about our universe is a GIFT. The gift of life, the gift of sight, the gift of smell, touch, hearing. Every living being is a gift, every living organism is a gift. Every thought we have, every emotion we feel is a gift. Every choice we make, every decision made is a gift. Everything that exists makes us who we are -- we are all different, yet we are all made of the same thing.

Atoms -- they make everything we can touch, see, hear, smell, feel, taste. They connect us all together, and that's an incredible GIFT

Time Flies...

Over on Google Plus in Kraafters Kommunity. Heather has a weekly challenge called Words Of Inspiration Wednesday where she gives us a word and we are to create what ever we want that showcases that word. Week 1 was PAIN, week 2 was HOPE and this week is TIME. This is my entry...

Back in High School many, many moons ago, my Senior English Teach, Mr Rhodes, tasked us with an essay about TIME. He stipulated we were limited to 50 words or less. I freaked out -- how can you develop a theme and a conclusion in 50 words or less!!??

As I anguished over this, a little verse started playing in my head... I kept changing it until I got it down to what I thought was perfect. It stated a concept, I developed it, and there arose a conclusion ... all in NINE words!!! I was so excited to hand in my paper.

I remember the look on his face when he saw such few words on my paper, it was like a cringed surprise. But then he took the time to read it, and this smile crept over his face and he nodded to me. I knew I had A'd it before he even graded it, but what I did not know was he used it in every one of his classes as an example...

Time Flies,

Say Not So...

Time Stays,

We Go...

I could go into a big lengthy discourse here, explaining why I chose these words and their interpretation, but I think they speak for themselves, allowing each their own thoughts and ideas about the concepts of time -- the noun, the verb, and adjective

Stamp Carving

Oh My Goodness!!! I have discovered a new love, all thanks to the wonderfully talented Kraafters over in Kraafters Kommunity on Google Plus.  There are several who carve their own STAMPS!!! And they are masters at it, just simply stunning works of heART!!! One of the Kraafters, Miss Tina Van Eick has sent me some of her carved stamps stamped onto paper for me to use as guides to carve my own stamps.

Now, I am certainly NOT the expert she is, so I have modified one of the stamp guides she sent me because I just knew I could not carve the details she did. But I like it as I did it, because it worked for me.

This is her carved stamp image used on her card she sent me. (The stamp in this picture is the one I carved). Notice all the cute little irregular, almost ameba shaped "circles" on her card image and the plain white paper image she sent... there is no way I could do that, so I oped for just plain, ordinary circles, as you can see on the stamp I carved here...
Enlarge the picture and you can see all the intricate little squiggles around Tina's circles on the card she made and the stamped image,  and how mine are just circles on the stamp itself. Isn't her card GORGEOUS!!!

 

I stamped my image on off-white linen textured shinny paper with embossing ink, then sprinkled Champaign Embossing Powder and heat embossed. I then added several different colors of Sticklers to the the image to add sparkle to the ornament. Her image can be used for a multitude of items, not just an ornament. It could also be a necklace, or stamped several times it could be a ballroom skirt. It could even be an imaginary world in outer space!!!

Here's my card: I love how the flash caught the shininess of the textured paper and the sparkle of the Stickles!!!

And a close up of the ornament. I made a hanging hook from brass 22 gauge wire and "hung" it from the bough. I left it unattached for the movement of an actual ornament -- it swings and sways as you move the card...

I just want to give a big THANK YOU to Tina for sharing here little goodie with me. I love, LOVE it!! Hop over to the Kraafters Kommunity and check out some of her stamps... look in the Card Making Category and also Art Supplies. You can click on any of the highlighted words in this Blog, they are direct links to the kommunity and categories

Hope Shines

WOIW  --  Word of Inspiration Wednesday

... is a weekly art project in Kraafters Kommunity on Google Plus. Every Wednesday, Heather gives us a word to Inspire our Creativity. This week's word is HOPE. Most every time I hear that word, the little Bible song I learned in Sunday School rings in my head. You know the one...

"Have Faith, Hope, and Charity,

that's the way to live successfully

How do I know

The Bible tells me so..."

I don't know of any person who does not have HOPE, regardless of your religion, or non-religion. Granted, you might call it dreams, or aspirations, or expectations, wishes, belief, desires, goals or promises, but we all have it, it is part of our very Being.

HOPE is a powerful word. And just like that little song, it is entwined with FAITH and CHARITY. They are one and the same, yet all different with their own respectful meanings, but none can exist without the others.  HOPE gives us the FAITH to LOVE (Charity).  FAITH allows us to HOPE through LOVE.  And LOVE binds our HOPES to FAITH.

All three are what gives us courage to face another day, to belief in ourselves, our accomplishments, to LOVE ourselves and one another, to have FAITH in ourselves and one another, and to have HOPE for our wellbeing, our Futures, our strengths to carry on.  

Even if the load is much to bear, or the road is bumpy and rocky, or the path is blocked... our HOPE sees us through. When days are beautiful and all things are right in our Lives, we still have HOPE... it is that smile that crosses our faces, or those tears of Joy, or that sweet music of a loved one's voice.

HOPE fills us up, it nourishes our Souls. It is the sweet nectar of FAITH and LOVE. It is our Salvation...

"Tag" Along With Me...

Manila Shipping Tag Booklet

I just posted my latest KISS Video over on my YouTube Channel -- taboriginal. It's a cute little booklet made from those adorable shipping tags, ya know the kind, manila with strings attached.

I inked them up with Distress Inks Seasonal Colors: Festive Berries, Pine Needles and Evergreen Bough, white embossed a few beautiful Christian Sentiments from Isaiah and Proverbs, adding dimension to the tags.

Check out the video below or over on my YouTube Channel HERE

Stills of the two little tag booklets:

This Is The Face Of Pain

PAIN

I belong to a wonderful Community on Google+ called Kraafters Kommunity. Every Wednesday we are challenged with a Word which we are asked to use in a creative way.  On Oct 1st we were given PAIN.

I was struck by this word, and it has given me considerable thought. This is how I see PAIN:

What??? You don't see it?? Neither do I and neither do most people. We hide our PAIN, we mask it with the socially acceptable "Happy Face" -- the non-committal, non-expression face of nothingness. Why???

PAIN can range from the mundane annoyance to placating our Soul to God for strength to handle the torture.  It can be physical pain, emotional pain, real pain or imaginary pain. They all exist and they all affect us in varied ways.

We can "see" physical pain via cuts or bruises and as that heals we might see the scars left behind. We can't see the emotional pain, nor the toll it takes as it heals but leaves it's hidden scars that forever change us.

And no matter how much, or little, pain we have in our lifes, we never fully share it's depth with another. We keep it hidden because we can't express it, or we don't want to. We have our hidden reasons, so we will put on that "Happy Face" and go forth...