Friends, Love & Faith Blog Hop

Welcome to the Friends, Love & Faith blog hop sponsored by My Paper Treehouse. I am try to spend a little time each day on one or two of the many things I am thankful for... some of the many tiny blessings that fill my life. Sometimes the most obvious of things are the blessings I most easily overlook. Today I am thankful for the special grace of faith. It is among the most precious of virtues, and a prized gift of God's grace. Today I am spending a little extra time thanking God and praying for an increase faith, hope and love.

Most supplies from the February Scarlet Lime Kit

Blog Hop Details:

Welcome to Paper Tree House Studio's Friends, Love, and Faith Blog Hop. Today, we're out in force on the internet -- showing our faith and giving the glory to God. United, we stand as Christian paper crafters and blog owners to make a presence on the internet for all to see. If you are hopping with us, you should have hopped over from Getting Cricky with K. Andrew.  If you happened to just come across this post and you want to join in on the fun, make sure you jump over to the beginning so that you do not miss out: Paper Tree House Studio.


We're celebrating the theme of faith and we're happy to share our projects with you based on the verse:

"...those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:31)


First, we would like to take a moment to thank our generous co-sponsors: Zutter, Paper Trunk, Create 365, Memorable Seasons, Scrapbook News and Review, as well as Papperie.  Together with Paper Tree House Studio, these companies have donated some wonderful prizes for today's blog hop.

Prizes? Oh, yeah! There will be three lucky grand prize winners for today's event.

To enter, simply hop through the blogs and take note of all of the participating DT members of Paper Tree House Studio, and make sure to jot down the "blessed words" they will have in their post, and leave a comment on their posts. Once you gather all of the words, you will have another special Scripture to inspire you to create while leaving His legacy. Then send us an email at mypapertreehousedt@gmail.com listing each of the staff members who participated in today's hop and the completed Scripture. It's that easy. All entries must be received by Monday, February 28, 2011 at 12 noon, EST and seven winners will be randomly chosen to win.

What are the prizes?
One Cricut Gypsy from Paper Tree House Studio
One Bind-it-All from Zutter

One baggy of goodies from Create 365
One baggy of goodies from Papperie
One baggy of goodies from Paper Trunk
One year subscription to Scrapbook News and Review
One $15 gift card to Memorable Seasons so that you can purchase your favorite goodies!!

In addition, many of our participating bloggers will have amazing blog candy and RAKS available for one of their blessed visitors by simply leaving a comment and becoming a follower on their blog. That's a lot of chances to win, so let's get to the Hop!

"...those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:31)

The next stop on this blog hop is Living in the Positive.

living in the silver lining

life throws you curve balls, sometimes at a breakneck pace. there are times when it feels like all you can do is keep your head above water, and still others where you might be sitting on the water's edge. and we don't always get to choose which one we're in at the moment. one thing i do get to choose is where we stay, at least in my own heart and head. i choose to live in hope and in faith and in love. they are the true silver linings of this crazy thing called life.

one of my favorite verses when it comes to trials is exodus 14:13-14

Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The [enemy] you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still

here's one for living in the silver lining of life... love. precious, childlike love.

and one in the memory of those Americans who lost their lives on September 11, 2001

and one for the serene moments of reflection in my own secret gardens of life.

and one for my precious children, who make my life exponentially more full and wonderful with every moment i am blessed to have with them.

and one for a hobby that reminds me everyday just how much i have to be thankful for. check out the full layout & kit over at my paper treehouse.

and enjoy a day living in the silver lining.

In Stitches

A post I did for the My Paper Treehouse kit club site!

Hello, hello! Ready for a quick tutorial on the wonders of using stitching to embellish your projects? One of my favorite scrapbooking tools, that I never purchased with scrapbooking as its intended use, is my sewing machine. It's quick, it's easy and there is no adhesive required!

Stitching is a fantastic way to attach and highlight the title of your layout. An easy technique is to simply strike-through your title with stitching, for a more time intensive approach you could also outline each letter. 

Attaching ribbon to a layout can require special glue, but stitching is a great permanent adhesive option.  You can also add ruffles and layers of ribbons like I did here.

It's a double bonus when you come across a patterned paper with the stitching already included! Gotta love that.

Stitching can be a great design addition to your projects. Here I followed the filigree pattern on the paper with my sewing machine to enhance the beautiful design on the paper.

Using stitching for a more subtle way can enhance the texture and interest of your layout without making the design too busy. Using coordinating colors and tone-on-tone colors, you get a soft but interesting design element. Try using the different stitch options available on your machine for a varied look.

Overlapping stitches horizontally and vertically can give a touch of interest and beautifully highlight additional embellishments.

walking a moment in daddy's shoes

time seems to fly by at a snail-pace as we creep through the home stretch of deployment number six. how is it that on one hand, with the girls, time seems to vanishes at the speed of light, while the same time passing in view of a deployment seems to be at a stand still? time is funny like that.

when i was thinking the other day of all the things that have changed since stan's been gone... one of the things that's hit me has been the girls' understanding of the gravity of daddy's work. not just what he does, but some of the dangers that go hand in hand with his job. we've talked about the dads that don't make it home... and pray for the safety of all the fine men and women overseas. it's all a part of the growing up process. with age you understand more, feel more, experience more and see the world with a new set of eyes every day. new eyes that are ever more grateful for the daily sacrifices that make daily life possible, and eyes that have the grace to see them as blessings... daily.

this was a little snapshot from stan's last homecoming in 2008. pioneer women issued a challenge to post homecoming moments. i shared this one, which she shared here. the moments are touching, beautiful, painful, sad and gracious all at the same time. a special thank you to all who have given so much, to those who have given all and to those who have loved them.

{a little sneak peek}

i've just started working on a design team for a new kit club called my paper treehouse. and with stan getting closer to being home i'm shockingly ahead of schedule on my projects! so i figured i'd post a little sneak peek at the layouts for the club. take a peek at the fun going on & get a piece of the action here.

while my sister was on a little trip visiting my brother in colorado last weekend, i kept watch over my sweet nephew on sunday. aaron is on the autism spectrum. he is precious. he is amazing. he is sometimes a handful. he was perfect on sunday, and the girls had a fun time with him. he recently spent some time at a feeding clinic in california which was a huge success! he's gone from eating three foods in the entire world, to adding and actually eating new foods every couple of days. we stopped at a farmers market on sunday and picked up a few apples. it was so cool to watch aaron eat a whole apple (i.e. not sliced). for a typical kid, this really wouldn't be a milestone moment, but for aaron's journey... it was amazing to watch. way to go little buddy! there's a little more on aaron's recent journey here.

thanks for letting me share my little slice of life. it helps to keep my eyes focused on all that is truly important in the grand scheme of things!

don't forget to post your comments on the stella & dot post HERE for a chance to win that beautiful necklace!