Saturday, July 26, 2008

K.I.S.S (Keepin' It Soooo Simple) Saturdays

Yep, I love the theme of Saturdays here at Heartfelt Greetings. We are forcing ourselves, for just a minute, to create beautiful cards, simply.

My JR Monogram Stamper and I came together in perfect harmony this week to create some simple thank you post cards for my SIL Jayne. Her husband Ken was diagnosed in March with Stage IV lung cancer. He has been bravely battling it ever since. Jayne is in constant need of thank you cards because so many of their friends have stepped up in this time of great need to help them out. I thought I'd make something really easy and beautiful for her to send out to her friends.

Remember how I told you the first time my JR Monogram Stamper and I came together it was not a very good experience (operator error, seriously). Well, I persevered and I'm happy to say, I think I've got things figured out! I used my JR Monogram Stamper to make a personalized bible verse stamp to use on the front of Jayne's thank you cards.

Since these are thank you cards, I used one of my favorite bible verses of all time, 1 Thess 5:18..."In every thing give thanks". Cancer and unemployment included. WHAT? Give thanks for cancer? Give thanks for unemployment? Surely we are interpreting this bible verse incorrectly. We can't possibly thank God for cancer and unemployment (fill in the blank for whatever horrible thing you are currently experiencing), can we? Maybe we are to give thanks for all good things like the trees, animals, and winning the lottery. Mmmmm, I'm pretty sure that's not what God had in mind when he said this. When He says, all things, I'm quite certain he meant all things. Good or bad. Happy or sad. No matter what the circumstances, we are to find reason to thank God. For through the pain, God is doing great works in us. It might not be obvious to us what exactly that great work is, but rest assured, all things work for the good of God. Sit tight and hang on for dear life. He will deliver us!

Ok, back to the cards. To make these, I dug into my scrap drawer. That's another reason these qualify as easy. Just use what you've already got on hand. No need to pull out new paper. I found two different coordinating scraps and randomly sewed scraps on the card. There really was no rhyme or reason here.

After I got my bible verse letters all set up in the stamper, I put in my Pink Passion ink pad (I purchased extra JR dry stamp pads so I could have numerous different ink options for my stamper) and stamped it on Whisper White cardstock 4 times. Then I cut the monograms out using my circle Nestabilities and made a scalloped mat for the monogram using my scallop circle Nesty's. I popped the bible verse up using dimensional tape (I use 3M foam tape...nothing fancy).

I hope these cards come in handy for Jayne. They were made with love. And they were made to be really easy for you to make yourself. Because that's what today is all about. Keepin' it simple! If you want to buy the JR Monogram Stamper for yourself, you can find it at Stamper's Dream. Michelle carries a multitude of accessories to go with your monogram stamper, so be sure and stop there today to see what she's got. I know she's waiting for a shipment to arrive either today or Monday to restock her shelves because these go fast!

Have a great day.

Hugs,
Amy

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:41 AM

    Beautiful! They are in my prayers.

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  2. Love your simple saturdays! these cards are so happy. I am sure your SIL will love them!

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  3. You're so right, Amy---God means ALL things. Because through even the bad things---and maybe especially the bad stuff---He's working on our character, and making us more like Him. And that's GOOD. Even if the way it happens isn't so good. Bless you for making these sweet cards for her...I'll be praying. Keep us posted!

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  4. It is during some of the hardest times in my life that I've had some of the sweetest reminders of God's love... like a friend or a family member blesses me immeasurably. God is honored when we remember that He is in control and that He already worked it all out.

    Your cards are great-- the idea to gift them and the design. I have that stamper on my wish list.

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