James, Chapter 3 In the Making

James, chapter 3 took me longer than any so far. Not sure why, it really just makes a few points! ... Your tongue will MESS YOU UP! And wisdom can come from Heaven or Hell.

This was yesterday....I was kinda floundering with it ....

And this is now...

I am actually thinking of trying to sell a "James" booklet, kind of like an ezine, so I probably won't show all verses like I did last year....but you get the idea.

Lest you forget... this is what Chapter 3 looked like last year:

Can You Tell What Chapter?

Hint, I'm working on James again. My first plan was to just tweek last year's version...but, it seems I am not as happy with that version as I thought! It is all looking so different! Not only have I gotten a little better at drawing (with all the practice I've had) but I am "seeing"/reading things differently this time.

Here are a few changes... can you tell not only the chapter but the verses?

Anyway, I just wanted to show you that I'm not, not drawing, I am, just not showing what I'm doing as often :-)

I am still having MAJOR issues with Blogger letting me sign in!, if anyone has a clue I would love to get some answers.

I am posting this one using an app on my iPad...I can't do ANYTHING with my regular PC!
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Chapter 2 last year:

Peek-A-Boo!

Every year, for 7 or 8 (?) years now, I have a friend that orders custom Christmas Ornaments for all her family from me .... It ranges from 10-15 ornaments and all are unique to each person. The only common thing is that each has the name and the year. After that we put something that was a stand out for the person that year. Just think how fun it will be years from now to see what "mattered" to them each year!

I make them with felt and my embroidery machine and I can not tell a lie, I don't love all of them.... but this year I did a couple that I really LOVE! I did one for her daughter's family ... with a Disney Character shape (they went to DisneyWorld this year)...and I WANT a whole tree of them! ...can't show you that one because...well, you know why....

But the other one I made completely from scratch and it makes me giggle just looking at it. It is for Bennett, the youngest baby girl in the family...every year is a major challenge coming up with an idea for the baby....(it seems she had a new grandbaby every year!) This year, Bennett is getting a "Peek-a-boo" ornament because she LOVES to play "Peek-a-boo".

Peek-a-boo!

The thing that tickles me is that i put a recorder inside so that they can record the words and the giggles! FuN!!!

OH! and the reason I'm just now talking about it is that I just finished making them! I was SICK the whole month of December so it just didn't happen. I hate that but ..... so, this year they are getting the ornaments for Valentines day. :-( BUT, Christmas is over by the time they get the gifts so they don't go on the tree until next year anyway... they just don't get to see what everyone else got until next year.

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On a different note...if you get an automatic email from my blog please forgive the last week or so! Talk about acting screwy!!! It sent one from something I wrote sometime last year! I promise I did nothing to cause that, I didn't even log into my blog that day! Hummmmm????

My New Toy!

OH MY GOODNESS!!! I almost never got into blogger today to make this post!  WHAT IS UP WITH THAT?!  Seriously, it took me at least an hour trying, and retrying everything that has always worked!

Just wanted to let you know in case something really is up and I suddenly fall out of the Blogger atmosphere.

ANYWAY!!!  I just wanted to show you my new toy!

 It is called a SliderWriter.  VERY COOL!!!  I do everything in my lap on the sofa so this makes a great "table" and helps me write straight!... a long time desire. I still need to work on spacing between lines but that was my fault...there is a ruler on the right side so I should have been more consistent .. but, I wrote the "Contempt" first so I didn't plan very well.... but, I am VERY HAPPY with it so far.  This was actually my first attempt so it isn't perfect...but I'll practice.

Here is a video showing its uses and how to use:

Numbers 13 and 14 - The Hidden Treasures

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That's right, buried in the middle of chapter after of chapter of numbers of men in each tribe and more sacrifices for sin, are some treasures that can be easily passed over while trying to "just get through" the book of Numbers.  It is almost like someone dropped all the pages that Moses wrote and because the pages weren't numbered a few pages explaining their trip out of Egypt got put back in the wrong place... (not really, but kinda!) 

In the middle of Numbers we find out why the Israelites missed out on their "PROMISE" of the land flowing with milk and honey and spent the next 40 years wondering int the desert instead of receiving what God had for them.   GOD'S PLAN for them was to take them right into the promise land...BUT THEY LOST THE PROMISE because of FEAR OF MAN, rather than TRUST IN GOD...that, and they grumbled, yet again, about their circumstances!  

When I first realized all the above I started thinking about all of the promises I may have forfeited because of my fear of man, or circumstances, or complaining about the journey to the promise instead of trusting in and being patient with God!  SCARY!!!  So, I decided right then and there to stop thinking of myself as a grasshopper.  As long as God is on my side, I am NOT A GRASSHOPPER!

A few years ago I was getting prepared to lead a devotional on the subject and decided to read the "whole story"... when suddenly I saw that God views unbelief as CONTEMPT towards him!  LOOK THE WORD UP!!!   Forget, just being afraid!  God sees that as me DESPISING HIM!!!!  YOUCH!

If God makes a promise, TRUST HIM TO BRING YOU THROUGH TO IT!!!  Your ATTITUDE MATTERS!!!
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OH!  And I got a new tool to help keep my text lines straight!  It is called a SliderWriter.  VERY COOL!!!  I do everything in my lap on the sofa so this makes a great "table" and helps me write straight!... a long time desire. I still need to work on spacing between lines but that was my fault...there is a ruler on the right side so I should have been more consistant... but, I wrote the "Contempt" first so I didn't plan very well.... but, I am VERY HAPPY with it so far.

Spreading the Word, One Person at a Time....

I am continuing to work on my canvas RAKs with the 10 Commandments on the back. (GREAT TV watching thing to do)  Today I got 25 done, with no two the same .... Only just over 300 still to make :-)

Here are a few I did today ... sorry they are so dark, the lighting stinks where I took them... they are really much brighter than they appear here.

The main reason I like to have different designs is I get really bored working on the same thing for very long.  Because of that I will also stop a while and work on getting the elements for the wrapping ready.... Like the daisies ...made from punches and fabric covered 1/2" buttons.

and then I wrap them and draw different patterns on each wrapped canvas:

Again, please excuse the dark photo.  I used kraft bags to wrap each with so you know the color they should be!

Ten Commandments ... (3)

Today's Ten Commandments

It actually took three tries on this! It wasn't until the third time that I got smart enough to not draw the bottom of the border until the end so that I could continue to draw exactly the right number of lines! DER! And, if I were willing to do it yet again I wouldn't do the right side until i was finished either....thus avoiding the jammed words and maybe some of the gaps. Live and learn.

Moses - (part 1)

This particular challenge is taking me much longer to accomplished than I expected. When I started the plan was to draw one picture on each page of the 52 pages of my Bible Art Journal, one for each week. .... But, how do you do that?!  Everything is a picture for me.  Now, I suspect that will probably change, but, in the meantime, I'm not moving too fast!  

I guess you can probably tell this is about Moses, up through the plagues, or the first 12 chapters of Exodus. It is on 1/2 of a 5.5" x 8.5" page... So this part is actually only about 4.25"x 5.5".

It Takes Practice

So, today i practiced "real" writing with The Ten Commandments....for my "how many ways" challenge.

And I started working on my RAKs....

The front goes pretty quickly, I just don't love doing the back.

Posted via DraftCraft app

Color Organizing Dos and Don'ts

New Year, time to organize right?

I bought myself some new toys for Christmas and I didn't love the containers they came in so I improvised....

First, I bought these:
Caran d'Ache Neocolor II Water Soluble Pastels

And then I found this carousel filled with 150 Crayola Crayons

I took all those out and replaced them with my watercolor crayons....happy girl! 
A definite DO!

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I also bought myself a set of 72 

Derwent Inktense Pencils

I reeeeally hate this container...cheap plastic trays and I am constantly knocking them around and dumping pencils out...I hate that because I want them in the correct order.  So...this time I just used what I had... a sewing machine, sheet protectors and embroidery sterilizer (the white background ... could just as easily have been fabric) ... and two of those ring thingies

I stitched 12 little "pockets" across the width then cut the top off.

Very Happy! Do!

Oh, and notice the color strip of color around the middle of the pencil?  I used mailing labels for that.  I colored each one with the color of the pencil then painted with water (since these are watercolor pencils).  I always do this with new color pencils because the color on the end of the pencil is an  AWFUL color match!  This way I KNOW what color it will really be.

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One more thing I got was this thing:

I DO NOT RECOMMEND IT!!!!  Here's why:

I spent hours doing this with all my Distress Inks so that I could easily use them to paint, (Tim Holtz does a whole video on this stinkn' thing!) 

and a few days later it fell to the floor and THIS is what I got:

ARGH!!!!  DON'T! x10