Karla's Korner

Heartfelt Inspiration...

I wanted you to see the journal page that inspired the "Be Strong" art...
my friend Carol sent me the sweetest card in the mail
and I loved the art from the card so much I glued it in my journal...
I think maybe it reminded me of me when I was a little girl!

But even more... it reminded me of how God longs for us to write His
Word on the tablet of our hearts. He wants us to be like little girls who
sit in His Presence, being attentive to His voice and diligently inscribe
His Word... His promises, His commands, His instructions... on our hearts
so we won't forget Him or His plan and purpose for our lives.

Also... did you know that when we store up God's Word in our hearts...
we give the Holy Spirit the opportunity to bring it to our minds
at any given moment... when we need to hear it...
without having to open our Bibles or search through a promise book?

So... I wonder what Word will you write upon your heart today?

Love you...
Karla

Doodles and Daydreaming...

I've been doodling in my art journal quite a bit lately... and loving it!

I've sorta rediscovered my love for pen and ink drawing... only now... instead
of dipping a nib... I've been smitten with the ease of fine line marking pens.

I will scan in some of my journal pages to show you soon... but I wanted to
share a piece that I just finished... inspired by the doodles and by my need
for a word of encouragement from the Lord. This is what He said to me...
and I know He says the same thing to you...


Thank You Lord for encouraging my heart... You have reminded me to put
my hope back in You and not in myself or my circumstances and to trust You
for the days ahead. Help me see myself, my circumstances, and the people
You've placed in my life...through Your eyes and not my own...
for Your glory and praise... Amen.

Spring is Almost Here!

I was in town yesterday and noticed all the daffodils and crocus in bloom
so I just took a walk around Grace Acres to see if spring had sprung here!!
Nope... not yet... not really... but it's trying!


Two lone daffodils are blooming... none other even comes close!
It is amazing what a difference couple of miles north and the tree enclosed
location of our property can make... we're kind of in a pocket.


But this was my favorite... this is where I stopped to ponder.
Can you see it?  The sweet pink tip of miss camelia peeking out... ready to
burst open and greet sunnier days!!  I wondered how many of us are like this
little miss... we know God's doing something new... we can feel it... but
we're not quite there yet. We're still in winter but we know spring is right
around the corner. Miss Camelia won't give up... even though she may even
get nipped on a yet to come frosty night... but she knows her turn is almost
here and I can see her smiling in anticipation of sunny days.  Can you?


Simple beauty.


Here a patch... there a patch... of soon to be bountiful beauty!


Do you feel like you're stuck in winter waiting for brighter days?
Remember... winter is the season when God
renews, refreshes and strengthens us to be able to bloom come spring.
So rest in Him... draw your strength from Him...  so you'll be ready...
because spring is right around the corner and you're about to BLOOM!!

Lord bless you and keep you...
In His love and for His glory...
xoxoxo
Karla

New "Sonflower Blessings" Cards Available on Etsy!

There's been so much creativity happening around here...
product mock ups for those cute little Snowy Joy characters...
painting a new cross design with an Easter theme
that you'll hopefully see in Etsy in just a few day...
and then... a week or so ago I got an email from Susie
requesting to buy the Sunflower Blessing art for cards to put with some
sweet treat bags they're giving out at Easter time.  So...I couldn't help
myself... I had to stop and create these cards just for her... and for you!

And don't you agree that this verse is perfect for a greeting card?
Who doesn't delight to send... and receive...
a blessing straight from the Word and the heart of God!!



You can buy this colleciton on Etsy and it comes to you as a digital download
so you can print as many blessings as you'd like to send to friends and family
or use for ministry purposes like Sue is going to do!
It includes 2 card designs... 4 1/4"x 5 1/2" when folded, a matching envelope,
and a 4" x 4" "Lord Bless You" art print for using to design your own cards,
for scrapbooking or other crafts.

So...you'll get this design with a gold leaf pattern
background and a sweet sunflower bouquet on the back...


you can add buttons and bows to dress it up or leave it as is.


You'll also get this design in blue plaid with a cute border across the back...

And to coordinate with both cards... you'll also get this envelope design...
it's easy to cut, fold, and glue for a fun way to send your blessing in style!

Thank you so much for letting me share my art with you...
I pray it is a blessing to you personally
and that it also might provide you with a special way of sharing
the love of God with others... a message of faith,
joy, hope and encouragement through friendship.

So with all my heart... today... I pray this for you my friend...

Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you
     and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn His face toward you
     and give you peace.

Numbers 6:24-26

xoxoxo
Karla

Happy Valentines Winner!!

I'm sending you all Valentine HUGS to brighten your day...
 can you feel my heart hugging yours?? 

More importantly... can you feel God's heart hugging yours?
Hmmm... I wonder... if every day shouldn't be Valentine's Day in the Lord?



Well... there's a special Valentine's Gift that will soon be on its way to...
Leslie Anne... congratulations girlfriend...
you just won the Simple Scrapbooking Giveaway!
Just email me with your mailing info and I'll send them your way!!

xoxoxo
Karla

Art Journaling... oh so pink!

WOW!  I have been so blessed by all your wonderful comments regarding
the Simple Scrapbooking Giveaway... thank you!  You still have a couple
of days to enter if you still need to... so please do.

I've missed visiting with you this week but I'm knee deep in a licensing
project so I've had to give it my utmost attention. I'm still not finished
with it but just had to take a break to pop in and say HELLO to you!!


I thought you might like to see my newest journal pages... still in progress!
None of the three are finished but I'm loving them. I went up to the
mountain with Michelle and her family last weekend and in between
Jessica's races, Michelle and I would go back to their cabin for some
"ARTING" time together and the creativity and fun flowed!

I'm not sure where the PINK inspiration came from... pink is usually not me
at all... but I'm liking it for the moment! Jess did a ski jump that was
almost 59 feet!!!  WOW!!  Can you imagine flying through the air for 59 ft?
Yikes! Afterward she did say "that was scary!" We were so proud of her!

I've been playing with art ideas for my next book... working title is
"With All My Heart" and I'm thinking this sweet girl with a heart
shaped face just might just be in it... what do you think?

And isn't that what we all want? For those around us to see the LOVE
of God in our faces, in our attitudes... in how we live our lives? I know I
do. But it's not always easy is it? We can't truly love life and love others
unless we're spending time with the One who loves us above all others.

In fact... think about this...  you are God's Valentine!
He may not buy you a greeting card but He did write you a beautiful
love letter and bound it into a book for you to cherish forever.
He's probably not going to call the florist and order up flowers
but He has given you a fragrant bouquet of His love, joy, peace and hope
if you'll just reach out and receive it.
And He may not be taking you out to dinner or on a cruise... but He is
taking you on you an incredible journey... all the way to heaven
and the price of the ticket was extravagantly expensive...
it cost Him His Son... His life... the greatest Valentine gift of all...
and He says you're worth it!

You are God's Precious VALENTINE...
delight yourself in His lavish love today!

           For God so loVed the world,
that He gAve
    His onLy
    begottEn
        SoN
                        That whosoever
     believeth In Him
               should Not perish,
                   but have Everlasting life.
John 3:16

xoxoxo
Karla
                      

My New Blog Button...

I don't know if you noticed but, by request,
I recently created my own blog button...



if you have been blessed or encouraged through my art or writing...
I would be honored if you would want to add to your blog's sidebar!

You can find it on my sidebar with the coding just below it.
Thank you so much and God bless...
xoxoxo
Karla

New Etsy Prints...

I added a couple of new prints to my Etsy Shoppe this week...

This one means so much to me personally... it is a reminder that in
times of trouble... and we all have them... God wants to hide us in
His pavilion... in the comfort and protection of His Presence...

He bids us to come to Him... to leave our burdens outside the pavilion so
we can find rest in His Presence... He calls us to a time of worship and sweet
communion so that our cup might be filled and our spirit strengthened.
Included with the print will be a "story" about all the spiritual symbolism that
is woven into this painting... including why there's a loveseat instead
of two chairs. The story will be formatted so you can tape it to the
back of your print once it's framed.


And I love this print... it's just such a cheery reminder to us to keep our eyes
focused on the Son... much like the sunflower lifts its head to focus on and
follow the light of the sun as it moves across the sky from morning til night.



Lord bless you my friend and may His face shine upon you and bring you joy!

xoxoxo
Karla

Simple Scrapbooking Giveaway!

Yeah... it's time for another FUN GIVEAWAY!!

I just got these... hot off the press... and I want to share a set with you!
Even if you don't have time for traditional scrapbooking this is a very fun...
yet easy way to create a special collection of some of your fave photos...
or to journal a season of God moving in and through your life experiences!
There is one book for each season and each book contains everything you
need to create beautiful pages... the pages, stickers, diecuts, and places for
you to journal and add your own special touches.

So here's SPRING...






SUMMER...





FALL...




and WINTER...




You could win this set of four scrapbooking "books" for yourself or...
if you don't scrapbook yourself... just think of a woman you know who would
love to get this as a gift from you... or how about winning it to offer as a free
giveaway for your Bible Study or an upcoming women's event!! 

To enter you can do one of the following...
1. simply leave a comment and tell me if you're a scrapbooker... or not

2. help me increase my readership by posting about this giveaway on your blog
          and your welcome to use the top photo of all four books for show
            leave a separate comment here to let me know you did

3. help me reach my goal of 1000 facebook friends by fanning me here
          and then come back here and tell me you did!

You can do any or all... it's as easy as that!  And what better day to pick the
RANDOM WINNER than Valentine's Day... love... love... and more love!!

Father God... You are the Author of our story and... whether we journal it or
scrapbook it... help us to remember that every picture we take... whether
with a camera or our minds eye... is a snapshot of You at work in our lives...
blessing us, molding us, shaping us, or using us.  Thanks Lord for all the great
pics we've all gathered along life's way!!  Amen!

Valentine Fun!

Even though I didn't have a whole lot of time... I did have fun with the
Valetine Art... and I hope you do too!



As I looked around my art studio for inspiration in how to use the new
Valentine Art Digital Download... I eyed those cereal boxes I had saved from
the last time the girls were over.  I couldn't resist!!  If you remember...
I showed you a couple of them a  week or so ago... but with a totally
different look then what was in store for them today... I think you'll agree!

Instead of covering the cereal box with fabric I decided to try and paint it...


I first cut the the top flaps off the Golden Grahams and
then primed it with a couple of coats of white acrylic paint...


I then chose a coral pink paint to use as my base coat color.


I love dots... all dots... I'm not sure why... but I just do. This is a dot I carved
out of a bit of scrap eraser... so it's not perfectly round... I'm learning to like
that... the imperfect... I know God is smiling right now... and so am I!! 


I then gathered a few similar colored buttons, ribbons, chalks, etc to help
determine the direction I wanted to go.  Mind you... I did not have a lot of
time to play or think this through so it may have gone in a totally different
direction had I looked for more options or had more materials to choose from
but I wanted to work with what I had on hand... which wasn't much.


Did you notice the buttons? They may be plain white but notice the price!!!! 
Nothing plain about 10 cents!!!  10 cents for 10 buttons... that's a penny
a piece... love it!!  Oh for the reminders of days gone by... forever!
I didn't use them but I still love them!!
And the result of a little bit of this and a little of that.... is this...




I finished it off by using a subtle chalk and a little distressing ink around all
the edges of the images and the box edges as well. 
I covered the top edge of the box with a white double fold bias tape
and glued the clear button with a half round button on top. Did you know you
can snip off the shank of a button to use in projects like this?  Sweet.
And then I added a bit of glitter on the button and the hearts... pizzazz.
There you have it... you'll have to let me know what you think!
 
The card is simple and sweet... a reminder that God has poured out His love
into our hearts.  Inside you might write... "and I love the way His love flows in
and through yours!" 

 
I layered the bookmark with a pink paper and a yellow cardstock to give it
strength.  I wanted to do something fancy with beads off the top but the
ribbon will have to do for now!  I love the idea of pairing the birdies with the
words "true friends" and "forever"... I think it will make an adorable card or
gift tag.  And I know I'll be using the little hearts as stickers for my mail so if
you order something you'll be sure to get one or two!! 

I hope you enjoy playing with the art as much as I have!

Thank you Lord for pouring out your love into our heart and filling our emptiness
like only You can.  And thank You Father for my blog friends and the opportunity
you give us to share encouragement and blessings... as well as our talents and
abilities... with one another here! Bless the hearts and lives of each woman
who visits here today Lord that she might find her hope and rest in You. Amen

Free and LOVE-LY Valentine's Art Download

I know Valentine's Day is right around the corner and
many or most of you have probably already made your Valentine's
but I wanted you to have this anyway...
because LOVE is always in the air when we belong to a God who IS love!

So this is my Valentine to you my friends...
I love you all and treasure your love, kindnesses, and caring hearts...
but most of all I treasure being your Sister in Christ...
our hearts bound together in His Spirit and for His glory!

So... please download it, print it, cut it out, craft away and enjoy!

Hmmmm... I can see gift tags, stickers, labels, bookmarks, Valentine's,
greeting cards, a gift bag or box and more.
Well...I'm going to go play now so check back tomorrow
and we'll see what I come up with!!

Blessings and hugs...
Karla

Beyond THE BOOK... Part 5

To finish this up... I want to simply offer you a list of ideas and suggestions you might want to consider for your own outreach.  I know this list is very incomplete so... if you would like to leave a comment with your own suggestions or outreaches you've participated in...
I will be tickled pink to add them to my list in the days to come!

Jesus said, "What you do for the least of these, you do for me" and that is so important for us to remember. It is not about us... it's all about Him... allowing His love to flow in us and through us to others... so remember to be praying before you go and then when you get together... either before you start or before you leave. Trust that the Lord will go before you, be present with you as you serve, and the taste of His grace will linger in that place after you leave!

And even though you're going as unto the Lord...
remember what He says in Proverbs 11:25...

You will be blessed by being a blessing!

So including what we've already done... here's my list...
For individuals...
Paint a room for someone in need**
Clean house for someone in need**
Do yard work for someone in need**
For Organizations... however they need you...
A Teen Pregnancy Resource Center
A Homeless Shelter
Nursing Homes
A Home for Teen Moms or Girls who have chosen to keep their babies
Evangelistic Organizations... local or traveling

If going out into the community is not possible...
you can also serve by hosting...
A Coat Drive...
consider collecting good quality coats at yard sales throughout the year
A Baby Shower for Jesus...
and give the gifts to a Pregnancy Resource Center or Teen Mom Home
Making quilts for the Project Linus
Check in with Craft Hope to see what their current craft project

** someone in need could be an elderly person or couple, a single mom, a person with financial or health problems... it might be your neighbor or someone you know or your church may have a list of folks who could use a blessing from the Lord.

***our church has a program called Helping Hands which supplies meals and other services to those with special needs such as recuperating from surgery or having a baby... also they serve at funerals and other functions.



Heavenly Father... You've called us to be Your heart and hands to the hurting... to be a light for you in a world that has so much darkness and pain. Stir our hearts to reach out beyond ourselves... to put feet to our faith so that Your Word is more than ink on a page... but instead let it be alive and life changing in us and through us. The world is full of needs Lord... and we were never designed to meet them all.  But Your Word says we are Your workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works that You prepared in advance for us to do... show us what You've prepared for us and then give us the strength and courage to say "here I am Lord... send me" and then go!  Amen.