Mystery Craft and seeing stars, again......

Well Howdy Y'all!!!!!     I do hope and pray that this day finds everyone doing well.     It is a very soggy, wet Saturday morning in my neck of the woods.     As they say, "April showers bring May flowers".     There has been so many very beautiful flowers in April already, so I can only imagine that the flower show that comes with May will be even more spectacular!!!!     I LOVE the beauty of nature, even though I can only enjoy it with my eyes.     In reality, nature makes me itch, sneeze, swell up, scratch, wheeze and any other number of things.     So, I have to enjoy it from afar, but at least I can enjoy it.    It blows my mind that for someone who grew up in the country, out in the nature around me every day of my life for many years, is now allergic to the very thing that I always loved.     Thank God for allergy meds!!!!!     I am very serious about that!!!!     One other thing about nature is all the little creepy, crawly, buzzery (my new word, you seen it here first y'all) things.    I have always said that if it stings, stinks or bites, it will be after me and leave everyone else alone.   My husband even notices it.     We can go out on the back porch and it starts as soon as the door shuts behind me, so help me it does.    hahahaha     Buzzzzz, swat, slap, knock, flailing arms like a crazy woman, and I just give up and go in!!!!!     hahahaha      A stroll thru the grass, unless I have winter boots on, will leave me with itching ankles and calves and then itching all over and nothing will stop it till I take a shower, even if it has just been 30 minutes since I just took one.    grrrr     I guess I have resolved myself to being a concrete and asphalt girl instead of the country girl I once was.     But as another saying goes, "You can take the girl outta the country, but you can't take the country outta the girl".     So, I may live in an area considered city, I still bleed country!!!!!    I always will!!!!   hahahaha     God knew what He was doin' when He made country folk!!!!!!

So, y'all know I love to do all different kinds of crafts, whether I have success at it or not.    Last Saturday, I was involved in an online all day stamp kaarving fest in a hangout over on the +Kraafters Kommunity on Google+.    You could pop in and out of the hangout and kaarve along with the other ones or you could just watch, as I did.    I tried to learn from them and after it was over, I kaarved something I had been wanting to do for a long time.    I got out my carving stuff, don't remember what it's called, just pink stuff.   Looks kinda like an eraser, just not as crumbly and drew on my feather and started carving it.    Had no idea what I was doing, but I got it finished and lo and behold, the angels were singing, "it stamped beautifully!!!!!    Yeah, I'm hooked!!!!  

The image with the circle at the top of it is the one that blurred when I tried to stamp it on my knee, so it blurred, but the others are great.    Was kinda proud to finally get a carved stamp under my belt.  All of the gals are really fantastic.     I hope to be one day too, but till then, I'm giddy over my stamp.  Yay!!!!!

A month or so ago, we had a Mystery Craft at the Extension Office and of course, I went.   The only ones there were ladies from my church and my FCE group, there may have been one lady there that wasn't, but I just can't remember.    If it wasn't 15 seconds ago or 40 years ago, I can't remember.   hahaha     I've always heard that called "selective memory", I guess that's right, I  can't remember.    hahaha      Anyway, the craft turned out to be decorating gift bags with supplies she had on hand.    We had to bring some paper or cardstock, a pair of scissors and ribbon.    I forgot the ribbon.    hahaha     Anyway, the lady in charge was wanting our ideas for decorating bags and then she will use those ideas and more later on in the summer when they have the regional meetings and do crafts for two or three days.     So, her craft will be decorating bags.     We all made totally different bags.    I was really proud of mine when I finished.    I had no idea what I was gonna do, I just started doing.   This is the result.    I hope y'all like it.

This is my finished bag.   I was really happy with the way it turned out.    I cut a circle from plain paper and then cut the center from it and was left with a wreath shape.    I took the My Creative Memories punch and punched hexagons from two diff pieces of decorative paper in the two diff sizes the punch made.     I found a little ink pad with a complimenting color and inked all the edges of the little pieces.

I then just started placing the pieces on my paper wreath, varying papers and sizes until the whole wreath form was covered and making sure no white showed.    I then glued the paper wreath to my bag and added dots of bronze glitter glue.

I really love the colors in this, even though no purple was used.    hahaha    I just can't believe it, really I can't.   gggg

Then I made a bow and added a drop bead hanging from the center of the bow with jewelry wire and then added a button after I cut the shank off the back.

So, this is my bag and the punch I used.    I loved the punch and I didn't have it, so I got on Ebay, ordered it and got it shortly after.   I don't know if you can see it or not, but I glued my hexagon on in such a way that I could raise the hexagons, just a bit to give it a bit of dimension.    That's why I didn't glue them directly onto the bag.

Ok, I just have to warn you, really I do.     Crafting can be very dangerous!!!!!    Oh, yes it can!!!!    There are various ways one can get injured while crafting.    Burning yourself with a hot glue gun, cutting yourself with sharp tools, picking up the wrong end of something...........and the list goes on and on.      Well, I was in my craft room shortly after getting my hexagon punch, pictured above.    I went to one of my cabinets that house much of my supplies and opened the door.    I have all my hand punches in box that is more than overflowing.    Well, I opened the door looking for something and bumped the overflowing box and my new punch started falling towards the floor.    In my mind I was saying, "Oh, please don't break my new punch, please don't break my new punch.......!!!"   That  quickly changed to, "Oh, please don't break my little toe, please don't break my little toe.......!!!!     Hey, don't believe me, look at the last picture!!!!      That's why the title of the post had, "seeing stars, again....", in it!!!     I wasn't seeing hexagons, just stars and a nice lump and bruise just about 10 minutes later!!!!  

See, I told you crafting can be dangerous!!!!    I may have to start wearing steel toed shoes when I craft!!!!!!   hahahaha    On the redeeming side of this little mishap, I must say that I bruise beautifully!!!!!!    I am beginning to think that may be why I love purple so much, because I wear it so well in the form of bruises.     hahahaha     This pic was just about 10 minutes after it happened.   It got even more beautiful the next day, I just forgot to take a pic of it.    hahahaha     Oh well, bruises heal; the main thing is that my punch was ok.    hahahaha    Lemons + sense of humor = Lemonade!    That's what I made, Lemonade!!!!


What do you look for?     What are you searching for?     Have you been looking all of your life for something?     Have you been searching for something, but you have no idea of what you are searching for?     I have heard people say that they have been looking for something and don't quite know what they are looking for.    Back when I used to sew all the time, I would go on a fabric hunt.    I would have an image in my mind of what I wanted to make and nothing would do, but to find that piece of special fabric.    I didn't know what I was searching for till I laid my eyes upon it, and then and there, the "God-given" image in my mind started coming to fruition.    Just any piece of material would not do!   It had to match the image of what was in my mind and the second I spotted it from the corner of my eye, I knew that was it!!!     I never went on a search for fabric but what I came away with the perfect piece for the outfit I was making.     I knew then and I realize even more now, that God was helping me find what He wanted me to have.

The only way that He could have helped me find what He had placed in my mind, was for me to have realized at some point in time that I was on a search for Him.    He was never hidden from me, but sometimes we don't know what we are looking for and it turns out to be God.    God does not hide Himself from anyone.    Every person has the same access to God that I have, they just have to want to access God and then He will make Himself known to any seeker, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.    The redeeming work of Christ on the cross is the ONLY door to God the Father!!!!

1 Chronicles 16:11   Seek the LORD and His strength; seek His presence continually.

What ever we are searching for, we will find it!!!!    If we are seeking the Lord, we will surely find Him!!!!    Our lives will produce the fruit of what we are seeking after.    If we are seeking the world and all that it has to offer, we will surely find that!!!!     Our lives will produce the fruit of what we are seeking after.

Acts 4:12   Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

How much plainer can this be said?    Not much.     Just about as plain as it gets.     Yet, people are still searching and seeking after other ways to Father God that simply DO NOT exist.    There is NO other way to be in presence of Father God, except thru the blood of the cross of Jesus Christ, that's it!  
I hope and pray that today, if you are still seeking after the way to Father God, that you will realize that there is only One way to Him and that way is Jesus Christ.    God loved you enough to provide you with a way to Him and that way is Jesus.     Jesus is as close to you as a whisper of His name.     At the mention of His name, demons flee!!!!     If you don't know what else to say, simply say "Jesus", He will hear you.

Ladybug, can't wait to see you again, real soon.    Still enjoying our time the other day with the "5 Cracker Barrel Cuties", such a great day!!!!    Sweetpea loves you!!!!

That's about it for today.    Share what you have seen and read here with someone you love, you won't regret it and neither will they.    God loves y'all and so do I!!!    hugs, Patty