Toil & Trouble

Happy day before Halloween!!!!  I hope you are having a wonderful day so far!  I am sitting here, sipping some coffee and thinking about what all has to get done today.  Yesterday was a pretty quiet day...I got a few cards created for my manufacturers, worked out, watched The Walking Dead with Josh, and then we played Lego Harry Potter.  I love that game! (I know....I'm such a child.  I can deal! Tee hee!)

I have a witchy little card to share with you today!  It is a mix of old and new Glitz Design product, combined with a fabulous silhouetted witch cut from my Cricut Expression.  The polka dotted paper is from the past collection "Dance In Sunshine", and worked perfectly with this newer "Cashmere Dame" & "Yours Truly" product.  I love when you can breath new life into older products just by using some of the new!  Here is what I created:

Instructions:
1. Make A2 card from white cardstock.
2. Cut yellow polka dot paper slightly smaller, and adhere a strip of washi tape to the left side.
3. Diecut a circle from a black hexagon paper strip, and adhere next to the washi tape.
4. Adhere the entire paper block to the card front.
5. Using a Cricut Expression & A Child's Year cartridge, press Icon + Shift.  Cut the witch at 3".
6. Cover the witch in black glitter, then adhere over top of the diecut circle using foam adhesive.
7. Cut banner ends to 2 paper strips, then add the sentiment to them using alpha stickers.
8. Adhere the strips to the right side, adding a foam dot underneath the right side of each banner.
9. Add three jewels to the upper left corner to finish.

Challenges:
-CAS(E) This Sketch! #3
-Ribbon Carousel #73 - Halloween Spirit
-Top Tip Tuesday #88 - Halloween
-The Friday Mashup! #82 - Witches

I hope that you enjoyed my cute little witchy card today!  I think it turned out really fun!  And can I just say...I kind-of wish we had a polka dot moon.  How cool would THAT be?!  Tee hee!  I also have some Bible study notes to share, so let's get right to it!

James 5: 7-12
My Bible titles this section "Patience in Suffering".  I read an article online by Michael Beates, and this part of it got me & stuck with me.
"But, remember, the important things in life are generally formed over time. The strongest tools are forged by the hottest fires. The most beautiful artistic expressions take the most energy and care to create. So it is with the beautiful thing called “holiness.” It is not achieved quickly, or without effort, or in the absence of pain. In our instant society, much to our disappointment, there is no such thing as “microwave holiness.” Metaphors abound.
God is described by Jeremiah as a potter, and we are described as clay (Jer. 18). The most pliable clay is that which has been most thoroughly mixed, beaten, rolled, and, finally, pushed and pulled on the wheel. Only then the potter, with care and patience, begins to pull and shape the clay into something beautiful. But it is painful to be pulled and drawn into a new shape...."  ~ARTICLE LINK
Have you ever looked at the backside of something cross stitched?  It's a mess.  It's pretty ugly.  It's a chaos of color & string with no rhyme or reason.  I think that is often what we see of our lives.  It's hard to understand what we go through in life.  I try not to live much with "what ifs" and "whys", but I don't fully understand the cards I've been dealt.  I don't understand the hurt I've endured & the emotions that come with it.  I know that my pain is not nearly as bad as others, but it is also important to never compare.  My pain is relevant to my life, and what God is doing in  me.
I think God sees the beautiful pattern on the correct side of the cross stitch.  He sees us in our most beautiful form.  He know the person we can be, and will be if we allow Him to do the stitching.  He knows that all good things take time, and typically have to be broken, stripped down and built back up before you start seeing that beautiful shape begin to take place....

Until later,
~L.