November 22, 2009 Taste And See That The Lord Is Good...

Salmo 34:8a (Psalm 34:8a) says, "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good..."







I will have this verse in my kitchen someday. I think of it and am just reminded of all the blessings that God has allowed to be a part of my life. So many memories have been made around the table where... we eat the bounties of our Precious and most faithful Savior.

This particular cut was made for a young person at our church who just celebrated his 18th birthday today. It was such a fun party! I knew most of the people and I felt so happy to be soaking up everyone's sweet babies and young kids, since we did not take our own. :-) Good food, good company, and yummy dessert. Yay!

He is going to school to be a chef, so this was a great idea for him. I love the verse for him, and it was nice to have a reason to do a cut for it.

click to enlarge the image...

Have a GREAT day!!!

My First Published (Art) Work!!!

It is with great pleasure and much excitement that I announce the coming of a new book called "Exploring the Latest Trends in Mixed Media Arts- Volume 2".

I am excited because... I have one of my creative projects which is being printed in it!!! Yes!!! I am not at liberty at this point to share my project directly with you, but if you check out the book, you will be able to see it. I am one of the "guest artists". :-)

Let me know what you think if you do get a chance to see it! :-)

November 10, 2009 Le Vite- The Vines...

Le Vite... The Vines







This card was inspired by a book... "4000 Flower & Plant Motifs: A Sourcebook" by Graham Leslie McCallum. My friend, Kathy, owns it and leant it me.

Thank you, so much...

I tell you, my heart got so excited over the beauty and potential of this book. The creative ideas flowed, and I poured over the images as if they were chocolate morsels to my creative soul. I did NOT replicate the images, and would prefer not to; but I did glean ideas from two specific examples on pages 71 and 334.

I was also reminded about a verse from John 15:5, where Jesus says of Himself, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit..."

I made this card after days of brainstorming for inspiration for a card for my Father-in-law's birthday. When this idea came up, I KNEW it would be perfect for him.

So... Happy Birthday, Dad!


P.S. Please pray for my father-in-law and our family as we deal with the death of my father-in-law's 103 year old mother, my husband's grandmother, this past Tuesday, the 10th. (The exact day this cut was completed.)

Thank you.


Click to see larger.

November 8, 2009 Birthday Balancing Act...

Balancing Act By The Cat In The Hat...







Happy 2nd Birthday to my youngest son, Dario!!! His birthday was on Monday, and we had a great party for him on Sunday.

Lots of people who love him were around to share in our joy and gratefulness for God's faithfulness to us through each year.

Dario dealt with Congenital Muscular Torticollis and a few months of physical therapy associated with that, being sick many, many times, and he overcame a powerful bout of pneumonia last February. In his short two years, we have seen that God is real, He hears and answers prayer, and that He is oh so faithful.

The theme that I chose for his party was "The Shape of Me And Other Stuff" by Dr. Seuss. What greater way to bring in a "2" birthday than celebrating the gift of the shape we are in!!! There were shapes everywhere, and lots of color and stripes. There was also the verse from Psalm 139:14 which says,


"I will give thanks to You,
for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well."


What a blast! We played games, laughed, and just made some neat memories.

I hope you will enjoy this "silhouette and shapes" card which was made with much love for my sweet and most happy little man. I love it and think it is perfect for him. :-)

Happy Birthday, My Sweet Dario! We love you so much and are so grateful for you!!! Remember that the most important thing you can EVER do in your life is... to choose to be a friend of Jesus!!!

And, Friends and Family... That goes for each of YOU, too.

With many thoughts,

Celita


To see up close, click on the image... card

Prairie Patchwork








Miriam's mommy is my friend. She and her family went on a trip last year and her mommy came back with a special gift for me... a snow globe with a Holly Hobbie image in it. I loved the sweet gingham and patchwork apron, the bonnet, and the petticoat peaking from beneath her dress. I loved the gathered blue flowers in her hands. And I loved the words painted along the base of the snow globe... "Love can brighten any day!" It was a special gift indeed.

Miriam's 1st birthday is this Saturday. I knew that I wanted to make her a unique card/gift to mark this special milestone of exiting babyhood and entering childhood. Problem was... I was having a problem coming up with something different.

Have you ever had the problem? When you got stuck into a routine of doing the same thing and had a hard time getting out of it. Some of my papercuts have stuck to a very distinct pattern, and I knew that was not what I wanted for THIS particular gift. But I had no idea what to do instead. So... I went into my china cabinet for some girlie inspiration. And there I had a "Voila!" moment and knew JUST what I would do.

Here we have a Holly Hobbie-ish image that I freehanded from the image in the snow globe, and then I added the very beautiful papers which were provided by my sister-in-law when she came to visit recently. Yeah for lovely papers!!!

I was SO pleased with the result, and both I and my husband agree that this is one of our favorites. I hope you like it as well.

Miriam, Happy 1st Birthday!! May the Lord continue to bless your life in amazing ways! We love you!

If you would like to see the image a bit closer, just click the picture.

October 24, 2009 A Boy's Dinosaur Birthday Card...

Pterodactyl And Stegosaurus Enjoying The Day...







This is for a boy I know whose birthday party we are going to today...

Samuel, Happy 7th Birthday!!

Dinosaurs are one of the most intriguing creatures in history... (I said ONE of them, not THE MOST!) ;-) How befitting it is to have a "Dinosaur" themed party for this age. 7 is full of mystery. How a child's mind works and learns, mysteries become unveiled, so many things learned.

Wow, thinking about it all- dinosaurs, boys, and so many other things- and how it all works makes me in awe of our most AWESOME CREATOR. Thank you, Lord!!

October 23, 2009 Love Grows...

Love Grows...









This is based off of another cut I did for my nephew when he was born. This one is to my cousin, N.

Sometimes you just need to use snail mail to give that extra special touch of "I Miss You And Think Of You All The Time". Email is great, but snail mail... there is nothing that compares to the joy of opening the mailbox and getting a personal letter, with words carefully scrawled out, thoughts, encouragements, and sometimes funnies and maybe some extra little tidbits tucked inside.

Call me old fashioned, but I miss the days when I had to wait a week or even two for that letter I was expecting from that special person in my life. No, I do not mean a boyfriend. I mean cousins, grandparents, friends, my parents, anyone I cared for... The anticipation, the thrill of it finally arriving, the step by step opening while trying not to tear the precious paper inside, and soaking up every blessed word... sigh...

What special and (mostly) pleasant memories. I cannot wait to get this out to N. Yay!! She is not expecting it!!

October 19, 2009... Sputtering and Growing...

Wilderness Beauty... Nathalie's Papercut





Consuming Fire... based on 1 Kings 18: 24, 38

Verse 24 says, "Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God..."

Verse 38 says, "Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water..."

The idea for this cut has been on my mind for a long time. It is such a powerful story and it makes my heart swell with joy and rejoice over the Lord's faithfulness. He did not just consume the sacrifice, but went the extent of consuming everything near to the sacrifice as well. It just amazes me, His grandness, His power, His faithfulness... Wow!

To read more about this particular story, go to 1 Kings 18... Fascinating.

A Cake As Poetical As A Rainbow... Gorgeous!

Whisk Kid: Say it with Cake...

I have found the cake I would consider using for every birthay from now until my last child is 18. It is gorgeous, and is SO fun. Come check it out!!! Click the link above.

And have a great day!

September 28, 2009 Autunno A Cassano...

Autunno A Cassano (A.K.A. Autumn In Cassano)



This papercut is for my friend, Sue, and her family. They are moving back to the States. It is another hard move for me. Not only is Sue my friend, but her oldest son, N., is one of Luca's dearest friends. He does not have many, so it stinks that they will not grow up together.

I am grateful, though, that we have had them as a part of our lives. We actually have not spent that much time together, but... the time we HAVE spent has been so enjoyable.

We miss you already, Sue, A, and family. God bless you, keep you safe, and draw your hearts closer to His. We love you, and look forward to when we can be together again.