Card Party!

I had card party tonight, just for the Fun of it.  A great get together on a cold winter night!
My 3 best girlfriends came over, Beth made the best soup I've ever had, I baked bread and Lori baked delicious  cookies!  Lots of coffee and laughter , conversation covering politics, religion, kids and parents.  It was a great night with amazing friends that I have had the privilege so share the last 35 years of my life with with!

                                   Beth                           Jane                  Lori

Getting ready

The cards:

I highly recommend trying this with a group of  your friends!! 

Making card kits makes this a fun stressless event!

Thanks for stopping by!

Ginny M

The really Big Snow

 The weather forecaster tells us this storm is going to be "historic", great. They are telling us be prepared, you may loose power and heat for days.

Steve and I spent the afternoon with my mom and her boyfriend celebrating his 85th birthday and making sure they were ready for the "historical event".  When I got home I made sure I was ready too.  I have food ready to be reheated on a camp stove, candles, flashlights, water, tons of popped popcorn, I baked three loaves of bread today.  I bought 50lbs of dog food and big box of "cookies", Cat treats, 50 lbs of salt.  We know where the boots, gloves and hats are and we have full tanks of gas for the cars and an extra for the snow blower.  Oh and I brewed espresso just in case, Ice coffee is just fine and much better than no coffee.   I'm a New Englander and it is January, so we will see if we make history ( I am hoping not!!)

In between baking for stormaggeddon I made these two cards tonight: they are for an OSA Swap, the theme is Birds.

I enjoy swapping cards , but there is a primary reason I do, it is an opportunity for me to share something that I think is the most important thing in the world to be shared:

Jesus

I share Him every opportunity I can!

If you are in New England I hope for all our sake they are wrong about this storm, but if they are right, it might be a few days before any of us are back on line.

In any event thank you for stopping by and stay safe!

Ginny M

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Pizza Pizza!

One of my other hobbies is cooking.  I have in my blog description a mention that we are a whole foods family and are very interested in our nutrition and staying fit and healthy.  I've always planned on sharing a little more of that here, I just wasn't sure if there was any interest.
I thought I'd give it a whirl tonight, I made a great homemade pizza today that was easy and nutritious!  If you'd like to give it a try, the whole process took less than an hour.

Sauce:

1 Can crushes tomatoes

1/2 stick butter

small chopped onion

1 Teaspoon beef stock powder (like bullion cubes)

Salt, Pepper, Basil, tiny bit Oregano

1/4 Parmesan Cheese I used Parmesan Reggiano (sheeps milk) 

Combine everything and bring to a boil, let simmer for 15 minutes turn off the heat

Crust: 

3 Cups  White Unbleached OR  Oat bread flour

2 Tablespoons Yeast

2 Teaspoons Sea Salt

2 Tablespoons Parmesan Cheese

1 Teaspoon Basil

1 Teaspoon onion powder 

combine everything and whisk a bit in the bowl

Have ready two cups of warm water and 1/4 cup flour

add about one cup of the water to the flour mixture and keep adding and mixing by hand, until you have a nice dough ball forming. 

once your dough is formed , sprinkle the flour on the counter or pastry board and work in a little bit at a tine to get a very formed ball that is try on the outside and easy to knead.  need for about 2 miniutes. Divide the dough in half and let it rest for a few minutes.  

while the dough is resting , I get out two large  cookie sheets for baking, line with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat ( I use a baking mat).

Take one of the dough balls shape into a log place on lined cookie sheet and roll it out over the pan - I use a 4"inch rolling pin made for pasta rolling. when it is rolled out to cover the pan I sprinkle with olive oil and coat the dough evenly and thinly.  

repeat with the next dough ball and pan.

I think It's more work typing this out than doing it

Use what you have for the toppings

For these Pizzas, I loaded them up with spinach, then added my sauce

added chicken and a bit of sausage,very little shredded Manchego cheese  and a little more sauce.

Baked at 400 for about 15 minutes. 

DeLish!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great weekend!

Ginny M

Pillars and Waymarks and count it all joy.

I made a sample for you of the verse I digitized yesterday and

 I am giving you the pillar I used to make it.  

I am so thankful to have a nice computer and enough brains to use it.  I'm serious, I had spent many many hours trying to develope a good calligraphy hand.  It just did not happen no matter how many pens, lessons or hours I spent trying.  Then in 1995 I got my first computer, I taught myself DOS and learned windows 311. I was totally hooked when I got my first COLOR dot matrix printer. I learned AMI Pro and bought "printmaster".  The hardware and I have both come a long way, one step at a time.  These memories are part of the roadmarks I have made, Where God brought me from, A single mother raising 2 little kids with just about no help and no money.   I would make a few cards, sell them, buy more stamps and ice cream cones for the kids.  I'd do a wedding set and buy a new Ram stick and pizza.  God blessed me and it grew and we thrived.  I am so thankful. That season in my life lasted about ten years.  

  

These verses became a heart beat, for a better day:

In the Book of James (1:16) it says:

 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

I was just about shipwrecked when the man I was married to for 12 years walked out on me and our children, to completely leave our lives - with no reason or explanation.

It wasn't heartbreak, emotionally the abandonment took place about as soon as I said 'I do,' there were infidelities on his part, so the departing was no surprise, it was really deliverance.

But the plain and simple fact was I was 33, no education and no money.  Even though I had been supporting my family for 5 years anyway,  the totally alone part (no day care) was scary.

I raised my kids, kept the faith, kept life as normal as possible and the entire time, minute by sometimes minute, I held on to those verses in James, They were Waymarks for me.

I knew a better day was coming and I prepared for it, I worked hard to stay sane and keep my praise.

Then it happened, Steve Maxam walked into my church and  4 years later 

I walked into the Promised Land as Mrs. Steven Maxam.

I lived Long enough to see these verses in my life fulfilled.

I digitized them for you:  

Interesting the Lord brought me a husband that was an IT specialist and totally understood my passion for getting the WORD out in writing.

If you are struggling, Take Heart and know the Lord knows what you are going through and will walk with you and get you where you need to be, in every dimension, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Talk to Him and Read the word, raise your pillars, 

He can and will do great things for you!

Thank you for stopping by

Ginny M

Journals a reason why and a freebie

I posted yesterday about making journals with my women's  group, 

but can you believe I forgot my camera?? 

I was so busy trying to get the materials prepped

Cutting the papers and book boards:

Stacking the sets:

Punching the holes for the binding ring:

Lugging the stuff for the gals to embellish the bare boards:

X2 of these and a gallon of modge podge.

Now I need a picture of 12 happy women and one happy guy (ya he wandered over from the mens study and really wanted to make one - Why not!!)

It was a lot of fun, it was relaxing, all of my glue bottles jammed up and that just added a little drama to the event!

The reason why I wanted to do this with my group is because I think writing is a very important thing in people's lives.  It doesn't need to be pulitzer worthy, but when we pray and Ask The Lord to be a part of our lives, then when he enters into our hearts there are many things he speaks to us and we need to write them down, other wise we will over time forget.  Some things are too precious to be lost.  I can't think of how many times I walked through an uncomfortable place in my life and at the end found a scripture that put everything into perspective and then remember I had learned the same lesson long ago.  Now I write it down and re-read it, it is so immensely comforting!  

When I first became a Christian I came across a scripture in Jeremiah 31 and that scripture talks about making way marks (pillars) on your way, So that you don't get lost. I have never forgotten  it and I have never stopped making road marks. How about you?

 Have your raised up pillars in your desert places?

I digitized this verse, please feel free to use it.

It is PNG and transparent so you can over lay it.

Thank you for taking the time to stop by my blog, 

I hope you have a great day and get a journal started!

Ginny M

Swaps and Angels

I got a OSA challenge card in  under the wire on Sunday, It had to follow a specific layout.  Here she is:

I'm making  Journal Parts for my study group this morning, Um maybe I should have started before this am to make 10 Journals before 11am?   I hope to post the process and outcome  tomorrow for you.

I am the women's ministry leader in our local church and have been now for about 10 years.  My mind is always on improving the lives of women, those near and far in my life.  There is very little I can do in the physical sense, but I can be an encourager, I use 'art in the heart' as a vehicle.  Not mine, but the beauty and art that is locked within the heart of every woman.  It was put there be the Divine Creator to be expressed.  It is   expressed in every day acts of love and nurture in works of beauty and works of kindness.  It is part of the helix of our DNA:  To love and bring beauty, kindness and healing. 

We find restoration in these acts, it also brings us peace.

I am also working on a batch of Chemo Angel Cards and using these beautiful portraits,

I thought I'd share a few with you and a verse I love:

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a great day!!

Ginny M

Joan Baez and a freebie

Joan Baez wrote " Action is the Antidote to Despair".  I think this is a part of the antidote and a very valid one, another part is faith and hope.  I believe the full mix is: Faith in God, Hope for a better tomorrow and  then take Action in  setting the stage for God to work in your life and therefore having a better tomorrow.  I know too many people that just say the have faith that God can do something for them and Hope He will do something and then wonder why year after year nothing changes.  I can believe a lot of things, but unless I ACT on that belief nothing changes.  So I tip my hat To Joan Baez, raise my hands to God in Faith and then put my shoulder to the wheel and Watch what The Lord can do!

Have a great day and thank you for stopping by!

Ginny M

Why? Because I just couldn't look at snow anymore, and it's only January!

"Bedazzled" and snow

I belong to a small card swap group called Tanoshi Swappou, it is Japanese for Happy Swapping.  It is a small group about 20 people  and lots of fun.  The month we had a technique swap called bedazzled and I signed up for it -one of those times I say why do I do this to myself??  That swap wasn't as bad as the mermaid swap, where after several tries of making a mermaid card , I threw the stamp in the envelop and mailed it off to my partner ( I just don't do cute).  I'll show you the finished card first:

I like it and I think it came out great.  These cards start out with using a paper napkin. You peel off the utility layer and the stick the print layer on to card stock, this is pretty easy for me as I have a stash of sticker on one side card stock on the other.  With the sticky surface I was able to get perfect adhesion.  The problem was you have to treat the top surface with another adhesive of some kid and then use ultra fine glitter or a heat set glitter.   I didn't have the heat set product, so I went out side , went out side and gave it a good spray of spray adhesive and then liberally added the glitter.  only one problem, it was 1 degree out today and windy.  Note to self, wait till spring before you make another one if the cards.  It is all a learning experience, and my deck look very pretty with the extra glittery snow,  Note to self, wait till spring before you make another one if the cards.  This is also looking pretty getting tracked through my house,  

Note to self, wait till spring before you make another one if the cards.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great day!

Ginny M 

Jane Austin Font

Happy Monday everyone!  

I was asked by a few people for the background stamp I made of  Ecclesiastes 3 , I am very happy to share this with you.  I Used the Jane Austen font. you can save this and then in word or publisher make any size you need and change the colors of "ink" in the lettering .

My example again, I've used this quite a bit but I do not have photos..

right click and save:

Thanks for stopping by!

Ginny M

Another Cold one out side !! Freebies

Busy making Bread and Pasta and working at Maxam Sewing!  I've made a few cards:


This was for a "Valentine " swap card

 50 Church Welcome cards: The background is Ecclesiastes 3: a time and season to every purpose.
This background is one of my Digi's that I especially like.

A batch of birthday cards

I also have a bunch of freebies for you today!  Since is is so cold out here in Western MA, I though what a good day to Read and Write!

Hopefully I will make some cards today with these!! 

I hope you enjoy these!!  

Thanks for stopping by!

Ginny M

While you are waiting, a few freebies!

I'm working on new year stuff, Getting my birthday book down, organizing the out going malings.  I'm writing a mini tutorial on starting a card ministry and out reach. 

I've also found a wonderful 7 grain flour that I am having a ton of fun with. 

 The Family is enjoying this too, nothing like walking into a house with bread baking on a cold winter day!  

So while I'm getting things taken care in an effort to keep  the new year  running smoothly I thought I would leave you with thee 18th century fashion plates.  I can't wait to make a few cards from these myself!!

Enjoy!

Thank you for stopping by!

Ginny M