Self-control. My new chapter

      Hi there. Today's post is a pretty personal one. Not typical for this blog, however I hope that this is the beginning of the direction God is calling me to take his gifts bestowed upon me.

      Every morning I try to sit down with my cup of coffee and read God's word. This has brought me such encouragement in my everyday life as a stay at home mom and wife. Let me begin by saying that I think of myself as a "baby Christian". Reading the bible and studying it has stemmed from my bible journaling hobby. The Lord has used this "hobby" to grow me and with this growth, I crave His word! These past two weeks I been on 1 Corinthians chapter 12. Peter is talking about the Holy Spirit, our gifts given by the Spirit to us that manifest themselves in us when we are living in accordance to God's will. I hope you think of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. If you grew up in a Christian home, you might know these (i grew up in a Christian home and just learned these thanks to my 8 year old) by hard: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. (Jump over to Galatians 5:22-23)

Today, I am focusing on self control. Seriously when I saw self control i thought, "SWEET! that means I won't feel the need to eat the entire bag of Oreo's in one sitting" or "I won't want that new SUV soooo bad" and my favorite "God will give me control over my entire life". Yeah, I was way off. As I walk with the Spirit and continue to seek Him, my first gift has been self control. 

When I made this poster (cool pic, eh? I took that!) I felt there needed to be some explanation. As a "baby Christian" I would of not understood this a few months ago. Our human wisdom doesn't allow us to understand this concept. Why?! Understanding the Spirit comes from God. (1 Corinthians chapter 2 verses 9-15).We gain understanding when we read and seek His word.  As I said, my first gift is self control and I understand and joyfully give the control to the Lord. In all aspects of my life,and I find joy in the fact that I do not have to worry about everything, because everything is in His control. When we know HE is in control we can do HIS will.

The Lord knows that I needed this gift to manifest it self first so I could let go of the worry and self deprecation. 

Do I still eat the entire package of Oreo's? Sometimes. Do I still want for that new SUV? Not really. Do I have control of my entire life? Absolutely not and I love it! 

The Lord spoke to me last night and said this to me. Self control doesn't mean you control everything, it means giving all control to me (joyfully), so you can follow my commands.

Thanks for stopping by today and reading what the Lord is calling me to say to you today. I encourage you to start a bible study or bible journaling, or bible doodling. The Lord will grow you!!

Crystal 

Lion and Lamb

Hello! Welcome to my stamp feature of Lion and Lamb. I made this project for the March release.

The Lionvis stamped in brown ink,then colored with color pencils.

 This set can be purchased on the Joy Clair store www.joyclair.com

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Crystal

Expresso My Thoughts

Hi there! I am Jaded Blossom's March guest designer! I want to start off by thanking y'all for stopping by my blog this month and showing some serious love during the March release blog hop. I have enjoyed this release so much, and hope you did too! Jaded Blossom's designs are so cute, I just had to make this card!

This is a simple, and postage friendly card, and could be easily be made into a tags. The lovely images are from the Coffee Candies set and the sentiment is from Coffee Break set. (Hope you got the bundle, during release). Stay tuned for a pictograph!!

 OK, lets get started!

Start by stamping all your images into trimmed Copic friendly paper (alcohol marker friendly paper works too). Then using a round die cut or the bottom of a glass, pencil in your circle.

Using your gray markers shade the images placed on outer circle, and using a light gray marker color in the background. (Tip: erase your pencil markings at this point)

Color in your inner circle individual images. Remember to stay within your circle!

Color your inner circle. I selected the same color to shade in the circle to match the sentiment card stock. 

Trim your card stock and heat emboss your sentiment. 

Pretty simple, right?! I loved the way this turned out and the coffee's from the Coffee Candies are adorbs. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and I can't wait to see what you make with Jaded Blossom's March release of Coffee Candies and Coffee Break.

If you have not yet gotten your March release, be sure to stop by the Jaded Blossom Store:

To visit the Jaded Blossom Store HERE

Thanks so much for joining me today!
Crystal Thompson

Funny Food

Hello! Welcome to my stamp feature Funny Food. I made this project for the March release!

The front pear was stamped first then masked. Then the second pear was stamped, both were colored with copics.

 

This set can be purchased on the Joy Clair store www.joyclair.com

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Hope you stop by tomorrow for my next project.

Crystal

Jaded Blossom's March 2016 Release Blog Hop. Stop #2

Hey Everyone! 

Welcome to Jaded Blossom's March 2016 Release Blog Hop.  

Now if you're here from Michelle  you're in the right place, if you're just passing through start at the beginning because you don't want to miss a thing.  I also have the complete line up at the bottom. Here is what I made:

This card  is so simple to make! Using some foil patterned paper, then layers with kraft card stock, and white paper stamped with the stars from the Unicorns & Glitter set. The sentiment is masked to get separated, to finish off the lovely unicorn is colored with copics and placed on the card with foam adhesive.

And of course we have to have a deal for you right? This weekend only you can get the entire release package for $135.99

Regular Price for the Release Package is $145.99

http://jadedblossomstamps.com/catalog.php…

1 - Free 3x4 Stamp for customers that spend $40 or more before Taxes and Shipping! FREEBIE is only available until Sunday 3/20, 11:59pm pst.
YOU GO TOGETHER LIKE

Of course, here is what everyone will receive when they order our New Release.

BLOG CANDY

1 Lucky Winner will get to pick a stamp set of their choice!

 Just leave a comment on all the blogs along the hop!

The more blogs you comment on the more chances you have to win!

Now on to the HOP....

Next up is Cindy

Just in case you get lost here is the Entire Line Up:

Michelle 

Crystal (March Guest Designer)

Cindy

Cassandra

Mel

Jamie

Melissa

Lee-Ann

Gigi

Candace O.

Candace 

Jaded Blossom's Super Sized Thank you & You Go Together Like

Hi Everyone, It's Release Day over at Jaded Blossom!  We hope you all enjoyed our projects this week.  But we still have one more set and our March Freebie to share with you today.

In case you missed any of my projects this week here they are   Monday

 http://www.crystalthompson.net/2016/03/jaded-blossom-coffee-sets-release-day.html   Tuesday

http://www.crystalthompson.net/2016/03/day-2-jaded-blossom-stamp-addict-crafty.html   Wednesday

http://www.crystalthompson.net/2016/03/day-3-jaded-blossoms-unicorns-glitter.html   Thursday

 http://www.crystalthompson.net/2016/03/jaded-blossoms-super-sized-thank-you.html

Supersized Thank You- $15.99

For our Freebie of the Month !

Free Stamp for customers that spend $40 or more before Taxes and Shipping! FREEBIE promotion STARTS later at 4pm PST and ends Sunday 3/20, 11:59pm pst.

Here's what I created

Using 2 sheets of patterned paper I made the box and "shaker lid". 

The "congratulations" sentiment is from the  You Go Together Like set. This box would be lovely filled with flower petals and a gift card.

and 

I started by heat embossing in black the "thank you so much", then stamped in 4 different colors the other thanks randomly.

 

And make sure to come back Later at 4pm, PST for our Stamp Release Blog Hop!  You won't wanna miss it.

To visit the Jaded Blossom Store HERE

and for Favor Boxes HERE

"Like" us Facebook and share your Jaded Blossom Stamps Creation with us in our Garden of Creativity.

Last but not least don't forget to join our February Challenge.... Use Something New

- HERE 

Thanks for stopping by!

Crystal 

Day 4: Jaded Blossom's Super Hero 2

Happy Thursday! Today I am showcasing the March release for Jaded Blossom of their super fun Super Hero 2 set!

I have had so much fun with this set and I would love to show you what I made.

A shaker tag has been fused with heat tool!

Using the Super Hero 2 sentiment stamped in red ink.


This is a great set for kit making!

Adorbs, right?! You can pick the entire March release up from Jaded Blossom on Friday (tomorrow) at 4pm pst during our Stamp Release Blog Hop!

 http://jadedblossomstamps.com/

Come by tomorrow for the last set of the March release!

Crystal

Day 3: Jaded Blossom's Unicorns & Glitter

Happy Wednesday! Today I am showcasing the March release for Jaded Blossom of their adorable Unicorns & Glitter set!

I have had so much fun with this set and I would love to show you what I made.

Using a generic paper box, this beauty is decorated with patterned paper, glitter ribbon and the cutest unicorn from the Unicorns & Glitter set. The baggie is stuffed with candy, glitter and tissue paper. To top it off using the Craft Mat dies, the sentiment from Unicorns and Glitter is stamped with a darker ink and decorated with the stars from the set.

Colored with Copics

This is my favorite set from the entire release and would make adorable cards. 

Adorbs, right?! You can pick up the entire March release from Jaded Blossom for a special price:

We have our Gotta Have it Now Package for $135.99

March 2016 Release will include:
7 - 4 x 6 Stamp Sets 1 - New Die 1 - 3 x 4 Freebie
freebie is for orders $40 or more (before tax and shipping), Friday 4pm PST through Sunday 11:59 pm PST
NO PREORDERS! NO BACKORDERS! No waiting WEEKS for your stamps. 
This Package is only available till Wednesday 11:59pm pst, then will be back up on the store on Friday at 4pm pst during our Stamp Release Blog Hop!

Regular price for the release package is $145.99

Come by tomorrow for the next set of the March release!

Crystal

Day 2: Jaded Blossom ~ Stamp Addict & Crafty Candies

Happy Tuesday! Today I am showcasing the March release for Jaded Blossom of their fun Stamp Addict & Crafty Candies stamps.

I have had so much fun with these sets and I would love to show you what I made. 

This baggie is decorated with the Crafty Candies images stamped with versa mark to create a subtle background. The sentiment is from the Stamp Addict set. To finish off the topper, a bow can be achieved by using Bow dies also a Jaded Blossom goody. 

I plan in filling this baggie with mini stamps, washi tape and other crafty treats to share!

I love the darling crafty creatures! The stamp sets are amazing with endless possibilities.

Adorbs, right?! You can pick the entire March release up from Jaded Blossom for a special price:

We have our Gotta Have it Now Package for $135.99

March 2016 Release will include:
7 - 4 x 6 Stamp Sets 1 - New Die 1 - 3 x 4 Freebie
freebie is for orders $40 or more (before tax and shipping), Friday 4pm PST through Sunday 11:59 pm PST
NO PREORDERS! NO BACKORDERS! No waiting WEEKS for your stamps. 
This Package is only available till Wednesday 11:59pm pst, then will be back up on the store on Friday at 4pm pst during our Stamp Release Blog Hop!

Regular price for the release package is $145.99

Come by tomorrow for the next set of the March release!

Crystal

Jaded Blossom Coffee Set's Release Day

Happy Monday! Today I am showcasing the March release for Jaded Blossom of their amazing set of Coffee Stamps & Dies. 

I have had so much fun with these sets and I would love to show you what I made. 

These tags have been stamped with cute coffee beans from the Coffee Candies set, the coffee washi, and the adorable mugs from the same set. The sentiments are from the Coffee Break set.

Coffee Candies are colored with alcohol markers.

I loved sharing these coffee gifts with friends and you can make them too! The stamp sets are amazing with endless possibilities.

Adorbs, right?! You can pick the entire March release up from Jaded Blossom for a special price:

We have our Gotta Have it Now Package for $135.99

March 2016 Release will include:
7 - 4 x 6 Stamp Sets 1 - New Die 1 - 3 x 4 Freebie
freebie is for orders $40 or more (before tax and shipping), Friday 4pm PST through Sunday 11:59 pm PST
NO PREORDERS! NO BACKORDERS! No waiting WEEKS for your stamps. 
This Package is only available till Wednesday 11:59pm pst, then will be back up on the store on Friday at 4pm pst during our Stamp Release Blog Hop!

Regular price for the release package is $145.99

Come by tomorrow for the set of the March release!

Crystal

Armor of God

Hello! Welcome to my stamp feature of Armor of God.  I made this project for the March release.

 

Stamped the knight then colored with copics. Added some light with waterbased markers.

To finish up I stamped the sentiment.

 This set can be purchased on the Joy Clair store www.joyclair.com

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Crystal

God Bless

Happy Thursday Eve! Today I am stopping by with a card I made to submit to Paper Smooches April Guest Designer search.  I wanted to make something chic and elegant with the Lovely Thoughts set I own.

The flowers are heat embossed in gold, then colored with copic markers. The sentiment is from Paper Smooches Spiritual Sampler.

http://papersmooches.blogspot.com/2016/03/guest-designer-search-april.html

Thanks so much for stopping by today,

Crystal

Spring Warm Wishes.

Hi! I have a quick card to enter to a few challenges. The inspiration for this one I found playing along the Waffle Flower Challenge.  Both the yellow and the watercolor.

Water colored with Gansa water colors, and die cut frames using Simon Says Dies.

I am submitting this to Waffle Flower March Challenge, this will be my first time playing along.

Crystal