3 Winners Announced and Cards by Traci!

Hi Friends,

What an exciting day this is at the He IS Able blog!  We will be announcing "3 Card of the Week Winners" today.  Also, I have 2 cards and 1 project to share with you today. On top of that...we are celebrating our One Year   Blog-o-Versary this month!  Look at the Blog Candy to win!  Let's start with the cards and project...

I have been having more computer problems last night and today, I am trying to rewrite everything this morning...thank you for your on-going patience.  I really appreciate it!  And you!

I made this card for my nephew Tyler.  He is  a graduating member of the "Class of 2011!" Congratulations to all of the Graduates out there! I enjoyed making this card so much!  I used my new Tim Holtz Brick Wall Embossing Folder on whisper white SU! Paper.  Then, I used my non-smear pastels by The Stencil Collection, and used a sienna colored pastel to highlight the bricks.  I ran my tape runner and put this on a sheet of red SU! paper as the card base.  I love how this Embossing Folder shows the areas where the bricks have fallen out, and all that is left is concrete...shown here with grey pastels.  I tried to make my writing look like a spray painted grafitti.  I took my Sakura gel pen and made little circles as I wrote "Class of 2011 Rules."  What do you think?  Does it look a bit like spray paint?  I hope that he enjoyed receiving it!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths."

Proverbs 3:5-6

You may see some different things in this next card.  I was so excited as I branched out into another medium.  I am so happy to have these beautiful Creative Inspiration Paints!  I have only painted one background on a card before...that is the full extent of my painting experience...except for painting walls! lol  These are super shimmery...I think it took me about 40 tries to get a photo that showed it where you could see it at all! I used Antique Silver, Silver Frost, Ivory on the tea pot, sage on the rose leaves, and winter frost.  I also used a technique where you use a paint brush, slightly wet it, and take some color off of a marker.  I used the SU! Melon Mambo and Rose Red for the roses.  I used these paints on water color paper by SU!  I stamped the images with VersaFine-Onyx black, and used a Flourishes--Tea Set.  I used my water colors...the ones I had here for my grand-children, and did the background in a light blue.  I wet the background, and then painted gentle lines of paint across the water.  The background paper is K&Company Marcella paper.  I love this set, and I really enjoyed painting it...except it isn't as easy to fix mistakes!  I went out of the lines on the handle!  It really is much easier to see the lines in real life. It was difficult to photograph because it is so shimmery...but I love shimmer!  I have a tea pot, cup and saucer collection.  It started with my bridal shower.  We had a tea party, and when people asked, I asked for one of the above...these aren't the kind of tea pots you put on the stove...they keep the water hot afterwards. I have been blessed with quite the collection.  Dave and I share a cup of tea quite often to end the day.  It is so relaxing for me!

"For you shall go out with joy, and be led

out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall

break forth into singing before you, and all the

trees of the field shall clap their hands."

Isaiah 55:12

The last item is a project actually.  I made it for my sister, Mindy's birthday.  She has long blonde hair, I have short brunette hair.  I know it looks like a card. That is because I tried to get a close-up.  Actually, I tried to stamp this image on a 4"x4" canvas that was wrapped around wood.  When I stamped it, it was not tight enough to take the image.  So, I covered it in a sheet of that delightful Hot Off The Press Card-Makers Ultimate Paper Pack.  I then took the SU! water color paper, and did not adhere it to the canvas, until I was done painting it.  I used Versa Fine-Onyx Black ink to stamp the image.  This fun stamp is from Crafter's Companion.  (There is a link on the side of the blog.)  They have so many different types of stamps...they are fabulous!  Check them out on the side bar, and tell them where you heard about them!  This one is in their S.W.A.L.K. selection called, "My Sister."  It is quite appropriate.  I love their stamps! They even have Beatrix Potter!  On this project, I used Creative Inspiration Paints in Turquoise, Royal Purple, and Chocolate.  Shimmer all the way.  These are colors my sister and I really wear quite a bit.  I did use the marker technique, where you wet your brush and take some ink off of your water based markers with a paint brush and paint!  I really like this technique.  I have to see what the long term effects on my markers are...but I loved the look on the painting.  I used SU! Markers in Blush Blossom (for skin), So Saffron (for Mindy's hair), and Chocolate Chip (for the outline of my hair on my face.)  When I was done painting, and it dried...I put it under a book, because I must have used a bit too much water...and it curled...so I flattened it for a little bit.  Then I adhered it to the paper on the canvas.  You can't see it in this photograph, but I then took Susan Crane's 1" Dark Purple Ribbon and pinned it to the end of the outer edge of the canvas.  I then glued it up one side of the square...and added 2 decorative pins there...and glued it up another side...etc... when all 4 sides were done being glued and pinned to hold it still, I left enough ribbon to form a loop at the top.  This is where my sister can hang it up in her kitchen...which the colors seem to match.  She goes to the beach every week, I hardly go outside, but she is so much more tanned than I am...as she is in this painting. (Very important to her!  lol)  I believe I finally did the shading on the face and hair properly.  This is something I have been trying to accomplish for a while.  I would love any feedback, tips, or help on what I can do better on any of these projects.  I value your opinons!

You have waited so patiently!  And, now the time is here...

As promised we will have 3 Winners of "The Card of the Week!"

They are...

Jennipher Lowery who left this comment:

"Beautiful cards Traci! I love the butterflies. So pretty.

                                By Jennipher Lowery on 5/26/11"

Grace who left this comment:

"Hi Traci, Just wanted to stop and say hi and thank you for the lovely card of the week I received! It's beautiful! Your cards are all wonderful! You sure do have a lot of birthdays this month! We have a lot too but not that many! My DD turned 36 today! I have been keeping the kids so have been really busy and am not exhausted after taking them back to Mom and Dad. Now to jump on release stuff! Anyway... thank you and you are sure giving away a wonderful blessing with this CD! Whoever wins it will be truly blessed!!! Hope you are having a good week!!! hugs, Grace

                                       By Grace on 5/25/11"

Gerrie left this comment:

"Wow, Congrats on your Blogaversary!  How time flies!  Sorry to hear about your fight with lightning, glad things are find now.  hugz.

By Gerrie Johnnic on 6/6/11"

Thank you all for your very kind comments.  Your comments encourage us in such a special way.  We know that some of you pray for the He IS Able blog also...please pray that we always Glorify God with what we share...and that even though we have fun making cards and projects...that our hearts and eyes are on Jesus.  I can tell you, that if I am in my art room, I have music with Christian lyrics playing...and my singing goes right along with it.  Please think about what you are doing while you wash dishes, make cards, bake or drive.  They are all wonderful times to Praise our Lord, Jesus Christ.  It is also a good time to pray for friends and family, as well as any needs you have yourself.

Congratulations to all 3 of our winners!  Please be sure to email me your   current mailing address.  I will mail out your special card when received!   You can win a card by leaving a comment before next Tuesday at 8pm.  If   your comment is randomly chosen...it will be announced on Wednesday!  Please let your friends and family know about our Blog-o-Versary Candy!  We'd love to have more people visit the blog.  We have some special posts   this month...including "Precious Women of God--This Includes You!" on the 3rd Friday of the month. It is a wonderful, brief, Bible Study on a   woman of the Bible.  Michele's writing will leave you wondering if you   are like this woman of the Bible, or not at all like her!  I can't wait to find   out who the subject of this study is this month!  And, remember, you can   leave a prayer request in the comment section also, and Joan our Prayer Team Leader will lead our  Prayer Team in uplifting your request up to the Lord on a regular basis.  We are a community here at the He IS Able blog, we would love to pray for you and  your needs!

Lastly, just a reminder...if you post our He IS Able Blog Badge, or a copy of the photo of our Blog Candy on your blog...and let us know, you will be entered an extra time in the random drawing for the Blog Candy!  Yes, writing about it on a  post counts, too! Just be sure to let me know! God bless you as you go about your week. 

He IS Able!

Traci S.