PHENOMENAL News!!! (;

Happy Friday, my beautiful friends!!!

How are you all doing today?!!  I am über excited about today's post, because as you read from the title above, I do have some pretty amazing news to share!!!!! (;  But first, I'd like to remind you that the SACC blog begins a new "Anything Goes" challenge today and I know that you'll have a blast playing along with us... so I'm really looking forward to seeing your darling creations pop up over there!!! (;

This week's sponsor is Milk Coffee, and although they provided the DT girls w/some really cute images to work with, I had yet another kray-kray week before me, therefore, I didn't get a chance to play w/their adorable images ):  Instead, I'm sharing a card I made with recent Lawn Fawn goodies I received from V's Sweet Ideas and I am LOVIN' the way the card turned out!!! :D  Below, you'll see both the badges for Milk Coffee, the SACC blog and my card!!! (:

How adorable is this new Lawn Fawn stamp set "Blue Skies"?!!!  *smitten*  And the sentiment?! *swoon*  Also from the new set "A Good Apple", which--as a teacher--I happen to ADORE!!! (;  I will be sending this card to the most kind-hearted, Jesus-loving, humble, school superintendent in the universe:  David Cadavero!!!  My heart has immense gratitude toward this godly man... for his devotion to service, his genuine compassion and unfailing support!!!  He truly is carrying out GOD's plan and purpose for His cause.

And at last, the day has FINALLY arrived where I can now share [thee] biggest news of the year, along with a brief testimony!!! heheh :D  

For those of you who've known me for some years now, and those of you whom I have privately shared this info with, you know how long I've prayed, waited and struggled to find a stable full-time job.  I won't go into the little details that surround the things I've had to endure (I have all of that documented on another blog, which one day I'll give you a link to so you may read up, if you're interested)... All I can say is, it's been a long, bumpy journey with painful ups and downs, trials and crucibles, but of course, sunshine as well.  But even amidst the storms, I have vividly seen the LORD's mighty hand hard at work, laboring miracles in my life and I can testify to HIM never leaving my side for one moment.  I'd be lying if I sat here and told you that I have always felt GOD's presence there with me.  There have been times when I have called on Him, in the darkest of nights, and felt as though He was deaf to my cry and petitions.  Truth is, even when I didn't feel Him there,  it didn't take too long before He would convince me of His deep love for me, and I am evidently certain of His constant presence in my life, especially during those moments when I thought He had hidden His face from me.  He has supplied every single need of mine--including my occasional wants even.  Don't ask me how He's done it... All I can say is HE has, because He can and desires to... and that's what matters most!!!!  My lips can't sing His praises enough!!!  I give tribute to the King of the universe, for His magnificence and majesty, for manifesting Himself to me in power, honor and glory and for showing me just how GRANDIOSE and GOOD He is!!!  Waiting on GOD sure is rewarding!!!!  And I say this with conviction now!!! (:

To make the already-long-story short, after months of "yes", "maybe" and "who knows?!", I can now say that I have FINALLY been officially hired to teach second grade at an amazing Seventh-day Adventist school in the beautiful state of Maryland!!!!  Yes, ladies and gents, this New York gal is packing her bags to go live where her heart has always longed to be!!!!!  To say that I am ELATED and STOKED are understatements!!!!!! :D  (Psalm 37:4)

For six years, I have loved and dreamt about the state of Maryland.  I find it to be the most gorgeous state in the whole United States... Perhaps, because I have created so many meaningful memories in that place: nostalgic stories of happiness and heartbreak, friendships that I hold very dear to my heart and LOADS of laughter and fun!!!  And best of all, one of the greatest feelings/pleasures anyone can obtain in this life is when our sense of GOD's approval and leading is so clear.  As my great friend and brother in Christ, Arnet Mathers said to me one evening:  it gives us courage to endure through the hard times!  He [GOD] never calls us to failure, but to grow in faith as He uses us to His glory.  It is my prayer that the certainty of His calling keeps me firm in Him--the Bedrock!!!  Ohhh, my friends, and this is only the beginning... Great things are happening, but the BEST is yet to come and for that I am beyond thankful to GOD!!!!!! (;  (Jeremiah 29:11)

I am enthralled that I have finally been able to share my BIG news with all of you!!!  GOD is beyond good and I couldn't be more thankful to Him, not only for all the wondrous things He's done and continues to do on my behalf, but because I am deeply grateful for each and every one of YOU!!!!  I have yet to meet people as caring, encouraging and supportive as my crafty blog friends are!!!!!  I LOVE you all SO, SO much!!!!  Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for the tender love, care and kindness that you constantly demonstrate towards me!!!  You each enrich my life and make it better!!!  I'm the most blessed and highly favored girl in the world!!!  XOXOXO

"May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” ~Ruth 2:12

Love,

Grisel ♥

FRIENDS Warm The Heart (:

Welcome back, my beautiful friends!!!

Aren't you excited that it's finally Friday--AGAIN?!  I've been looking forward to the weekend since Monday!!! HA! (:  Anyway, I sure hope you're all doing well... (;

I bring you another card for a brand new "anything goes" challenge that begins today at the Sister Act Card Challenge blog!  Our sponsor this week is Princess Mi by Helloaimi and their designs are so stinkin' cute and very chic!!! (:  They shared several images for the design team to choose from and work with... I used two images from among the ones that were shared and came up with the cutest lil card hehehe (:  I hope you like it!

Supplies:

Princess Mi digis: Birds, hearts

Hero Arts: Card base

Lawn Fawn: Sentiment (Claire's ABC's, Making Frosty Friends, You've Got Mail and Home Sweet Home)

V's Sweet Ideas: Blossom light pink twine (The Twinery)

Ranger: Enamel (black, white); Stickles (stardust)

Inks: Brilliance (pearlescent orchid); Hero Arts Shadow Ink (Bubble Gum); ColorBox (Razzberry, Frost White)

When I was inserting the images onto a Word document, I flipped one of the birds so that it could face the other one.  I also copied and pasted several hearts and resized them so that I could arrange them on the card later upon coloring and cutting them out.  I then pulled out four (4) different LF stamp sets to create my little scene and sentiment.  I think it turned out so cute, except after I had adhered everything down is when I thought I should've added clouds to make the scene come more to live... But it was too late! ): It would've interfered with everything else I had already done, so I decided to leave it alone.

I invite you to stop by the Sister Act Card Challenge blog to check out what my other teammies have created!  And I also hope you'll link your cards and allow us see your beautiful work!!  Thank you so much for stopping by!!  Hope you have fun things planned for this weekend--I know I DO!!! (:  'Til next time!  GOD's best!!! XOXO

Love,

Grisel ♥ 

VSC #12: A "Baby Theme"!!! (:

[This post has been scheduled in advance]

Happy Sabbath and happy June 1st, my lovelies!!!

A brand new challenge begins at V's Sweet Ideas today and it's full of "oooh's" and "ahhhh's", because it's an adorable "Baby Theme"!!! :D  Everything about this month's challenge is exciting to me!!!  For one, this theme is in honor of Vanessa who's expecting a precious bundle of joy some time this month!  And second, I couldn't be more thrilled that our amazing friends over at Fresh Squeezed Stamps are sponsoring us this month!!!  Yippee!!!!  That also means that the generous people at Fresh Squeezed Stamps will be giving away one stamp set to the lucky winner of this month's challenge--woohoo!!!  Thank you, Fresh Squeezed Stamps for your generosity and outstanding support!!! :D  You guys won't want to miss tomorrow's special post over on the Fresh Squeezed Stamps blog either!!! (;

Here's the Fresh Squeezed Stamps logo:

And this is the very first EVER baby card I've made using Fresh Squeezed Stamps set "String Me Along":

I got the inspiration of the curvy border from a crafter on YouTube, who got the inspiration from one of Kristina Werner's cards... I'm calling it a second generation inspiration... HA! (:

Anyway, I stamped the onesie (String Me Along) three times using three different inks, in different colors (Hero Arts shadow ink in tide pool; Memento inks in bamboo leaves and dessert sand).  I also used the tiny little star and heart, rattle and sentiment from the Lawn Fawn set "Plus One".  I cut out the brown panel on which I stamped my own background using VersaMark ink.  I composed my own sentiment with the same LF set and heat embossed it in gold--LOVE how it turned out!!!  Using my Sakura white gel pen, I created some faux stitches around the brown panel.  I adhered that, straight to the Hero Arts card base.  I mounted the onesies on foam adhesive, added stardust Stickles to the stars and heart on the onesies and finished off the card by tying a knot using brown crinkled ribbon, which was provided by V's Sweet Ideas!!! (:

I will be mailing out this card to the sweet Vanessa!!!  I really hope it brightens up her day when she receives it!!! (;  CONGRATS, girlie on your sweet little angel on the way!!!!  I can't wait to meet him!!!! :D

Everyone, I hope you will play along with us this month and share with us your best baby projects to date!!!!  I can't wait to see them!!!  Thank you, as always, for stopping by and for your lovely comments!!!  Hope you have a delightful and blessed day!!!!  GOD's best!!! XOXOXO

Love,

Grisel ♥

SACC: Owl Tree

Whoa!

I know... it's been too, too long since I've been on the blog!!!  Please, forgive me!!! )':  Last week was SO insanely crazy around here, I didn't even get to post last week's challenge, even though, I did submit my card for the challenge at the Sister Act Card Challenge blog (click here if you'd like to see it).

This week, I used a nostalgic and serene image called "Owl Tree" by one of our sponsors this week--Wings & Willows.  They design such beautiful images... You must check out the rest of their darling work!

Our other sponsor this week is Digi Darla, and they, too, have very cute images!  Below, please find both badges for this week's sponsors:

And here is the card I created:

I colored in the image using my Inktense pencils, but without adding water to mix the colors.  I wanted this scene to look more like a sketch, in hopes that it would aid the nostalgic look I was going for.  My original plan was to make it sketchy with just lead pencil (my brother's an artist, so he owns a lot of these), but then my heart begged me to use color pencils instead... and I'm glad I did! Everything is just better when you add color! (;   I used tumbled glass distress ink to color in the sky and added depth by sponging the edges of the card with the same distress ink.  To give the card the appearance of a more finished look, I cut two thin strips of textured red card stock and glued each at both ends of this little scene.  I also added glossy accents to the engraved heart on the tree for some dimension.  I stamped the Hero Arts sentiment using VersaFine ink (LOVE how crisp and sharp this ink is!), and then rounded all four corners of the card using my corner chomper--et voilà! (:

Looking forward to seeing you also play along with us this week!  Be sure to swing by the blog to check out what the rest of my DT friends have created--pure gorgeousness!!! (:

I hope you're all doing well.  I did get to write back to some of you, but unfortunately have not gotten a chance to respond to everyone yet... I'm working on it! (;  Anyway, my heart is overwhelmed with excitement--dying to share my good news, but it's still not the time just yet... (;  Perhaps next week or the week after... we'll just have to see! *grin*

Thank you all SO much for stopping by today.  You already know just how much I LOVE it when my crafty friends stop by and say hello (:  Hoping you have a wonderful weekend... and I'm hoping to be able to pop in to "see" you more often!  GOD's best to you all!  XOXOXO

Love,

Grisel ♥

A Special Graduation Card + A Testimony!

Hello, my beautiful friends!!!

I am SO happy that I get the opportunity to drop in today and share not just a card, but a miraculous story/testimony and some pictures to go with it! (:

My cousin Carlos graduated college yesterday--praise GOD!!!!!
  

Carlos & his parents--my beloved aunt & uncle

Many of you have no idea who Carlos is, other than he used to be my awesome card photographer many moons ago (lol haha).  Carlos is the most handsome 26 year old in the universe, if I say so myself! (;  My opinion may or may not be biased, but who gives a hoot?!  HA!  He simply is... (:  

In early January 2010, Carlos was involved in a devastating skiing accident in PA.  He spent 2 and a half months in a coma at the hospital.  So many complications followed after that terrible accident.  He had a brain embolism, fractured legs and hip.  To cut the nightmare story short, his right leg was amputated due to gangrene while he was in coma.  The doctors kept many things quiet from his family.  That's how scared they were of the outcome... They'd only share a few things here and there, which weren't the most pleasant to hear either.  Things like- "Carlos will be blind.  He'll never speak or reason again." and that's if he even made it!!  That goes to show, GOD has the last word in everything concerning the details of our lives!!! ♥

I remember how many people from around the globe united in prayer for this boy.  It was intense.  I also remember it was one of the times when my spiritual life grew quite strong, because I had to cling onto GOD so tightly--with all my strength and being.  I had no choice but to depend fully on Him!  I begged with all my might that He would save Carlos' life and would give him a second chance.  

Upon waking up from the coma, the last 2 and a half years were spent in intense therapy and rehab, which was a miracle in itself.  He also began to speak, eat and laugh before anyone could have ever thought would even happen.   Tell me GOD isn't Omnipotent and Mighty--you just can't!!!  GOD surpasses any laws of nature... He's the Maker of those laws to begin with, so He doesn't need to obey them in order to save one of His precious children!!!

It was GOD who also gave Carlos the ability and strength to set his mind on an "I can" attitude.  About 6 or 7 months ago, Carlos bought his first car.  He was determined to drive again before graduating school, and he did!!!  Carlos started driving again approximately a little over a month ago, and oh what a marvelous day that was!!!  

Carlos also passed one of the hardest tests in his field, for which he started studying for a year in advance... I can proudly also inform you, he passed with very high scores--praise the One Above for His grandiose works!!!!! :D 

And as if those huge accomplishments weren't enough to make us all happy, this past Saturday, Carlos' family, together with mine, had the amazing privilege and joy of seeing him graduate with his Bachelor degree from Vaughn College!!!!  

I couldn't be more happy and proud of Carlos!!!  He is my inspiration and GOD is my ALL for answering my prayers beyond what I had envisioned!!! :D

Carlos is now scheduled to undergo surgery once again at the end of this month.  His other leg will be amputated, since unfortunately it has not healed and only continues to worsen.  After the surgery, he'll be able to go to rehab again, learn how to walk with a second prosthetic leg and have a more "normal" life...

I have tears of joy in my eyes as I write this.  Words can not express how grateful I am to GOD for answering everyone's prayers--and mine--concerning Carlos!!!  GOD has given him life again, and there's no doubt in my mind that He will do great and marvelous things through Carlos!  I'm SO happy and full of praises to GOD!!!!!

Anyway, I'd like to also share the graduation card I made especially for him...  Hope you like it as much as Carlos and I do!!! (:

Thank you SO much for stopping by today.  I am also very grateful for the incredible amount of supportive messages/comments I've been receiving from many of you regarding my pending good news, which I'll soon be ready to share.  I've been so overwhelmed with busy work here... However, please don't think for a moment I've been ignoring your messages.  I've read each of them and believe me, they've made me smile and have helped me get through some troublesome bumps on the road... Your sweet and encouraging words have kept me going!!!  THANK YOU immensely, my lovely friends!!! XOXO  I'm also working on replying to each of you individually (unless I don't have your e-mail addresses)!!  I love you, all!!!  "The Lord bless thee and keep thee; the Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee; the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." ~Numbers 6:24-26

Love,

Grisel ♥