It's Raining, It's Pouring

So it's not a good day to look for unique shadows to shoot today...

It was exciting to see my last week's shadow shot made it into one of Harriet's collage spots for Shadow Shot Sunday #45! It's this photo of our garden sculpture on the deck (waiting to find its way back to the iris garden once we get the leaves cleaned off the plants).

My heart goes out to and my prayers go up for those in the Fargo, SD area, where the flooding is horrific. The melting snow is causing havoc again. We're to get snow this afternoon, and I hope it won't ruin the fragile forsythia blooms, peaking daffodils, blooming tulip and pear trees in our area.

God bless your weekend with rest and relaxation and meaningful worship.

Do Not Worry

Signs of spring!

This morning I read Matthew 6. Verses 25-34 are a powerful reminder that WORRY = faith in the enemy!

...Do not worry about your life, what you eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin...

Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you ...

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

It's natural to worry (even though we say we don't!) because we're sinful beings. But Jesus wants us to remember that it's also sinful to lie awake or obsess about things over which we have no control. I'm guilty of that! Are you?

Thank God for the forgiveness He gives through Jesus, and for His promises of His constant presence (James 4:8), agape love (John 3:16), and His supplying of our needs (Matthew 7:7-8)!

Let's give our worries to our loving Lord. He is all-knowing and all-powerful. God wants only the best for His children. Let's walk hand in hand with Him today in trust.

Peace and joy in Jesus--

I Lift These Hands

I lift these hands, dear God, to You, in praise and thanks for all You do.
You light my path through all my days and bless me with Your loving ways.

I lift these hands, dear God, to You, in troubled hours when joys are few.
You bear me up on eagle's wings and see me through each test life brings.

I lift these hands, dear God, to You, please grant me health and healing too.
Then fill my heart with love and caring, precious gifts You've made for sharing. Amen.

[From Wheat Ridge Ministries, Itasca, IL http://www.wheatridge.org/]

Art Keeper Box

It's sturdy! It's stackable! It's colorful! It's personalized!

It's an art keeper box!

This one will hold all the special projects Ella makes for our frig display--her Winnie the Pooh pages and little love notes.

The dimensions are 13.5 x 14.3 inches, so it holds nice sized papers and items.

Let me know if I can create a special art or memorabilia keeper box for someone you love...a soldier's family, a preschooler (or kid of any age), a sports enthusiast, grandparents, teacher, pastor, and more.

I used Close To My Heart:

Magic Moments papers & Stickease

Pop Dots

Liquid Glass

and a chipboard box with lift-off lid from LSS

Shadow Shot Sunday

Forsythia in bloom

Garden sculpture on the deck

Old mum & old watering can

I happily happened on Harriet's site that features Shadow Shot Sunday. So I decided to participate. Here are my shadow shots from today, a beautiful Spring day to be outside, one just full of God's blessings.

Want to find out more about Shadow Shot Sunday? Double click on the camera!

You Make My Heart Sing

It's so good to be home! This morning I read a chapter in James, and this verse popped out at me, because my heart has been singing a lot these past two weeks. I'm singing today because it's the LAST day of winter!

Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. James 5:13

I'm singing songs of praise for all God's blessings, and giving Him thanks in all circumstances. My happiness flows because of Jesus' love and care for me.

Here are a few fotos since getting back from the Caribbean vacation. Ella keeps my world constantly "spinning" literally and figuratively!

I'm anxious to get some vacation fotos printed and work on the Close To My Heart acrylic album I haven't tackled yet...I've enjoyed seeing those other consultants have made and am so motivated!

Ella's new Caribbean-motif dress fit her just right. The bright colors of the people in Central America and Mexico are so vibrant. I wonder what our neighbors would think if we painted our house a bright Caribbean blue with hot pink shutters?

Here's Ella at our patio door, watching for the woodpeckers and cardinals to come for lunch.

We just saw a blue jay eat peanuts we left for him on the deck.

She's very into birds and planets right now...yes, planets...and knows their names and talks about the rings around them!

Ella & Emily read a farm book together. Ella likes to put the magnetized nose of the puppy on the animal making the sound on each page.

That's a Vacation!

The sky and the water are truly these brilliant blue hues in the Caribbean!

We left winter behind and cruised from New Orleans to Costa Maya, Mexico, Santo Tomas de Castillo, Guatemala, Belize City, Belize, and Cozumel this past week. We literally soaked up the sunshine, fresh air, good books, pools and hot tubs, shuffleboard and ping pong, local music, and rested--we accomplished our goal! That's a vacation.

It was heavenly to feel warm breezes and 85 degrees. Our bodies, minds, and souls have been renewed and rejuvenated. We didn't use a watch or a clock once--that's a vacation.

As the Creoles say, "Whadahurray, mon?" (We learned a little Creole!) That's a vacation.

DH and I got to hear & see the howler monkeys (and a few alligators too) on our river rafting excursion in Belize. We sampled all the local beers but none can compare to good old Busch. That's a vacation.

We didn't write or mail one postcard. We didn't make one phone call. That's a vacation.

I haven't used paper, adhesives, and embellishments nor cooking utensils in almost two weeks. That's a vacation.

DH used tools only once in our stateroom--to break open his luggage lock. That's a vacation.

We spent most of our time walking the upper deck tracks, eating fresh fruits and veggies, lounging by the pool, staying dressed in swim suits and accessorizing with sunscreen. That's a vacation.

How I missed our family--vacations are good and necessary--but how good it is to be home!

We thank the Lord for our safe travel and for the time for needed rest.

Custom Gift Items

Memory Keeper Box (10 x 10 inches with magnetic lid)

Basic (a chipboard monogram; frame for photo) ... $25

Spice It Up (more embellies) ...... $30 and up

Coordinating 9 x 9 inch accordion album ....$20-$25

Art Keeper Box (14.5 x 13.3 inches; removable lid) ...$25-$30

(This box will easily hold memorabilia & art measuring 12 x 12 inches; great for preschoolers' -- teens' special treasures)

I'll customize your order in favorite school colors, with requested names, and with your requested photo mat sizes.

My Pages Talk -- add a small audio recording embellishment! ... $20

( You can record a 30-second message that can be played repeatedly, protected, or re-recorded; battery operated; battery is replaceable; it's a great addition to a box or album for a shower or a baby gift to hear the heartbeat or parents' voices, a grandparent's gift, a military soldier's album, a child's keeper box, for a wedding, anniversary, or a birthday)

Questions? Orders?

Please contact me at janehaaspaperart[at]gmail[dot]com

(Note that tax and shipping are extra.)

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Today, March 2, 2009 is the 105th anniversary of the birth of Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known to the world as Dr. Seuss.

Do you and your children have a favorite Dr. Seuss book? Maybe it's "Green Eggs and Ham" or "Oh, The Places You'll Go" (we gave that one to our dd's on their HS graduation days!).

Celebrate the day! Sing "Happy Birthday" to Dr. Seuss, and read one or two of his books as a family.

You'll find more related activities here: http://www.nea.org/readacross

If you're a scrapbooker, check out this site: http://scrapbooking.lovetoknow.com/Dr._Seuss_Quotes_and_Scrapbook_Ideas

Easter Cards

Last week I made these Easter cards ... the first two are Key To My Heart and Emporium papers from CTMH, and others are from my "scrap stash." The butterfly stamp is from CTMH's Celebrate Life set. Inside each card I stamped "Happy Easter" or "Celebrate Life!" The butterflies and eggs are all pop-dotted for dimension.