Crochet...

Hi girls, I hope you are all well!
I am popping in with a prayer request - my blood count has gone down from 5 830 to 1 500 and the doctor thinks its still 'reasonable' and because I don't have a fever, he is not going to give me anything!
It is causing real tiredness and heaviness in the muscles.  I believe the Lord can hear prayer and increase this count as I have to have my sixth (and last!) session next week and if its so low, I will have to miss out a week! And I want to get it over with.....!!!

So, as I am mostly laying down, I have taken up crochet and having found this wool in a secondhand shop, I am making a cushion. I  will be adding more crochet flowers, but will have to make them.

Thank you all!!
Jacqueline x

Less is More Week 30 Recipe

On a 'lighter' note today I am finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel and am out of bed with new strength although weak, at least I am improving.

This card is for the challenge on the Less is More Blog, the challenge being to choose 3 from any of the previous 29 challenges and combine them in your design. I chose:
Week 15 - Embossing
Week 19 - In the Frame and
Week 28 - Use ink

I used all Hero Arts stamps to create this CAS card. The Simple Frame design block, the Garden Star, the acrylic leaf prints and a new sentiment set which I won from Marcy from the HA Flickr gallery.

PDCC 96 and a little testimony

Hi, I hope you are well! Since Monday I have been too weak to craft and even now I am not totally well. It seemed that the Chemo treatment took a different pattern of how and when it worked this time which caught me by surprise.

I am joining in the PDCC color challenge as I had a page of rub-ons from Making Memories which were the ideal match, which Marcy had sent me. First I stamped the Heart from Stampington and went from there.

Here is the inspiration picture:

I have a little testimony to share with you.
I am reading a book called 'Leaving' from Karen Kingsbury, who writes Christian books. The more I read, the more I really like her style.

This morning God spoke to me from its pages with one single phrase : "She had a faith that defied logic". This was said of a woman named Tara who had lost her son in Iraq and was sitting next to the hospital bed of her daughter-in-law to be, who had just had a car accident... it was instant revelation.

It is true that the last couple of months it has been harder and harder to cope with the Chemo treatments. At first it touches your body, but within no time it gets to your emotions and starts to affect something deep within you. I have been pouring out my heart to a friend this week that what was happening to me just wasn't logical - how the events over the last five months had been so contrary to what I had believed and so confusing. If only the cancer had been less than 2cm and not spread, then I would not have had  to have Chemo therapy, if only I had found out earlier, if only God had given me the testimony of not having to loose my hair... if only, if only.... So many questions.

I suddenly realized once again that logic and faith don't go together, in fact they exclude each other. You can't have a logical life and at the same time have faith. God just isn't logical - He is above time, He is Eternal, He is Love - He gave Himself entirely in Jesus Christ to save us and all He asks is faith, faith in that Cross - because Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

It humbled me and I realized I still do have faith,  I am still holding on to that faith and I know that in His Time and Wisdom, that which is not fathomable will be perfectly 'logical' - when I see it through His Eyes.
Isn't it wonderful how God can use anything He chooses to speak to us?!

Butterfly garden

A grid I made a while ago using the Butterfly garden stamps from Pink Paislee. The kraft colored squares were made on the back of an ordinary A5 envelope that come in the post from time to time - its a way to recycle and get another effect.

It is so incredibly warm here, I'm looking forward to the Indian summer type weather!
Have a lovely day!

A little bit of Summer 2011

A little bit of Summer this year in the South of France all pulled together in a picture postcard.

Please click on the pictures to get a better view.

At the moment the house is being cleaned, DH is on his way to pick up David and life with its structures, school life, etc. will begin again.

With everything that happened we just have to say - we were blessed!

Just sharing a little poem dear Chris sent to me and I am passing it on to you:

"This is my wish for you. Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so you can believe, confidence when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, love to complete your life."~~Author Unknown

Have a lovely weekend!
Jacqueline x

City Crafter Challenge Blog - Scrap Happy

Hi blogging friends! Today I had my fifth Chemo session and it went better than I had imagined.. not too many people, no stress, the room had been aired and the doctor smiled at me ;). Have noticed that I am loosing my eye-lashes and although I already only had two thin line of eyebrows, they are gong too! That is hard!

The temperature is 34 degrees C (94°f) here which is hard to do anything in at the moment, but when I saw the challenge, which can be found here on the City Crafter Blog, was scraps, out came my basket and I quickly put something together with what I had. The only thing I added were flowers I stamped (from Artistic Outpost) on the left side of the center panel, as the bird was already on it.

 
My camera is broken so I had to scan this, but at least the colors are true to life!
Thank you for your continual support, I appreciate it so much! Just to give you an indication of how well it went after the last Chemo, my white blood count (Leucocytes) was 1 960 and went up to 5 380 in three weeks time - the doctor said that it was a perfect report! What a blessing, thank you Father God!

Tuesday Trigger - Luminous layers

I love this dress! It so happens to be the inspiration on Tuesday Trigger this week:

and this is my take:

I couldn't get a good photo, as my camera wont work, but its the best I could do.

Have a great Sunday.
Jacqueline

Shine..

Hi! I haven't been creating much in the way of cards these last days. I have been to an over-decked Antique Market in Carcassonne to have a look around, have re-covered some old cushions and watched some romantic movies and am reading a great book. Sounds like holiday at home, right?!

I don't want to neglect my blog for too long though, so I am posting a card I made a while ago and which is ready to be posted to a lovely Christian lady who lives in Chicago, and prays for me every day! Prayer knows no limits!

This is a little idea (found in a recent magazine) of how you can create an antique feeling, very cheaply too - don't throw away your old baking tins, let them rust and put some candles in them, nice in the garden or even in the home!

Have a wonderful weekend! DH is in Holland visiting our eldest son, but he doesn't have the beautiful weather we have here. The Mediterranean climate is just ideal, in all seasons!

Have a great weekend!

Collage

Hi ladies, hope you are all well.
I am sharing a collage type card using as decoration the acrylic leaf print stamp set from Hero Arts, stamped in bundled sage. I also used some Smooch which gives it some sparkle. I framed the Bird Collage stamp from HA to emphasize it differently.

and this card is for the Christmas in August challenge over at the Simon Says Stamp Blog.

Have a lovely day! Oh yes, I still have a week to go before my fifth session and all I really feel is a lack of strength, so if that is all, I am a blessed woman!

Summer!

Sharing a couple of Summer cards. I 'rediscovered' the little Birdcage stamp from Hero Arts... have made so many cards with it, sharing this one with a piece of a doily that Wilmi from Holland sent me. PP is from Sue.

Well amidst the difficult times there are really nice days! I was thrilled to have random org pick my number twice to win a new set of stamps this week and Thursday I was a fab five winner on the Hero Arts blog with the card below - such a pick-me-up!
I cannot say enough how much all your blogs inspire me and the Hero Arts flickr gallery every day.

When I was making this card I was thinking of the holidays we have in Callela, Spain every year, next to the sea and was feeling a bit sad not to be able to go this year. I love the Sea!

Now I have a little share which I hope will be an encouragement for you as it was for me. I was laying in bed the other night thinking - what shall I do if my precious boys leave home and I don't have to care for anybody but DH anymore. Of course we have our Missionary work here but I am still a Mum, wife and like to keep the home a place of rest and peace. And just this morning I read this devotional which I thought was very timely and very practical:

Your Best Days Are Still Ahead '...Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara...' Ruth 1:20 NKJV

Learn to build your life around your person, not your role, otherwise when your role changes you'll lose your sense of worth. Being a good mother is a noble calling. It's also a self-sacrificing job. But when your children leave home and those demands are over, it's easy to feel like Naomi did. Her name meant Pleasant. But after her two sons died she asked to be called Mara, which means bitterness. Don't allow changing times to change who you are, or to make you stop dreaming and give up hope. God still had a lot for Naomi to do. In the future she would mentor Ruth, who would give birth to a son who was destined to grow up and become part of the lineage of King David and our blessed Lord. What an honour! When your role changes, remember that your life's not over. See your own worth as a person, discover your next assignment, gather up your assets and keep on living and giving. Don't develop a 'Mara mentality'. She allowed herself to become cynical when her circumstances changed; don't let that happen to you! Discouragement often comes when we feel like we've seen it all, heard it all, done it all, and most of it was bad. No matter how old you are, you can never say you've seen it all. God can do 'exceeding abundantly above all that [you] ask or think...' (Ephesians 3:20) You don't know what God will do with your life before it's over. He has a way of saving the best for last.

Food for thought.
Have a great weekend!
Jacqueline

Tuesday Trigger: Squares to cherish

All of a sudden I saw it - the new stamps from Stella Rose that Sue had sent me, together with the Lace Frame from Hero Arts, that was going to be my inspiration for this challenge over at the  two-weekly Moxie Fab blog here.

Here is the inspiration picture, LOVE these colors together, with the touch of teal and pink and that shot of black and white.

... and there was one word that came to mind when I saw the inspiration picture... C o m f y.... which I stamped with alphabet stamps from Inkadinkado in a playful fashion. For some of the colors I layered two distress inks together. For example, the pinky color was achieved with Dusty Concord and Victorian Velvet together.

Here are the circle doily stamps I used. Thank you Sue, truly love the stamp set you sent.

I am feeling a little bit better as the days pass, I am not up to much and can't undertake anything other than a trip to the shops. I am still being overwhelmed with cards, messages and prayers and I thank God for His Presence in a new way in my heart, I truly believe that He is taking down barriers to show me how to Love more as that is what life is all about - Love!

Favorite color

I am sharing my favorite color today. Also entering this into Make It Monday #48, as I have never seen this site before and like to join in when I can.

I used the starburst Lace stamp on K&Co PP and attached the birdcage stamp, both from Hero Arts.
Never used to be a fan of this color but it has grown on me so much that even my nails have this color nowadays. I found a wonderful Internet Site where I find these bottles for three Euros and I get free postage. The quality is great. I received a beautiful dark blue and vintage green color too this morning. Love trying different things.

Thank you for your visits - it always makes my day to hear from you!
Jacqueline