Isaiah 40:31 - Masculine Encouragement Card

I wanted to make a card for the Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge #67.  This week's challenge is to make a congratulation or encouragement card.

I find making masculine cards a bit more challenging than feminine ones.  However, I needed a masculine encouragement card this week so I used the sketch from The Sweet Stop SSS84 and some papers from Bo Bunny's Olivia line and came up with this one.

I stamped my verse with Memento tuxedo black ink on cream colored cardstock.  I cut it out & embossed it with a Nestabilities deckled rectangle die.  Before I removed the die, inked the edges and partially into the center with creamy brown fluid chalk.

I couldn't find a chipboard button in my stash the right size.  So, I used my 1" circle punch to punch several circles from scraps of kraft cardstock.  I also punch one circle from my stiped paper.  I ran all of them thru my xyron and stacked them on top of each other to make my "button." I inked the edges of my button (& the rest of my papers) with the same creamy brown fluid chalk.  I used my crop-a-dile to punch the holes in my button and tied hemp thru it.  I elevated my matted verse on pop-dots.

Supplies:
PP - Bo Bunny (Olivia)
CS - Recollections
Ink - Memento (tuxedo black), Color Box Fluid Chalk (creamy brown)
Stamp - Sweet 'n Sassy (Jesus Cares)
Hemp twine - Hobby Lobby
Tools - Cuttlebug, Nestabilities deckled rectangle die, crop-a-dile, Marvy punch

The Christmas Journey by Donna VanLiere

Everyone knows the Nativity Story, the story of the birth of Jesus from the Book of Luke. In her new book, "The Christmas Journey," author Donna VanLiere gives the age-old story a more realistic touch as she retells the story of Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem.

Synopsis:

The eighty-mile journey of a common carpenter and a simple peasant girl is one of the most powerful stories in history. As books go out of print and stories fade from memory, the journey of Joseph and Mary and her delivery inside a common barn continues to bless and inspire hope in people around the world.
 
Accompanied by moving and beautifully rendered illustrations throughout, Donna VanLiere’s retelling shows that the story of the Nativity is alive in our modern world.

My Thoughts:

Donna VanLiere has created a beautifully told version of a beloved story. Through her descriptive words, you can almost feel the pain and suffering that the teenaged Mary was going through on this ardious journey, Joseph's concern and near panic when he realizes that he will be the one to deliver God's son into the world, and the crude surroundings that made up the stable where Jesus was born.

The illustrations, watercolor paintings by Michael Storrings, are simple and elegant and give this charming book the extra shine to put it into the realm of becoming one of the classic Christmas books for years to come.

"The Christmas Journey" is a short read, but one that the family is sure to reach for again and again throughout the Christmas season.

For more information on Donna VanLiere's work, check out her website at http://www.donnavanliere.com/

My Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the review copy of this book. I was not compensated for my opinion.