Merry Christmas

This morning I was up at 5 am.   I received a message from the other side of the world that was quite disturbing.  My disappointment in the situation was growing and I decided I would not let it fester.

Instead of turning on the computer and delving into my vast emails I now receive daily, I decided to jump right into a new study about the parables of Jesus.  My mind was distracted about this situation so I did a quick prayer to stay focused.  I had to read the lesson out loud to keep my mind from straying.

The lesson was so good and provided me peace of mind.  It was about dirt.  I found my answers in dirt.  The parable was about soil and the four different types.  Shallow soil, rocky soil, thorny soil, and good soil.

I feel that I worked hard to create the good dirt.  I worked hard to prepare the soil to build my business.  I cultivated my seed (idea) and watched it grow.   While the rocky soil produces a fast result because it skips the step of preparing the soil, the seed is close to the surface and grows fast.  However, because it was not prepared the sun comes along and scorches the plant. The little plant is no more.

That is where I think I have the advantage over the rocky soil.  I did not take any short cuts.  So after reading the lesson, I was jumping for joy in the clouds like these little reindeer.  Thanks for sticking with me.


Supplies used:
Mama Elephant: Reindeer Games and matching dies
Lawn Fawn:  Large Stitched Rectangle Stackables, Puffy Cloud Borders, and Spring Showers
Simon Says Stamp: Big Scripty Holiday Greeting

Prayers

I was a scrapbooker first before I was a card maker.  I LOVE to scrapbook.  I miss scrapbooking.  Haven't done it in almost 1 and a half years.  I know I will get back to it soon.  Things are starting to even out and I am getting to be on a schedule and find that I have more time for crafting.

What I love about scrapbooking is that you get to relive the moment as you scrapbook.  Pictures or an event that took minutes to occur can be relived in the hour or hours that it takes to document it.  My goal was not to get to as many pages done but to spend time with the memories made with the people in the photos.  I could spend all day on a two page layout and be perfectly content savoring the moments in the pictures.

Well, I found that I can do that with card making.   Let me back up a little first.  When I was first approached by the Women's ministry at church about doing a card ministry, I had never made a card.  

I went to the craft store and purchased some DCWV note cards.  They had a printed pattern on the front  and I would use my Cricut to make die cuts to add to the note card.  Then I started to buy stamps, blah, blah, blah and here we are today.

I got this pre made thank you card from a customer that reminded me of the DCWV note cards.  I liked the pattern so I decided to reuse it to make a card.  I got to spend time with the sweet lady that sent me the card as I re-purposed it into the card below.  Hope you enjoy.

City Christmas

I grew up in Houston in the Aldine district, not far from Bush Intercontinental airport.  Houston is a huge and I mean huge city.  When I joined the military I ended up in San Antonio and that is also a huge city.  So until I was 22 years old, that is all I knew.

Now we live in a village.  No, literally.  The sign says, "Welcome to the village of Sherrard".  Population 600.  No stop lights, no traffic.  I love where we live but there is nothing to do here unless you golf or fish.  I shouldn't say nothing to do.  If you are a crafter, there is plenty to do here.

So when I go visit my mom in Houston, I feel swallowed up by the immensity of the city.  However, there is much to do and so many friends and family to get caught up with.  There is so much good Mexican food to eat, especially my mom's.

So here is my Houston Christmas card.  I hope you enjoy the video .

Stamps Used:
Cozy Christmas 
Calling All Heroes
Kitchen Sink Owl & Autumn Moon 

Find Joy in Giving

Until last April, I worked part time as an MRI/ X-ray tech.  I was good at patient care.  Most of my patients were in pain or  had fear of the MRI.  Person to person interaction is much easier for me because I can tell from their facial expressions what is really going on.

The majority of the time, people were annoyed by the time I took care of them. Long waits to see the doctor for 2 minutes, then wait again for their x-rays.  The room is cold and the table is hard and then I have to position them in ways that make their pain surface more.

I could tell who was really hurt or who was trying to get away with fraud of some kind.   There are other things that health care workers see day in and day out that would make you doubt the morals of our society.   That is how this doubter was born.

I have a really good friend that does her best to keep me accountable on all things customer service related.  She has got a tough job and I am blessed that she is sooooooo patient.  With that I have to confess that I have a problem with being told what to do.  My inner child comes out and says, "You can't make me!"

Our last conversation, which I call reality checks, she told me that I need to give people the benefit of the doubt.  After 23 years in the health care industry, doubt is hard to let go.    So, needless to say, I find it difficult to follow her advice.  All she was hearing from me was, "But, but..."  She was sooooooo patient.  I am sure if I was in the same room with her she would have smacked me in the back of the head.

I promised her that I would do better at GIVING the benefit of the doubt.   I doubted that I was going to fulfill my promise.   Then God sent me validation in what she was saying.  He definitely has a sense of humor when He tries to humble us.   I was getting ready to post my next card when I realized what the sentiment on my card said.  Now keep in mind, I made this card 3-4 weeks ago.

God definitely has great timing.

Snow Globe Christmas Ornament

My Sweet Little Petunia and I went shopping today for a new Christmas tree.  I have tried for the last 3 years to buy a tree after Christmas and have been unsuccessful.  So this year I thought I would try early.

I am sure that the deals are better after Christmas, but I have already spent time and gas on looking for my new tree.  I thought that it would be crazy out there.  Surprisingly, it was not.

We wanted to get a pre-lit tree so that it would be easier to assemble.  I also wanted a fancy one that could switch between white lights and colored.  We finally came across two trees that would qualify.  From the two, I let Little Petunia pick.  Of course she has to pick the one that only had the floor model left.  So we got 20% off the tree because it was on sale and an additional $50 off for the floor model.

Now we have a new tree to hang this cute little ornament on.  It was hard to come up with something original because you can only put so much in the shaker globe.  I had not seen anyone do a see through snow globe.

Hope you like it and that you remember the reason for the season.

Black Friday Sale

Sales price is NOT retroactive.

This does include the two magnets that comes with the MISTI.

New Secret Product Sweepstakes

Hey everyone -

We are very excited about a product we have under wraps until after Christmas. So excited that we want to give some away - and cooked up a little contest for you so that you can be the first ones to get your hands on it.

Here's how it will work.

• Make a Christmas/holiday card
• Send it to us at My Sweet Petunia, PO Box 122, Sherrard, Illinois 61281
• For every 100 cards we receive, we will draw a winner from the cardmakers.
• Cards have to be postmarked by December 24th
• You can enter as many times as you'd like, but each card has to be different, and each card has to be handmade by YOU.
• Leave the cards blank (cards will be donated to Splitcoast card drives) and on a post it note inside include your name, mailing address and email address so we can send you your prize.
• In addition to a random drawing for all cards received, I will also choose my three FAVORITE cards from those sent in, and those cardmakers will also win the new secret product.
• ANYONE can enter.

The new product will be revealed at CHA in January - and that's also where we'll do the drawing live on Periscope - we will post the video of the drawing here.

Go get to stamping!

Read more here.