Valentine's Blog Hop 2012

Welcome to the Word Art Wednesday / Stampin' Sisters in Christ Valentine's Blog Hop! (See the end of this post if you need more details.) The theme for this year's hop takes us far beyond the world's superficial concepts of love and romance -- it is a celebration of God's Love. All participating artists used word art of John 15:9 - "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love."


That verse is worth some reflection! How has the Father loved Jesus? He refers to Jesus as His "Beloved Son," in whom He is "well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). That, in turn, is how Jesus loves us. John 1:12 says that we become His children when we believe in His name. He loves us so much that He died on the cross so that we could spend eternity with Him (John 3:16). And it is our choice to follow His instruction to remain in that love and enjoy an abundant life in Christ while we live this life on earth (John 10:10). I, for one, wish to remain in His love! How about you?


I wrestled for a long time with how to represent this verse in my art. On the one hand, I was drawn to using typical Valentine's imagery and colours. However, when I began a collage along those lines, I just wasn't finding a way to depict the meaning in my images and design elements. So, I flipped through some Usborne art activity books for some inspiration, and this is what I came up with:

The person represents Jesus, with loving arms outstretched. Those arms are  suggestive of the cross on which He demonstrated the depth of His love for us -- and they are the arms of God inviting a warm embrace -- for eternity. What safer, more peaceful place could there be than the arms of our Saviour? That is truly the experience of real Love.


Personally, I am finding Rest and Security in those arms. I hope you are, too! 


Now, in regards to the official blog hop -- if you arrived at my blog from Miesje's Craft Room with a View (and via Word Art Wednesday), you're in the right place. But if you found me by chance, please go back and start at Word Art Wednesday to enjoy the whole hop.  As I mentioned, we are celebrating LOVE......God's love.  All you need to do is visit each stop on the blog hop and leave a comment on each blog to be eligible for the Grand Prize from Stampin' Up. The prize winner will be announced on February 14th.


After you've left your comment here, go to Roses By My Window,  the next stop on the hop, and I know Peggysue has something lovely for you to see.  We hope you enjoy the blog hop, and we'd love to have you visit us regularly at Word Art Wednesday.  


Thanks for stopping by, and have a blessed day!

Word Art Wednesday - February 8, 2012

"I know my Redeemer lives" Job 19:25 is this week's free word art passage at Word Art Wednesday. It begs the question, what is a redeemer?


It's a saviour, deliverer, rescuer, saver, according to Miriam Webster's dictionary's synonyms (which were far more helpful than the definition itself!). 


The One who fulfills the role is Jesus. And I do know He lives because He lives in me! (Galatians 2:20) And because He lives, I can face tomorrow! (Truly! Read the lyrics as you listen to the song at that link.)


I did two pieces of art for this verse simply because I didn't like the first one. I wanted an art journal feel to it, so I used some bits and pieces of things I'd done before, but never used in a piece of art. I started by printing the verse on lined paper, and used a background I created while working through The Artistic Mother, as well as an image transfer I'd made and coloured ages ago. But there was really no rhyme nor reason to what I was doing, and I think that's why I wasn't really happy with the results.There is, of course, a place for that kind of art, but I want my WAW pieces to be purposeful and significant. 

I stamped over the poor little one's face!!!

So, since DD9 was happily painting away beside me and seemed nowhere near being "done," (she was playing with paint, not really creating anything in particular)  I decided to try again. I still used stuff from my stash, including the background paper and the woven paper, which DD9 and I created together more than a year ago. I chose that particular background paper because I was still going for the haphazard, vibrant colours that I so often see in art journals. I used the woven paper because of what I said about my Redeemer above -- He lives in me -- our lives are intertwined. It's His Life that sparkles in mine -- represented by the glittery "r." And those three gems at the top? They represent my triune God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit :) The stitching and bead are just decorative ;) 

I definitely like my second piece better. What do you think?


If you would like to enjoy the pleasure (and it really is a pleasure) of participating in the Word Art Wednesday Challenge, please link up with us! You might just win something pretty from Fred She Said.


Also -- tomorrow is the beginning of our Valentine's Blog Hop! Be sure to check out the work of the WAW Design Team and some of the members of Stampin' Sisters in Christ. 

Crayola Creativity

DD14 banished herself to the basement yesterday and threatened anyone who came near while she gave life to her creations. She was inspired by some examples she'd seen online of crayons glued to a canvas, then heated to create wonderful drips of colour. 


Here is her first attempt, with which she was dissatisfied because it turned out so dark. I think it's pretty:

In her second attempt, I notice that she payed attention to the labels on the crayons. It's pretty, too! 

Have you found any creative new uses for crayons?

Clone*Mart

Clone*Mart -- Where Clones Buy Stuff


DS13, Lego lover that he is, created "Clone*Mart -- Where Clones Buy Stuff" (to be read with a British accent):

This is the dude that buys EVERYTHING. "Every store has one." The guy with the bag is buying soap. Just soap.

Silver mannequin. 

Personally, I'm rather glad there's no Clone*Mart in my neighbourhood! But I'm grateful DS13 is using his imagination and taking delight in his creations.


Not to be outdone, after I posted this, DS5 created his own "store" -- complete with a pool that has bombs in it. Nice.

Notice the body parts floating in the bomb-embedded pool. Apparently someone blew up. 

Boy brains. I don't understand them :{


I'm not liking the violent imagery -- but I AM enjoying the peaceful play in which my boys are engaging together!