Sneak Peek and A Fresh Start!

Tomorrow we will get A Fresh Start on another year!  It really is true that the older you get the faster time seems to zip right on by!  It is hard to believe another year has come and gone!  Time to reassess our resolutions and goals.  I don't know about you, but I have a hard time keeping any resolutions or goals I make, which usually only centers around my spiritual life anyway.  I vow to myself every year that I will read my Bible and pray EVERY day, and every year I fail to some degree or another, even though I did better this year than I have in the past!  But, this year I'm going to try a different approach.  And, it has everything to do with this verse from the Bible, "Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." from Psalm 37:4.  This will be "my" verse for 2011.  I'm going to focus my attention on delighting myself in the LORD and I believe He will help me achieve my desired goal of reading my Bible and praying every day!  Will you join me in this pursuit?

Thinking in the direction of a new year, the new monthly Theme-A-Ma-Jig challenge that I host at Faith Sisters will focus on the following phrases for January:

a fresh start
new beginnings
only the beginning
old things are passed away, all things are become new
new every morning
joy comes in the morning
it's a new day
goals
resolutions

I am asking those who participate to pick one of the phrases (or more, if you wish) and create a layout using the phrase as a jumping off point.  You can do a journaling page or you can include photos.  It is totally up to you.  One of the rules is that you use at least 3 elements from one of the Faith Sisters designers in your layout.  I always try to help you out with providing a freebie that coordinates with the theme.  For this challenge, I have created a special kit called, A Fresh Start.  And for those who participate, I have also created an Add-on as a prize, which I will give a coupon for obtaining it free.  And the free sampler to get you started on the challenge coordinates with the kit and the add-on.  All 3 will be released tomorrow in my store at Faith Sisters.

So, for a SNEAK PEEK of A Fresh Start, here is the layout I did for the challenge using the kit and the add-on.  If you have read this far, THANKS SO MUCH, for your interest!  Following my layout are some layouts created by my CT and a designer friend.

I look forward to you joining me in the challenge this month!  And, I pray you each have a blessed NEW YEAR!!

A Fresh Start - my layout for the challenge using the kit and add-on

CT Layout using the kit, add-on and free sampler

CT Layout using the kit and the add-on

Kimeric's Layout using the kit and the add-on

Kimeric's Layout using the kit

Kimeric's Layout using the kit and add-on

Kimeric's Layout using the kit

ONE MORE DAY and A Few Layouts

One more day for the 50% off Christmas Sale of my entire store at Faith Sisters!

My newest kit is a Christmas kit, (In the) NICK of Time!  Lots of goodies to use in scrapping those Christmas layouts!  I did a few of my layouts of my own today with the kit.  Here is a preview of the kit and the layouts I did.  Hop on over to my store and check out the great sales!

Tomorrow I will have several layouts posted that will give you a sneak peek at a kit I have ready for the New Year and a challenge at Faith Sisters!  Have a wonderful NEW YEAR!

Papers Preview

Elements Preview

LO using NICK of Time! kit

LO using NICK of Time! kit

Merry CHRISTmas to All!

I want to wish all of you a very Merry CHRISTmas, and a blessed New Year! Thank you for your support and purchase of my products through the year of 2010!

My Christmas Sale continues through the end of the month! Click the link below to go to my store and find the great deals!

My Store

Desktop Calendar Challenge

Welcome to the new Desktop Calendar Challenge at Faith Sisters! My name is Vicky Day of Today's Scrap designs and it is my privilege to host this challenge. Each month, I will provide a template for you to use in the creation of your desktop calendar for the next month. In other words, it is December, but I will be providing the template for you to use in creating your January 2011 desktop calendar. The template should be easily adaptable to whatever size of screen you have. I will also provide several versions of a monthly calendar for you to choose from when creating your desktop calendar. You will be able to blend these into your favorite paper or use as is. Also, there is a text file included in the download giving you some instructions on how to find the dimensions of your desktop and how to apply your new desktop once you have it completed. You can also find those instructions in THIS thread. We would love for you to use only Faith Sister Designer products in creating your calendar, but it is not a requirement. We just want you to be creative and have fun!

Post your calendar in the Desktop Calendar Challenge Gallery HERE. Then, post a link to your completed calendar in this forum thread HERE so I will know when you have completed the challenge. Thanks for participating!

Here is my desktop for January 2011. I used my Winter Wonders kit.

Here is the preview for the template and the calendars that you can download from the challenge forum.  Have fun!

NEW and (In the) NICK of Time!

Just in time for Christmas!  And, it is on sale for $3.00 through December!  Click on the link below to go to the product in the store!  Merry Christmas!

 (In the) NICK of Time is found HERE

Better view of the papers

Better view of the elements

Christmas Sale!

What would Christmas be without a sale! ENJOY!

FREE Quick Page

Before we get to the quick page, let me show you how I came up with the page.

I am the hostess of the "Theme-A-Ma-Jig Challenge" at Faith Sisters. This is a monthly challenge. So, ever month I come up with a theme and a kit to go along with the theme. This month the theme is "Precious Gifts" since this is the month of giving gifts at Christmas. Not only do I create a kit to go with the theme, but I also make a free sampler so those participating can use the sampler to do their page with, if they wish. The free sampler is in the store. And, on top of the free sampler and the kit I also make a coordinating challenge prize for those who participate and qualify with their layout. And, I will always put the kit on sale for 50% off through the month. And the extra bonus is that I am sharing a quick page with you. The quick page is the page I used for my layout for the challenge. I hope you enjoy it!

Click on the previews to go to the product in the store.

Precious Gifts FREE Sampler in the store.

My page I created for the Theme-A-Ma-Jig Challenge. Click on the image to go to my gallery.
Precious Gifts Kit - On sale for $3.00 through the month of December.
Better view of the papers in the kit.
And, last but not least, your free download for today. I used my Precious Gifts kit to create the quick page. Enjoy!

Precious Gifts - 50% off through December

This kit is a mix of Christmas and miscellaneous with the theme of gifts. The Bible talks about precious gifts and the most precious gift was the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior! The word art addresses some of the gifts we receive when we become a child of God. And there are some Christmas papers and presents and a little bit of snow, too! Each paper is 12x12 @ 300 ppi in JPG format. The elements are @ 300 ppi in PNG format. Included in the kit:
18 papers
4 borders
1 butterfly
1 button
4 flower elements
5 frames
1 gift box
2 leaf elements
2 mats
pins
4 ribbons
staples
7 tags
pine tree and snowman
4 word art elements

And, since the kit coordinates with the Theme-a-ma-jig Challenge, it will be 50% off through the month of December. $3.00, in other words! Click on the image to go to the product in the store.
The kit:


A better view of the papers:

Theme-a-ma-jig Challenge, December 2010 at Faith Sisters

WELCOME, EVERYONE to the Theme-A-Ma-Jig Challenge! Please be sure and READ all the way through so you will understand how the challenge works and what the particulars are.

I am VERY excited to be one of the new designers here at Faith Sisters! And, I am also VERY EXCITED to be the hostess of this brand new monthly challenge! As the name suggests, this will be a theme challenge! It may be a seasonal theme, it may be a holiday theme, it may be a Biblical theme…..it could be about anything! I guess it just depends what inspires me at the moment of my decision for the monthly theme! I want it to be FUN, and maybe we will be able to learn a few things along the way!

Our challenge theme for December 2010 is “PRECIOUS GIFTS.” December is the month that we celebrate Christmas here in the USA, but this is not a Christmas Holiday challenge, necessarily. We celebrate the most precious Gift of all, the LORD Jesus Christ, our Savior during December. Although it is not the exact day of His birth, December 25th represents that day. And we remember God’s Gift to mankind by giving gifts to others. ALL of us have something that we consider to be PRECIOUS, I am sure! God has given each of us precious life, if nothing else! And, the Bible tells us in James 1:17 – “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

I was curious to see if the Bible mentioned any “precious gifts” anywhere within it’s pages and found the KJV (King James Version) has the word “precious” 76 times and even a few other instances where there is a different word used in the translation, but the original word is the same word translated as “precious” in other verses. Clear as mud? Anyway, following are a few of the verses I found that I thought you might be interested in reading.

In Genesis 24:53, Rebekah, her brother and mother received precious gifts from Abraham’s servant in his search for a wife for Isaac. In 1 Kings 10:10, the Queen of Sheba gave King Solomon precious stones. In 2 Chronicles 21:3, King Jehoshaphat gave his sons gifts of silver, gold and precious things.

Believers have “received” some “PRECIOUS” things from God as His children. To list a few:
Psalm 36:7 – We have God’s loving kindness (this is one of the verses where the word translated as “precious” in other verses has been translated as “excellent” in this verse.)
Psalm 49:8 – The redemption of our soul is precious. AMEN and AMEN!!!
Psalm 116:15 – The death of His saints is precious to the LORD.
Psalm 139:17 – God’s thoughts toward us are precious.
Isaiah 28:16 and 1 Corinthians 3:10, 11 – Jesus is a precious cornerstone.
1 Peter 1:19 – Jesus’ blood is precious (without the shedding of blood, there is NO remission of sins!)
2 Peter 1:4 – We have been given precious promises of God.

So, you can see that there are LOTS of “PRECIOUS” things we could scrap about. Maybe if we break it down by definition, this will help you to be able to scrap about some “PRECIOUS GIFTS” this month.

According to Webster – “precious” means of great value or high price ; highly esteemed or cherished . One of the synonyms listed for “precious” is “priceless.” I think the word “precious” in this manner – if it is precious, it has LOTS of value and, yet, you cannot put a price tag on it.
According to Webster – “gift” means something voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation. One of the synonyms listed is “freebie.” And I KNOW you like that word! :D I think of it in this manner – a gift is anything you have received that you didn’t earn.

So, to me a “PRECIOUS GIFT” is something I have received that I didn’t earn that is VERY valuable and I wouldn’t take ANY amount of money for it. I hope these ideas have inspired you a bit! And, I can’t wait to see what you come up with! You will have to take a picture and post it in the gallery if you do a hybrid project.

Like most challenges, there are a few rules to follow:
1. At least 3 of your elements/papers used must be from CURRENT Faith Sister Designers to qualify for the free gift (see preview below) I will be giving away to those who are qualifying participants. You can use free product from the store, too!
2. You have the entire month to post your layout in the gallery here: [url=http://www.faithsisters.com/photopost/showgallery.php/cat/7137]THEME-A-MA-JIG GALLERY[/url] and also post a link in this forum thread so I will know you are finished with the current month challenge, and we can all give you some loving comments on your layout. The challenge will be closed at 12:00 MIDNIGHT, EST on the first day of the new month. I will PM a link to the prize to all those participants who qualify!
3. Last, but not least, LET’S HAVE FUN! :D

If at any time you have a question, please post it here in this forum. I will try to get back to you ASAP with an answer.

I am offering the following mini kit sampler free in my store to use for this month’s challenge. It coordinates with my new kit, Precious Gifts, which will be released at a later time. It and your participation prize are just not quite done yet! But, should be in a day or so!

Click on the image to get it in the store for free.