Old Things Pass Away!

Good Wednesday crafty friends! I hope mid week is finding you all blessed and planning many wonderful things for the weekend, whether be it crafty or fall festival activities!  They are cropping up everywhere, which I love, and as a matter of fact I will be going to a Wellness Retreat up in the North Carolina mountains next weekend where I will be sure to come upon fall activities galore!  I can't wait!  The leaves will be starting to get glorious and the apples will be ready to come home with me by the basket load!  Yummy!  Can you say hot apple pie?

Today I want to share a journal page spread with you that continues my love for fall!  One of my crafty online friends Ruth was hearing the same tune by the Byrds in her head that I was this past weekend, so I guess my idea can't be all bad!! LOL  She mentioned that weather goes through a sort of metamorphosis like a butterfly and I loved that!  True enough it does.  I don't happen to believe that, that is a mistake!  God NEVER makes mistakes!

The dictionary says that metamorphosis is a profound change in form from one state to the next or a complete change in form. Wow...a "profound change!"  That speaks volumes to me in the Christian perspective!  In Ecclesiastes 3:1, God's Word says that "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens."  Spiritually, I believe that is the "profound" change that the dictionary is speaking of.  We, as His people, are to be changing from glory to glory.  In that change, we go through natural and spiritual "seasons," which relate to His Word in 2 Corinthians 5:17 when He says "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"  He designed the seasons, naturally and spiritually, that we go through that metamorphosis to be ALL He has created us to be.  We are to be the Glorious Church upon His return!  As we are to be changing from glory to glory (the metamorphosis), you have to leave the old behind, you are a NEW creature in Christ!  Don't look back (He doesn't - it was covered on the cross), press forward to that higher calling!!  Profound, yes!  Eternal, YES!

I started my page by laying some Tim Holtz tissue paper down with gel medium and then pulling out my favorite Faber-Castell Gelatos!  I don't remember the colors, but I know it was like the tangerine and teal and metallic brown color.  I used an old floral stamp set from Prima and stamped across the bottom and then I used a great "lacey" looking stamp also from Prima and stamped on the sides of both pages with StazOn.  I then dipped back into my Gelatos by laying a few deep floral colors on my craft mat, misting and then painting on the flowers.  When I was done it looked ok, but just a little too busy so I took out my gesso and lightly spread on some watered down gesso on top with my fingers just to quiet it down a bit.  I then stamped a some pumpkins from an Inkadinkado fall set I have across the bottom.

I get blessed in my email box weekly with great digital clips from Debbie-Anne over at Ephemera's Vintage Garden so I used some that I had in my file for this spread.  She is so generous with her work and I love all the wonderful ideas that she has!  Thanks Debbie!  I distressed all the artwork with Vintage Photo and then on the tag I also used Antique Linen and Spiced Marmalade.  I fussy cut the diamond pattern off of another digital art piece of hers and put it at the bottom of the tag so that I could match the cute vintage piece of hers.  I used one of the stamps from the same fall set and stamped with Faber-Castell Big Brush Pens very lightly and then went back over the with Gelatos because again, it looked to harsh and I wanted a soft look and then added my sentiment and some twine.

I wanted a little more texture so I mixed some molding past with some acrylic paint and put through one of my fave stencils from Balzer Designs at Crafters Workshop.  Then I just began to adhere the pieces down with Aleene's and did some shadowing with Faber-Castell Big Brush Pens.  The big sentiment is also from that same fall stamps set and I simply stamped it with Colorbox and clear embossing powder.  I enjoyed the warm feeling of it all!

What do you need to leave behind today?  Forget the former things and do not dwell on the past because YOU, just like that beautiful butterfly that, through metamorphosis, became a new creature, YOU through the blood of Christ are also a new creature!  You press onward my friend from glory to glory to the prize!

Blessings today!

Challenges:

Anything But a Card Challenges No. 40