Gratitude!

Good Thursday!!  We had a slight little breeze this morning here in the south!  I would get excited, but the south being the south, I don't get excited too much because it's usually a trick!!! LOL!!  It's funny to watch because people start breaking out the fall clothing and getting all excited and then Mother Nature throws another month of gruelling weather on us and then you sit and look at those yummy sweaters with longing!! LOL!!

As I have been longing for my favorite time of year, I finished a tag last night that beckons for fall to come!  I had fun dreaming of all the things we will do as a family (fall is SUPER camping time) and we are trying to plan our "mountain" camping trip as a result!  I'm super giddy to get away with my family in my wonderful camper that God has blessed us with in my most favorite setting!

I stamped my Inkssentials tag with one of my favorite stamps from a stamp set from Inkadinkado called Autumn Foliage with Versamark and then embossed with clear embossing powder.  I then began laying down Distress Ink in Antique Linen, Spun Sugar and Spiced Marmalade and then edging with Vintage Photo.  As I really liked how it looked and didn't want it to move, I sprayed a fixative over it.

I think we are ALL guilty of buying up crafty elements, especially in the "clearance" section, I know I am (it's a sickness!), so I went through my drawers and just started pulling out all types of things that I thought may go that I have had sitting around for awhile.  First off I put some really pretty vellum tape from Little Yellow Bicycle down one edge and dusted it with Vintage Photo and then took a scrap of burlap and laid it down with some Aleene's Tacky glue - that stuff sticks ANYTHING and dries super quick!  Then I found a cute little tag from a 7 Gypsies pack that I have ripped apart, so not sure which one.  I edge it with Spiced Marmalade and Vintage Photo and along with some burnt orange twine, glued it over top of the burlap.

I love Unity Stamps, they are some of my fave and I had a stamp set from September 2013 that has some wonderful leaves in it as well as some leaves from the Inkadinkado stamp set mentioned previously.  I stamped them on regular card stock with Staz On Saddle Brown and then used my Tim Holtz Water Brush and colored the leaves with his Distress Inks in Mustard Seed, Firebrick Red, Spiced Marmalade and Peeled Paint. I then edged them all in Vintage Photo and then put Liquitex Gloss Gel over top of them all.  I also stamped the word "gratitude," which is also from the Unity Stamp set, on some craft paper, edged it with Vintage photo and then sprayed some Tsukineko Goosebumps Sparkle Texture Spray over top.

I assemble the leaves and glued them down with my good old glue gun and embellished them with a cute little button, a gem from Studio G, some more of the burnt orange twine and a Mistakables from Studio Calico that I sprayed with Dylusions Squeezed Orange and then edged with Vintage Photo. After that, I put the sentiment on with some pop dots and dredged some cute ribbon I found in the bargain bin with Spiced Marmalade, Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain and tied it to the top!  I finished by edging the whole thing with Walnut Stain.

Expressing gratitude is something I try to make a part of my daily living!  As a Christian, it is something that is a part of my daily honoring and worshipping of my Savior, Jesus and my Father in Heaven!  In His Word, God reminds us "Through Jesus, therefore, let us CONTINUALLY, offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that openly profess His name!" (Hebrews 13:15)  If you are about your Father in Heaven's business, the fruit of your lips WILL BE continual sacrifices of praise for ALL He did for YOU on the cross and continues to do through His shed blood that covered ALL things!!  Glory!  It doesn't get any better than that!  Even so, it's not because of who I am or anything I have done, but what Jesus did and WHO HE IS!! He deserves ALL the glory, ALL the honor, and ALL the Praise!! 

Today, if you are downtrodden, open up your mouth and offer up sacrifices of praise, worship and thankfulness to the Lord and I GUARANTEE you, you will be blessed for it!  Praise always casts down the enemy, he can't stand in the face of praise to Jesus!

Be blessed today as you let willing praises of gratitude come forth!