Vision!

Good Tuesday all my crafty friends! We have been experiencing lovely weather here in Georgia. Almost fall like.....almost! LOL That means out of the 90's and triple digits! LOL We have had out windows open and it has just been glorious! Nothing smells better to me than a home filled with breezes of outside air! Last weekend was my "clean the house" weekend, so for once, I thoroughly enjoyed puttering about cleaning as those yummy breezes came in!

As I have been really pushing fall in my mind, I wanted to do a "fall" tag. I had gotten my August Unity Stamp set in and wanted to use them in a project! The tag that I used was a large 4x8 tag that was a RAK from my good friend Wanda Hentges. That sweet lady send me a stack of those guys and let me tell you what, I have been loving using them!! I also used some discontinued PaperArtsy Fresco paint that was also a RAK from Wanda on the background. In addition to those paints I used tome Daler Rowney cream and some Americana Spiced Pumpkin. I simply took a makeup sponge and started with my light colors and worked my way out with the darker colors for a mixed "fallish" feel background. I finished by distressing the edges with Distress Ink in Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain.

I pulled one of my old fave stamp sets from Dyan Reaveley, The Around the Edge set, and sponged on the various paints and stamped lightly in the background. After doing so, then I painted in a few here or there with the darker colors. I then took that leaf stamps from that August Unity set and stamped with Archival black here and there as if cascading down.

I keep an old bucket full of extra pieces that are left over from other projects, so I pulled out my can to see if I could use anything from it. I actually had some leaves left over from a project that I think I did last year (nothing like hoarding! LOL) and then also pulled some metal leaves that I got from Sheri Whitfield's Etsy Shop. I love those metal leaves and actually am going to have to get some more because I am just about out! My good friend Wanda also had sent me this HUGE bag of what I call "what nots" that I was fortunate to get from her past projects! In that bag was that great banner and the die cut word vision! I love that whole bag of goodies. Every time I look in it, I find something else wonderful! She had also stashed the beautiful sentiment that she had stamped on some card stock that I ripped and distressed with Distress ink in Antique Linen and Spiced Marmalade. Thanks Wanda! :)

I took the banner and covered with drywall tape and then sponged on the same paint colors that I had used on the tag and then distressed the same as well. I then mixed the Americana Spiced Pumpkin with some Liquitex Modeling paste and put through a leaf die cut remnant that Wanda had in the bag. It worked great! I then popped out the "vision" die cut letters and covered with a brown ink from ColorBox and then heat embossed with Ranger clear embossing powder. I wanted a touch more of something on those letters (like a rust look) so I took another lighter metallic brown and heat embossed again on them to give the effect. It looked great! I adhered to the banner with Aleene's and then I smeared around some more glue and sprinkled Metallic Mica Beads and Mica Flakes for another cool effect! I then adhered the whole lot including some twine and some bling with Aleene's and voila!!

I chose that word "vision" because fall to me represents change and where there is change, you have to have vision! Vision for a hope, vision for the future and discernment filled with vision to walk in God's plan for your life! When we as Christians begin to try to understand how to walk in God's vision for our life, we have to be very sensitive to wait and listen for His voice. How do we do that? It starts by surrendering ourselves unto Him. If you don't humble yourself before Him, you can't begin to think that you would hear His voice because the only voice you would hear is your own! It's not about you, it's about Him and His glory!

To know His vision for our lives we have to be able to offer up and confess our sins and then be obedient to God's will for us to actively seek Him through prayer and His word. His word is a roadmap, it's a light and lamp to our feet, it's a guidebook and His last will and testiment to us!! You want to walk with vision, get in His word! Commune with the Almighty and allow Him to speak with you and show you His ways! His will is for you to know Him and then walk in that wisdom and truth that another may be drawn unto Him!!! With vision is change and change is growth! Just like the autumn leaves that change and fall, spring brings on new growth and new vision! I want to see more clearly through His eyes, how about you?

I pray you seek His vision for your life today, you will not be disappointed!

Blessings