Joy to the World!

My dear daughter got me really challenged during the past week.  

But let me first give some background.

On the 10th of December Heidi-Mari’s crafting blog will be one year old!  She gave thought to a special celebration for weeks! So she came up with a Card Challenge which will run over two months.  Anyone around the world can take part in this challenge.  

I know many of my readers and their girls, here in South Africa, but also in other parts of the world are so creative and talented. I would like to explain how you can take part in this challenge, although you may never have taken part in such a challenge ever before.

Heidi-Mari would like to see Christmas Cards, especially for Senior Citizens. 

You don’t need to have a Christmas stamp, you can draw a Christmas picture or cut out a Christmas picture from a previous Christmas card - be creative!  If you would like to try something new and colour a stamp (like the one I’ve used) you are welcome to e-mail me and I can send you a few Christmas stamps to choose from and use it on your card.

You make the Christmas Card (use as many different papers, lace, ribbon, flowers, charms etc. as you like) and then take a picture of the card. If you have a blog, you write about the card (as I am doing now), put it on your blog and upload a link to your blogposting on Heidi-Mari’s blog.  You need to go to Heidi-Mari’s blog to do the uploading, but it is so easy and you don’t need to register for anything.  Only your name, blog posting address and an e-mail address (which are not publicly displayed) is necessary.

Don’t dismay if you don’t have a blog!  You can send the picture of your card by e-mail and Heidi-Mari will upload your card on her blog.

Now, after you’ve taken a picture of your card, you write a message of blessing inside the card and snail mail the card to Heidi-Mari!  Heidi-Mari with the help of her siblings, plans to take all the cards entered in her challenge, to an Old Age Home a week before Christmas and they will bless the senior citizens with Christmas Cards!   I think this will mean a lot to the sometimes lonely seniors

On the 10th of December, Heidi-Mari’s dad - Christo, her Brother - CJ and me will have the privilege to choose the three top cards and then a winner!  The winner will receive some beautiful candy, which anyone would love to have, even if they don’t make cards, but just scrapbook or like to be creative.

The Candy includes:

25 various hat pins (5 crystal; 10 daisy pearl; 5 stars; 5 pearl drops)

1 packet of pins

1 packet Prima Ribbons

2 packets dotted ribbons

1 packet mixed charms

1 x Me & my Big ideas embellishments

1 x En Marc Ribbon sliders

1 x Ribbon sliders

1 packet 8mm flat backed Pearls

1 packet 4mm flat backed Pearls

1 box multi colored dew drops

3 packets paper flowers (pink, red, blue)

1 Whiff of Joy stamp with foam mounting

Heidi-Mari will send this prize to any place in the world - so don’t hesitate to take part!

Now back to my card!

In previous cards I made, Heidi-Mari coloured the stamps, for me.  But she invited me to be a “Guest Designer” on her blog!  Wow, what a privilege!  So she couldn’t colour my stamp, I had to do it myself.  Heidi-Mari got a beautiful set of Christmas stamps from Whiff of Joy, a month ago.I  merge three different images and used them as one stamp!  Typically me, I need to do it different.

It is Whiff of Joy stamps with images of Mary, baby Jesus and a donkey. They are so beautiful and fit perfectly with my idea of Christmas - All about Jesus!

Then I started to colour them.  Oh my!  I coloured three images before I realized I just had to start the real one, or I would still be busy colouring a ‘test stamp’ and never get to the real stamp!

For the layout of the card, I got some inspiration from Friday Sketchers.

The one pattern paper has Bethlehem stars printed on it and I alternated the rectangle blocks with stripped patterns.

Then I added some ribbon and lace and did some finishing touches with flowers and pearls.  The sentiment, is “Joy to the World” - one of the reasons Jesus came, was to bring us joy!   Not the joy the world is looking for, but inner joy, even in times of trouble and disappointment.

May you all experience the Joy of Jesus - the Jesus who is not a baby anymore; who is not walking the earth anymore; who is not hanging on the cross anymore; but the Jesus that is the Risen King of the Universe, busy preparing a place in heaven for each one who calls upon him to be their King and Saviour! 

You can hop over to Heidi-Mari’s blog and get some inspiration from her card and the other creative cards made specially for her, by some very special Card-Making-Friends from around the world!

And TAKE PART IN HER CHALLENGE!

I also want to enter this card in the following challenges:  

Jesus is the Reason for the Season at Winter Wonderland Challenge;

Inspiration from Song Title at Allsorts Challenge and of cause the name of my song is "Joy to the World!"

and

"X" for Xmas at Alphabet Challenge Blog.

Thank you Heidi-Mari for inviting me to make a sample card.

With Love

Linnie