let earth receive her king!

It has been a very busy pre-holiday season for me! I've been crafting like crazy getting ready for a craft fair, and I've been coming up with projects for three (three!!!) Stamp Camps! I have my traditional Christmas Stamp Camp, complete with Christmas music, Christmas cookies, the Cocomotion full of frothy hot chocolate, and ten Christmas projects. I've got one for my co-workers featuring nine cards and a sock snowman filled with rice. And I'm doing a special mini camp for some friends in their home. A first for me, so I'm getting excited!

My friend sent me a link to a card that she loved. 

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/2463311

I loved it too! So I set to work figuring out how to pull it off. Imagine my surprise, and frustration, when I discovered that there was no "recipe" online for the punch art. Gasp!!! Unbelievable that no one has taken the time to write it up. Punch art is not my forte, so for a few days, I just let the idea of doing this card die. But I really do love it. And I didn't want to disappoint my friend. So I dug in for a day (literally) of playing with my punches. Here is the result!

I'm so very proud of myself for figuring out how to make this card happen! It's something that I could never do for my traditional Stamp Camp because of the enormous time involved in cutting the card kit. But for a smaller, in home session, it's perfect! I can't wait to gather with my friend's group of ladies to put this together. 

My sample is sitting on my mantle right now. Every time I walk by it I smile inside. Not only am I psyched that "I made that!", but it's a great reminder for me of why our family celebrates Christmas. It's not about the buying of gifts, the making of cards, the baking of cookies, or the hustle and bustle. It's all about the humongous love that God has for us. About his willingness to send his one and only son to the earth to live among us, Emmanuel, God with us. Jesus came to us as a baby, and would die for us as a sacrifice for our sin. I'm so incredibly thankful. Joy to the world, indeed!

Happy stamping!