Saturday, December 9, 2017

Busy-Ness


As we tick off the list the things we need/want to do during December, we begin feeling overwhelmed. I am trying to take more joy in each thing I do, rather than a "must-do". That list seems to get longer  -- teaching classes, making gifts, decorating,  baking, then getting Christmas cards designed and printed. I try to remember each is a gift to someone else who will hopefully bring a smile and some Christmas-cheer to the recipients.

The "busy-ness" of this time of year includes events to attend. Wow! There can be so many sometimes! This year I am eagerly looking forward to each one because it's a chance to spend some time with special friends, and meeting new people. 

We are enjoying old traditions and making new ones, including plans to attend a Christmas Caroling event in our town this month. Main Street will be closed late on a Sunday afternoon.  Our Rochester Main Street, here in Michigan, is already aglow with each storefront covered (literally) in Christmas lights. Each one looks like a colorful gift box!

The plans for the evening include entertainment, reindeer, chestnuts roasting, and lots more activities, including songbooks for everyone and caroling! Are you making new traditions this year?
Wishing you the happiest of Decembers!

Merry Christmas and Blessings in the New Year!
........Candice

The photos depict classes I've taught and/or gifts I've made the past few weeks.





Sunday, November 19, 2017

Visual Faith Community - Metro Detroit Meet-Up


Ten of us met this week to complete our devotion time on the book "Waiting" by Sharla Fritz. Member Marie Schwartz demonstrated some ideas for painting rocks to keep or share. Painting rocks is a revitalized craft creating much interest. She showed how to insert a pin into a pencil eraser to make teeny-tiny paint dots, how to use the end of paint brush for a similar effect. Marie brought photos of rocks she had completed for her daughter's church and we followed her designs.
Another design she taught us was to put drops of fingernail polishes on the top of water in a container wide enough to dip a rock into. 

When you dip the rock, the polish adheres to the rock creating an interesting design. The water container no longer has polish in it...or at least not much.

The tree of life was the most popular so everyone completed that design first. Some of the rocks will be kept my the maker and some will be shared by leaving them in a place where some lucky person can find them. This is a trend where "finders" either keep the rock or replace it with another.


Thank you to Marie for sharing her techniques and for all who participated. I may take mine to North Carolina where I'll be spending Thanksgiving.

May you have a blessed Thanksgiving with safe travels, and fun times as you make new memories!

If you are interested in joining us in January (we meet once a month), please let me know.










Tuesday, November 14, 2017

OPC a Great Place to be 50+!


Nine participated in my class today at Rochester's OPC. We folded, painted, glued, glittered and chatted the afternoon away. Sure was a pleasant way to spend a Fall afternoon in this beautiful building. You would not believe ALL the activities this center hosts! There motto is "OPC, a Great Place to be 50+!"

Today each person received a book and diecuts and other embellishments to adorn their book's sky and snow. I encouraged each of them to go home and make another right away as a gift. 

I will be back there in January with a couple of classes. If you are a Rochester/Rochester Hills resident, be sure to sign up when classes are announced!

Blessings.....
Candice







Wednesday, November 8, 2017

In Loving Memory of Our Beloved Nephew

Thirty nine is much too young to leave this world, and my handsome sweet nephew/godson passed away this week.

He was born 9 days before my husband and I married and we were so eager for him to get here!

Scott Thomas Schwark will be missed so much by his family and friends, and as we celebrate his life over the next couple of days, we ask that you lift the Schwark family up in prayer.

I just can't believe he is not here with us anymore, but his everlasting life has begun!




  1. Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
    Calling for you and for me;
    See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching,
    Watching for you and for me.
    • Refrain:
      Come home, come home,
      You who are weary, come home;
      Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
      Calling, O sinner, come home!

    "Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,
    Pleading for you and for me?
    Why should we linger and heed not His mercies,
    Mercies for you and for me.

    a portion from Softly and Tenderly
    Will L. Thompsonpub.1880


Hug your loved ones.

Blessings.....
Candice





Thursday, November 2, 2017

Rochester Hills Holiday Home Tour & Boutique


Be sure to stop by to visit me and other vendors at the Boutique in the library's auditorium before or after your visit to the beautifully holiday-decorated Rochester area homes. This is a popular event benefitting the beautiful Rochester Hills Public Library.

Tickets for the tours are available at the Friends' Shop inside the library,  Lytle Pharmacy, Sharon's Hallmark - two locations, Dillman and Upton, and Hepplewhite's Furniture. Choose Friends' Special events to make online payment via PayPal or credit card at www.rhpl.org/friends-of-rhpl/ .

See you,  Saturday, November 11!!

Blessings......
Candice

Saturday, October 21, 2017

Visual Faith - Metro Detroit October meeting



It was a beautiful weather day in Michigan, and we had another enjoyable afternoon with our Visual Faith group.

Six of us met, including Karen, our long distance member from Texas. She joins us via life feed through Messenger on FaceBook. (see the photo with the computer screen). What a delight to have her join us. She is able to participate in the discussions, as well as observe and complete the projects!

We are studying "Waiting" by Sharla Fritz. Today we reviewed the chapters on Esther, Anna and Veronica, and discussed our times of waiting. We admire all the women we are studying but each of us has a favorite - today Anna received the most "likes." She exemplified waiting with purpose, devoting her life to prayer and worship. She immediately recognized baby Jesus! What joy she must have felt in that moment after her years of devotion, anticipating his arrival!

Our project today included some acrylic paints and 90 lb paper to make little journals to keep or giveaway. Some might use them as gratitude book or for those times when we are waiting....a place to add prayers and thanks to our Father.

We also discussed our plans for studies beginning in January. We will be creating a journal page (or two) at each meeting - basically altering and old book in the process.

We welcome new participants - we meet again on Saturday, November 18 from 1 - 4 pm....contact me for the location.

Blessings....

Candice
Our long distance friend Karen is "live" from Texas on the computer screen!




sample idea for booklets we made today














Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Create an Envelope Wrap

Envelope Wraps - first 2 are 4" from #10 envelope - used table napkins and stamps. The second is a 2" Wrap using stencils, acrylic paints and a stamp.
At the 2017 Michigan Visual Faith Retreat I demonstrated a project that I designed for those who do not like to write, or do any art, in their Bibles. Visual Faith is not just about Bible Journaling but it can be such an important part that sends us off in other directions, such as Visual prayer, Mixed Media paintings, greeting cards. There are so many visual ways of helping us remember the Word, as well as sharing it. 

I will try to get a how-to video done in the next few days showing this project, but decided to do some quick photos and a descriptive how-to in the meantime. Be sure to check the height of the pages of the Bible you are using so that you use the correct size envelopes. I am showing a #10 envelope here which works well with the NIV Notetaker's Bible and the ESV One-Column Journaling Bible. Have fun with this. Let me know how you've used this idea either here or on the FaceBook site - Visual Faith Community - Metro Detroit.

Seal the #10 envelope - see NOTE below first. You will need to add some glue to each end of the flap.  Please Note that if you are using a brayer or stamps, you might want to slip a piece of cardstock inside the envelope, while working on the non-flap side. This will prevent the seams from making a mark on the front. You COULD use that effect to your advantage, but if not, keep a piece of cardstock handy to use before sealing. 
2 sizes with blank 2" wrap.

Before you do any work on the wrap, decide if you will leave it the size it is (approximately 4"), or will you cut it in half (vertically). See Option 2 below. Whatever you decide, you will need to trim 1/8 - 1/4 inch off of each vertical side so that it slips over a page. I suggest doing that in the beginning. Actually you could make the wraps any width you want up to the 4"!

Option 1 - Embellish the side that will either cover, or be next to, the scripture you are studying/journaling. Once embellished, slip it over the page. You may also do the back side of the envelope wrap at the same time, relating it to scripture on the pages it covers, or the one opposite. Highlight the text the wrap refers to if you like. It's ok to leave the back of the envelope wrap blank for another time.

Other tips....If you want to do very personal notes about particular scripture, you could turn the envelope inside out (carefully), write on the inside of it, then turn it right side before slipping over the page. With some Bibles a portion of the envelope wrap will be seen at the top of the page, like a bookmark....take advantage of that. You could add a theme or the specific scripture - chapter and verse it refers to.

Option 2 - Embellish the background of the envelope wrap, then cut the envelope in half vertically, creating 2 envelope wraps. You can then add journaling, stamps, images, etc.  You could do these in advance with only the backgrounds completed - all ready for embellishments and writings later.

Please remember to share what you do with this idea....

Blessings......

Candice



#10 Envelope
4" Envelope Wrap slipped onto page

Envelope Wraps 4" and 2"
2" Envelope Wrap made with security #10 envelope
2" wrap shown with #10 envelope
















Saturday, September 9, 2017

2017 Michigan Visual Faith™ Retreat hosts 90+

It's been almost a week since the 2017 Michigan Visual Faith™ Retreat ended, and I've taken this week to wrap up some final details so that I can begin to write thank you notes to the many who helped make this event a reality.

Connie Denninger, one of the presenters, did a nice wrap-up on her blog with photos, so be sure to check it out. If you are interested in materials related to Visual Faith™,  sign up for the private FaceBook group: Visual Faith Community - Metro Detroit. You can also send me your FaceBook address and I can add you.

The retreat at St. John Lutheran Church & School, Rochester, MI drew more than 90 participants, vendors and volunteers for an information-packed day. Presenters Connie Denninger and Patricia Maier discussed the history of Bible Journaling and Visual Prayer. Their informational slides were projected on two large screens while they shared current stories about Lingering Longer in the Word, and creating/sharing Prayer cards. Blank samples of Bible margin designs and prayer cards were given to each attendee to work on throughout the day.

Connie and Pat also gave hands-on demonstrations shown on another large screen so that everyone could see the details how-to work on the cards or journal. In the afternoon, I went to the camera to demonstrate art techniques. These included adhering decorative napkins or tissue paper to pages, adding a bit of shine with GildenGlitz™, making decorated page wraps out of envelopes (for those who don't want to work directly in their Bibles, and mica watercolors. So may techniques, so little time.

It was delightful to give away 50 gifts to attendees. One of the highlights was a young attendee - 2nd grader  - she was so excited to win her first Bible....a wide-margin journaling Bible. This young lady, who diligently worked quietly all day, made a lovely prayer card and presented it to Marie Schwartz, our nametag calligrapher. Marie was so touched by this expression of thanks.

Participants were intergenerational group - the young girl attended with her mother, her grandmother and her great grandmother - many others were mother/daughter. Two men registered. Hopefully families will see that Lingering Longer in His Word can become a family devotional time expressed visually with pens and pencils.

I extend grateful thanks to the volunteers, presenters, participants, vendors and staff of St. John Lutheran Church & School, as well as the generous support from Thrivent. What a blessing this day was to me and to others!

Candice

Contact me, so that I have materials prepared for you, if you would like to meet with us for our monthly Visual Faith get together. Next one is Saturday, September 16,  St. John Lutheran School Media Center, Rochester, MI 1 - 4 pm. Email me for details. We will be referring to the book "Waiting" by Sharla Fritz, so if are able to get the book and read the 1st 3 chapters, that would be great....but don't let that hold you back from attending!






Saturday, September 2, 2017

Terrific Supporters of the 2017 Michigan Visual Faith Retreat




The 2017 Michigan Visual Faith Retreat was made even more special by  
these generous people and companies. We extend sincere thanks to each of them! 


All Good Things Collective

Better Made Snack Foods
www.bettermadesnackfoods.com

Dayspring
www.dayspring.com

Diane Draveski

Illustrated Faith
www.illustratedfaith.com

Laureen Crocker

Imagine Crafts
www.imaginecrafts.com

Karla Dornacher
www.karladornacher.typepad.com

Faith Fifield

Nina Macri

Linda McLean

Grace Norton

Olive Vinegar
www.olivevinegar.com/
(248) 923-2310

The Cheese Lady

Lytle Pharmacy

The Paper Hollow
www.thepaperhollow.com
(586) 803-1099

Marie Schwartz

Seven Chickens Family Farm
(586) 615-0306

Dana Swadling - Close to My Heart
www.dana.ctmh.com

The Toffee Store
www.thetoffeestore.com
248-240-6450

Thrivent Financial
Action Teams

Utica Florist
www.uticaflorist.net/
(586) 803-1099 

Friday, August 25, 2017

2017 Michigan Visual Faith Retreat Vendors

There was so much to do at the 2017 Michigan Visual Faith Retreat, St. John Lutheran Church & School, Rochester, MI. Of course, shopping was on that list!! We extend our thanks to these unique vendors for making our day special. It was good that you were able to participate in part of the retreat program as well!

Thank you!
:
Vendors:

Author Karen Dancy 
“Mountain of Hope” 

DoTerra Essential Oils
Shannon Morais

Mary Kay Cosmetics 

Norwex 
Lorraine Thompson

Ruby Ribbon.com 
Stylist Leslie Rolfe
leslierolfe@comcast.net

Sue Stingu Jewelry
suestingu@gmail.com

Thirty-One Gifts 

USArtQuest - Chelsea, MI

Friday, August 11, 2017

Final Countdown for Michigan Visual Faith Retreat

Registration is still open for the 2017 Michigan Visual Faith Retreat.........time to send in your form or, better yet,  register at www.stjohnrochester.org


Click on the image here to go directly to the site. 


Soon after registration you will receive a welcome email with details about the event and tools you might bring to use during your working time.

Can't wait to meet you. Let me know if you have questions.


Blessings!
Candice



Monday, June 19, 2017

June's Visual Faith Fellowship


Five of us from 4 different churches met for our monthly Visual Faith fellowship. I am delighted to have this time with this group. They are so encouraging to me and to each other. Marie showed some calligraphy tips and some shared work we've completed in our Bibles.

It was fun to unveil the banner (shown above) for the August Visual Faith Retreat. Diane, in our group noted right away that I must have these colors in my mind because I recently ordered a tote with the same color scheme! (See above) That was NOT planned but I do like them!

For our devotion this time we discussed the mystery of The Holy Trinity, which Pastor Steve Grafe (St. John Lutheran Church & School, Rochester, MI) discussed in the message the previous week. We discussed how often the phrase  Father, Son and Holy Spirit is included in scripture. Pastor reminded us that the Trinity is a human word, not mentioned as a description of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.  To linger longer on this and in our Bible study, we experimented with a stencil I made for them to mark passages for future quick reference. Some from the NIV are: 

Corinthians 13:14

14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Luke 1:35

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
Matthew 28:19
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Each of us also played with the table napkin technique, applying them to the margins of our Bible, or by practicing in notebooks first. We used PPA (Perfect Paper Adhesive) made by USArtQuest in Chelsea, Michigan. 

This is one of my favorite products. (full disclosure - I am now an Affiliate of USArtQuest). This adhesive is more liquid than a gesso or some matte mediums but it is not sticky on my fingers OR on the paper.  I prefer the Matte version for this journaling.

It's a great adhesive and topcoat! In addition to using it for collage work and adhering the dinner napkins to Bible pages, I use it as a base in the margins so that I can add watercolor or markers over it and not get bleed-through to the back of the page! With thin Bible pages, this is important, although there are other solutions if the PPA isn't put down first. (Covering the reverse side of the margin with Washi Tape, strips of paper, paint, etc.)

If you'd like to join us at a future get together, please email me to be added to the list. You can also join the Visual Faith Community - Metro Detroit on FaceBook.

Blessings....
Candice





Saturday, May 20, 2017

May 20 Visual Faith Community - Metro Detroit

Wonderful fellowship today with the Visual Faith Community - Metro Detroit. We had a small group and LOTS of things accomplished. Mark your calendar for June 17th so that you can join us. The group also viewed the site for the August 19th #Michigan Visual Faith Retreat. Registrations are coming in!

Today's devotion was led by Marie Schwartz and based on a reading from Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman. We looked at the women at the tomb (Mark 15:47 and their grief which reminds that we also forget the promises of God when we go through sorrowful times. Aren't those the times that it's so difficult to trust and yet, He tells not to worry about anything. We had a nice discussion during this time and appreciate Marie's contributions to our day. There are additional posts about today at our Facebook site.
We worked on a lot of things today. I demonstrated a technique with foils, a couple of tissue/napkin processes using PPA from USArtQuest, and some of my favorite products. We also worked on a design of a cross based on the iris folding idea, using colored pencils and foil instead. 
The last project we completed was based on the beautiful words in the devotion reading about Heart Flowers. "...our sorrows are made bright by the joys that God has planted around them - they are heart flowers, love, hope, faith, joy, peace--these are flowers which are planted around about every grave that is sunk in a Christian heart."
Questions? Feel free to email me. Join us next month, and don't forget to sign up as soon as possible for the #Michigan Visual Faith Retreat, Saturday, August 19, 2017.
Blessings .....
Candice

Next meeting - Saturday, June 17, 2017; 1:00 - 4:00 PM - email me for location and details - cbs@studio-mosaic.com
#MichiganVisualFaith,
#BibleJournaling,
#lingerlongerwithgod, 

#lingerlongerstjohnrochester,






Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Michigan Visual Faith Retreat August 19th




Save the date: Saturday, August 19, 2017 


You are invited to the

 Michigan 

Visual Faith Retreat 

sponsored by
St. John Lutheran Church, Rochester, MI

Don’t miss this chance to spend the day with your online Michigan Bible Journaling friends and make new friends.



An information-packed day is planned - two special presenters, lots of technique demonstrations, plus some surprises. 


ONLINE REGISTRATION begins  June 1, 2017!!For adults and youth (10-17)#MichiganVisualFaithRetreat

Email cbs@studio-mosaic.com to receive a mail-in registration form by return email. 
You will also then be added to the email list.
You may download the form here 


 Interested in volunteering?  Let me know that as well!

Gettin' excited for August!
#VisualFaith, #Livegenerously,#LingerLongerInHisWord,#MichiganVisualFaith


Blessings!
Candice








Monday, March 20, 2017

Visual Faith Event - Troy, Michigan



What a blessing it was to join about 100 women and young people at Faith Lutheran Church, Troy, MI for a Visual Faith event.

Michigan's Pat Maier's presentation covered how we can linger longer in the Word with Bible Journaling and colorful prayer techniques. She explained the background of Bible Journaling and the current processes people are using as they study the Bible.

In addition to delicious breakfast goodies, we had the opportunity to browse materials available from various sources to enhance the journaling experience - colored pencils, books, stamps, inks, etc. The beautiful new book Bible Journaling by Joanne Fink and Regina Yoder was also available. I consider this new book a must, especially for newcomers to the world of Bible Journaling.

The materials each person received allowed hands-on work to be added to a Bible page with washi tape, used as a bookmark or traced onto a Bible page. Pat shared lots of resources for us to use in our work -  clip art, lettering styles, websites, printables. They even had a laminator and ribbon to put the finishing touch to our bookmarks.

At gatherings like this, it's such a pleasure to meet others who share the same interests, and are eager to learn and share. Thank you to Autumn and Linda and the volunteers for this special program.

Attending this event was especially helpful to me since I am organizing a Michigan Visual Faith event. If you'd like to be added to the mailing list for this event, please send an email to me with Visual Faith in the subject line. Send to cbs@studio-mosaic.com

Blessings.....

Candice


Pat Maier has a passion for using creative communication to bring about joy and connection. A pastor's wife and former Lutheran educator, she enjoys writing, drawing, and "imagining" to inspire others in their walk with Jesus. She is currently involved in planning and presenting at retreats and women's events in the Michigan District, where her husband serves as District President, and is especially glad to encourage others through Visual Faith teaching. She finds great joy in nature and gardening - but most of all - in her 4 children, 2 sons-in-love, and 2 grandchildren (so far!)

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Visual Faith Tissue Technique

VISUAL FAITH technique for your Bible or notebook......take one layer of a decorative napkin and trim it to the width of the space for journaling.

Using PPA (Perfect Paper Adhesive) from USArtQuest.com, I adhere it to the page, place deli paper on top of it, close the book to let it dry and prevent wrinkling. The deli paper prevents any moisture transferring to the opposite page. A thin coat of PPA is all you need.

When it is dry, use stamps, permanent ink, or rub-ons for your journaling. This is a great way to cover the back of a page that has bleed-through from previous journaling. You can do several pages at the same time so they are all ready when you are!

Additional tip: Place a small piece of tape on a corner of each side of the tissue to pull the layers apart.

I'd enjoy seeing some of your completed pages!

Blessings....

Candice

Friday, February 10, 2017

Journal fun








Using USArtQuest Perfect Pigments one day and then many, many days later finding this image within the marks!

So much fun!


Saturday, January 14, 2017

Leaves Reborn


Oh what fun I'm having with the leaves I receive from far and wide. My granddaughter collects them in North Carolina. My neighbor friend's husband brought some back from Florida to add to my 
freezer supply. My husband does his best to dodge the freezer-stored precious leaves waiting there for me! He's trying to get used to the leaves. Usually they are being steamed for EcoPrints.

I have been EcoPrinting with all sorts of leaves and twigs, always fun....each "reveal" a new surprise. Fifteen of my latest EcoPrints are individually mounted, and now residing in a new home ready to become a wall display. I'm eager to see the final installation, but the layout is the vision and prerogative of their new owners. I have more leaves.......

So, now my current leaves-in-waiting have taken new life. They now have marks of paint, markers, and Pan Pastel®, then encased in beeswax and polished to brilliance. I've painted magnolia leaves before but the process of adding the pleasant-smelling beeswax is such a nice addition. Layering the wax and mark-making is a nice sensory experience.

Ok....so now what do I do with them? I have ideas - always! Those that are completed are part of an artificial arrangement in a wicker plant stand that has needed some perkiness for quite awhile. I may also tie them into a garland. For a while some of them lived in a bowl of antique wooden kitchen tools in my house. They will move around probably, and it will be interesting to see how long they last. Some may get some lettering on them...others some more detailed marks.

Someone else has probably done this with leaves long before me, but isn't it fun to explore on your own, not knowing if it's been done before? Thanks to Shari Replogle for unknowingly reminding me about Pan Pastel® and to Faith Evans-Sills in Lifebook 2016 for reminding this northern gal about Magnolia leaves.

Let the leaves be reborn! 

Blessings.....
Candice