Greetings from Iowa! My name is Marla Owens who is married to the best man on earth. He is a wonderful gift from God to me. We have four adult children. Three are here in Iowa and one is in Ohio. We are so thankful for our children whom we love so very much. I am a born again believer in Christ Jesus. I sing with the praise team at Immanuel Baptist Church. When I'm not singing with the praise team, I'm singing in the choir. I used to be in a Southern Gospel quartet years ago as a teenager in the Southern Illinois area. I not only love to make cards but love to sing too. My husband and I work with Awanas each Wednesday night at our church. We enjoy working with the kids to help them memorize their Bible verses. We love the Bible. It is God's instruction book for us. It is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. I praise the Lord and strive to serve Him in everything that I do. It is my goal to bless people as Christ has blessed me so graciously.
I got into crafting when I was growing up. My parents had me in 4-H and Girlscouts. I was in 4-H longer than Girlscouts. I made my children clothes when we lived in Indiana. When we moved to Iowa I gave up sewing and got started in Creative Memories. I have put together over 20 scrapbooks. Along with scrapbooking cardmaking held my interest. I started making cards in 1994. They were simple cards since there weren't many products to work with. My craft room used to be in the basement. In 2003 my crafting came to a hault. I had two major surgeries that year. It was also just too cold to craft in the basement. Our youngest son moved out of the house about three years ago. It was then that my husband suggested that we turn his room in to my craft room. He hated seeing all my supplies in the basement not being used. We moved all of my stuff up to Zach's room which was now my craftroom. John painted the room for me, put up a new curtain rod and new curtains and got me book cases from Target. He put them together for me. He also got me a new light fixture and installed it. Did I mention I have the best husband ever? Well I do! He has blessed me with dies, stamps, paper, die cutting machines and more. I am so thankful for my craft room. It has been a wonderful blessing to me. Making cards is so enjoyable to me. Our church comes out with a monthly newsletter. They list every birthday for the month in the newsletter. I try to make each person a birthday card. It is a ministry the Lord has given me. You never know who you can cheer up and bless with a card.

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Here is my latest project I made for a friend in my Sunday school class at church.  This 5-1/2 by 7-1/2 inch card and gift box were made using Heartfelt Creations Burst of Spring collection of paper, stamps and dies.  Supplies used were:  Heartfelt Creations Burst of Spring paper collection HCDP1-299, HCD1-7222 Cheery Pansy Die, HCPC-3862 Cheery Pansy stamp set, HCD1-7228 Lacy Diamond Dies, HCD1-729 Decorative Blossom Corner Dies, HCD1-7202 Album Tags and Accents, and HCD-745 Luggage and Tags dies, Stampin’ Up Perfect Plum stamp pad, Tim Holts sponge dauber and sponge, Hug Snug Persian Lilac #994 Seam Binding, small bow maker, chip board from Amazon boxes that I cut down to use as dimensional tape.  Scotch ATG and tape, Art Glitter Dries Clear glue, Stickles Diamond Glitter glue, Tattered Angels Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Mist, Tattered Angels iridescent Gold Glimmer Mist, Go Man Go Prills, Heartfelt Creations HCFB1-473 3D Pansy Shaping Mold, Heartfelt Creations HCFB1-467 3D Leafy Accents Shaping Mold, HCPC-3765 Soar on Eagle’s Wings Heartfelt Creations stamps, HCPC-3814 Words of  Encouragement Stamps by Heartfelt Creations, HCPC-3843 Heartfelt Creations Special Birthday Sentiments Stamps, and Heartfelt Creations Created just for you stamp, Spellbinders Shapeabilities Les Papillions Two
Dies, and HCD1-7213 Elegant Pocket Accents Dies.
















Friday, February 22, 2019

Here is the first 5-1/2 inch by 7-1/2 inch card with a 4-1/4th inch by 5-1/2 inch layer attached at an angle.  This was the first time to use the Heartfelt Creations Buttons and Blooms Collection.  I had been sent a card from Ben from Heartfelt Creations with the same design only on a smaller scale.  His card was 4-1/4 by 5-1/2 inches.  I took that idea and ran with it!  I loved how it turned out!  It was also my first time to make the flowers from this collection.  I discovered I need to buy some new buttons.  Can a crafter really have too many buttons?  I evidently don’t have enough.  The tag on the front has hemp cording.  I made a gift box to match the card using the Buttons and Blooms Collection.  This is my own tried and true gift box.  I came up with the measurements myself.  I’m so thankful for the skills God has given me.  I love making cards for people.  Being a blessing to others is so important to me.  There is nothing like getting a homemade card to brighten your day.  













Here’s another Heartfelt Creations project I made for a friend.  This Buttons and Blooms Collection of paper, stamps, and dies has become one of my favorites from Heartfelt Creations.  I love the colors in this collection.  It reminds me of Spring!  We have had such a harsh winter this year.  It started mid January snowing with some ice and has snowed over 40 inches since then.  It’s been wonderful having time to make so many cards and gift boxes since the first week of January.  I would love to have a class with this collection.  There is lots of work to be done to get ready for this class.  
 This is another 5-1/2 by 7-1/2 inch card with a 4-1/4 inch by 5-1/2 inch card attached to it.  It has a magnetic closure.  The leaves were made using Heartfelt Creations Leafy Accents stamps, dies and mold.  The Heartfelt Frame a Card Leafy Borders dies were used for the lacy accents attached to backside of the 4-1/4 inch by 5-1/2 inch card attached at an angle on the front of the 5-1/2 inch by 7-1/2 inch card.  This has been a fun card to make.  While you can make this same kind of card you can achieve many different looks to it.  Have fun creating something spectacular for your friends!
















Hello Everyone!  Here is a project I made for a friend from our church.  She had asked me to make a special card for her daughter.  This is what I came up with.  I was not pleased with how it turned out though.  But I wasn’t about to start over.  There were a lot of hours spent on this 5-1/2 by 7-1/2 inch card.  I made this from Heartfelt Creations Tulip Time Collection of paper, stamps and dies.  The Lacy corners also come from Heartfelt Creations Album Tags and Accents Dies.  If you don’t have these dies you might consider getting them.  They are fabulous for any project!  I made all the flowers on the project.  Most of what you see comes from Heartfelt Creations except for the large Oval die.  It comes from Spellbinders.  This was made the first week of  February 2019. I also made the gift box that you see with heavy duty card stock, Hug Snug ribbon and Heartfelt Creations leaves and flowers.  
Well here I am trying to catch up on blogging about the cards I have made since January 2019.  This is a card I made for a dear friend at church.  I kept this one a little simpler than some of my cards.  This one is another 5-1/2 inch by 7-1/2 inch card using Heartfelt Creations Patchwork Daisy Collection of paper, stamps and dies.  I made flowers from the Buttons and Blooms 
Collection from HC.  The leaves were made with HC shaping mold, sprayed with Ranger’s copper glimmer mist.  Heartfelt Creations Album Tags and Accents dies were used for the corners of the front/corners of the 5-1/2 by 7-1/2 inch card.  I made a 4-1/4 by 5-1/2 inch card with a magnetic closure to place at an angle on the front of the bigger card.  Bottle cap magnets purchase from Heartfelt Creations were used for the closure.  The sentiments for this card all come from Heartfelt Creations.  Hug Snug pink seam binding was used for the ribbon closure for the bigger card and also for the bow that rests not he front of the card.  I also made a gift box to place this card into.  I took pictures with my IPad of the complete gift set.  However, I failed to take pictures of the gift box with my phone.  It was a stunning box though.