WHAT it’s Friday already? No it feels like Thursday! That public holiday on Monday has thrown my week out but loving the short week I must say. You know Friday means 3 things…. 1. The weekend is almost here 2. Teneale updates her blog…. I know, I know you all want me to do that more then just a Friday…. stop telling me 
and 3. A new Inkspiration challenge is released. So what is the Inkspiration challenge for this week? a colour challenge and I really, really struggled with these colours…. I mean struggled….. they are Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Elegant Eggplant and Whisper White! So not colours I use together, if I had a little Old Olive I would of been fine but O.M.G!
Even tho I struggled with the colours and played around with lots of ideas trying to make these colours work for me, I am kind of happy with the end result. I made this card for someone dear to me who is having a hard time at the moment and I was having a heart to heart with her the other day and I spoke about the Carrot, Egg and Coffee Bean? Most Aussie SU! Demos know what I am talking about {yes we do speak a special language sometimes} but it was part of a presentation that the inspirational Derek Christenson gave at last years Convention. For me and many others it really hit home. Want to hear it? Well….. grab a cup of coffee and get comfy….
Are you a Carrot, an Egg or Coffee Bean?
By Author Unknown
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life, and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it, and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. In the first pot, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what do you see?” “Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied. She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they got soft. She then asked her to take the egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to smell and sip the coffee. The daughter smiled, as she smelled and tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, “What’s the point, mother?”
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity- boiling water-but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water they had changed the water. “Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When trials and adversity knock on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?”
Think of this: Which am I?
Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a passive heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside, am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?
Or, am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you become better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate to another level?
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After all that here is the card I made, I know my friend will love it because it will remind her to be the coffee bean.
Inside…. On the left I have slipped in a coffee bag and on the other side I did a little tea cup stack using “Share a Cup” from the current Mini Catalogue. I have not yet put in the message because….. well I like to share with you guys but maybe not the message.
All Materials are from Stampin’ Up!
Stamps: Sip by Sip, It’s your Day and Share a Cup*
Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Pumpkin Pie and Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant, Pumpkin Pie retired DSP
Other: Chocolate Ribbon, Embossing Folder Polka Dots*, Sizzlits Lots of Tags* and Small Oval Punch
*Sold in Autumn Winter Mini Catalogue
Check out the other DT’s creations and be inspired!
Keesh is away at the moment.
Cindy
Kirsty
Renee
Chantelle
Sarah-Jane
June Guest Superstar Lee Pelosi
