2011 Year in Review - Part One

Hello and Happy New Year to you! I hope this first day of 2012 has been great for you! 

I have noticed that a lot of my blogging buddies have been posting their favorite cards from 2011, so I decided to jump on board and head down memory lane with my favorite creations from the past year. I am sharing January through June 2011 today and will be back with the rest of the year tomorrow. Click the month and title of each card to view the original post. 

January - Thanks for Caring Joy-Fold Card

I really enjoy making Joy-Fold cards and seem to create them a lot. It is one of the few "fancy-folds" that I can create with confidence. Lol! I loved making this card for a blog hop with the lovely ladies at the Paper Players. 

 February - Sew Suite and Shabby Chic?

This card was my first real attempt at "shabby-chic". This one took a while...layered flowers, fussy cutting and deciding on the layout. It has officially been entered into the "took over 3- 1/2 hours to create" club. Ugh! 

 March - Springtime Shadow Box

I have to be honest...making a Shadow Box card scared me and this was the first time I attempted a "sponged sky". I still love this stamp set, even if it is retired. I used it a LOT! 

April - Sail Away

This card came about totally by accident. The color combo was laying in a pile of scraps to be filed away and I thought it would be cool for a nautical-themed card.  

 May - Kimono Kids Friendship Card

One of my favorite stamp sets for one of my favorite friends. I used a Mojo Monday sketch for inspiration and just seeing this card again makes me smile. Sometimes the occasion for the card seals the deal for the "favorites" list. *grin* :) 

 June - Butterfly Thanks

Embossed and blinged-out butterflies with a bright and happy color combo...I can't even tell you how many of this particular card I made. This DSP is still well-loved (I'm into my 4th pack of it!) 

I will be back tomorrow with the my favorites from July through December. Thank you so much for stopping by today! Wishing you all the best in 2012! This past year was filled with SO many wonderful memories, I can't WAIT to see what this new year brings.

Big Hugs,

Thanks for Caring...The Lost Post

Hi there and Happy Friday to you! I am taking a small "creative hiatus" this week, but I wanted to share a quick post of two cards I made LAST week. I thought I had this one scheduled last Friday and there is was, sitting in "draft" status. Grrr...Blogger! 

These cards were made from the same design, just using different color combos. The first one uses the Thanks for Caring stamp set, Vintage Wallpaper DSP, Rose Red Seam Binding and Framed Tulips Embossing Folder (sponged with Very Vanilla ink) from the Occasions Mini Catalog. Tomorrow is the last day to order from that catalog, by the way. :) 

The second card uses a lot of the same items, along with the Paisley Petals DSP, which is going to be in the *brand new* catalog which launches in July. Tomorrow is also the LAST day to take advantage of the promotion to get it BEFORE it launches. If you order $20 in SU! product, you will be able to purchase this paper (for $9.95) before it is available in the new catalog. This paper is gorgeous! At our monthly demo meeting this week, Minnie put together some awesome projects for us and now, I love it even MORE!  Thanks for the awesome inspiration, Minnie! :) 

Of course, I dressed up the "inside's" of both cards with the scraps: 

Thanks for stopping by today and I'm sorry I have been SO absent this week. Lots going on here and I just needed to take a short "break". I hope you all had a great week out there! Until next time....

Have a HAPPY day! :) 

The Paper Players Blog Hop

   

Well, hello there! ;) Welcome to your first stop on the first-ever, Blog Hop at The Paper Players. *Woot Woot!* First of all, I want to say a big "Thank You" to Lesley and the fabulous gals at The Paper Players for inviting me to play along. These gals are truly awesome and I am SO happy to share in the fun. They all have some AMAZING projects to share with you today!!! 

My card to share is using a stamp set from the new Occasions Mini Catalog, Thanks for Caring. I think this set is just beautiful and offers so many options for the cards we all wish we didn't have to make. Whether it is a sympathy card or a card for someone going through a tough time, these are the cards that truly mean so much to the recipients. So often, a kind word from a friend offers so much comfort.  Yet, for some reason these are the cards that are SO challenging to create, well at least they are for me. I just don't want to add "too much" to the design to take away from the sentiment that is being shared. 

For this one, I decided to try something a little different with a Joy-Fold Card. (Click here for a tutorial on Splitcoast) I had a tough time with the colors and while sifting through my patterned paper library, something about the Blueberry Crisp DSP just felt like a good choice. Funny because Pacific Point is one of the colors I tend to shy away from.

One of my new favorite products in the new Occasions Mini are the *Rosettes*. They arrive to you in a Very Vanilla color but you can actually change them up to whatever your little heart desires. I had a little less then 1/4 of a bottle left of Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz, so I decided to add a few drops of Pacific Point classic, re-inker to the bottle and *voila* I was able to instantly create some, sparkly flowers that perfectly coordinated with my project. (Ps: if you would like to place an order anytime 24/7, please CLICK HERE)

Thanks for stopping by! Ok, I have a few tidbits to share with you now. From here you mooooove on along to the super, fan-tab-u-lous, Ann Schach's blog (I'm kind of giddy that I'm her opening act, actually!!). 

**BLOG CANDY ALERT!!!**

BUT WAIT, before you run along to Ann's blog...how about a little BLOG CANDY to sweeten your day?? I am offering up to one *randomly-chosen* hopper, the following:

Yup, it's THE card I shared today and a brand spankin' new package of SU! Pearls. (The perfect accent for ANY occasion!) Also included in this prize package will be a one, two, ok, maybe a FEW sweet treats that may, or may not, be of a "chocolate nature". After all, what fun is blog candy without some REAL candy?? How do you win it, you ask? Well here is what you have to do (by 11:59pm PST on Friday 2/4/11) to be entered:

*1* Leave me a comment on this post. Easy-peasy, right? Share some bloggin' love! 


*2* Another entry if you play along with the "Anything Goes" Challenge over at The Paper Players site this week. Seriously, how easy is THAT? Just make something to share! YOU can DO that!! 


*Also, if you would like to become a new follower of my blog, you would really make my day...but it is not required to win. :)

Winners will be announced Sunday, February 6th, on The Paper Players blog (my winner will also be given a special "shout-out" here, on my blog). Will YOU be a winner? Stay tuned! 


Thanks for stopping by and Happy Hopping on to Ann's blog! 

**SU! Supply List: 
Stamps: Thanks for Caring
Ink: Not Quite Navy classic ink
Paper: Blueberry Crisp DSP, Pacific Point, Sahara Sand and Very Vanilla card stock
Accessories: Scallop Trim Boarder punch, 1" Circle punch, 1 1/4" Circle punch, 1 3/8" Circle punch, Color Spritzer Tool, Sponges, Crumb Cake marker, Roettes sprayed with Vanilla SMOOCH Spritz with a few drops of Pacific Point Classic ink, Kraft ribbon (ret.), Watercolor Pen, Dazzling Diamonds and Pearls.