Top 10 of 2010

Wow, this year has gone by fast.  Lots of life changes and lots of things have stayed the same.  I'm going to try and list my 10 favorite cards I've made this year, but to be honest, I'm not sure I've made all that many more than 10.  <blush>  Life has been very busy for me. 

#10

I love fall and the pop of blue made me so proud.  I reached outside my comfort zone to do that.  Please excuse the bad picture but this card was too cute for me to not make my top 10. 

#9

I mass produced these for my DH to give to his staff this year.  Simple, but elegant (I thought) and non-denominational for an office setting. 

#8

Have you ever seen skates so tiny???  Both of my girls started ice skating lessons this year and that was the inspiration for this card.  My Canadian step-father will be in heaven to get it.  :-)

#7

Totally outside my comfort zone again, but I'm trying to expand my horizons.  This was part of my 14 days of Valentine's cards for hubby this year.  I think I'll do it again next year; he really enjoyed them and still has them all in his card to pull out and look at again and again. 

#6a

Who doesn't love spring?  Particularly after the winter we had last year.  Snow measured in feet rather than inches is rare for around here.  The colors just make me happy. 

#6b

I love purple and so does my mom.  I'm trying to accept that I'm a rather simple stamper and I think this is one of my better examples of how simple is enough. 

#5

This was for a card swap.  I hardly ever use light pink, so it was a challenge and I think I did okay, if I do say so myself.  I have such fun with Copics.  I almost feel talented when I use them. 

#4

My 4 yo picked this one out to send to my niece who was having a tough go of it.  Lost her job when she was 5 months pregnant and her DH is a full-time student.  She called and said that it made her cry happy tears.  She delivered a healthy, beautiful 8 pound 8.5 oz baby girl on Dec 27!

#3

 














Again for hubby's Valentine's Day month.  This was the first of the series and a bit girlie, but he loved it anyway.  LOL~

#2

A lot of firsts for me in this card.  My first square card, my first time stamping on ribbon and the first time that I've seen a piece of patterned paper and known exactly what I was going to do with it.  I usually buy pretty paper and there it sits.  This got used right away!

#1

I saw this stamp in a catalog and knew I had to have it.  Holly is one of my favorite holiday symbols and I knew it would be just perfect for my cards this year.  I don't think I did it justice with my coloring skills, but hey, I tried!  I also mixed THREE patterned papers which is a rare day for me.  I usually can't get even one to work out in a way I like. 

Thanks for taking a stroll down memory lane with me.  I'm going to try to keep my blog updated more regularly, but life does have a way of getting away from me. 

Happy New Year everyone!
PS  Evidently I cannot count today, so I have a Top 11 with 6a and 6b.  LOLOL~

Waltzing my way towards Christmas

I cannot believe how fast October went this year.  Poof! and it was gone.  Now it's the race towards Christmas and all the associated madness.  But I took a few hours to myself to attend a crop last night.  I couldn't wait to bust out these adorable poinsettia stamps from Waltzing Mouse.  They are so beautiful and detailed that they can stand alone and don't need much embellishing.  I just stamped them in VersaMark on cream cardstock and embossed in gold.  A few snips with the scissors and they were ready to mount on this tag.  I don't have time to hand make all my tags so this one is for my most special sweetie, my patient, supportive, loving husband.  He's all my Christmas wishes and more come true. 

Gina K ivory cardstock, DSP from DCWV Christmas stack, red ribbon from the Offray Ribbon Outlet, button and twine from PTI, poinsettia stamp from Waltzing Mouse Stamps, sentiment stamp from Inkadinkado, Garden Green cardstock, white craft ink, and circle punch from Stampin UP!, Stampendous gold detailed embossing powder, and red glitter glue from Viva Decor. 

Thanks for looking and let the mad shopping dash begin!  (I ordered my first two Christmas gifts on Thursday!!!)

People that have touched my life

This blog hop is all about those who have inspired you.  Well, this card is what I call a two-fer.  It's really about two very special people in my life.  First is my friend Ellie.  I've had the honor to get to know Ellie as a friend the past few months.  I can't believe how blessed I've been to have her in my life.  She has shared her faith, her life, and her talent.  The inspiration for this layout came from a sketches website that she shared with me when my mojo was missing.  I've never used a sketch site before because I felt like it was somehow "cheating."  But it's not; it's inspiring.  My mojo is not back yet as this card was 3 days in the making.  But it's peeking out here and there.  Due to Ellie, I'm sure it'll be back in no time.  THANKS HON!!!!

The second person is my husband.  This is obviously an anniversary card.  Tomorrow I celebrate being married to my best friend.  It's also a double anniversary as we got engaged and married on the same date, just in different years.  A two-fer.  ;-) 

My husband is also an inspiration to me.  He has so many good qualities that I try to emulate.  He has made me want to be a better person than I am for both him and for me.  The verse from Corinthians is just perfect for us.  I can't imagine my life without him. 

Well, enough of my sap for today.  Scarlet Jewel, Enchanted Evening, and Vintage Cream cardstocks from PTI.  Orange textured cardstock from Club Scrap.  Wood "paper" from Michaels.  Enchanted Evening, Summer Sunrise, Berry Sorbet, and Orangiere Inks from PTI.  Stamps on front of card from SU, Corinthians verse from Our Daily Bread.  Other inside Sentiment from GinaK.  Twine and button from PTI.  Punch from SU. 

Thanks for looking!

The Password to Larkspur Lane

As a child I DEVOURED the Nancy Drew mystery stories.  She was so glamorous with her pumps (had no idea what those were at the time, but they sure sounded chic) and convertable and handsome Ned.  Her adventures were quite a mental escape for a small-town girl like me.  The Password to Larkspur Lane sounded so pretty.  I didn't know what larkspurs were back then. 

So when PTI released the July flower of the month as larkspurs, I thought "Aha!  I finally know what those flowers look like!"  Yes, I lead a pretty boring life as this was a momentous occasion.  LOL~

I think this still needs something, but since I was not sure what, I just left it.  Sometimes less is more, KWIM?  At least it is in my world.  PTI cardstock, stamps and twill tape.  Gina K light purple and white cardstock.  Oval nesties and Copic markers. 

Until next time......

Generic, ambigious, non-descript

This started out as a sympathy card.  But I always try to make more than one of each design.  So I went with a generic "thinking of you" on this version that could be sympathy, could be encouragement, could be just about anything, LOL~

I'm not very good at using patterned paper but this seemed easy enough.  I used Bazzill peach cardstock, SU River Rock cardstock, random patterned paper and London Fog gray cardstock by Gina K.  The sentiment is a SU punch, the large die cut is one of the Spellbinders Labels. 

It's definitely not my usual "style" but I like it.  Have a super, awesome day!

Back to School

We are going back to school on Sept 7th.  And we've had a rocky start to the year already.  They tried to put my son in a combined first and second grade class with a very inexperienced, subpar teacher.  So I had to push and assert my parental rights to get him put back in the class he was originally assigned to.  His teacher has picked up 4 additional students already, so I think she needs a special thank you on the first day and this is for her. 

Paper bags was a tough challenge for me.  I'm really not even a fan of kraft paper <gasp!>.  I decided to morph my bag into well, a bag, LOL.  But a smaller bag, and one that displays the homemade treats as much as carries them. 

I made tags using the jar set and mounted them on the notebook page.  I embossed the page using the letters background, but you can't see it here.  The jars are full of blueberry and sweet pepper jelly, thus the blue and green.  The "handle" of the sack is just ribbon that I braided in primary school colors.  It's just Offray ribbon from their outlet.  At $1.25 per roll, I could sacrifice as much as I wanted.  The thought of using that much PTI ribbon made me cringe.  :-)

The blueberry jam jar already had a decorative seal and ring, so it didn't need any embellishing.  But the sweet pepper jelly was a bit plain so I added a label to the lid (although after a second look, it appears to be more of an apple than a pepper, LOL Oh well!) and some Havest Gold PTI satin ribbon. 

I hope our teacher likes it and knows how much we appreciate her!  I could never be a teacher.  I don't have nearly enough patience.  ;-)  Happy blog hopping everyone. 

Thinking out of my A2 box

It seems like I always make A2 sized cards.  I think it's because it's simple, doesn't require much thought or waste and I have those size envelopes in spades. 

But I decided to get out of my comfort zone and make a 4.25x4.25 card instead.  I love the Vintage Picnic set and all the different combos of baskets and fillers.  Although I am very lazy and wish there was a die cut for the baskets.  I cut it out and popped it up on dimensisons to give the card some depth.  The white background with the flower filler was cut with Nesties. 

Sometimes it's nice to just drop someone a note to let them know that you are thinking of them.  I think this will work nicely for that. 

PTI cardstock, patterned paper, and stamps.  SU punch.  Nesties Labels 1????  I can never remember all the details, LOL~

Thinking of all my wonderful blog friends....  :-)