My Favourites from 2012

Hey guys....

Well the end of the  year has come. Every year I like to look back thru my creations and showcase my favourites -- just because....

....there's so many changes and differences in the way I create and think....as I get introduced to new products and new ideas from other bloggers. It's my way of seeing whether or not I "grew" in my craftiness... :p

So anyways....here's a few of my favourite cards from 2012. Hope you enjoy the showcase...and it brings some inspiration your way as well. :)

Pretty interesting... I just realized how very Clean And Simple my cards were this year!!!! Maybe I'll break into using more designer paper next year. I do love my Cuttlebug though.... :)



And last but not least...a project I made this year for the Fiskateer Blog Hop. I love the card boxes people are always making...and finally decided to give it a try myself. It's so simple! And with some pretty designer paper...and the help of a border punch....there's really not a whole lot more you need to add to it! I'm definitely making more of these in the new year! :)

Happy Crafting in the new year! And thanks for being the wonderful followers you are and all the wonderful and sweet comments you leave on my blog. You definitely make it worth the time to keep posting. :) Happy 2013!!!! :)

Merry Christmas

Wishing you all the timeless treasures of Christmas....
the warmth of home,
the love of family,
and the company of good friends.

Merry Christmas and
a happy and blessed New Year!

Blue & Red Christmas

Hi guys. Is it cold enough for you yet??? I love the snow-y weather...makes me want to curl up with a cup of cocoa and a great book! :) Or get some crafting in when the mojo comes round...

Today I have a pretty simple card to show off. This card started off a little on the CAS side....

...when I hit the CAS card making groove, I find it really difficult to make myself use designer papers. Ever since I got my Cuttlebug, it's been a lot of textures...and/or just stamping on cardstock, etc. when I make cards....and my designer paper gets left in the drawers...waiting...and waiting...and waiting...

Every now and then I force myself to think outside the CAS style...

I love the way this card turned out! Blueish designer paper and red -- I know the combination works, but for Christmas? I wasn't too sure, but it actually worked out nicely. It doesn't look "patriotic (American of course), does it?  I sure hope not! :p LOL

Leave me a comment and I'll drop by your blog as well. I hope I have inspired you to think outside your box a little. :) Happy Crafting :)

challenges:

Creative Craft World -- Anything Goes
The Ribbon Carousel -- The Holidays (including ribbon)
Sparkles Christmas Challenge -- Button or Bow

Color Q Challenge:

Word Art Wednesday -- Glory to God/Anything Goes
 Squiggle Fly -- Anything Goes with a Sentiment
Crimbo Crackers -- Sentiment as focus (Christmas or Festive related)
Sarah Hurley Challenges -- Christmas
Lady Bug Crafts Ink -- Anything Goes at Christmas

3 Wisemen

Hi guys. Yes, I'm back again to show off another Christmas card. I've had this stamped image in my stash for two years now, and finally decided it was time to use it! It's about time, eh?

I didn't want to do a whole lot with the background, cause I wanted the stamp to be the focus point.

Just added some punched borders and matted it on my white embossed cardstock. Not too much to this one, but I like it. Let the image do all the work...

Here's the full view:

supplies used:

Cuttlebug Folder: Argyle

Fiskars punch: Lace

Bling from stash
Stamped image from stash (not sure what it's called)

Challenges for this card:

Creative Craft World -- Anything Goes (not 12x12)
Quirky Crafts Challenges -- Last Minute Christmas
Pan Pastel -- Christmas Time

Christmas Angel

Hi guys. My Christmas cards this year are very CAS (clean and simple) type of cards. I make a lot of my cards using the Inkadinkado Christmas clear stamps -- used two different stamping sets. They were such a blast to work with! The stamps themselves have a lot of details...which I blinged up...and that's pretty much all it needed. :)

The "Angel Silhouette" is my favourite stamp from these Inkadinkado stamp sets. Angels played a big part in the Christmas story. From the angel Gabriel who told Mary about how she would conceive the Christ-child, to the wonderful gathering of angels in the sky proclaiming "Glory to God in the highest...and on earth...peace, goodwill towards men..." -- angels and Christmas just go together for me. So when I saw this angel silhouette stamp, I was sooooooo impressed! :) Just the perfect stamp for some Christmas cards...

Here are the two Inkadinkado clear stamp sets I used:

I loved how the card turned out! Simple....but striking -- especially once I added all the bling. :)

I made a few different variations -- just color wise, 'cause I loved the overall look of the card too much to change it. Here's another bunch of Christmas cards finished and ready to sign and send off! :)

 some challenges for these cards:

The Stamp Spot -- Christmas
Simon Says Stamp Challenge: What's your Favourite?
-- Stampin' Up Cardstock, Inkadinkado Clear Stamps
Word Art Wednesday -- Anything Goes 
Sweet Stampin' Challenges -- Christmas Anything Goes
 

Masculine Card using a Butterfly Stamp

Hi guys. I'm taking a bit of a break from Christmas cards today.

I wanted to make a card for one of my uncles -- was thinking of a "Praying for You" or "Thinking of You".

Now I know, those cards are not very difficult cards to make usually....

       until I tried to make it masculine.....

                         and include a butterfly stamp at the same time...

Now THAT proved to be a tough one to make!!!!

I ended up with a pretty Clean and Simple card, which wasn't what I had in mind when I first started...

       .....BUT....

                   I did manage to use a butterfly stamp on the card and still have it look masculine!!!

That's an accomplishment!!! :)

Using some orange/brown cardstock, I embossed the border with one of the "Just My Type" embossing folders. Then I layered the cardstock on white and finally on some black cardstock.  Using the same orange/brown cardstock, I stamped one of the "Fanciful Butteflies" stamps from Sweet Stamps and then cut it out with scissors. Finally I stamped a "Thinking of You" sentiment on the card that I picked up from a Michael's bin. I'm happy with the way it turned out...hopefully it'll brighten my uncle's day. :)

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Leave me a comment if you like what you see -- I love hearing from other people in the blogging world. And I'll drop by your blog as well... :)

Have a great day! :)

some challenges I found to enter my card in:

The Cuttlebug Spot -- Any Season 
I chose "Summer"
ABC Challenge Blog -- Clean it Out!
I used my "Thinking of You" stamp which has been unused for far too long!
The Kraft Journal - Clean and Simple
Frosted Designs -- 2 Stamps to Stamp with...
Pause, Dream, Enjoy Challenges -- Lost Stash
I forgot I had the "Fanciful Butterflies" stamps!

And before you head off...here's a giveaway I ran across. "THE DAILY MARKER" is giving away a "Falling Stars" craft die from Simon Says Stamps. Head on over to their blog and check out the details. 

Like I always say...you can't win it...if you're not in it! So go check it out! And good luck! :)

Season's Greetings

Hi guys! I've loved working with Inkadinkado clear stamps this Christmas time. I've finally figured out how to get a clear and crisp image every time...and now there's no stopping me when I get started with stamping...

but as long as cards are being made, all is good, right? :p

I'm not a big fan of the "Season's Greetings" expression -- I like the good old "Merry Christmas". The Christ-child is a big part of the Christmas season (He is after all the whole purpose behind the season). But I liked the look of this stamp and decided to make one card using it.

I added a punched border  to make things a little bit interesting. Love the bit of extra the border punches add to cards...

Finally I added a border of punched snowflakes to the bottom of the card, 'cause it was looking a little bare. Added some bling to spice it all up...and the card was complete. :)

Thanks for dropping by my blog today. Hope I've inspired you  a little bit. :) Have a blessed day. :)

challenges

Simon Says -- Anything Goes (with Martha Stewart Products)
-- used the Martha Stewart snowflake punch
Party Time Tuesday -- Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday -- God's Goodness/Anything  Goes
Crafty Bloggers Network -- Christmas Anything Goes
FAb 'n' Funky Challenges -- 3 of anything on your project
-- used 3 punched snowflakes
Stamping Sisters in Christ -- Make a Christmas Card
Wags 'n Whiskers Stamps -- Christmas
Sparkles Monthly Challenges -- Christmas is Coming
Delightful Challenges -- Red & Green
Creative Inspirations -- Traditional Christmas Colors

Christmas crop

Hi guy. We had a crop with a few of the girls on Friday evening...to make some Christmas cards. It was fun -- lots of laughs. :)

So today I want to showcase one of the cards I made that evening. I must admit my mojo was a little lost when we first started, but a few hours into it, it finally found me...and I did manage to get a few good Christmas cards made. :p

First off -- I had a blast playing with the spellbinders. They make card making so much easier and faster! Plus, we had lots of great stamps and tons of fun papers to work with!!!! The mojo just HAD to come!!!!

I actually added dimensionals to the image...which my camera apparently had a hard time picking up on.

LOL This crop made me realize just how into the color brown I am!!! I'm putting it everywhere these days -- and not getting tired of the color either! It just happens to look good combined with a multiple number of different colors...

...who knew brown was a Christmas color?!! ...I guess you learn something new every year! :p

Here's the full card:

 Thanks for dropping by my blog today. Leave me a comment and I'll come visit your blog as well. :) Have a great day! :)

challenges:

Our Daily Bread Designs blog: Winter Holiday -- Christmas
Creative Cards Crew: Anything Goes
Paper Creators Crafts: Christmas
Natalie & Amy Challenges: Favourite Color Combo -- Brown & any other color
Penny Black and More: Any Die Will Do
Challenges 4 Everyone: Anything Goes

Christmas is Coming & Some Giveaways

Hi guys...I'm back with another Christmas card to share with you. This one features ribbon. Ribbon is one embellishment that I love to see on cards, but when I try using it on one of mine, they often don't turn out quite right.

This card actually turned out the way I had it planned in my head. :) Thanks to an online friend, I have the Easy Bow maker to help make the perfect bows.

The Easy Bow Maker doesn't look like a whole lot, but it makes perfect bows every time...and saves lots of time trying to get the bows look pretty. It's definitely a time-saver. :)

Here's the full view of the card:
 

supplies used:

Inkadinkado Christmas Silhouette Stamps

Cuttlebug Folder -- Victorian

Ribbon from Stash

Red Bling

Also want to let you know about an amazing giveaway. Nicole's Stamp Addiction is having a Thank You giveaway -- 50 promarkers!!! I have never used one of these markers, but if you're into using stamped images for your cards, this giveaway is for you! They look like a lot of fun to play around with. :) Her giveaway ends when she reaches 3450 followers -- so head on over to Nicole's Stamp Addiction and sign up. You can't win if you don't try. :)

Also, The Scrapbook Garden is having a fabulous November/December giveaway. Head on over to her blog to get all the details. You could be the winner of this:

I've never actually tried Distress Inks, but from the tutorials I've seen using them, they look like sooooooo much fun! And there so many different ways of using them! I would love to win this! :)




Really Reasonable Ribbon is having a pre-holiday blog candy. I have been the lucky winner of the RRR blog hop twice (they have one every month with an amazing ribbon prize), so from experience I know their ribbons are awesome! They are great quality and great looking too! :) Plus, their pre-holiday giveaway has a lot of extras. Head on over the Really Reasonable Ribbon blog to read all the details.

And if you're looking to be further inspired with Christmas related cards and projects, head on over to the At Studio D blog. They're having a 25 days of Christmas giveaway -- and there's lots of inspiration to find there as we head into the Christmas season.

challenges:

Stamping Sensations -- Traditional Christmas
Word Art Wednesday -- Anything Goes
Totally Stampalicious -- Bling
Through the Craftroom Door -- Anything Goes
House of Gilli -- Celebration

The first of many to come

Hi guys...can you believe it's November already?!! Like wow!!! We're a month away from the Christmas season!!! And with time flying by so fast, I think it's time I got some serious Christmas cardmaking done,  'cause time ain't slowing down anytime soon! ....and I don't want to have them all pile up on me at once...

So today I headed to my scrapping table to get started on some Christmas cards...

I decided to try using some clear stamps -- "Christmas Silhouettes" by Inkadinkado. (love the name of the stamping company, don't you?) LOL

This set of stamps is so much fun to play with!!! One thing I love about them is that you don't need to add a whole lot to the card to make it look amazing! Just a little color and bling...and whah-lah! I had created my first Christmas card. :)

Wanna see???

Not my typical Christmas card that's for sure....

...but I decided to try the reindeer stamp anyways, 'cause I love the trail of "snowflakes" and "flowers" it has behind it. It's just a fun stamp...and so pretty! :)

I love the bit of extra blitz the image gets when you add some bling to spice it up...

Here's a look at the whole card. Clean and simple...just the way I like it! :)

 Thanks for dropping by today. God bless you. :)

challenges for my card:

Crafts & Me Challenges -- Bling it Up
Word Art Wednesday -- Anything Goes
Willow Sketchie Challenge -- Sketch 

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge -- No Patterned Paper
HotShot Crafts -- Bling it On
Anything Goes Challenges -- Anything Goes
Totally Stampalicious -- Anything Goes
DL.Art Challenges -- Any Holiday from October to End of the Year
Crafty Pad Designs -- Christmas is Coming
Creative Craft Challenges -- Special Occasion, Not Birthday

3rd Orange Blog Hop

Hi guys! Are you ready to get hopping???

Welcome to the Fiskateer 3rd Annual Orange Blog Hop

If you're hopping along, you should have come here from Emily's blog. If you just stumbled across the hop, go to www.fiskateers.com to start from the beginning.

Today we are celebrating Fiskar's signature color, ORANGE. Almost everyone is familiar with Fiskars' famous orange-handled scissors, but Fiskars makes so many other wonderful products for crafting, sewing, gardening and much, much more. Each stop along our hop will feature different Fiskars' products with a big helping of ORANGE!

You don't want to miss ANY of the participants! There's lots of inspiration to be found along the stops -- plus some prizes as well. :) Check their directions carefully to participate.


Now on to my project....

I decided to go a different route than a card for this blog hop. I've wanted to try make a card box for giving away the cards I make. It's been on my "to do" list for like forever...but I didn't have a scoring tool. Luckily, my Fiskars trimmer also has a scoring blade, so I'm all set now. :)

There are a lot of different kind of project you can make to hold card, but I like the A2 Card Box look the best. Plus, it holds a lot of cards...so that's what I decided to try making today...

I found a great tutorial at Split Coast Stampers for the A2 card box. TUTORIAL LINK.

First I made the bottom box. Using my Fiskars Trimmer, I cut and scored the cardstock as the directions indicated...

Then I cut and scored my designer paper as well.

I then used the Fiskars "Effervescence" border punch to punch all the way around the designer paper. The designer paper is the top of the box -- I left the plain orange (bottom) as it was. No extra punching.  

Using double-sided tape, I glued the sides together...and the box was complete! :)

It's really not that difficult to make! Very simple steps to follow...and you could have a box to fill with envelope/cards or whatever other kind of goodie you want to send! :) Just click on the tutorial link above and try your hand at one of these A2 card boxes yourself!

So that's my project for the day. I hope you have been inspired to try a new idea for yourself! :) Thanks for coming by my blog today. It's been fun! :)

For more information about Fiskars and the Fiskateer program, you can go to http://www.fiskateers.com/join. Now, hop on over to Kelly's blog to see what great project she's come up with.

And if you get lost along the way, here is the complete list of the blog hop.

Cindy #4113

Groovy Deb #2644

Jennifer Ashley #6361

Debby #2852

Sue in CT #6150

Jean #8889

Emily K #7021
Divinity #6688  You are here!

Kellystar #6446

Maya #351

Michelle #7586

Donna #6036
Pamela #8040
Shannon #6394
BerylM #6388
Marianne #6701 

Judy #5798

Enjoy the rest of the hop! And good luck! :)

challenges for my project:

Sir Stampalot Challenge -- Punch Away 
Quirky Crafts Challenge -- Anything But a Card with Autumn Colors

Save the Date & some Giveaways

Hi guys...

just want to let you know about a few things. I'm participating in a blog hop on Oct 26-28th. Be sure to check back here during those dates -- there's lots of inspiration and some great prizes to win as well.. :)

Also, I found a few great giveaways I had to share with you...

Letraset is giving a fantastic prize to one lucky follower of Going Buggy -- a complete set of ProMarkers!!!! That's 148 lovely alcohol markers for you!!! Go to the GOING BUGGY blog to read all the details.