Favorite Cards of 2012

Hello there, and Happy New Year!  I've seen so many of my favorite bloggers doing a special end-of-year post with their favorite cards of 2012, so I thought I'd do the same.  I really enjoyed perusing a year's worth of blog posts to choose my favorite from each month, and I hope you'll have fun revisiting them with me.  :)

January 2012

February 2012

March 2012

April 2012

May 2012

June 2012

July 2012

August 2012

September 2012

October 2012

November 2012

December 2012

Many thanks to all of you who have stopped by to visit and make comments in the past year.  One of my resolutions for 2013 is to get around to more of your blogs to see what you're creating and to return the love.

Another resolution for me in the new year is to find more balance in my life, which will be an even greater challenge as I take on the responsibilities of teaching a lab section at the college where I work and of spending more time shuttling my kids to and from their activities.  I'm sure many of you know exactly what I mean.  :)

Wishing you all much happiness and good health in the New Year!

The 12 Kits of Christmas--December

Hi there, friends!  Hard as it is to believe, we are almost at the end of 2012.  That means it's time for the last installment of The 12 Kits of Christmas.  This month is hosted by Sharron, who provided us with a sweet winter themed kit.

Photo by Kara

We have some changes coming to The 12 Kits group in 2013, including some sad goodbyes.  Cathy and Suzanne will be stepping away from the group in the new year, so I hope you'll take time to thank them for a year's worth of holiday inspiration!  They will both be missed.  :(

On to Sharron's fabulous kit.  I didn't get to spend nearly enough time playing with this kit, between being sick for 3 weeks and preparing for our Christmas guests.  But luckily I'll be able to use it all winter long for quick and easy cards!

This first card is my favorite:

The second one is a CASE of a card a did a few days earlier but never posted:

I couldn't resist using the sparkly die cut hills on another card, too:

I'll be back later to add supply lists.  We just spent 18 hours on the road yesterday and I'm still recovering.  In the meantime, be sure to hop around to the rest of the girls' blogs.

Suzanne:  The Card Yard

Cathy: EmptyNestCrafter

Joyce: Cards-by-the-Sea

Kim: CupcakesCardsandKim

Amy: Stamp-n-Paradise

Kara: KandRDesigns

Sharron: OnPapillionWings

Marybeth: Marybeth's Time for Paper

Jeanne: AKeptLife

Jessica: The Paper Parade

Renee: ItsAPatchworkLife

Thanks for visiting!  I hope you have a fun and safe New Year's celebration and a great start to 2013!

CFC83--Dashing through the holidays!

Hi there, friends!  We have a special challenge this week at CAS-ual Fridays, which is why we're coming to you a day early.  This week we're teaming up with the 10 Minute Craft Dash, challenging you to create a last minute holiday card:

Have you played along in the 10 Minute Craft Dash before?  I have to admit, I've never tried it because I am such a slow crafter!  Even a clean and simple design typically involves a lot of trial and error.  So to keep this session under 10 minutes, I sketched my idea and gathered all of my supplies before starting.

The stamps I used are from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Merry Kiss-mas, and I even had time to add some Enamel Accents to the berries and some red Stickles to the bow.

Cardstock:  WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (Vintage Christmas)

Stamps:  CAS-ual Fridays Stamps:  Merry Kiss-mas

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Old Olive)

Other:  Ranger (Enamel Accents, Stickles), rhinestones, ribbon

We'd love to see your clean and simple holiday card at CAS-ual Fridays, and be sure to link it up at the 10 Minute Craft Dash too!

Thanks for your visit today!

CFC82--Even the Score

Welcome back, friends.  I'm feeling a little better today, thanks to staying in bed most of the morning. :)  Luckily we have a rare quiet weekend ahead, so hopefully a few more days of rest will help me feel normal again.  Thanks for all of your well wishes.

This week's challenge at CAS-ual Fridays is sponsored by Scor-Pal, so naturally we're asking you to use scoring in a creative way on your clean and simple design.

My simple design took just a few minutes to create.  I used a beautiful piece of shimmer paper from Suzanne's Christmas kit, scoring lines at an angle and stamping the sentiment along the top.

I adhered the paper to a piece of black cardstock to make it more sturdy, then wrapped some pretty silver twine from Jeanne's Christmas kit below the sentiment.  I popped the panel up on foam dots on a black card base and called it done.

Cardstock:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Black)

Shimmer paper:  Stardream Metallics (Opal)

Stamp:  CAS-ual Fridays Stamps (Countdown)

Ink:  Tsukineko (Staz-On Black)

Tools:  Martha Stewart (Scoring Board), Fiskars (hole punch)

Other:  Michaels (Silver thread)

I hope you'll join us this week, and check out the wonderful inspiration from the rest of the Girl Fridays!

Have a great start to your weekend.  :)

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps: 8 Happy Nights

Good evening, friends!  And a very happy Hanukkah to all of my friends celebrating the Festival of Lights!

I have a special post to share tonight featuring CAS-ual Fridays Stamps' 8 Happy Nights.  When I was creating this card, I thought about the cards that I love most at the holidays:  the ones that sparkle in the flickering candlelight.  Since Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights, celebrating the miracle of 8 nights of oil in the Temple of Jerusalem, I wanted to make a card with lots of sparkling glitter.  :)

This is such a simple design, one that would work for lots of themes.  I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment first, then added clear glitter to strips of glittering tape.

I heat embossed the stars on navy cardstock before cutting them out, mounting them with foam adhesive and adding clear rhinestones to the centers.

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Not Quite Navy)

Stamps:  CAS-ual Fridays (8 Happy Nights)

Ink:  Tsukineko (Versamark)

Accessories:  Filigree (white embossing powder), Jo-Ann (clear glitter), Martha Stewart Crafts (glittering tape), Michaels (rhinestones)

Like most cards with glitter, this card is much prettier in person.  *smile*

Stop by the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps blog to see a fabulous Hanukkah card by my friend and fellow Girl Friday, Lynn!

Thanks for visiting!

Cloud9 Blog Hop--December

Hey there!  I hope you're having a great weekend.  My daughter performed in a holiday dance recital yesterday, so we're definitely getting into the Christmas spirit around here.  :)

The December Cloud9 Blog Hop is live, and it should inspire some holiday spirit as well!  These photos, featured at Design for Mankind, are the jumping-off point for our creations this month:

Photo found HERE

Photo found HERE

My eye was immediately drawn to the bold red and cream sofa in the first photo.  My card is a fairly literal interpretation.  I stamped images from Folk Art Flurries onto a rustic cream card base and adorned some of the snowflakes with clear gems.

The sentiment comes from Poinsettia Patterns, and I decided to ground it with two strips of Cupid's Bow cardstock.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Rustic Cream), WPlus9 Design Studio (Cupid's Bow)

Stamps:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Folk Art Flurries, Poinsettia Patterns)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red)

Accessories:  Michael's (rhinestones)

We hope you'll link up your creation with us at the Cloud9 Blog for a chance to be a Guest Designer next month!

Thanks for stopping by today!

CFC81--Knotty or Nice

Hello friends!  Ready for a new challenge at CAS-ual Fridays?  We've got a fun theme this week, and once again we're looking for a guest designer, so play along for your chance!  You could also win a prize from Simon Says Stamp.

The task this week:  include some kind of knot on your clean and simple project.  There are lots of great ideas from the Girl Fridays if you need inspiration, so be sure to visit the CAS-ual Fridays blog to see their creations.

For my card I debossed snowflakes onto red cardstock and tied white satin ribbon knots in the centers.  I stamped a sentiment from Snowflake Greetings onto a strip of white cardstock, trimmed the end with pinking shears, and adhered it with foam tape.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Pure Poppy), WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Stamp:  CAS-ual Fridays Stamps (Snowflake Greetings)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red)

Tools:  Spellbinders (snowflake dies), Fiskars (pinking shears)

Other:  AC Moore (ribbon)

I can't wait to see your creative ideas with knots!

Thanks for visiting today!  Have a great start to your weekend.

The 12 Kits of Christmas--November

Yes, it's that time of the month again!  In case you're new to The 12 Kits of Christmas project, you can check out my original post HERE.  You can also check out all of the cards made by the group so far on Pinterest, thanks to Renee!

Photo courtesy of Kara

This month was Jeanne's turn to host, and I think we were all seriously overwhelmed by all of the goodies in our kit!  I didn't have as much time to create this month as I would have liked, so I've barely scratched the surface with this kit.  I can't wait to see what everyone else created with the beautiful die cuts and detailed stamps Jeanne included!

Before I forget, Jeanne is generously offering up a prize to one commenter this month.  You'll have to stop by her blog to get the details, but you can get a sneak peek of the prize on my first card.  :)

This was the first card I made, and it came together exactly as I had it pictured.  Love when that happens.  This gorgeous die cut ornament needed to be the star of the show, so I used a favorite layout, some subtle debossing, and a bit of bling to dress it up.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Pinefeather, Pure Poppy, Vintage Cream)

Patterned paper:  Basic Grey (Jovial:  Shopkeeper)

Stamp:  Serendipity (663D Merry)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Basic Black)

Tools:  Serendipity (ornament die), Spellbinders (tag die), Papertrey Ink (music impression plate)

Accessories:  Hug Snug (seam binding), Paper Studio (gems)

My second card is a departure from my comfort zone.  I don't often cover a card base with patterned paper, but I love this mistletoe pattern.  The poinsettias are Copic colored and fussy cut, with a touch of yellow Stickles in the center.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Vintage Cream), Graffix (Gold Foil Board)

Patterned paper:  Basic Grey (Jovial:  Winter Garden)

Stamps:  Serendipity (673K Large Poinsettia), Papertrey Ink (Wreath for all Seasons)

Ink:  Memento (Tuxedo Black), Copic markers

Tool:  Cheery Lynn (Holly Flourish die)

Other:  Ranger (Stickles)

Last is a very simple design with a great, detailed Santa image.  I simple cut an oval window in the patterned paper to frame the image, trimmed a sentiment strip, and added some stitching.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Vintage Cream)

Patterned paper:  Basic Grey (Jovial:  Merry Maker)

Stamps:  Serendipity (939E Santa, 665C Happy Holidays 2)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Basic Black), Copic markers, Papertrey Ink (Chamomile tea dye)

Tool:  Spellbinders (oval die)

Other:  thread

I have a few more ideas for this kit.  Now if I can just find the time!

Please stop by to see what the rest of the girls have made!  They always "wow" me with their creativity.

Suzanne:  The Card Yard

Cathy: EmptyNestCrafter

Joyce: Cards-by-the-Sea

Kim: CupcakesCardsandKim

Amy: Stamp-n-Paradise

Kara: KandRDesigns

Sharron: OnPapillionWings

Marybeth: Marybeth's Time for Paper

Jeanne: AKeptLife

Jessica: The Paper Parade

Renee: ItsAPatchworkLife

I appreciate your visits so much!  Have a great weekend, friends!

CAS-ual Fridays #80--Gift Tags

Happy Friday, friends!  Ready to celebrate the weekend with a new CAS-ual Fridays challenge?  This week it's all about gift tags!

We have a new sponsor this week:  it's Bossy Joscie!

For my gift tag, I wanted to use CAS-ual Fridays Stamps' Countdown to make a tag to adorn a bottle of champagne.  Fun, right?

I'm limited for time this week, so I kept this super simple.  I stamped one of the borders a few times along the bottom of the tag, then added some random orange accents and filled in some of the dots with a silver pen.

The sentiments were stamped as borders along the top, and a striped bow finishes it off.

No need for a die to make this easy tag!  I just punched a 1 3/4" circle in the top, scored a line to fold it, and rounded the corners.  So simple.  :)

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Soft Stone)

Stamps:  CAS-ual Fridays Stamps (Countdown)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Basic Gray, Tangerine Tango)

Tools:  circle punch, corner rounder, scoring board

Ribbon:  Stampin' Up!

I'm off to schedule another post before I can hit my pillow!  Hope your weekend gets off to a great start!

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps--Let it Snow!

Hello!  I hope you're having a great week!  It's crazy busy around here and I haven't been near my craft table in days, but I do have a card to share with you.  :)

This festive card is being featured over at the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps blog today, too.  I used the recently released Snowflake Greetings set.  The snowflakes were inked up in Real Red and Lucky Limeade, and I stamped off occasionally to add the lighter shades, which give it some depth.

I scored three lines under the sentiment, and I was tempted to add some bling but decided against it.  I love how this turned out, and even better that it's flat for mailing.

Cardstock:  WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Stamps:  CAS-ual Fridays Stamps (Snowflake Greetings)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red, Lucky Limeade)

Tool:  Martha Stewart Crafts (Scoring Board)

Once again I'm frustrated with Blogger for making my photos look so dark.  They're nice and bright in Photobucket!  But hopefully you get the idea.  :)

Sorry to be so quiet lately, but that's just the way life is going these days.  Thank you so much for continuing to visit and comment!

CAS-ual Fridays #79--Winter Blues

Hooray!  The new release from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps is finally here!  I've been having a ball with these holiday stamps, and there's more inspiration to come from all of the Girl Fridays over the next few weeks.  You won't want to miss any of it!

This week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge is Winter Blues:  create a winter themed project using blue.  You definitely don't have to twist my arm to do that!  *smile*

The Girl Fridays are using images and sentiments from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps new release, but you are welcome to use any stamps for the challenge.

I decided to work with Snowflake Greetings, which has several sentiments that I absolutely adore.  I pulled out my Stampin' Up! inks in Midnight Muse, Not Quite Navy, and Baja Breeze and stamped the left edge of my card randomly with different snowflakes from the set.

I stamped the sentiment onto a white panel before adding some texture with an impression plate, then stitched the edge and popped it up with foam dots.  A few clear gems add a touch of sparkle.

Cardstock:  WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Stamps:  CAS-ual Fridays Stamps (Snowflake Greetings)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Midnight Muse, Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze)

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (Linen & Canvas impression plate), corner rounder

Accessories:  thread, gems

I especially love those dainty little flakes, don't you?

You could win some of the new stamps for yourself just by playing along in this week's challenge, so what are you waiting for?  :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Enjoy your Friday!

CASE Study #117

Hard to believe, but another Thursday is upon us.  I'm ready for the weekend, how about you?

I hope you'll find some time to play along in this week's CASE Study challenge.  Our Muse this month is Angeline Yong Jeet Leen of The Creation of Creativity, and she's sharing this little beauty with us as inspiration this week:

By Angeline

We're delighted to have a sponsor this week as well:  it's Elizabeta Kushner, whose Etsy shop has some darling digital images and sentiments.  She's offering 3 digital images to one random player this week, so be sure to link up your creation for a chance to win.

For my take on Angeline's sweet card, I wanted to keep the elements of the mother and baby birds, the red and green color combo, and the leafy frame.

I made a less structured "frame" for my sentiment by stamping leaves from Paper Smooches Reflections in the bottom corner and along two sides of my card base.  Some of the leaves are popped up for dimension.

The birds and branch are from WPlus9's Love Birds, and the sentiment comes from Waltzingmouse's Roses in Bloom.  I added some berries from the Reflections set to pull the red color through the rest of the design.

Cardstock:  WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Stamps:  Paper Smooches (Reflections), WPlus9 Design Studio (Love Birds), Waltzingmouse (Roses in Bloom)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green, Chocolate Chip)

Tools:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Love Birds dies)

As always, there's an amazing and diverse array of projects offered up by the Design Team this week, so be sure to take a peek.

Thanks for your visit, as always!  I have some fun things coming up in a couple of days, so be sure to check in again soon.  :)