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!

CASE Study #122

Hi there!  I hope those of you who celebrate Christmas had a wonderful holiday.  I know I did!  *smile* 

At CASE Study we have a new 2 week challenge with our December Muse, Windy Robinson.  What a treat to have her join us this month!

By Windy

Isn't Windy's card just gorgeous?  My take on it started with the gray card base and the white label with the notched corners.  I decided to make a Valentine that could be used for a male recipient, hence the woodgrain, knotted ribbon, and lack of gems.

Stamps are from WPlus9's Love You More and Heartfelt Mix, plus a background from Woodgrain Silhouettes.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Soft Stone), WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Stamps:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Love You More, Heartfelt Mix, Woodgrain Silhouettes)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red), Memento (Tuxedo Black)

Tools:  circle punch, piercing tool

Accessories:  Papertrey Ink (ribbon)

Here's a better look at the card base, with the woodgrain stamped in white onto Papertrey's Soft Stone cardstock:  *swoon*

I've missed catching up with all of you out in blog-land!  We're headed to Indiana to visit family for a week (as soon as the snowstorm passes!), so I'm hoping to spend some time visiting all of my favorite blogs in the next week or so.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll play along with us in the current challenge at CASE Study!

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.  :)

CASE Study #121

Hi there, friends.  I have a new CASE Study card to share with you tonight!  Our Muse this month is the fabulously talented Windy Robinson.  She does amazing things with ribbon and bling, which is probably what inspired the name of her blog.  *wink*  Here's a perfect example:

By Windy Robinson

Wouldn't you just love to receive this beauty in the mail for Christmas?

My eye was drawn to the red and white patterned paper and polka dots, the ribbon border, and the swirl of gems, which became a faux-chipboard branch on my version.

I added texture to the white card base with an impression plate and stamped a sentiment from WPlus9's Very Vintage Greetings.  I die cut the branch twice and stacked the cuts for a little added thickness.

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

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye ('Tis the Season)

Stamp:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Very Vintage Greetings)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red)

Tools:  Poppystamps (Lorelai Outline Leaf die), Papertrey Ink (Linen & Canvas impression plate)

Accessories:  seam binding, pearls

Keeping this short as I don't think I can keep my eyes open for much longer.  I've been sick for several days, which is not helping me to make progress on my holiday to-do list.  *sigh*

Hoping you're healthy and happy on this Thursday!  See you back here soon.

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.

CASE Study #120

Oh my, what happened to November?  I can hardly believe we're almost at the end of 2012.  Life just never slows down, does it?

One good thing about the start of a new month is the introduction of a new Muse at CASE Study!  And what a wonderful treat you're in for this month.  Please welcome the one-and-only Windy Robinson as our December Muse!

By Windy Robinson

Windy's debut card is so striking and pretty, and I was immediately drawn to the contrast of the colorful patterned paper with the crisp white, debossed panel.

I've been smitten with the Polaroid frame die cutes that are so popular now, so I made my own with a Spellbinders square die.  I recently picked up a 6x6 pad of My Mind's Eye Vintage Christmas papers and decided to use the plaid as a backdrop for the Polaroid frame and holiday Bingo card.

In place of Windy's flowers, I used snowflake dies from WPlus9 and Spellbinders, and I added a sentiment from Paper Smooches.

Cardstock:  WPlus9 Design Studio (White), Papertrey Ink (Aqua Mist)

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

Stamps:  Paper Smooches (Swanky Snowdudes)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Cherry Cobbler)

Tools:  Spellbinders (square, snowflake dies), WPlus9 Design Studio (large snowflake die)

Accessories:  button, DMC floss

I had to play hooky from work just to find time to make my card this week!  My kids have gotten so involved in activities this year that free time is hard to come by.  But I wouldn't trade it for anything!  My parents were always on the run, taking my brothers and I from one activity to the next, so I guess it's my turn.  :)

Please stop by the CASE Study blog to see the fabulous inspiration from the Design Team, then see where your creativity takes you!

Thanks for visiting!  Have a fantastic day!