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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

My Top Ten Projects From 2010


I'm not sure where this got started, but several of my blog friends have compiled a 2010 Top Ten Favorites list, so this afternoon I took some time to look back at all the projects I created during my first year of cardmaking.  I will be celebrating my one year "Blogaversary" on January 4th and will soon be trying to improve on both the look of my blog and also on the photography of my cards.   I hope you will take a look at some of my favorites from 2010.

Here are my Top Ten Projects for 2010.
                                                                       Baby Dear










Happy New Year to all  my crafty friends!  I have gotten so much pleasure from this new hobby and have not only learned, but been inspired by the creativity you, my fellow cardmakers.   This has been one of the happiest years of my life and I have truly enjoyed creating and sharing my cards with you.



Thursday, December 23, 2010

I'm Done!

I just wanted to share my last Christmas gift wrap with you today. I am finally done! I wrapped up some homemade jam I got in Montana last October, Huckleberry (looks like blueberry, but tastes a little like raspberry). Doesn't a simple jar of jam look so pretty in a clear red striped bag with just a bow and a cute little Friendship Jar tag? I was so happy just looking at these little bags and their matching tags. Hope everyone is just about done with their Holiday preparations and I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

Monday, December 20, 2010

First Gift Bag

Today I made my very first altered gift bag. I wanted to make something for our family gift exchange and used a simple kraft bag. I bought a MS pine needle punch for $4.99 at Michaels yesterday and used it on some Pinefeather cardstock. It punched very nicely, even though in the past I have had problems with MS punches and PTI cardstock. I used it as a little border around the bag. I made a small border from some polka dot paper I had and cut some reindeer using my cricut. I punched a few snowflakes, used some tinsel glitter and a red rhinestone for the reindeer noses. Of course I had to make a matching tag to go with it and just scaled down all of the same elements I used on the bag. I love how this turned out and plan on making several more before Christmas Eve.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Enjoy the Ride Thank You

I used my wonderful stamp set I got in the Christmas Swap from Keva last week. I had wanted to own Enjoy the Ride for a long time, but never got around to buying it as there is always so many new sets I want from the new releases every month, but I love this set. I made a little thank you card for Keva to show her how much I appreciated her thoughtful gift. Since she should have the card by now, I decided to post it. I used some Green Boutique patterned paper for the car and stamped the little word "friend" onto the license plate. The card is layered on Mat Stack #3 which is embossed with the linen impression plate onto Hawaiian Shore cardstock. The card layer is Aqua Mist stamped with a Damask Design background in Fresh Snow Ink. I used a doily and some twine that matches Hawaiian Shore paper perfectly. A couple of little white buttons serve as the headlights. I am loving these 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 cards lately. This was a very fun card to make.

Friday, December 17, 2010

There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays Tag

Made a quick tag today for my husband's gift. It all started with that teeny little left over snip of felt. I thought it would look cute as the snow on a rooftop. I used a left-over square from the Take Three die, punched a little heart in it to mimic the new PTI Love Lives Here house and cut a triangle for the roof. I used A Little Argyle to stamp the roof design, colored some of the rooftop diamonds with copics and glittered a few up. The fences are from Home for the Holidays, Boards and Beams as well as the bow and sentiment. I used a music background stamp on Tag Sale #2. The last little piece was the Pinefeather ribbon and Pure Poppy Button. I think it turned out really cute and should tide me over until I can buy the adorable Love Lives Here stamp set.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Warm Winter Wishes

This is one of my Christmas cards I can only dream of here in Southern California. I don't even own a pair of mittens and everyone would laugh if I wished them "Warm Winter Wishes", but I gave my copics some use and colored up some patterned paper using a cute mitten stamp I got from Michael's. I used a small sentiment from Friendship Jar Holiday Fillers in red and blue along with Fillable Frame #9 as the sentiment focal point. I used Martha Stewart's Snowflake Trim double-edge punch for the snowflake trim. It was dipped in Tinsel glitter and really is sparkly in person. An extra snowflake and some popped-up mittens finish off this card. To all my PTI friends who actually see some snow, "Warm Winter Wishes!"

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

I thought I was done with Christmas Card

My daughter was watching me address all my Christmas cards yesterday and made the comment, "Are you giving us a Christmas card, Mom?" (referring to her and her two brothers who no longer live at home). I was ashamed to admit that I had just addressed her brothers cards, but had not made Carly one since she still lives at home. What a bad mom I am. I made her lots of tags to go on her gifts, but no actual card. I asked her if she wanted a card and she jokingly said yes, and she wants one that is "heartfelt", not funny. Oh how I wish I had the new Love Lives Here set from PTI. It would have been absolutely perfect for a "heartfelt" card. Since I don't have it, I made due with really putting a lot of home-made effort into her card. I stamped a music background onto Pinefeather paper with Vintage Cream ink. I used Vintage Cream felt to die-cut a Christmas Tree and stitched on it with green thread. I added some buttons for ornaments with glue dots. I cut a little border and actually used some of my beautiful PTI saddle-stitch Pinefeather ribbon. I cut a little tag and stamped the sentiment on it. Carly won't realize how many different elements it has on it, but it was definitely heartfelt. The inside is where I will totally make her cry. I wrote a little letter to her talking about all the wonderful Christmas memories I have of just her and I together. She probably has forgotten lots of them and I hope the letter will bring back some happy memories for her. I know they did for me. I am tearing up just thinking of it. Heartfelt.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Mat Stack 2 & Doily Christmas Card

Today I made my last Christmas card. I used Mat Stack 2 again and made my own little background for it. I used the dotted circle from Take Note, little embellishments from Vintage Labels 4 on the edges and a few red rhinestones to bling it out a bit. I punched a 1 1/2" scalloped circle and stamped it with a music background. The sentiment is from 2010 Holiday Tags and a little red/white twine wraps around the doily. The picture isn't clear, but the Pure Poppy cardstock is embossed with the Linen Impression plate. I have found that 4 1/4" square cards go really well with 4" doilies. Thanks for taking a look at my final Christmas card of 2010.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Mat Stack #2 Tag

This little tag is going to help me make it through the December PTI release. This will be the first month I have not placed a PTI order on release night. I love everything they are going to release, but am going to force myself to "think" a little longer before I frantically order so much at midnight on the 15th. This little tag using Mat Stack #2 was made to try to create something in place of the new Mat Stack #2 and music background stamp sets being released this month. I decided to use what I already own and stamped a music background circle in Pure Poppy. This is a very large rubber stamp by Stampendous called Music Score. I used a nestability mat cut in Pure Poppy behind the circle and adhered it to the Mat Stack #2 die cut. Next, I die cut a snowflake and stamped it with a snowflake from Snowflake Serenede. This stamp actually fits the snowflake die from Peace Be Still very nicely. I sprayed it with some adhesive spray and dunked it in Prisma Glitter. It was added to the music circle with some dimensional tape. A few extra snowflake stamps I had from past years (Michaels) were added to the ends of the Mat Stack. I tied it onto some ribbon with red/white bakers twine. I am certain the Mat Stack #2 stamp set is going to be wonderful, so let's see how long I can refrain from ordering. I am already starting to go into withdrawals.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Sleigh Ride

I made a tag the other day that brought out the obsessive-compulsive in me. I must have gone into my craftroom to look at it every time I walked past the door. It was just so soft and sparkly with all the glitter. I decided to make a card based on that tag. I used Blueberry Sky paper and inked up the Sunshine embossing plate with Fresh Snow Ink. I don't have a brayer, but I just patted the ink pad all over the plate and ran it through my cuttlebug. I love the look it gave! It was my first time giving that technique a try. I had to turn the fillable frame image on its side, which I don't think is as pretty as the tag, but it was necessary for it to work on this card. I used some silver wired ribbon to break up the card a bit and that was all. I still like the tag better, but was glad I tried out a new technique. Thanks for taking a look.