2013 Year in Review

I can hardly believe that another year has gone by. Wow, does time fly! Today I have a bit of a recap to share with you for some of my favorite cards from 2013. Just like last year, I chose to select a card from each month. Granted there were some months that I had several favorites, I simply had to pick one. If you are a follower, then enjoy this trip down memory lane.

 

January

 

 

February

 

 

March

 

April

 

May

 

June

 

July

 

August

 

September

 

October

 

November

 

December

 

I love taking a look at all that I created over the last year. I am surprised to notice that as I scroll through my post, most of my card bases are not white. That is a small victory for me since I tend to use white card bases a ton. I had hoped to finish my son's baby album by the end of this year. Don't worry, I am not beating myself up over it. I am still trying to balance work, life at home with two little ones and time to create.

 

Do you have any fun plans for tomorrow night to ring in the new year? We will be putting on our dancing shoes in our house. We have had a tradition since Leah was 15 months old (she's now 6), to ring in the new year at 7pm. It's midnight somewhere, right? Since there is no work on New Years Day, I hope to post some photos of our little party if I can find the time.

 

Thanks for stopping by! Happy New Year!



December PTI Blog Hop

Merry Christmas friends. I hope you have all had an enjoyable holiday with family and friends. It's hard to believe that this year has flown by. Today I actually have a project to share with you for this month's PTI blog hop.  I think the last time I played along was in the beginning of the year, back in March ***insert blush***

Our challenge is to create projects tied up with strings. I didn't think that I would actually get to play along until I was wrapping up my mother-in-laws present.

 

 

I wrapped her gift in kraft wrapping paper and then added some washi tape around one end and. I inked up Tiny Tags II and attached them using some twine. Pretty simple, but then again, that's me. My precious daughter thought that we were giving her some butter.  Gotta love the mind of a 6 year old. I can't wait to see the other fabulous projects in the gallery. Happy hopping!

Merry Christmas

Wishing you a joyous holiday among family and friends.

 

 

Merry Christmas, from our family to yours!

Andy, Deb, Leah and Josh

CAS-ual Fridays Meets Craft Dash, Happy New Year

Hi friends. Today I have a card to share with you for this week's CAS-ual Fridays post. Yes, you read that right. Today CAS-ual Fridays is teaming up with the 10 Minute Craft Dash over at Pretty Pink Posh. The challenge is to create a clean and simple New Years project. If you create it in under 10 minutes, then you can also link up over at the 10 Minute Craft Dash.

 

 

Our fabulous sponsor is CAS-ual Fridays Stamps. The winner of this challenge will earn a stamp set of their choice.

  

 

To create a project in such a short time is always a huge challenge for me. To make is a bit easier this time around (hmmm, are the holidays getting stressful?) I chose to use a previous card for some sketch inspiration. 

 

I inked up Countdown from CAS-ual Fridays and colored it in with my Copics.  I honestly gave no thought to how I would color in my shapes until I tried stamping the border a second time and the bottom row didn't stamp off well. So  even though I had randomly colored in a few, it actually ended up being in a pattern. Now how lucky was that? I tied some aquamarine twine around my sentiment strip before I adhered it to the cardfront with some foam adhesive.

 

This card was completed in 8 minutes and 29 seconds. Our challenge will run for 2 weeks. I can't wait to see what you create!

DeNami Design, Thinking of You dots

Hi there! Just sharing with you a sneak peek of the card that I am showcasing over at DeNami Design today. I only used 2 stamps, but this card packs a lot of punch.

 

 

 

Stay tuned to the blog because I will have a second post today.

CAS-ual Fridays, Let it Snow

Happy Friday! I hope you all had a good week. With Christmas less than 2 weeks away, I hope many of you have been able to accomplish a lot of your shopping and holiday crafting. Today, I have another Christmas card to share with you for this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge.

 

 

The theme for this one week challenge is to create a clean and simple project using snow or snowflakes. Would you believe it if I told you that I only own 2 snowflake stamp sets? How that happened, I do not know. 

 



Our fabulous sponsor this week is SimonSaysStamp. The winner of this challenge will earn a $25 gift certificate.

 



 

For this challenge, I created a one layer card that probably took less than 3 minutes. Too bad I wasn't creating for Paulina's 10 minute Craft Dash. I used Peace Be Still and Signature Christmas from PTI. I was inspired by a tag that I made a couple of years ago. I believe it was for a submission call to create a Christmas project in non traditional colors.

 

Here is a picture of the rejected  inspirational tag.

 

 

That's all for me today. This challenge will end early at midnight on Wednesday, December 18th. I can't wait to see what you create. Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

DeNami Product Spotlight, Winter Wreath

Hi friends! I hope you are having a good week. Today is product spotlight time over at DeNami Design. The gals and I are showcasing Winter Wreath. You can head on over to the blog to see what the rest of the design team has created. And you can add this stamp to your cart and save 10%, one week only.

For my card, I inked up winter wreath several times, rotating the stamp. Then I added some berries from Elegant Holly. Using my quickie glue pen, I sprinkled on some Ruby Red glitter. I added a little bow to finish off the wreath. The sentiment is Merry Christmas. This panel was then added to my cardbase with foam tape which I had embossed with Thin Lines.

That's all for me today. Thanks for stopping by!

 

DeNami Razzle Dazzle blog hop

Hi friends! I hope you are enjoying your weekend. Welcome to the DeNami Design, Razzle Dazzle blog hop. I hope you have been inspired along the way. You should've arrive here from Donna's blog. If you get lost along the hop, head back to the DeNami blog for a full list of participants. 

When I was designing my card, I did some searching on Pinterest for glitter and came across this gorgeous CAS photo. I just loved the simplicity of this package. So I decided to create my own glitter ribbon using some double sided tape.  I sprinkled on some gold glitter. To create the bow, I used the same tape on Kraft Cardstock and then trimmed it out using scissors. Then I bent it back onto itself to create the loops and used another small piece for the center. I attached the bow using foam adhesive. For some reason, glossy accents didn't work. I stamped my greeting from Christmas Greetings stamp set onto my die cut tag. This little set has seen quite a bit of action in my craft room.

I have been busy in the craft room using lots and lots of glitter as of late. I just love all of that sparkle, don't you? Your next stop along the hop is Stacy's blog. I always love to see what she creates!

 

 

Don't forget about the THREE gift certificates that will be given away! One gift certificate will go to a random participant and TWO gift certificates to TWO people who comment along the hop! You have until December 9, 2013 11:59pm PST to comment and be eligible.

 

Happy hopping!

CAS-ual Fridays, Out on a Limb

 Happy Friday, friends! Today I have a card to share with you for this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge. The theme for this one week challenge is to create a clean and simple project using a tree or trees.

 Our fabulous sponsor this week is Ellen Hutson. The winner of this challenge will earn a $25 gift certificate.

For my card, I  used Medium Pine from DeNami Design. I did some generational stamping and then trimmed my cardstock on an angle. I added some baker's twine and tied it off in a bow. Then I inked up Merry Christmas for my sentiment. Lastly, I added some red sequins using glossy accents to finish off the card.

Pretty quick and simple and easy to mass produce. How are you doing on your holiday cards? Are you nearly finished or just starting off? Hopefully this challenge will help you along. You have until noon on Thursday to link up and play. I can't wait to see what you create!

Thanks for stopping by!

DeNami Pin-spired

Hi friends! I hope you are all well. We are gearing up for the holiday season at our house. The tree is up and decorated by my sweet little 6 year old. She was so eager to decorate it. The lights adorn the bushes outside. And Zach, our elf, has made a return to our house to keep his eye on our little ones and report back to Mr. Claus.

 

Today I have a project to share with you for DeNami Design. Some of the design team and I are sharing our projects that we created from this gorgeous photo.

 

When I first saw our inspiration photo, I fell in love with all of the gold and sparkle! Awesome job, Paulina! I created these tags using the same design from my most recent Craft Dash project. In that project, I really loved the two strips of Ruby Red glitter. I told you that you would see more of it! So for these tags, I decided to use some Gold glitter as well. I love the gold leaf in the photo. So I broke out my Essential glue pad and inked up some leaves from Elegant Holly. Then fussy cut them after they had some time to dry. The sentiments are from Christmas Greeting set which I inked up in Rich Cocoa Memento ink. I added a Buby Red boutique button using glossy accents to finish it off.

 

 

That is all for me today. Don't forget to head on over to the blog to see what the rest of the design team has created. Thanks for stopping by!

DeNami Design Product Spotlight, Leafy Squares

Hi friends! I hope that you are having a good week so far. Just one more day until our American Thanksgiving. Are you ready yet? I can't wait to eat some yummy food ALL DAY!

 

Now onto my post...Today is product spotlight over at DeNami Design. The design team is showcasing Leafy Squares by having a DeNami blog hop. You should've arrived at my blog from Lisa Petrella's blog. If you visit each design team members blog and leave a comment along the way, you will be eligible to win this stamp! You can also add this fabulous stamp to your shopping cart and save 10%, one week only. 

For my card, I chose to ink up the smaller leafy square image of the set in various colors. I drew a few intersecting lines and then stamped the image clockwise. I eye balled it, so it's not perfect, but I am happy with the result. I wasn't sure what the result may be when I started. I think the outline of the image looks very similar to the Star of David. My sentiment is from Heartfelt Greetings stamp set. I punched it out with my 1 inch circle punch.





 

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave a comment on each blog to be eligible to win!

Wendy is your next stop!

DeNami blog

Lisa Petrella

Deb <------that's me

Wendy Elliot

Emily Keaton

Lisa Elton

Patti Goldman

Dana Seymour

Tammy Hobbs

CAS-ual Fridays, Create with 8

Hi friends! I hope you have had a good week.  Today I have a card to share with you for this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge. The challenge is to create a clean and simple project using 8 of something: sequins, colors, letters...you name it, but it has to be 8.



 

 Our fabulous sponsor this week is SimonSaysStamp. The winner of this challenge with earn a $25 gift vertificate.

When I first saw this challenge, I knew immediately that I wanted to ink up CAS-ual Fridays 8 Happy Nights. I have several Jewish family members on my mother's side, so I have started to make some Hannukah cards along with Christmas cards. I inked up the star of David 8 times along the left border. The notebook die is from PTI and if you look closely you can see that I used my PTI Linen/canvas impression plate. The rest of the stamping is from same CAS-ual Fridays Stamps stamp set. 

 

Well, that's all for me. Today I have the day off from work, yay! I always have good intentions to work on some projects in my craft room. Fingers crossed that I make it in there. Have a great weekend! You have until noon on Thursday to link up and play along. I can't wait to see what you create!

CAS-ual Fridays meets Curtain Call

TGIF! Are you guys looking forward to the weekend like me? I need some R&R for sure. Whew!

 

So last challenge over at CAS-ual Fridays was pretty amazing with all of the entries. This week, CAS-ual Fridays is joining up with Curtain Call for a 1 week challenge.

Our fabulous sponsor this week is CAS-ual Fridays Stamps. The winner of this challenge will earn a stamp set of their choice.

 

For my card, I used some old and new CFS. I inked up the presents from Merry Kiss-mas and paper pieced them. The sentiment is from the new set Christmas Carols. I added some red and green cardstock. I ran the green cardstock through my cuttlebug with my Diagonal Stripe embossing folder that DeNami now carries. The finishing touch to my card was adding some Gold glitter to the center of the presents using my Quickie glue pen.



 

Well, that's all for me today. You have until noon on Thursday to link up and play. I can't wait to see what you create!

DeNami Design, Product Spotlight Turkey

Sorry for the delay in this post. I didn't realize that I never hit publish. Thanks for bearing with me.


Hi friends! It's Product Spotlight time over at the DeNami Design blog. Today the design team is showcasing Turkey. This image is so cute and fun to use. You can head on over to the blog to see what the rest of the design team has created. And you can add this stamp to your cart and save 10%, one week only.

For my card, I used some white cardstock. I ran it through my cuttlebug using my Thin lines embossing folder.  I used an old sketch previous DT member, Laurie, over at Retro Sketches. I wish I had more time to participate with current challenges, but that doesn't mean I can't use them when the deadlines are passed. I love a good sketch. Anywho, I used Stitched border along the angles of my trimmed cardstock. Then I inked up Give Thanks Circle and Turkey which I colored in with my copics. My daughter had a blast using this stamp for the recent Touch of Twine blog hop. I think this CAS card really allows this stamp to make a statement.

 

That is all for me today. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

DeNami Design A Touch of Twine blog hop

Hi everyone! Welcome to the DeNami Design, Touch of Twine blog hop. I hope you have been inspired along the way. You should've arrive here from Stacy's blog. I always love to see what she creates. If you get lost along the hop, head back to the DeNami blog for a full list of participants. 



At my blog, you will find two participants. The first participant is my daughter, Leah. She inked up Solid Leaves (cling) in various colors. Then she inked up Turkey several times and colored them in with my copics. I must say that she colors within the lines pretty well for a 6 year old. We all know that copics can bleed very easily, so it's not an easy task at any age. She used some Chocolate brown and white twine from my Autumn twine pack. Tying a perfect bow at the age of 6 is nearly impossible, so I helped her with that aspect of her card. She did assist me using her little fingers to hold down the knot as I tied the bow.

Here is what she had to say about her card.
"The turkeys, I put them in a row because I didn't want to put them on the twine. The leaves, I put them at the top because I didn't want to put them in the middle because that's where I was going to put the turkeys. The leaves, I wanted to do Fall colors." Ah, I love that precious little girl of mine!

 



 

 

So next up along the hop is me!

 

 

For the blog hop, I wanted to do something that wasn't quite traditional using twine. So I used my Silhouette and this Lori Whitlock cut file to create my little notecard. The back of the envelope looks like a traditional twine closure. Here is the back of my envelope, featuring some red/white twine from my Classic twine pack.

 

 

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I made the front of the envelope identical to the little notecard using Solid Rose Accents. I fussy cut my stamped images and layered them using my Quickie glue pen. I stamped A Little Message for You using Rich Cocoa Memento ink.

 

 

 

Your next stop along the hop is Greta. Her cards always have such an elegant feel to them. I can't wait to see what she has created. 

 

 

Don't forget about the THREE gift certificates that will be given away! One gift certificate will go to a random participant and TWO gift certificates to TWO people who comment along the hop! You have until November 11, 2013 11:59pm PST to comment and be eligible.

 

Happy hopping!

10 Minute Craft Dash with DeNami Design

It's me again! I am back with my second post today to share another DeNami creation. This time I am playing along with 10 Minute Craft Dash over at Pretty Pink Posh. The challenge is to create a project in less than 10 minutes, featuring buttons. You are able to have your supplies out and ready, but you must complete your project in 10 minutes or less.

The fabulous sponsor of this week's challenge is DeNami Design. The winner will earn a $20 gift certificate.

This challenge always pushes me out of my comfort zone. Yay!!! Once I had all of my supplies out on my table, I decided that I would make a tag. I inked up Elegant Holly and fussy cut the leaves. Then I added some score tape to the bottom of the tag. I stamped my sentiment from Christmas Greetings stamp set and then sprinkled some Ruby Red glitter over the score tape. Let me just say that this glitter just rocks!!! I can confirm that you will be seeing this on some future projects. I adhered the leaves with my ATG and then I added a Ruby Red boutique button using some glossy accents.

 

 

To finish of my tag, I added some ribbon and twine. This project took me 8 min and 45 sec to complete. Now, if I had my fabric scissors and ribbon handy, this would have taken me much less time. Nonetheless, I finished my tag in under 10 minutes. Yay for me!

 

Now it's your turn to play along. Just link up over at Pretty Pink Posh to play along!