Favorite Projects of 2012

On this final day of 2012, I thought I would revisit some of my favorite projects of the past year.  Since I didn't have enough for a Top 10 list, I've  grouped the items into three categories:  feminine, masculine, and ATCs.

This Valentine may be one of my favorite cards EVER.  It's hard for me to create "sweet" cards, but I really nailed it this time.

I sent this birthday card to a dear friend who is also a card maker.  It's a clean and simple card in a color combination that really pops.

Rounding out my favorite feminine cards of the year is this get well card that I sent to my aunt in November.  It features one of my favorite images, colored with Prismacolor pencils.

So many of the vintage images that I gravitate to work well on masculine cards.  I was super pleased with how the stamped background (the road map) turned out on this card; it's not a technique I've mastered.

Since I have a hard time stamping my own backgrounds, I rely heavily on patterned paper.  This card features papers from Basic Grey, one of my favorite vendors.

Most of my cards feature multiple layers and embellishments, like this card with the burlap and buttons.  (Burlap is the guy's version of bling.) 

I have loved making artist trading cards (ATCs), since I first learned about them several years ago.  There's a lot one can do in such a small space, as this ATC illustrates.  Gauze?  Beads?  A seashell?  No problem!

This ATC was made using a variety of scraps I had lying on my craft desk after several days of creating.  The graphics and color combination ended up being so interesting, and with very little effort.

A 1920s novel that I purchased at the Salvation Army store has turned out to be a reliable source of found poetry for just about any subject, as this eerie Halloween-inspired ATC shows.

I hope you enjoyed this photo montage of some of my 2012 favorites.  I look forward to sharing even more with you in 2013.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Don't Marry Your Cousin ATC

Now that Christmas is past, I can concentrate on making things to trade at ARTzona 2013, which is less than a month away now!  When I first signed up to participate, last August, it seemed like a long wait until January.  But time has really flown by and now I am feeling the pressure to create.

I cut this retro image out of a recent advertisement and then perused my favorite vintage novel in search of some random words to create a fun caption.

Be sure to stop back tomorrow, when I'll be posting pictures of my favorite projects from 2012.

Supplies:
Cardstock ATC base; background paper from Stampington and Company; retro image from an ad; found poetry from a 1920s novel; Pitt black pen; Adirondack copper acrylic paint dabber.

Ho Ho Ho!

Merry Christmas!

Magpie Christmas Card

And now for something completely different...

Those of you who have followed my blog for a while know that I am not a glitter kind of gal.  I don't do a lot of sparkly cards.  But I have friends who can't resist anything shiny (I call them My Dear Magpies), so I thought I would try making something more to their liking.

I knew that I wanted to use the tree die from Spellbinders.  I die-cut the tree from Bazzill Bling cardstock and embellished it with blue and silver rhinestones.  For added texture, I embossed the silver background paper with snowflakes.

The sentiment from Artistic Outpost was stamped on shimmery white cardstock and heat embossed in silver for even more shine.

I think this is a card that any magpie would want to have in her nest.

Supplies:
Bazzill Bling cardstock; silver stationery paper; shimmery white cardstock from Stampin' Up; snowflakes Cuttlebug embossing folder; Spellbinders holiday tree; blue and clear self-stick rhinestones from Michaels; sentiment from Artistic Outpost; Versamark ink; silver embossing powder; rectangle and scalloped rectangle from Spellbinders; corner rounder punch; pop-dots.

Yuletide Santa

Most of my Christmas cards this year were a variation of the card below, which was inspired by a card made by one of the designers for Artistic Outpost.

I first die-cut the ornament, then stamped the Santa with the die still in place so that a border was naturally created.  The star was die-cut from a piece of sticky-backed cork, which was my substitution for a rusty metal star.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps by Artistic Outpost; brown cardstock by Bazzill; kraft and very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; patterned papers by Kaiser Craft; Stazon timber brown ink; aged linen distress ink; Martha Stewart border punch; corner rounder punch; ornament, star, and label die-cut by Spellbinders; twine and sticky-back cork from Michaels; pop-duts.

Square Sympathy Card

I didn't realize it had been almost three weeks since I posted anything to my blog.  Due to work constraints I haven't had much time for creative activities this month, although I have been working on my Christmas cards and have a big batch almost ready to mail.  I'll be sure to share some photos with you before they hit the mailbox. In the meantime, I needed some sympathy cards due to some unexpected deaths in the family.

I like the sentiment in this sympathy set from Stampin' Up and to save myself some time, I used a design I've used in the past.  By changing the colors of the floral image, it's easy to make several simple but elegant cards in no time.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Gray and mauve cardstock by Bazzill; whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up; rubber stamps from Stampin' Up; Marvy markers; Ranger archival jet black ink; round and scalloped round Nestibilities; Swiss dot Cuttlebug embossing folder; corner rounder punch; pop-dots.