Year in Review, Part 2

Yesterday, I showed a favorite project from each month in the first half of 2008. Today, I'm looking back at the second half of '08.

From July:



I often tend to head in a more "busy" direction with my layers and embellishments, so it was refreshing to switch over to something so clean and simple. Plus, this was my contribution to Julie Ebersole's "Dare to Get Dirty" challenge over the summer, and if you've ever gotten one of Julie's super-sized "SHUT UP" comments on SCS, you know it's not something to forget!

Or maybe she was just being nice?

From August:



Stampin' Up's Upsy Daisy stamp set and Haiku designer paper - what else does a stamper need?


From September:



Gotta love the first Christmas card of the year :)


From October:



Be still my beating heart ... I ADORE the Poppy Patch set by Flourishes, LLC!


From November:



This peaceful, serene winter church image from Our Daily Bread Designs is among my all-time favorite images ever.


From December:



You just can't go wrong with it!


Thanks for stopping by! Tomorrow, I'll be showing one of the new Verve stamp sets that will be released on January 10. Can't wait!!

Year in Review, Part 1

Have you been seeing all the "year in review" posts around blogland? I first saw this idea on Amy Westerman's blog, Heartfelt Greetings, where she picked her favorite card of each month throughout 2008. She got the idea from someone else, who got the idea from someone else, and so on. I saw a similar round-up again on Sharon Johnson's blog, No Time To Stamp, and began to think it would be fun to do something like that too. I followed Amy's lead and picked a favorite from each month, rather than just my top ten overall. I'll start with the first half of 2008 today, and then tomorrow I'll show the last half. I hope you enjoy the look back!

One thing I chuckled over as I was looking back was how much I've changed and grown as a stamper (I still can't bring myself to use the word "artist," LOL!). Of course my design skills have improved, as would be expected, but what I chuckled over the most was the change in attitude. I can remember a time not very long ago at all, when, if I made what I thought was a really great card, one that surprised me and made me think, "wow, I actually made this all by myself," I would have the crazy urge never to stamp again. I thought I'd reach my pinnacle, so why not just go out at the top of my game? Of course, I would stamp again, and eventually, some new project would take the old favorite's place (a good thing, I tell ya - lol!). At some point during the past year to eighteen months, I have finally gained enough confidence to trust that there actually WILL be another good idea to come out of this ol' head of mine! And now, instead of wanting to stop, I can't wait to get to that next great thing, whatever it is!

I could be happy enough stamping my way to the next project all holed up by myself in my studio, but how much nicer a journey it is with stamping friends like all of you to share it with! I am so thankful for each one of you who stops by for a visit, and I look forward to all the fun 2009 will surely hold!

So here we go, 2008 in review:

From January 2008



These still make me giggle. Sentiments are: "Loads of Love, Valentine," "You're the complete package, Valentine," "I'm on fire 4U," "Police be my Valentine," and "Your bed or mine? [eek]"


From February 2008:




Altering 3-D projects isn't my strength, but I was thrilled with the way these turned out.


From March 2008:



I overcame my fear of rub-ons :)


From April 2008:



This one was even published!


From May 2008:



My first foray into coloring with Copic markers.


From June 2008:



Love all the bright colors with the crisp white. I can't believe this was all the way back in June, though - that means my current blog banner has been up way too long. But change is a-comin', I promise!

Se you tomorrow with the second half!

Beauty and the Beastly SFYTT Sample

Good morning friends! It's true, I have a beauty and a beast, today, First up, of course, is the beauty - well, I think so, anyway. Can't go wrong with pink and green, right? This is my sample for today's sketch challenge at Our Creative Corner. You can find the sketch, plus samples from the OCC designers over on the OCC blog. I'm really, really, really excited to help welcome THREE new designers to the OCC Crew, Kim Teasdale, Jackie Pedro, and Silke Ledlow, and this week's guest designer, Shannon Erskine! What talent! And Shannon was even sweet enough to provide this week's prize, a new stamp set called Owlentine by Treehouse Stamps! All the details for how to enter the drawing are posted on the OCC blog. Hope you can play!

For more designer chitchat on the cards, please visit the designers' individual blogs:

Cindy Haffner
Dawn Easton
Denise Marzec
Jackie Pedro
Jennifer Meyer
Julee Tilman
Kim Teasdale
Laurie Schmidlin
Lynda Benden
Silke Ledlow

My card features a Scripture stamp from Lift Up Our Hands, one of the two new sets from Our Daily Bread Designs. I paired it with some K&Co patterned papers, a flower cluster, and a cross charm for a soft, peaceful look.

And now, here's my sample for Jen's Sketch for You to Try:



You'll find the sketch, Jen's sample, and our new January guest designer's sample at i{heart}2stamp. The rest of the SFYTT girls have samples as well:

Amy
Carole
Shannan
Susan

Oh my, I totally jinxed myself on this one - when Jen sent this month's sketches earlier this week, I emailed back how much I like today's, that it looked really HARD, but fun and unique. I should have stopped about 1/3 of the way in and gone with plan B, but I was being stubborn and kept pushing this idea forward. It actually doesn't look as bad now as it did earlier this morning when I {finally} went to bed, but it's still not my favorite card ever!

For this one, I pulled out Verve's Petals & Stems, the colors and one of the papers from my beloved SU Haiku pack, a metal charm, and a sentiment from Verve's Artful Elegance.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you have an awesome weekend planned!



"Beauty"
Stamps: Lift Up Our Hands (Our Daily Bread Designs)
Paper: Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla (SU), dp (K&Co.)
Ink: Always Artichoke craft
Accessories: SU ribbon, Martha Stewart punches, K&Co adhesive pearls, sewing machine, clear embossing powder, paper piercer, silver cord, charm from Lost & Found Collection by Blue Moon Beads

"Beast"
Stamps: Petals & Stems, Artful Elegance (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Old Olive, Whisper White, So Saffron, Haiku dp (SU!)
Ink: Old Olive, So Saffron, More Mustard, Tangerine Tango (SU); Versafine Onyx Black
Accessories: SU ribbon, burlap string (Pink Hedgehog Paper Crafts); paper piercer, Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder, dimensionals, Spellbinders tag die, Around the Block metal charm

Viva La Verve!

Just wanted to let you know that Verve has started a new weekly Friday challenge, called Viva La Verve!, in the Verve Forum on SCS. Verve Diva Amber Hight will be hosting these, and she's cooked up a very cool "sketch with a twist" for today. Check out all the details, including prize info (because if it's Verve, then there are prizes!) right HERE! Hope you can play!!

See you tomorrow!

Happy 2009!

Happy New Year!! Here's to a healthy and happy 2009!

Today's card features a new stamp set from Our Daily Bread Designs called He is Risen, available in the store today. I've used the cross of nails image combined with John 3:16 (also from the He Is Risen set) to create the focal image. What I love about this set is that there are so many possibilities for Easter cards and projects, yet it's not limited to Easter. For more samples from the design team, visit our He Is Risen gallery. Here's the full set:

A second set, Lift Up Our Hands, was also released today. I'll have something from this set to show here on Saturday. In the meantime, check out the Lift Up Our Hands gallery for some beautiful and inspiring samples. And here's this one in full:

I'd also like to take a minute to welcome Our Daily Bread Designs's two newest designers: Chris Olsen and Guest Designer Cindy Motherway! They've really made these new sets shine!

A quick word about blogging ... I've slowed down quite a bit recently due to the holidays and various commitments. To be honest, it will probably stay a little slow for the next two weeks. I have four stamp releases and my last Dirty Dozen gallery (sniff, sniff) to get through by January 15. After that, I plan to return to a more frequent posting schedule. Thanks so much for your patience!! I can't wait to show you the rest of the new stamps I've been working with! And I really can't wait to tell you what two NEW companies I'll be working with! (Actually, the companies aren't new - I'm new to them!)

Cheers!

Let It Snow

Belated Merry Christmas wishes to all of you who celebrate Christmas! I hope you enjoyed a wonderful holiday with your loved ones!

I know "Let It Snow" are the last three words many of you want to hear, but here in Virginia we have yet to get anything more than a light dusting. I'm ready for some snow! Today's card is my sample for both Jen del Muro's Sketch for You To Try and for this week's challenge at Our Creative Corner, which is to use something clear on your card. Very little stamping today - just the "Let it Snow" sentiment (by Verve) on the tag. My clear element is a clear button on the snowflake/tag stack. At the bottom of the stack is a Bazzill chipboard snowflake. I coated it with some coarse Martha Stewart snow glitter, then topped it with a felt snowflake, the clear button and the tag. The rest is pretty straightforward, but if you have questions, just ask!

The rest of the SFYTT team's samples can be found here:

Jen (where you'll find the sketch and guest designer Lynn Put's GORGEOUS sample ... Lynn has another one on her blog, The Queen's Scene. Thanks for playing with us this month, Lynn!)
Amy
Carole
Shannan
Susan

All of the OCC's projects can be found on the OCC blog. For more designer chitchat, visit their indivdual blogs:

Cindy Haffner
Dawn Easton
Denise Marzec
Jennifer Meyer
Julee Tilman
Laurie Schmidlin
Lynda Benden

And check this out ... the UBER-talented Jen Tapler is Our Creative Corner's guest this week!! She is AMAZING!

That's it for me today ... thanks for stopping by! I hope you'll play along with one or both challenges this week!



Stamps: Winter Wonder (Verve)
Paper: Old Olive, Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Ski Slope dp (SU!)
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze
Accessories: spellbinders tag die, clear button, burlap string, SU felt snowflake, Bazzill chipboard snowflake, olive ribbon, paper piercer, sewing machine, sponge dauber
Size: 5 1/2" square

Lovey Dovey First Kiss

I am so lucky to have made so many stamping friends over the past year! This week, I've received some amazing handmade cards and goodies. Among those goodies was a stack of pre-stamped Sarah Kay images tucked inside a gorgeous Christmas card from Michelle at Stamper's Dream. One of the images, called First Kiss, was perfect for today's challenge from Our Creative Corner.

Julee Tilman, our December host, is celebrating her 11th wedding anniversary with the love of her life, her awesome husband Mark. If you've been to any of Verve's online release parties, you'll know Mark as Mr. Verve on SCS, and he really IS awesome! The fact that he knows what SCS is, much less has a user ID, makes him awesome in my book. Anyway, Julee's challenge for us is to make our best lovey dovey projects. Think anniversary, Valentine's, or anything for that special person in your life. See what I mean about First Kiss being perfect? It's just the sweetest! And how about that sentiment? From Verve, of course. The set is called Fairy Tales, and it's a fantastic mix of {mostly} sentiments.

Check out the Our Creative Corner blog for all the challenge particulars, plus samples from all the OCC designers. I lovey dovey these girls . For more chitchat on the samples, visit the individual designers' blogs.

Cindy Haffner
Dawn Easton
Denise Marzec
Jennifer Meyer
Julee Tilman
Laurie Schmidlin
Lynda Benden

And how about this: check out who we were lucky enough to snag as our guest designer - Jackie Pedro!! Woo hoo Jackie - so glad to have you this week!

Something else I lovey dovey is when YOU play along! Leave a comment on the OCC blog with a link to your creation so we can check it out. If you upload to SCS, use keyword OCCC (that's three C's). And YOU will lovey dovey this week's prize ... a randomly chosen challenge participant will win a $30 Verve gift certificate!

This card doubles as my sample for Jen del Muro's Sketch for You to Try for the week. This sketch is definitely a keeper for any sketch library - perfect for all of your larger, vertical images especially. Visit Jen at i{heart}2stamp to see the sketch, Jen's sample, and guest designer Lynn Put's sample. Amy, Carole, Shannan, and Susan have samples, too. To play along, leave Jen a comment with a link to your project. If you upload to SCS, use keyword: SFYTT. Can't wait to see what you create!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful weekend!



Stamps: Sarah Kay First Kiss (Stampavie); Fairy Tales (Verve Stamps)
Paper: SU Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red and Old Olive; Neenah 80# Solar White; SU Holiday Treasure dp
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; SU Chocolate Chip classic and craft; Ranger Antique Linen Distress ink
Accessories: Copic markers; SU ribbon, buttons, sponge daubers, sponges, dimensionals, clear embossing powder, paper piercer, and scallop border punch; Nestabilities; Pink Hedgehog Papercrafts burlap string; Close to My Heart paper flowers; Boss Kut flourish die-cut; sewing machine and brown thread
Size: 5 1/4" square