A Year in Cards: 2010

Happy New Year, y'all!! I am so excited to welcome 2011 and the adventures it holds for all of us. I thought I'd post my favorite cards of the year here for you...I hope you enjoy them!

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

I'll see you back here soon...one of my goals this year is to create more and blog more. Have a fabulous day!

And I'll glady stand up next to you and defend her still, today...'cause there ain't no doubt, I love this land...

Good morning, y'all! Verve Stamps just released 3 new sets and the Divas are celebrating with a new release hop today! First, a little housekeeping… if you clicked over from Amy’s blog, then you’re right on track. If not, then head on over to Julee’s blog, to start from the beginning. If the chain gets broken along the way, you can head over the Verve Blog for the full link list. Oh, and we’ve hidden a little prize for one lucky commenter along the hop, so be sure to spread a little comment love around as you hop! Okay, well, maybe it’s not so little. *wink* You could win the entire release, so what are you waiting for?!

I love the American Hero set that Julee created...what a great way to celebrate those that have sacrificed for our freedom. I wanted to make a clean and simple card, and I thought that this polka dot paper from Jillibean Soup was a perfect compliment to this set.

It's pretty self explanatory, so I'll let you mosey on along to AMBER's blog! Have a fabulous Saturday!

I know it's not much, but it's the best I can do...my gift is my song, and this one's for you...

Could it be true? Did I really get into my craft cave and make something? Yep, I did! It's Verve Release Countdown time, and I have a fun and different project to show you. I hope you like it.

But before I show it to you, I have a little bizness to conduct. I just noticed that as of yesterday, I have been blogging for 3 years. Holy moly! What started on a whim has become so much more...a place to share, a world-wide network of people that I truly consider friends, and a place to just express myself. I'm still surprised that people like to read my babbling...this blog is more about the journey for me than anything else. It has turned out to be so much more...and something that is quite a blessing.

To celebrate and say thank you, I'd like to share some goodies with you. After cleaning off my desk, I have things that I didn't even know I had! Can you relate? Anywho, I don't have a list or a pretty picture, but three random people who comment on this post will get a fabulous goodie package from me. And we're talking paper, stamp sets, ribbon, cardstock...who knows, but it will be good stuff, I promise!

Ok, so on with the project! Today on the Verve Blog, the New Release Spotlight is on the upcoming set called Blessings. It's a very special set, with a stamp that is very near and dear to my heart, so I decided to do something a little different and create a wall hanging. See whatcha think:

I know, it's a little different for me, but I really like how it turned out. I knew I wanted to use the Irish Blessing stamp from this set...like I mentioned earlier, it is very special to me. When I was in high school choir we sang a beautiful arrangement of this song, and it was always one of Josh's and my favorites. It has come to mind in some very dark times, and I can actually picture myself and my little life held safely and tenderly in God's hands. It was also what we placed on the back of Josh's memorial cards at his funeral.

This past week I learned that my choir director from high school is retiring this year. A group of alumni started to organize a little surprise at his last concert, and it has grown into a group of over 100 people. Kind of hard to sneak 100 people into a concert without being noticed! So all of us old folks are going to sing a song during the concert (and show those whipper snappers how it's done...), and then we will join the rest of the choir for The Lord Bless You and Keep You, which is the traditional finale of each concert. It is going to be quite a special night...I'd be lying if I said it wasn't going to be hard for me, but I'm looking forward to seeing lots of old friends.

So...yeah, all that to say that I wanted to make something special for our director that he could display in his study or office. While I was digging through my stash of alterables, canvases, and tins, I came across a Basic Grey 6x6 chipboard album that caught my eye. I used just the cover page and covered it with the Chopped Tomatoes pattern from Jillibean Soup's Minestrone collection. After sanding the edges, I ran my Versamagic Jumbo Java dew drop across them. I wanted to add a little oomph to the polka dot background, so I stamped one of the flourish images from the Blessings set repeatedly in cream colored acrylic paint. Then I dry-brushed around the edges of the plaque again with the cream paint to bring it together. That was the messy part!

I cut a panel of the Cannellini Beans pattern from the same Jillibean collection to fit within the rectangle of the plaque, inked the edges, and matted it with Dark Chocolate cardstock. I distressed the edges with my fingernail and attached it to the plaque with foam dimensionals. Then I stamped the Irish Blessing in Jumbo Java ink on Vintage Cream cardstock, cut it down to fit within the rectangle, and inked & distressed the edges. After mounting it onto the green and brown pattern, I decided to add a few red buttons to the left side. All that was left was to tie some thicker Jute through the holes for hanging.

All in all, I think I accomplished my goal, which was to create a meaningful gift for my choir director that is masculine enough to hang in a study or office, as well as any other place in the home. I really hope he likes it.

Ok, if you've made it through all this, you sure are sweet for sticking with me. Don't forget to visit the Verve Blog for more eye candy, and don't forget to leave a comment here, too! I'll choose three winners and post them on Sunday. Tell me something fun...a favorite quote, a good high school memory, a joke...whatever! And have a fabulous day!

I was sitting in the classroom...Trying to look intelligent in case the teacher looked at me...

Good morning, blog friends! It's FRIDAY!!!! Anyone else doin' a Happy Dance about that? I know I am!! It has been a looooooooong week at work, and I'm ready for a little R&R. What do y'all have planned this weekend?

So, today's not only Friday, it's Bellariffic Friday! This week's sketch was done by yours truly, and thankfully my card came together pretty easily. Sounds silly, but sometimes I create a sketch and then can't do a thing with it! *giggle*

I colored this image of Teachabella the other day, so I decided to use it as the focal image for my card. See whatcha think:
I know, it's kinda on the bright side for me...but I love it! This adorable image from Stamping Bella was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black on Bella's Bestest Paper, then colored with Copic Markers. I cut & embossed the oval with my Nestabilities, then added a Chocolate Chip scalloped oval mat. For the base layer, I matted a piece of Tempting Turquoise cardstock with Chocolate Chip, then stitched around the edges. After adhering that to my Kraft card base, I added a strip of Chocolate Chip cardstock across the middle and wrapped a piece of Riding Hood Red striped ribbon across it. I chose a piece of Jillibean Soup paper from the Minestrone Collection, but the blue didn't match, so I colored the blue stripes with a turquoise Copic marker so it would coordinate with my image and cardstock. I matted that with Chocolate Chip as well, then popped up my main image on dimensionals. Then I added a bow with my red ribbon, and three bronze glass pearls. The finishing touch was some Diamond Glaze on the apple and vase, and some Diamond Stickles on the flowers on Bella's desk.

Well, that's about all the blabbing I have for right now...don't forget to check out Bloggabella to see all the eye candy from the Babes and the Sistahood this week. I hope you enjoyed my card...thanks for coming by to say hi!

Have a wonderful Friday!

Love, you're all I ever could need...only one good thing worth trying to be, and it's love...

Hey, y'all! Happy Saturday! I'm sitting here enjoying the quiet since my boys are with their "granny" going to see a movie. I'm about to head to Stamp Asylum for my Copic Class, but I thought I'd squeeze in a little stamp time first. *grin*

I decided to use this week's Mojo Monday sketch to get me going...what a great one! And I tell you, it's a lot quicker now that I'm building my stash of pre-colored images. You gotta try it!

I stamped Veggiebella in Black Stazon on Fabriano Hot Press Watercolor paper and colored her with a waterbrush & reinkers. For the teensy tiny areas, I used a blender pen...much easier! The image was cut and embossed with my Rectangle Nestabilities, then matted with Prism Suede Brown Dark and a Kraft Scalloped Rectangle. I found this Jillibean Soup paper (Thin Zucchini from the Minestrone collection) that complimented my image quite nicely, so I mounted that onto a 5" square of Apricot Appeal sponged with Tangerine Tango. (Apparently all of my card today was based on food?? Weird!) After matting that with more Suede Brown Dark, I added a strip of the same across the card where the two papers came together, and then wrapped some New Leaf Stitched ribbon around it. I finished off the card with some Jillibean Soup Bean Seeds (felt flowers), held together with an antique brass brad. My finished card measures 5 1/4" square.

Well, folks, it's about time for me to get ready and hit the road, so I'm gonna say 'bye for now! Stay tuned...I have some fun stuff for you tomorrow that is a break from my "usual"...I think you will love it!

Have a fabulous Saturday!