Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Farwell 2014...

Its hard to believe that a brand new year begins tomorrow!  I still haven't adjusted to writing 2014 on my cheques and now I have to remember 2015?!?  I hope 2014 has been good to you.  I know many for whom it has not and who are looking forward to seeing a bright new year dawn tomorrow morning.  I hope that, whatever 2014 has brought you, your new year is filled with blessings and happiness.
Today is also the last day of my walk down memory lane as I look back at projects I've shared over the past 1000 posts.  Here goes...

This simple little Valentine's card is one of my favourite designs of all time.  I love the simplicity of it and that cute little hanger. 
This was a project I did during my stint on the Technique Twist Design Team.  It was my first attempt at a Building Block card and I love the way it turned out...so much so that I CASE'd myself a few weeks ago when making a First Birthday card for my niece!
This one was a project for one of my techniques classes that featured the Shaving Cream technique.  I love the marbled background and all the gold...so rich and yummy!
This was another project for The Technique Twist where I did a twist on Triple Time stamping.  I love the way it turned out.  The different-sized panels were just scraps of card stock I had laying on my stamp table at the time!
If this one looks familiar it is because I just posted it a few weeks ago.  I simply love everything about this project...especially the use of the coral stamp image to get the frosted-looking background!
This project isn't overly special or different, but I chose it because it was my first attempt at the Northern Lights Background technique and it uses my very first stamp set purchase:  Lovely as a Tree.
Well, there you have it:  eighteen of my favourite projects from 1000 posts-worth of them!  I hope you've enjoyed this little retrospective and that these projects provide you with a little inspiration heading into a brand-new year!  Happy New Year, everyone!!

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

More "This is Your Life"...

Today I continue my walk down memory lane as I reflect on the past 1000 posts on my little blog.  I have six more projects to share with you today...

This was a card I made for a friend's Tween daughter's birthday.  I love the glitter strips along the left side...made using Sticky Strip and different colours of glitter.  This was long before the days of Glimmer paper, which would have made this look SOOOO much easier!
Speaking of Tweens, this one was designed with a Tween boy in mind.  I love the use of colour blocking behind the car image in place of colouring the image itself.  Gonna have to try this look again!
I chose this one because it uses the Bokeh background technique, which is SO trendy right now.  I made this card well over a year ago...I was a trendsetter...haha.  Truly, though, I love this look and the warm Fall colours are my favourites to work with.
Speaking of trends, there seems to be a bit of a birthday card trend happening today!  This one was an easel card I designed for a friend of my son's, who is a big Angry Birds fan.
This was my hubby's birthday card a couple of years ago.  He is a big music buff, so it was perfect for him.  He loved it and I loved that I was able to work bling into a Mancard!!
I chose this one because it is just pretty.  I love the different elements and the way they work together.  This project got me noticed by Karen Burniston, the designer of the die I used.  She actually emailed me to compliment my work!
Well, there you have another round of favourite projects from the last 4-1/2 years.  I'll be back tomorrow with the last batch to finish off 2014!

Before you go, be sure to check out this week's Weekly Deals.  There are a few items here that I might just have to pick up myself ;)  Prices are good until Monday at midnight.

Amazing Birthday Wood Stamp Set by Stampin' Up!
Amazing Birthday Wood-Mount Stamp Set
Price: $35.95 
Sale: $26.96
Clips Essentials Hardware
Clips Essentials Hardware
Price: $7.95 
Sale: $5.96
Finishing Touches Edgelits Die
Finishing Touches Edgelits Die
Price: $11.95 
Sale:  $8.96
Fun Flower Punch
Fun Flower Punch
Price: $22.95 
Sale: $17.21
Hearts A Flutter Framelits Die
Hearts A Flutter Framelits Die
Price: $30.95 
Sale: $23.21
Marina Mist 3/4 Chevron Ribbon
Marina Mist 3/4" Chevron Ribbon
Price: $12.50  
Sale: $9.38
Party Pennants Bigz L Die by Stampin' Up!
Party Pennants Bigz L Die
Price: $40.95 
Sale: $30.71
Top 10 Photo Book Template Digital Download
Top 10 Photobook Template - Digital Download
Price: $16.50  
Sale: $9.90

Monday, December 29, 2014

My 1000th Post!!

Can you believe today  marks my 1000th blog post??  It's hard to believe I've been able to come up with that many projects and something to say about each one!  I've known this day was coming for a while and thought long and hard about what to do to mark the occasion.  I decided to take a look back through the 1000's of photos I've taken of my work over the years.  It is hard to believe I actually put some of it out there for anyone to see!  Wowzers...it's bad!!  Along the way I also found several projects I had forgotten all about and really love, so I decided to share those favourites with you over the next couple of days.  There are 18 in all, so I will share six a day, which will take us into the new year.  So, here goes...the first round of my blog's version of "This is Your Life"...

This was my Dad's birthday card several years ago.  I like that I cut up the Lovely as a Tree image into three different-sized panels.  I also like the use of the natural jute twine.  Not crazy about the overuse of metal embellishments ;)
This was one of the projects we made at my very first workshop!  It's hard to believe I did something that ambitious with a bunch of rookie stampers (me included!).  I've come a long way since then!  I still love the Artistic Etchings stamp set!
This was my brother's birthday card several years ago.  He is a wannabe rocker at heart.  I like the grungy look with all the distressed edges and sponging.
This is still one of my all-time favourite Christmas cards.  I just love the composition of this one, as well as the images and colours.  I sure did do lots of layering on this one!!
This is a Z-fold card from one of my first Christmas Stamp-a-Stacks.  It uses some of my all-time favourite DSP (Mocha Morning) as well as the beautiful Bright Hopes stamp set, which is one I will always regret letting go.
This card earned me the nod for one of the first online sketch challenges I ever entered.  It is a super-simple layout that is actually quite involved, as I paper-pieced the umbrella and added drops of Crystal Effects to the raindrops and puddle for dimension.  Pretty advanced for me at the time!
I hope you've enjoyed this little blast from my past...check back tomorrow for another round of oldies but goodies!

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!  I hope today finds you enjoying time with those you love.  I have a project to share with you today that I hope will serve to remind us all of the reason we celebrate...

Christmas card featuring the Gentle Peace stamp set.
I spent some quiet time yesterday colouring this image with my Blendabilities and reflecting on how so very blessed I am and giving thanks.  I hope you will take a few quiet moments today to consider the most precious gift, given on that very first Christmas so long ago.  I wish you a wonderful Christmas!


Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Only Two More Sleeps...

...till Christmas Day!  There is still so much to do, but the excitement certainly is growing in our household!  Each new gift that appears under the tree must be shaken, sniffed and carefully examined to determine its contents.  Christmas sure is fun with a 7-year-old in the house! 
I have been so busy shopping, baking and wrapping gifts that I haven't had much time to play in my stamp room (unless you count the hours spent wrapping!).  I do want to show you the third project I designed for my Blendabilities Club this month...

Any Occasion card featuring the Blended Bloom and A Dozen Thoughts stamp sets.
Can you believe I achieved that soft watercolour look with Blendabilities??  Its SO easy!  First of all, I stamped the Blended Bloom image in Melon Mambo ink.  Did you know that there are several Classic ink colours that work with Blendabilities?  Check out the list below:


  • Always Artichoke
  • Baked Brown Sugar
  • Blushing Bride
  • Calypso Coral
  • Coastal Cabana
  • Crisp Cantaloupe
  • Crumb Cake
  • Crushed Curry
  • Daffodil Delight
  • Garden Green
  • Hello Honey
  • Marina Mist
  • Melon Mambo
  • Lost Lagoon
  • Old Olive
  • Pear Pizzazz
  • Pink Pirouette
  • Pistachio Pudding
  • Pool Party
  • Pumpkin Pie
  • Sahara Sand
  • Smoky Slate
  • So Saffron
  • Soft Sky
  • Tangelo Twist
  • Tangerine Tango
  • Tempting Turquoise
  • Wild Wasabi
  • Wisteria Wonder
 Now, to create the soft colour, begin by colouring 4-5 petals at a time with the lightest shade of Melon Mambo Blendabilities.  Then go over each petal with the Colour Lifter, working in a circular motion using the fine tip.  Be sure to only work 4-5 petals at a time, so as not to allow the ink to set completely...it is much easier to lift the colour when it is still damp.  I really worked the folded parts of the petals to achieve a very light shade of pink.

For the centre of the flower I coloured the stamens using the lightest shade, but didn't use the colour lifter on them.  The area between the stamens and the centre of the flower I coloured with the medium shade of Melon Mambo Blenda's.  The centre is coloured with the lightest shade of Old Olive Blenda's and then lightened further with the Colour Lifter.
The rest of this card is pretty simple.  I used the Perfect Polka Dots TIEF to emboss the background and the Circles Framelits to create the cut-out for the bloom.  The sentiment is from the A Dozen Thoughts set and is stamped in Pear Pizzazz ink.  I used some Melon Mambo 1/8" Taffeta ribbon by way of embellishment.  The entire card is on a Pear Pizzazz card base.

I kept the inside very simple to allow lots of space to write, stamping the Blended Bloom image twice in Melon Mambo ink.

Now for today's Weekly Deals...these prices are good until Monday at midnight.

A Fitting Occasion Wood Stamp Set
Price: $46.95
Sale: $35.21
Be The Star Wood Stamp Set by Stampin' Up!
Be The Star Wood-Mount Stamp Set
Price: $35.95 
Sale: $26.96
Blushing Bride Baker's Twine by Stampin' Up!
Blushing Bride Baker's Twine
Price: $3.95 
Sale:  $2.96
Chalk Talk Framelits Die
Chalk Talk Framelits Die
Price: $30.95 
Sale: $23.21
Chocolate Chip 3/4 Chevron Ribbon
Chocolate Chip 3/4" Chevron Ribbon
Price: $12.50  
Sale: $9.38
Midnight Cheer Ensemble -- Digital Download
Midnight Cheer Ensemble - Digital Download
Price: $10.95 
Sale:  $6.57
Oh My Goodies Wood Stamp Set by Stampin' Up!
Oh My Goodies Wood-Mount Stamp Set
Price: $30.95 
Sale: $23.21
Squares Collection Framelits Die
Squares Collection Framelits Die
Price: $32.95 
Sale: $24.71