The Year in Review - 2011 + Blog Candy

Wow, I wasn't sure what I was going to post on New Year's Eve, and then I saw that several of my friends and bloggers that I follow were participating in Karin's Year in Review blog hop.  What a great way to end 2011 - my first year of blogging! 

And, at the last minute, Operation Write Home decided to have the same kind of hop - WOOHOO!

Here are 10 cards I chose in chronological order:

These are the first cards I ever posted to my blog (Stampin' Up):

Next is a dimensional ruffle card (OWH tutorial here) made with We R Memory Keepers paper:

Here's a card I CASE'd from a Cricut magazine:

Another Cricut card that uses Create A Critter cartridge:

I fell in love with this little hedgehog (Hambo Stamps) and made it into kits for an OWH party:

Then I discovered Doodle Pantry images and paired this with one of my fave sketches from OWH:

I played along with the Hambo Hoedown ALL YEAR LONG and never missed one!  Here's a fave:

Another favorite company for digi stamps this year is Bugaboo Stamps:

I finally tried my hand at a white on white card and was pretty proud of it:

How could I not include Kaylie's birthday card using a Dustin Pike image and Jenn Jackson sketch:

If you've gotten this far and taken the time to look at all 10 of my cards, I'm offering up some blog candy - a $10 gift certificate to Doodle Pantry (they are having a 50% off sale through January 2 so it's like getting $20!).  To be eligible, you must do just two things:

(1) Leave a comment and include your email address - you want me to be able to contact you if you win, right?! and 
(2) Become a follower


So that you can take full advantage of the great sale, I will draw the name of the winner at Noon Central time on January 1 so that you will still have one day plus a little bit to shop the sale!

Happy Birthday, Kaylie!

Today my daughter Kaylie turns 9!  Unbelievable - where has the time gone?!  My sweet girl is a lover of dragons, unicorns, dinosaurs and Pokemon, so I chose this adorable dragon image (pre-colored) from Dustin Pike to use on her birthday card.  Lots of bright colors because she's such a happy girl!

Challenges:
Craft Your Passion #90 - Sketch (pictured below)
Stars & Stamps Midweek Throwdown - Birthday
Scrapbook Sisters #66 - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Top Tip Tuesday #66 - Anything Goes

Card Supplies:
image - pre-colored image from Dustin Pike
patterned paper - Echo Park scraps
cardstock and buttons - from my stash
waxy flax in buttons - Scrapworks (oh my gosh, are they even still in business?!)
flowers - Prima
bling in flowers - Bazzill
dies - Nestabilities circles
tools - We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, scalloped blade for Fiskars rotary trimmer

Doodle Pantry - Vintage Phone

I'm so excited that Laurie Wilson at Doodle Pantry has asked me to stay on as a Guest Designer for January and February.  I love her images (pre-colored and outlines), sentiments and digital papers that are all coordinated.  So, get ready because you will see a LOT of Doodle Pantry cards from me over the next couple of months - I LOVE THEM!

Today Doodle Pantry is releasing 3 new images AND having a 50% off sale that runs through January 2.  There is the cutest hummingbird set that is FREE with a purchase - how can you beat that deal!

I made my card with one of the new images (Vintage Phone), and it comes with several really clever sentiments, too!  I chose "Long time no talk" because it makes a perfect Operation Write Home card for a deployed hero to send home to a loved one.  PLUS, I loved the sentiment with the old-fashioned phone...if that was the phone they used the last time they talked, then it sure has been a LONG time!  LOL

Hurry!  You only have 5 days to take advantage of this awesome sale!!

Card Supplies:
image and sentiment - Doodle Pantry (vintage phone)
Copic markers - C3 and C5
patterned paper - My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Rosy collection
cardstock - scraps from my stash
dies - Nestabilities oval, scalloped oval, long rectangle, long scalloped rectangle
ink - Memento (tuxedo black)
sketch - Operation Write Home sketch #17

Cookie-palooza!

Okay, here's the reason why I haven't posted a card today:

These are my famous peanut butter cup cookies!  I can only bake them when my husband is out of town because he has a peanut allergy, and he's gone until late tonight.  The teachers at school LOVE them, and I ran out BEFORE Christmas, so while he's out of town, I'm baking peanut butter cookies like crazy.  Here's how to do it!

Step 1: Buy Betty Crocker peanut butter cookie mix and make cookie dough according to directions on package.

Step 2: Unwrap your miniature Reese's peanut butter cups so they are ready to use.

Step 3: Roll cookie dough into balls that will fit into a mini muffin pan like this:

Step 3: Bake in oven according to directions on the back of the package.  I leave mine in for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees because I use non-stick mini muffin pans.  When you take them out of the oven, they should look like this:

Step 4: Take unwrapped miniature Reese's peanut butter cups and push them into the center of each cookie while they are still in the mini muffin pan.  They will look like this:

Step 5: Let the cookies cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes.  Then, use a butter knife to loosen them around the edges and "pop" them out of the mini muffin pan.  Be careful: the chocolate on top is melted and will make a big mess if you don't just "ease" them out of the pan!  I put them on a cookie sheet or some other type of tray and put them in the freezer.  Once frozen, then I can store them in the freezer in gallon Ziploc bags until I need them.  They are very easy to make since you use a store-bought mix, but EVERYONE just loves them.  I only give about 6 as a gift to teachers because they are so rich and they have been known to eat them all in one day!  LOL

Stampin' Up CD Calendar - Pt. 4

Today I'm going to show you the last three months from the SU CD Calendar: October, November and December.  The November calendar page uses another stamp from the Gift Givers set that I ordered from the Holiday Mini Catalog which expires January 3, 2012.  There are so many uses for that set that I can't wait to get my hands on it!  December's page uses an ornament stamp and punch that are in the big SU catalog and have also been added to my wish list.  :-)  For more information and a link to the SU catalogs, please click HERE to see my original post.

Seems A Little Sketchy #3

Happy Day After Christmas!  If you aren't out at the stores shopping all the after Christmas bargains or exchanging gifts that didn't fit, then why not "get your sketch on?!"

If you enjoy working with sketches when creating your cards, then you will LOVE the challenges at Seems A Little Sketchy.  You have 2 weeks to link up your creation (up to 3 entries are allowed) for a chance to win digital stamps from our sponsors.  This week's sponsor is Stretch n' Bubbles.  I couldn't resist this adorable penguin.  With all the hearts on the image, I turned it into a LOVE card for Operation Write Home!  The sentiment is from TLC and says, "To the sweetest person I know."

What are you waiting for?  Go get sketchy with it!

Card Supplies:
image - Stretch n' Bubbles
sentiment - Create with TLC
Copic markers - C5, C7, C9, Y11, Y15, Y19, R24, R29, B00
circle punches - Stampin' Up: 1", 1-1/4" and 1-3/8"
ribbon - American Crafts
red cardstock - Stampin' Up Riding Hood Red
other cardstock - Bazzill
embossing folder - Cuttlebug snowflakes
self-adhesive black nailheads - Mark Richards (from Hobby Lobby)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas to everyone!  Well, of course, I had to share a Christmas card with you today, but I promise that this will most certainly be the last of this holiday season!!! 

I've been admiring all of the white on white cards I've been seeing other people post on their blogs and decided it was time that I gave it a try.  Oh my gosh, I don't know what I was waiting for - easy and elegant, I tell you!  I think what gave me the kick in the pants I needed was joining the Really Reasonable Ribbon monthly club.  For December we received winter whites, and all of the ribbon was just yummy!  Thanks, Judy Rozema, for posting on your blog about the Really Reasonable Ribbon Club - I love it!

Challenges Entered:
Really Reasonable Ribbon - Anything Goes + Ribbon (of course!)

Card Supplies:
Bo Bunny - rub-on sentiment
Nestabilities - Labels Ten
Bazzill - self-adhesive jewels
Really Reasonable Ribbon - white ribbon
Cuttlebug - embossing folder (Textile)

Dustin Pike Snowman

I've had this image from Dustin Pike printed for a while just waiting for the perfect card to put him on.  Well, I finally found it!  When I was playing around with all of my Creative Imaginations scraps, I noticed that the dark red in the pre-colored image matched perfectly with the paper I used to mat him, and he fit perfectly into the space I had set aside.  It was just meant to be!

Happy Christmas Eve to you and yours!

Card Supplies:
Dustin Pike - pre-colored digital image
Bo Bunny - rub-on sentiment
We R Memory Keepers - Corner Chomper
Creative Imaginations - everything else

OWH-Thanks to Our Heroes!

Hero Arts Stamps has partnered with Operation Write Home to design and create 3 stamp sets specifically for Operation Write Home cards for our heroes to mail home.  The sentiments and images are perfect and I've never seen others out there like them!  So, to celebrate OWH is having a Thanks to Our Heroes (Hero Arts AND deployed heroes) Challenge and are giving away the new Hero Arts stamps as prizes.  I sure hope I win.  You can check HERE for all of the details of the challenge.  The deadline is "before Christmas Eve" so that Sandy Claus can award the prizes for Christmas!

I used a Doodle Pantry image, sentiment and digital papers along with Nestabilities oval and scalloped oval dies and some black cardstock from my stash.  Part of the challenge was to use a sketch from the OWH Stars & Stamps blog, so I chose sketch #99 and turned it on its side.

Stampin' Up CD Calendar - Pt. 3

Today I'm going to show you July, August and September from the SU CD Calendar.    July's page was SUPER easy and created a really cool effect.  First, we used a die to cut out the stars.  Then we glued them down onto the white piece and ran the whole thing through the Big Shot with the basket weave embossing folder.  The flower on the September page was really fun, too!  It's one stamp, but there are 3 different punches for each piece of the flower so that you can easily change the colors for each part with NO fussy cutting - woohoo!  For more information, please click HERE to see my original post.

Last Minute Christmas Cards

Wow, I thought I was done making Christmas cards, but it wasn't meant to be!  There is more Christmas cheer left inside of me.  Here are 3 Christmas cards I made completely with scraps from a mini album that I made years ago.  I really like how each of them turned out.  Which is your favorite?

Tis The Season:

Card Supplies:
Bo Bunny - rub-on sentiment
Skipping Stones Design - sketch #105
Tim Holtz - Distress Ink (walnut stain)
Creative Imaginations - everything else

Home for the Holidays:

Card Supplies:
Bo Bunny - rub-on sentiment
OWH Stars & Stamps - sketch #98
Creative Imaginations - everything else

O Christmas Tree:

Card Supplies:
Bo Bunny - rub-on sentiment
Creative Imaginations - rub-on tree and snowflakes
Paper Studio - bling in center of snowflakes

Stampin' Up CD Calendar - Pt. 2

My parents arrived yesterday for Christmas, so I thought I'd show you more of the pages from the Stampin' Up CD Calendar Class this week.  Today I'm going to show you April, May and June.    The bunny on April is from the Gift Givers set that I ordered from the Holiday Mini Catalog that expires on January 3, 2012.  For more information and a link to this catalog, please click HERE to see my original post.

On June's background we used a technique I had never tried.  We used Versamark ink on a stamp and then used different colors of chalks to bring out the stamp.  It created a really soft multi-colored background!

OWH Midweek Throwdown & Sketch 100

This week's Operation Write Home Midweek Throwdown Challenge is a last call for Valentine's cards.  The deadline to send Valentine's cards to the OWH shippers is December 31.  I haven't made even one card that said Happy Valentine's - they are all LOVE cards so that our deployed troops can use them for Valentine's or just to say "I love you" like this image from As You Wish Designs says.  If you buy the set that this image is a part of for just $5, then all proceeds after PayPal fees will be donated to Operation Write Home.  Just another way to support our troops!

I couldn't decide which card I liked better.  Take a look and let me know what YOU think!

Challenges Entered:
OWH Midweek Throwdown - Valentine's Last Call
OWH Sketch Challenge - Sketch #100

Hambo Hoedown - Santa Monster

This week at the Hambo Hoedown we received this Santa Monster digi with 2 different sentiments.  I wasn't able to work either sentiment into the sketch I used from Fetch A Sketch, so I used the Ho Ho Ho brads as a kind of sentiment on my card.  We were also asked to "Dress Up Our Corners" since "Santa Monster does not cut corners on his volunteer work at Christmastime," so I rounded mine.  Not real original, I know - sorry!  When I finished the card though I thought it turned out really well thanks to the unique sketch.

Challenges Entered:
Hambo Hoedown - Santa Monster digi and Dress Up Your Corners
Fetch A Sketch - Sketch #13

Card Supplies:
image - Hambo Stamps
Copic markers - C3, C5, E35, YG13, YG17, R29, Y26
paper - glitter cardstock (Best Creation Inc.), green cardstock (Bazzill), patterned paper (Bo Bunny)
other - We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Nestabilities circle and oval dies, Tim Holtz Distress Stickles (clear rock candy), brads (Bo Bunny)
sketch - Fetch A Sketch #13

Stampin' Up CD Calendar Class

This past Monday I attended a Stampin' Up CD Calendar Class hosted by Christi Beck.  It turned out so cute that I wanted to share it with you!  I've decided to post 3 months at a time, so here are the pages for January, February and March 2012.  Each page measures 4-1/4 x 5-1/4" and fits in a CD case which is used as the "stand" to hold the pages.  Usually I would give a project like this as a gift to someone, but in this case it was so cute as well as functional that I decided to keep it for myself for a change.  They were so easy to make that I may make my own version to give as gifts!

The stamps on all 3 of these calendar pages came from the Gift Givers stamp set in the SU holiday mini catalog that expires on January 3, 2012.  There are several other images from this stamp set that will be used on other months in the calendar, too.  I decided after the class that I "NEEDED" this set, so I ordered it.  Each one has a corresponding SU punch to go with it, so I also joined Christi's Stamp Club and plan on ordering the punches each month until I've got them all!  Woohoo - what fun!!!

Bugaboo - Santa Baby Challenge

This week's challenge at Catch the Bug (Bugaboo's challenge blog) is "Santa Baby" - however you may interpret that.  I immediately thought of the Christmas Baby digi stamp from Bugaboo that I have, but many others went for more of the Marilyn Monroe vibe - LOL!

Boy Version:

Girl Version:

Card Supplies:
image - Bugaboo Stamps
sentiment - Stampin' Up Teeny Tiny Wishes set
Copic markers - (boy) E00, BG72, BG75, BG78; (girl) E00, RV21, RV23, R39
patterned paper - Melissa Frances (boy) Lewis; (girl) Cassy
cardstock - Bazzill
ink - Memento tuxedo black
dies - Nestabilities oval and scalloped oval
punches - Stampin' Up word window and modern label

Bugaboo 12 Days of Christmas - Days 7 & 12

Wow, unbelievable!  This will be the last post for the Bugaboo 12 Days of Christmas daily challenges as the deadline is tomorrow (Friday, December 16).  It was serendipity that I hadn't posted the Day 7 challenge yet and when I opened the Day 12 challenge, I discovered I could use one card for both challenges!!

Day 7's Challenge: To use the photo below as inspiration.  I focused on the bell in the swan's beak as my inspiration.  Day 12's Challenge: To use a Christmas song as inspiration.  It just so happened that the image with a bell that I purchased from Bugaboo Stamps also said "Jingle Bells" on it.  Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle All the Way!  Woohoo!

Card Supplies:
image - Bugaboo Stamps
patterned paper - Bo Bunny Holiday Magic collection
glitter cardstock - Best Creation Inc.
Copic markers - Y23, Y26, G28, R29 (I used R29 for the outer circle of the image as well)
ribbon - white grosgrain from Michael's
sketch - OWH Stars & Stamps sketch #83