Favorites of 2012

It's hard to believe today is the last day of 2012!  The year has flown by!

I've been enjoying seeing what some of my blogging friends consider their favorites for the year and thought I would get on the bandwagon  and share my favorites.

If I was going to share my favorites from all of your blogs, there wouldn't be space!

January

My Little Chickadee

February

How Many Stamps?

March

Through the Window

April

Tic Tac Toe

May

Funky Dahlias

June

Eleanor with a Fourish

July

Smiling

August

Moving Forward

September

Happy Autumn

October

Pumpkin Mum

November

Merry Monday Poinsettia Greetings

December

Snowflake Thanks

Thank you for your visits in the past year.

Special thanks for your encouragement, your friendship and your inspiration.  Your comments warm my heart and your cards inspire me.

Happy New Year my friends.  Here's hoping that 2013 will be a wonderful year for all of us!

Enjoy!

Inchie, Twinchie, Sweetie

I took a few minutes to stamp last weekend.  I'm finally getting to share it.

Challenges:

Addicted to CAS 

The Featured Stamper, at SCS, this week is ~Fee~.  Her card totally inspired mine. Thank you for the inspiration, Sylvia!  There are several more that I hope to CASE!

The Technique Challenge at SCS last week was to Do an Inchie on a Twinchie. I'd never done an inchie or a twinchie so this was new for me.

Pixie's Crafty Workshop will get another visit as I used a bit of that last piece of Valentine paper from a couple years ago.  I punched very carefully to have the glittery piece in the heart and still save as much of that bit as I could.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe
Stamps:  I {Love} Love Wheel (unmounted and cut apart)
Ink:  Real Red
Paper:  Whisper White, Real Red, DSP (retired)
Other:  Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslit, Full Heart Punch, Basic Pearl, Corner Rounder Punch

The Christmas rush is over.  I'll keep the decorations up until New Years.  After all the hustle and bustle I can enjoy them more now.  We had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed each and every one of your happy Christmas wishes and cards.

Thanks for visiting.

Enjoy!

The Work of Christmas

The Work of Christmas

When the song of the Angel  is stilled,

When the Star in the sky is gone,

When the Kings and princes are home,

When the Shepherds are back with their flock,

The work of Christmas begins:

To Find  the lost - To Heal  the broken - To Feed  the hungry -

To Release the prisoner - To Rebuild the nations -

To Bring Peace among brothers and sisters -

To make music in the Heart.

                                                                                             By Howard Thurman

Merry Christmas

May hope, joy, peace and love be yours in abundance all your days.

Snowflake Thanks

I finally took a few minutes to make a card.

Challenges:

Queen for the Day at SCS who is Smilyn Steph. This is the lovely card that I chose to CASE.  Trish is right.  Stephanie has a wonderful gallery!

Paper Players.  Ann chose snowflakes for this 2 week challenge. 

Shopping our Stash where the challenge is a Winter Theme but NOT Holidays

And last but not least

Pixie's Crafty Snippets week 52.  

The snowflake was a leftover from last  year.  I had a snippet of this fantastic snowflake ribbon that a friend gave me and the little tag was done on a tiny snippet in my scrap bag.

Christmas is almost here.   I hope it's a blessed day for you.  Thanks for stopping by during this busy time.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Teeny, Tiny Wishes

Ink:   Jet Black StazOn

Paper:  Heavy White (from a local printer), Whisper White

Other:  Snowflake Die (Sizzix), Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets, Dazzling Diamonds, Modern Label Punch, Kars Snowflake EF (Cuttlebug)

Enjoy!

Snow Much Fun X 2

Just a quick post to share this Snowy pair!

Here's a closer look

These fellas always make me smile.

I'm going to post these at SCS in the Fan Club Gallery.  The Central Theme this month is Baby it's Cold Outside.

It also fits for the Inspiration Challenge in the Fan Club Gallery.

The snowmen and tree are there if not the blue.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Snow Much Fun

Ink:  Jet Black StazOn, Always Artichoke, SU Markers

Paper:  Real Red, Whisper White

Other:  Big Shot, Apothecary Art Framelits, Perfect Polka Dots EF, Movers & Shapers (retired), Modern Label Punch, Dazzling Details

Thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy!

Seize the Birthday

Our Lesley is starting another Challenge.  It's called Seize the Birthday.  It's starting January 10th, but Lesley is having a Linky Party right now.

All you need to do is create a new post on your blog with a birthday card you have made in the past or a newly create birthday card. No back linking please. You may use a card you created in the past but please create a new post for it.

This is a card that I made a while back and never posted.  I thought this was a good occasion to bring it out.

I'm really excited about this challenge!  Lesley's Merry Monday challenge was a big help in having my Christmas cards ready and mailed early.  I'm hoping this challenge will keep me caught up on my birthday cards too.

My daughters and I have a tradition of getting together in December to bake cookies.  We refer to it as Cookie Day and look forward to it as much as Christmas.  Sadly, our grandson Gavin has the flu so they couldn't come.  We baked and baked though and I'm on sugar overload!  It's always so nice to be together.

So glad you could stop by.  Wish I could give you a cookie.

Enjoy!

Sandy Hook Heartbreak

My friend Darnell has a perfect post for today.  I'd like to join her.

Present

I've seen so many wonderful ways to present gift cards, but of course I didn't have any on hand.  So when I needed to fancy some up to send for Christmas presents, I needed something quick and easy.  Here's what I came up with. (It looks like I should have straightened the ribbon before I took the picture. Funny how it looked fine "in person".)

I took a piece of 12" double sided paper from the Be of Good Cheer Collection.  I scored it at 4" and 8", turned it and scored at 4" and 8" again.  I used my paper cutter to cut out the corners leaving a cross shape. It was easy to fold it around the gift card. A piece of ribbon, a tag and some jingle bells make a pretty little present to slip  under the tree.

The CASology challenge this week is....

I'm not sure that this will be considered Clean and Simple but I'm going to share it there anyway.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe
Stamps: Tags til Christmas: Pinecone (available as a single stamp until 1-2-12
Ink:  SU Markers (Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler)
Paper:  Be of Good Cheer DSP
Other:  Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, Decorative Label Punch, Jingle Bells (non SU), 

I've just been reading about the slaughter in Connecticut.  My heart goes out to all the people in that town and particularly the survivors and families of those murdered.  I think we need to pray that the true gift of Christmas can find His way into our hearts.

Thanks for stopping by.

Shalom

Here are a couple of the cards that I made for my dear Sister-in-law.  She is always so appreciative of my cards and I wanted to make her a collection to have on hand.

Here's another....

Super easy and quick as I needed to get them in the mail to her.  

I'm going to share this with the Addicted to Stamps Challenge.  They're playing Bingo this week

I chose the middle line; RIBBON, FREE (Blue), EMBOSS.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Shalom (Card 1, retired), Jewish Celebrations (Card 2)

Ink:  Midnight Muse

Paper:  Midnight Muse, Whisper White

Other:  Holiday Frame EF, Midnight Muse Ribbon,  Extra Large Oval Punch & Oval Die (Card 2)

If you would like some more Hanukkah ideas, check out Harriett's blog.  She was a wonderful source of ideas for this collection of cards.  Thank you for the inspiration Harriett!

I'm so glad you could stop by!  I hope you are enjoying this Holiday Season.

Enjoy!

Frosty Friends at Sunset

I finally found time to finish a card and actually spent 2 hours last night editing photos so I'd have something to put on my blog. Now to find time to share them.  It's such a crazy time of year!  Fun but crazy!

This is a bit non-traditional and I'm not sure if I will use it for a Christmas card or a holiday thank you so I haven't added a sentiment yet.

The sunset is inspired by the view from my kitchen at sunset! I love seeing the red through the trees.

This card's for several challenges, although some have probably closed the door since I started this.

One Layer Wednesday  to put snow on a one layer card.

Less is More #97  which is a One Layer Week with a theme ALL IN A ROW.

Dynamic Duos #32 

Jingle Belles-December to Remember Anything (holiday) Goes

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Frosty Friends, Lovely as a Tree

Ink:  Jet Black StazOn, Goint Grey, SU Markers (Pretty in Pink, Rose Red)

Paper:  Whisper White

Other:  Stampin Sponges, Dazzling Details, Simply Scored

I've been getting some lovely Christmas cards in the mail.  I look forward to going to the mailbox every day.  Usually there's nothing fun in there.  I hope you're getting some snail mail these days.

Thanks for stopping by during this busy time.

Enjoy!

One More Merry Monday

Guess what?  We're having another Merry Monday!

Lesley says, "Although our weekly challenges are finished for 2012, we have decided to have a 2 week "Any Past Sketch" Challenge here at Merry Monday! You are welcome to use any of the past Merry Monday Sketches. To see all the sketches, please CLICK HERE.

When you create your post on your blog, please be sure to include the Sketch you used as well as the card you created." 

I chose sketch #12 since I wanted to use this new MB die.  Here's the sketch....

I cut 2 of the County Village and used some Stampin Dimensionals behind the front piece to give it a 3D look.

I put my new favorite snowflake embossing folder to use on the vellum and the Whisper White panel.  Once I got the village laid out, it went pretty fast.

Check out the other designers favorite sketches.  You'll be glad you did.

Leslie Croghan

Allisa Chilton
Bonnie Klass

LeAnne Pugliese

Nina Forsyth

Wendy Aungst

Narelle Farrugia

Sue Joyce

Sherry Eckblad

Margaret Moody 

Vicki Burdick

If you have some stampin' time, pick a sketch, make a card and link it up at the Merry Monday Challenge.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe

Stamps:  To You and Yours (retired)

Ink:  Midnight Muse

Paper:  Whisper White, Midnight Muse, Vellum

Other:  Country Village die (MB), Modern Label Punch, Snowflake EF (Cuttlebug)

Thanks for stopping by.  I can't wait to see what you've created lately.

Enjoy!

More Winter Memories

The Winter Memories set is sure bringing back some good childhood memories!  I was so blessed to have a wonderful childhood and a brother to share it with.  I remember being so excited to make a snowman, especially with that first snow of the season.

Freshly Made Sketches had a wonderful sketch by Rita this week.  I love the CASness of this sketch. 

Jingle Belles wants to keep up the momentum so they have an Anything Goes challenge for the month of December.

CAS Challenge at SCS last week was to make a card based on the quote - 

 I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night- Galileo 

I embossed some stars in the sky before sponging it.  I thought of going to to play in the snow after supper. That was the best time to play.

Simon Says Stamp Challenge also has anything goes.  I've never been to that challenge before and I can't believe how many entries they have! They have a great prize. 

Pixie's Crafty Workshop is always a fun place to visit. If you haven't been there before,  do go visit.

Queen for the Day at SCS this week is Julia aka craftyjulia.  I chose this adorable card as inspiration.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Winter Memories, More Merry Messages
Ink:  Jet Black StazOn, Cherry Cobbler, Not Quite Navy, SU Markers
Paper:  Whisper White, Midnight Muse, DSP scraps
Other:  White EP, Stampin' Sponge, 2 1/2" Circle Punch, Circle Die (Spellbinders)

OK, I'm off to work on those Christmas cards again and make another batch of my snacks to get in the mail.  They smell so good and my tummy is growling.  Maybe I'll stop to eat some first. 

I'm so glad you stopped by.

Enjoy!

Snowman Queen

This is for the Queen for the Day last week at SCS.  Queen Sue (Mrs Noofy) had a lot to choose from.  I ended up choosing this card to CASE.

My friend Jan left me some of her Christmas toys a couple of weeks ago.  She said she wouldn't have time to play. This embossing folder was one of the gems she left with me.

The Color Challenge at SCS this week was perfect for this card: Real Red, Basic Grey, Gumball Green.  Dessert is SNOW. How perfect it that?

Pixie's Crafty Workshop is still open, so I'll take my snippets for the scarf and little snowflakes over there.

Rudolph Day Challenge is wrapping up the year.  I'm late to join this party, but I'll be looking for it in January.  There's a chance for a prize over there so you might want to take a look!

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe
Stamps:  More Merry Messages, Jolly Bingo Bits
Ink:  Real Red, SU Markers (Basic Grey, Real Red, Gumball Green, Pumpkin Pie)
Paper:  Whisper White, Gumball Green, Snippet of Real Red
Other:  Dazzling Details, Big Shot, Bitty Banners Framelit, Snowman EF (Sizzix), Tiny Snowflake punch (Dollar Tree Find)

I really need to get my Christmas cards in the envelopes and mailed out.  I may have to stop playing with the stamps for a few days.  Maybe I can....

Thanks for stopping by. 

Enjoy!