Looking Back... January to June

Hi there everyone!!! I know that my blog has been quiet the last week or so... Life has been pretty chaotic with working full time, celebrating my birthday (last weekend), trying to get ready for Christmas and a few other things going on that bring stress into one's life.  It puts things into perspective and makes you realize how important family really is. 

I plan on making a few new cards on the weekend so until then, I thought I'd look back at some of the cards I made this year.  I've picked my favorite card from each month for  today's post (January to June)

JANUARY: I made this card for a friend's baby shower and I remember her loving the card.

FEBRUARY: This card was made using the set called Sassy and Fabulous from Clear Dollar Stamps illustrated by Kim Teasdale. 

MARCH:  My mom is an avid gardener so this card was perfect for her. I love the color combo, the DP's and how well they work together.  Who am I kidding?  This is one of my fave cards that I've made and my mom loved it.

APRIL: Gotta love the sentiment on this card....Happy "29th" Birthday from your "110" lb. friend.

MAY:  Too much fun with this card.  Love the DP, the dry embossing and the image. 

JUNE:  This was my first card I made using There She Goes stamps.  Love the DP together!!  Another one I gave my mom and she loved it.  Kim was trying to get this one out of me but I knew how much my mom would love it!!!

CPS196 A Bright Merry Christmas

I'm inspired....I'm out of my funk... and enjoying my cards.  Another thing I enjoy is a great sketch/layout and this one from Card Positioning Systems is no exception. It's fabulous!!!  I needed to make a few quick cards this week and this one came together in about 20 minutes (that's quick for me I tell ya).  I've used one of the sentiments from the new TSG set called "Season's Greetings" that I've sponged with Wheat Versamagic Ink.  I didn't have two flourishes so I decided to use a snowflake (MFT Snowflake Die) to balance the card out.  Another easy peasy card... 8 down and 4 to go...

FTL119 Season's Greetings

Are you enjoying my Christmas card making marathon I've been showing you this week?  I figured if I had to make a bunch of cards, then I wanted to be able to participate in a variety of challenges out there in blog land.  And if you know me.... I love a sketch!!! This card is based on this week's layout from the Clean and Simple Blog - Fall To Layouts. I enjoy making Clean and Simple cards, I just don't make enough of them.  I love the look of white space (or Kraft space I guess I should say).  The image and sentiment are from the new There She Goes set, Season's Greetings. I love the whimsical look of this set and the snowpeople are my favorite image in the set.  Not too much to explain with this card... great layout, DP from Cosmo Cricket's Mitten Weather, ribbon and button treatment and there you have it.  Easy peasy... lemon squeezy.  Okay I'm a dork... I'll admit it.

Card Patterns 93 Hugs anyone?

Hug me!!!  I swear that's what this snowman is trying to tell us...  hehehe... I made this card for this week's Card Patterns Sketch and I have to admit I love how it turned out. I know, I know... You're sick of the Echo Park DP aren't you?  I've used it on so many cards but it's my all time favorite Christmas DP so you'll be seeing it again... Sorry!!!  One of the things I like about it is that it is so versatile and the colors are great for a non-traditional girl like me.  I rarely make Christmas cards that are red and green but instead use fun colors.  You'd understand if you saw my Christmas Tree (It's white and reminds me of the Charlie Brown Tree) with bright ornaments (hot pink, lime green, purple and turquiose blue).  The snowman is from the Skipping Stones Design set called Sassy Snow.  It's such a fun set and I've been able to use it a few times already. I pulled out my Tombow markers for this cutie pie of a snowman. Hope you like it!!!!

SFYTT Simple Tree

Hey there!!  I hope you are all doing well... I'm back in Christmas card making mode... again....  I was asked on Friday if I had any Christmas cards for someone who wanted to buy 12 ( I only had 4 at that point because someone else had cleaned me out) so back into my craft room I went to get cracking.... Can I just say I feel like one of Santa's elves right now?  So busy.  I've had this digital image for a few weeks now called "Lollipop - Christmas Tree" illustrated by Lori Boyd. I've watercolored the image with my Watercolor pencils and then I added Diamond Stickles to the balls on the tree.  This week at Jen del Muro's blog,  the sketch is to use any of her old sketches... Easy peasy I tell ya!!! So I chose to use this sketch from a couple of months ago. I chose to leave two of the little circles off the card because I don't know if this card will end up getting mailed so I didn't want to make it too bulky. 

I'll be back tomorrow with another of the cards I made over the weekend.

TSG84 Bling brings on Joy

I'm here.... Sorry I haven't posted over the last week.  My mojo took a hike... and didn't want to come back. I've been on the go for so long lately that I needed a bit of down time to just regroup and get things back in order.  I'll admit, I was in a funk.... I didn't feel like stamping at all but then I got a sweet email from Corinna, my BSF on Friday and it lifted my spirits.  Thank you Corinna!!!  

This week’s challenge at There She Goes  is brought to us by our Trendy of the Week, Jodi! For this challenge you will need to pull out your BLING! Yep…it’s time to add some sparkle, pop, and pizzazz to your creation! You can use rhinestones, stickles, glitter, brads…just be sure to BLING IT UP! We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

You know me... I like  my bling!!!  I came up with this idea to create the word "Joy" using the candy cane from the new set, Penguin Pals and decided I had to go with it...  and I love how it turned out.. If I had thought about it though, I should have masked out the bow on the candy cane because it's upside down... Oh well... that's how my life has been this last little bit - upside down! I've watercolored the image with my Tombow Markers and then went over it with my Versamarker and clear embossing powder so that I could sponge the edges with Wheat Versamagic, Creamy Caramel and Close to Cocoa without having to worry about smearing any of the image. The o and the y have come from a set of American Crafts "Thickers" that I have.  The DP is from Echo Park (I think this is the best Christmas line ever).  Hope you like it!! The sketch is from Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch #95.

To be eligible for the giveaway, you are to create a card that showcases your bling, and then come back to the TSG Blog to add your name and a link to your project in the InLinkz that is located at the bottom of this challenge post. This challenge is open until the winner has been announced on the following Monday (Dec.13th). The winner will get a $5 gift certificate to use in the TSG Web store!

By participating in this challenge, you may also find yourself in the Trendsetting Spotlight that shines on the TSG Blog every Thursday. We will be on the look out to find challenge cards that stand out and show Trendsetting qualities. TSG stamps are not required to participate in the challenges but are appreciated :)

You do not need to have a blog to be able to participate in the TSG Challenges! You can simply add the URL link from your project after it has been uploaded to your online craft gallery. If you upload your card to an online craft gallery, please use the keyword TSG84 so we can check out your beautiful work!