My Top Ten From 2010

I came across my friend Suzi's genius idea for a blog hop, and I just HAD to participate! She challenges us all to put together a post with our Top 10 favorite cards from 2010. Do you know how hard this was?? Once I narrowed my list down to about 30, I picked the final 10 based on what they meant to me, or why I created them. So I left off some cards I thought were stunning, because they didn't have as much sentimental value to me. Who knew choosing would be so hard??

So, in no particular order, here are my Top 10 favorite cards from 2010:

Lizzie Anne Designs - the original post

Lizzie Anne Designs - the original post

InStyle Stamps - the original post

Amber Ink - the original post

Amber Ink - the original post

Suzi Blu by Unity - the original post

InStyle Stamps image - the orginal post

Lizzie Anne Designs - the original post

Lizzie Anne Designs - the original post

InStyle Stamps - the original post

 I didn't include any of the projects I made this year (because it's my top 10 favorite cards), so I'm throwing in my three favorites, just for fun. I'm always bending the rules!

not yet published on my blog!!

Lizzie Anne Designs - the original post

InStyle Stamps - the original post

If you'd like to hop along, head over to Suzi's blog for the complete list of participants. There are prizes along the way - so be sure to leave love for people!! Thanks for stopping by to check out my favs for this year!

A Sketch Made With Love

It's my turn to host the Weekly Sketch Challenge over on the Lizzie Anne Designs blog, and this week I designed my sketch around the apron from the new Lucky in Love mix club set. I think it just begs to be paper pieced, so that's what I did - and that's my extra twist this week!

I used two different papers from Cosmo Cricket's Material Girl to paper piece the apron, and then added a third for a fun layer on the smaller panel. I tied some twine and a button on for an accent. Simple, warm, and pretty - it reminds me of a nice homey kitchen! Odd, I know - I don't know why it does. I DO know that I'll be using this apron a whole lot, though!

Be sure to try and play along with us this week, and post your project over on the Lizzie Anne Designs Facebook page so everyone can see it!

Mother and Daughter

Merry Christmas Eve!! I shared this project on the InStyle Stamps blog earlier this week, as part of the holiday showcase. I used the Mom & Daughter Shopping Day digi image to alter an old tea tin for my sweet daughter. Last week we had a wonderful day out Christmas shopping for her dad and brother, and I wanted her to have something to remember that fun afternoon. I have of course forgotten some things at the store (I'm one turkey short - seriously! I need one for Christmas lunch tomorrow, so I better go get it so we can cook it tomorrow morning.) so I have to run out, and while I'm there I'm going to get some candy to fill this tin with. Why not - it's Christmas :)

I hope you and yours have a wonderful day!

Just Popping By

I love this image and sentiment so so so much! Isn't it adorable? I literally squealed when it came in the mail - the Lizzie Ann Designs mix club sets are so fantastic. Lucky in Love is definitely one you are gonna make sure you get your hands on!

I kept this design simple and clean. The image is colored with Copics, cut out, and adhered with pop dots. I stamped the popcorn background stamp all over a panel. And at my hubby's suggestion the sentiment is in red, instead of the black I reached for. I mean, hey - when hubs has an opinion, I'm so shocked I have to listen!

Ok - back to last minute holiday prep! Have a wonderful Monday :)

You're My Style!

Here's a fun card I made using Warmest Wishes, the Lizzie Anne Designs December 2010 monthly mix. I love this dress form - it's so girlie and pretty! I paired it with some Cosmo Cricket Material Girl paper and just went overboard with the layers. To keep the card from being too heavy in the end, I used organza ribbon and some bling - bling is always a good decision!

The actual layout is similar to this card I made for the December sketch at InStyle Stamps. I guess I really liked the sketch I drew, huh? The springy colors on this are a nice departure from the gray weather we've been having lately, too. Don't get em wrong - I looooove the gray skies, the snow, and the ice! Bring it on :)

Off to continue with holiday prep, and get ready for big things in the New Year. Glad you stopped by today!

A Wishlist For You

I have another holiday showcase post to share with you! Today I'm showing off a really special memory - making your holiday wishlists. Who doesn't love that tradition? If you've missed any of InStyle Stamps' other fabulous holiday showcase posts so far, you can see them all here.

Wish List is a digi image from InStyle Stamps (so you can get yours today!) that perfectly captures how much thought and effort goes into those special lists for Santa. The snow is falling outside, there are cookies and hot chocolate on the table, and the kids are sitting on comfy pillows. It's just perfect, isn't it? The project below is an actual wishlist, made following this tutorial I shared earlier this month (but this project is a different size). It's hard to tell in the picture, but the colored image is covered with a piece of acetate, to mimic an actual picture in a frame. Can you see the glare below?

Don't forget - InStyle Stamps will have a post everyday between now and Christmas showcasing projects from the A Day in the Life Collection. It's our extra long holiday hop! We will draw a random commenter from all the people that comment every day, on every 12 Days in the Life post, from now through December 24th. The 25th (Christmas Day) will be a recap post, and you will have until December 27th at 3:00 PM EST to comment on all of the posts. We'll draw a random winner and post it on the 28th. One lucky commenter will win a $25 goodie bag from InStyle Stamps! Remember - you have to comment on ALL of the posts to be eligible!

Gnomes in Pajamas

I love bright holiday cards! And even though I used paper from a holiday stack, this little cutie could be for anytime, really. I was thrilled when I saw that Warmest Wishes, the December monthly mix from Lizzie Anne Designs, had this gnome in it. HOW cute is he??? Once I paper pieced him, I decided he looked like he was wearing pajamas, which really made me laugh.

The rest of the card is simple - some snowflake texture, a Martha Stewart edge punch, and some awesome bright pink and silver ribbon. It came together so easily!

We are enjoying a snow day here, and I'm hard at work on projects for the new year. Hope you are having a great day too!

Give a Little Love

There's love in the air today on the InStyle Stamps blog! We're talking about Valentine's Day with this InSpiration challenge - it seems far away but it's never too soon to get started! The fabulous Martha Stewart lent us an idea this month - were going to make our won packaging (or wrapping paper) and a matching card! Take a look at our inspiration:

image credit: Martha Stewart

Head over to the InStyle Stamps blog for details on how to play along with us - you have a whole month to play!

Good Fortune

It's the 15th of the month, which means we reveal a new Monthly Mix set for Lizzie Anne Designs! They're starting the year off right over there with Lucky in Love - it's full of great images and sentiments. Today I'm showing off the fortune cookie image and one of the sentiments that goes with it. I based my card on the weekly sketch challenge this week. As usual, I took some liberties (why can't I ever follow the rules??) and put my oval on the outside of my long panel - not tucked into it. I was thrilled when I found some pick crocheted trim in my stash - perfect for this card!

Lizzie Anne Designs is making some changes with the structure of the mix club - so be sure to head over to the blog to read all of the details. While you are there check out the other samples from the designers!

An Ornament for My Daughter

Today I am showing off an ornament I made for my daughter using Dance Girl. This is one of my absolute favorite images - such a sweet little girl! I made this as part of the 12 Days in the Life Holiday Showcase over on the InStyle Stamps blog - you should definitely go check it out! Everyday (starting yesterday) until Christmas InStyle Stamps will be showing off amazing holiday projects by their designers. All of the projects feature images from the stunning A Day in the Life Collection (some are digi imags, some are rubber stamps).

To make this ornament, I used the image twice - once on the acetate piece and again on my white cardstock. I colored the one on cardstock using Copics and then turned it into a shaker. If you don't know how to do that, here is a tutorial. Then I placed my shaker on a larger frame, punched a hole in the top, and tied the ribbon on. The reason I used the image twice is so that even with the snow and beads covering her, you can still see the outline. The effect is so neat - you can see it in the pictures above and below.

My daughter has a 4' tall pink tree with pink lights in her room that she gets to decorate herself. It has her collection of Classic Winnie-the-Pooh ornaments, hand painted bulbs from my stepmother, and every single piece of costume jewelry she owns - faux pearls, plastic bracelets, princess rings - it's all on there. And now she is proudly displaying this little cutie!

Dance Girl is a cling rubber stamp and is available in limited quantities - so order her now! And for some holiday fun InStyle Stamps will have a post everyday between now and Christmas showcasing projects from the A Day in the Life Collection. It's our extra long holiday hop! We will draw a random commenter from all the people that comment every day, on every 12 Days in the Life post, from now through December 24th. The 25th (Christmas Day) will be a recap post, and you will have until December 27th at 3:00 PM EST to comment on all of the posts. We'll draw a random winner and post it on the 28th. One lucky commenter will win a $25 goodie bag from InStyle Stamps! Remember - you have to comment on ALL of the posts to be eligible - so be sure to head over to the InStyle Stamps blog!

Vintage Christmas

Here's a quick Christmas card I made using Warmest Wishes , the Lizzie Anne Designs December 2010 monthly mix, and Vintage Merry Christmas, a simply singles stamp. It is still on sale for 30% off, as are all of the holiday stamps in the store. I combined a light pink color with a deeper cranberry, added a bit of sponging around the edges, and tied on some lace ribbon accented by antique gold velvet. The whole card took maybe twenty minutes and I love the end result - I'll be making some more of these for my last minute Christmas cards!!

Tiny Christmas Tags

It's challenge day for the ladies at Lizzie Anne Designs! We had such a fun challenge this month - we all made holiday gift tags. I spent my morning wrapping Christmas presents and realized I needed more small tags for itty bitty presents - like Blu rays, kids books, Zhu Zhu hamsters, lol. So I got out my collection of Simply Singles stamps to see what I could come up with!

I started with this adorable Elf. I just love how cute he is! I colored him with Copics and put him up on pop dots. The cream panel is actually a pre-made, store bought tag. I sponged it, paper pierced it, and added some faux stitching. I cut out the green panel to go behind it, and then added the ribbon. I used a sentiment from Love & Joy Labels to top off the tag.

Next I used the Nativity single, paired with some Nesties. I off centered the stamp on the main panel so I could add the circles on the left side. The image is colored with Copics. This was a really quick tag to make, and I'm thrilled with the way it came out.  I like the idea of a horizontally oriented tag. It's different :)

For my last tag I used the Tall Snowman single. He's mounted on a vellum tag that I stamped with snowflakes from the Love & Joy Labels set. I added a sentiment from that set on another vellum tag, and adhered them together. I added a bit of floss for color. I really like how small this tag is - it's perfect for a little hostess gift, or a teacher's gift.

Be sure to head over to the Lizzie Anne Designs blog today to see what other fabulousness the team came up with! And when you are ready to shop, all of the holiday stamps in the store are 30% off - so stock up now!

Winter Purples!

How's the weather where you are - is it chilly? All over the place temps are way cooler than normal (and for me, I love it - I think cold weather is fantastic!). This month I thought InStyle Stamps would embrace the cold weather and go with a nice cool color palette to challenge you with. Shades of purple, silver, and white plus a little bit if sparkle....so elegant! I used Scarf Chick, available in digi format, to make my card. I love the way she looks, all bundled up in purple and cream. I made a 6"x6" card, using cream as my base layer. I added a pale purple and some silver, and then used some Basic Grey Wisteria patterned paper to mimic the tray in the color phot. Who knew Wisteria could be used for a winter card?! I colored Scarf Chick using Copics - V000, V12, V15, V17, E40, C5, C3, C2, B95, B91, E00, and E000. I used Pale Plum ink (SU) to sponge around the outside of my nestie.

Take a look at our gorgeous color inspiration photo:

Image Credit: A Creative Mint

We'd love to have you play along this month! Head over to the blog for all of the deets and for more inspiration from our designers. I can't wait to see what you come up with :)

AmberInk. Is Blog Hopping!

The Torchbearers past and present from AmberInk. have gathered today to bring you some home-cooked fabulousness! We've all created a "seven course meal for two". What does that mean, you ask? Well, it means there are seven procedures on each card, and two colors (with maybe a hint of a third) - get it?

I'm going to admit - this was hard for me! But then I realized brown and blue were only two colors, but I could use them in as many shades as I wanted (I'm all for stretching the rules when I need to!), and I was off to the races. I used the lovely lady from You're the Perfect Package on my card. I love her. Who doesn't want to look that good while wrapping presents?? Here's my menu: 2 cardstock layers, 1 piece of patterned paper, 2 oval nesties, 1 bit of ribbon, and 1snowflake embellie to top it all off.  Voila! 7 courses for 2 people! ( had to do the math like 4 times to make sure I got it right - hahahahaha)

Be sure to head over to the AmberInklings blog to see what awesomeness they've got over there. And head over to all of these Torchbearer blogs to see who else cooked something up for you - they are color coded to see who belongs to what line of torches!

Shannan Teubner, The Ambassador of Awesomeness

Karin Martin

Melissa Czapor

Stacie Gorse

Jackie Randolph

Julie Elak
Julia Dunnit
Kerri Michaud

Taylor Usry (ME!)

Wendy Price

Emily Leiphart

Angela Hathikhanavala

Sunghee Chon

Also, here will be a few random prizes to commenters along the way - so be sure to leave everyone love! You will be able to vote for your favorite entry on the AmberInklings blog until Wednesday at midnight. The winner will be announced on Thursday!

Garden Gazebo

Hello! Wow I'm late with a post today. I've been terrible for the past week or so, huh? Sorry about that! Here's a quick card I made using Warmest Wishes, the December monthly mix from Lizzie Anne Designs. It has a beautiful complementary sentiment, but when I started putting the pieces together I decided I like the card just like this, with only the gorgeous gazebo on the front. I'll add the sentiment inside. It reads: "Friendship is a cozy shelter from life's rainy days" - isn't that nice??

Ok, back to the craft table - boy things are busy at this time of year!