My Cards - A Year in Review!

I saw on someone else's blog that they had posted their top ten most favorite cards of the year. What a great idea!! Except that all I could narrow it down to was....27, lol! Not exactly a nice, round number, but....whatever!!

So in backward order, because even after nearly four years of blogging I STILL forget to upload pictures backwards sometimes!, here are my favorite cards from 2010. (You can click on any photo to enlarge it!):
I'm pretty sure this will become one of my all-time favorite stamp sets & punch combos!! I truly suck at cutting things out and this takes that drudge work away!! I was so tickled with the way it turned out and this was the first card I made using this set. I gave it to Alex and she loved it!

One of this year's favorite Christmas cards!! I got to play with my new Copic markers and it was the first card I had used the new glass glitter on. Usually my cards don't turn out as I originally envision them...but this one turned out even better!!

I made this card for a challenge - to really "wow" them. They weren't wowed. LOL! But I loved it so much anyway, and so did the person I gave it to. This was one of the rare cards I've made that I actually felt a twinge in sending because I almost wanted to keep it for myself.

This stamp set is from a series of stamps that I've had for quite a while. I loved them, but if you can believe it, I was intimidated in using them!! I had seen tons of cards made with them and I knew my level of crafting just wasn't "there" yet. It also meant lots of cutting and as I've said, it's not my forte. But I got brave and made this for a friend here. She was blown away by it and I learned a lesson to NOT be a scaredy-cat when crafting. I mean really, it's just paper!!

This was the first "vintage-y" card that I was really happy with. I love that style and look, but I hadn't ever been able to pull it off well enough to be satisfied with it. I was so proud of myself when I finished with this one!!!

This was my first side-step dresser card. All but two aspects are totally copied (CASED in stamping terms!), from another stamper. But...this is another one of those cards that once would have intimidated me too much to even try it. So glad I got over myself!! (And it was really easy too - go figure!)

This is a card that just makes me smile!! There's something wonderful to be said about pure silliness, you know? And this owl punch is amazing with it's nearly unlimited uses! It was fun to make and allowed me to use some paper I had had for a longggg time but didn't quite know what to use it for!

I made this card for a challenge....only to find out I was a day late! Ugh!!! It was my first monochromatic card, another style I had admired but hadn't tried yet. It took me a long time to stamp all the layers, but I was so pleased with the final product. Still bummed I was late though, lol!!!

This card was also for a challenge, and was the last card I made in Georgia. It's sort of bittersweet for me because the very next day my life sort of.....well....imploded. I don't think I'm ever going to be all gung-ho about the fourth of July again. The card did turn out very well though and was my first easel style card.

I really like this card too, but I have laugh when I see it. I had totally lost track of time for the challenge, and I had literally two hours to come up with an idea, make it, photograph it and post it! Stress!!! There's lots of "stuff" going on with this card and this was a tough color combo for me to begin with. Another one of those "I didn't wow them cards", but I wowed myself!!

I made this card when I was a Guest Designer in June. I had just got in this retired set from eBay which worked with a punch I already had. I told ya, I hate cutting stuff out, lol!!! It was also the beginning of my love affair with buttons. Now I stockpile buttons like I do brads and I'm running out of room.....almost! *wink* You can't tell from the picture very well, but the background is both stamped and embossed, and there's quite a bit of glitter on it. Love this card!

This was a commissioned piece, that looks about a million times different than originally planned. Thank goodness!! I was really feelin' it that day and my layout and design were much more creative than I usually produce. This is one of those cards that I'm totally satisfied with and don't look back wishing I had done this or that differently. Plus it was for a really great lady!!

I made this card for my father-in-law for his birthday. I had just learned how to make those paper frames and I went through a "phase" where I made quite a few of them, lol! It's more "simple" than I usually made, and yet I still felt it had enough punch to be a "Jeannie Card". I really like the color combo for a masculine card too.

Surprise, surprise - another challenge card. I did get recognition for this one, but it wasn't the winner. I combined two challenges for this; a color challenge and a layout challenge. A first for me! I also was just starting to use stamping wheels at this time and made the background using only one wheel, repeatedly, and then used clear embossing powder over it. I really like how the flowers turned out too. Just a bright, happy card!

This was my first attempt at a technique called spotlighting. My stupid black ink pad was on it's last legs and my reinker was on order but hadn't arrived yet. I was so stinkin' mad that it wasn't allowing my large stamp to make a crisp image....but...it wound up really making it look better for this card. Like I had done it on purpose, lol! Some people even asked me how I managed to make it look like that. I also had been given this ribbon in a swap and it was just long enough to use for this and was perfect!

This card was made using a new stamp set and the new Smooch Spritz spray. Yeah good luck saying that five times fast, lol! The log cabin color gives paper a vintage patina and has a nice amount of shimmer to it without being overwhelming. I know a lot more about sponging now, but I think I did a pretty good job on it. I was so proud of myself for cutting out that hummingbird without giving him any amputations, lol!!! Love the Purely Pomegranate paper and soooo wish SU would bring that color back!!

This was my first card using the bargello technique. It's not hard, but very time consuming!!! I love the fancy, "quilted" look of it though! I was also very pleased with the layout of this, even though I was following a sketch challenge. All the different textures seemed harmonious to me and I was so proud to enter it!!

This card took me FOREVER to complete!!! I was trying a new technique, the folded front, which was easy, but I kept wanting to make it fancier! It didn't help that I truly hated the color combo I had to use, so I wanted to make something that I would like using them anyway. I was so proud of it when I was finished and couldn't wait to rush across the street to show it to Rachel, lol!

I wanted to try a new technique of using heat & stick powder, to "stamp" with glitter. It really sticks well and you don't have glitter all over the place when you give it to someone....just while you're creating it! I love all the shades of blue and how they complement each other. I thought the vellum butterflies added that perfect, finishing touch!

This card!! LOL!!!!!! My first "waffles" - too darn funny! Luckily for me, Heatherlyn has an awesome sense of humor and doesn't find me completely looney. I wonder what she told her husband though.....Waffles & Boobies - gotta love 'em!! Best insider joke ever!!!

I think this is one of my best water colored cards ever!! In fact I've only used this stamp once because I don't know if I can do it better, or even again, lol! Maybe I'll try it with my Copics next year. This was sent to one of my Stamping Heroes, Dawn, and she even put it up on her blog!! I was so thrilled!!!

Isn't this cute?? So fast and easy but I loved making it! I was just beginning to try out making things using my punches. Punch art rocks!!!! And there are some amazing crafters out there that make the most ingenious things using a limited number of punches!! This will always be one of my favorite things to use for my cards.

I love this bunny stamp!! It had just come out and by using clear embossing powder, it looked like a chocolate Easter bunny!!! Love it!!! The designer paper was one of my favorites too and I stocked up on it before it was discontinued. So happy and bright!

Love that punch art!!! This little guy took a long time, because after I punched out all the pieces, I had to sponge them to make them "pop". Otherwise it just looks all the same color and flat. I had a heck of a time trying to cut out the music notes on my Slice machine because they were so small, and they kept ripping. So instead I used it as a stencil and it worked like a charm! I thought I was so smart using up my discontinued Baja Breeze card stock and dsp, only to find out a few months later that they were bringing the color back, lol!

This card is special to me because I made it for Yaya when she found out that she was getting Alex. She had said that he really liked trains so I made this especially for him. While I did have a train set of stamps, I didn't have the matching train track stamp!! What to do??? But I took a Martha Stewart fence border punch, cut off the top and voila! Instant train track!! Even I can get a burst of creativity once in a while, lol! I used watercolor pencils and a blender pen to color it.

I made this card for Rachel for our "anniversary". She's the dearheart who introduced me to the wonderful world of stamping and answered the fifty bazillion questions I had! What strides I made in that first year too because I have to admit, my beginning cards were truly AWFUL and yet she was always so encouraging. I love you Rachel!!

Flopsey Bunny stamps are some of my very favorite stamps and this is one of the best I made last year. I didn't have the color I wanted in markers, so I colored him using chalks. I love the soft look this gave him!! This designer paper is fabulous and sweet and glittery too! I had just started using pearls on cards and I love the look it gives on my cards. I used silver embossing powder on the pie plate to make it look more real. Fabulous!!

So there you have it! My stamping year in review!!

And I'm so looking forward to trying new things
and new products in 2011!!

Happy New Year everyone!!!