2010 in Cards

To kick off 2011 I thought I'd share my review of the past year in cards. Sadly it was quite easy to pick my favorites from each month, since some months had hardly any cards to choose from!! Here's hoping this post is much harder to write one year from now...! So here we go, my top 12 from 2010...

January


February


March


April


May


June


July


August


September


October


November


December


I wish you all lots of happiness and stampiness in 2011!

My boy is 5! + a little sewing project...

Yesterday was Carter's 5th birthday. Which I still cannot believe, but that's another story! The story for this blog post is my crazy idea to make superhero capes for him and all of his friends at his birthday party last night...


The capes are reversible - Batman & Superman for the boys, Supergirl & "super princess" for the girls. Oh, did I mention - I don't really know how to sew? And I bought a new sewing machine a couple months ago because Ali Edwards recommended it and, well, I love her :-) but the machine had sat in it's box until last week. LAST WEEK!! Last week, when I decided to make superhero capes. EIGHTEEN superhero capes. Christmas week!! Honestly, why do I do these things to myself? Well I had stumbled across this awesome pdf pattern and it didn't look TOO hard. And I wanted to do something fun with Carter's chosen superhero theme (he is superhero obsessed lately!) since the party was just going to be at Chuck E Cheese, which isn't very superhero-y. And my mom and my sister helped me A TON with cutting and pinning or I never would have finished on time. The stitching isn't perfect, but the kids (and the parents!) seemed to enjoy them, so I'm glad I went for it. And now I sorta have the sewing bug and want to make more things!! And maybe take a class so I can learn about what I'm supposed to be doing. We'll see. In the mean time, here's a few shots of the superhero capes in actions...

A couple Batmen playing skee-ball.


Many of the Superfriends watching the show.


And my own little Super Sweetie, enjoying his birthday!


Thanks for stopping by!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a wonderful and joyous Christmas!

My dad aka Papa reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas to Courtney on Christmas Eve. Photo via my sister's phone. No, I don't really have a purple Christmas tree - I wish! :-)

Big Wonderful Crazy Exciting News!!

Sooooo... did you visit The Play Date Cafe website today and see my mugshot looking back at you?? That's right, that's my big news - I'm getting back into the design team world and I'm THRILLED that I get to join the kind and creative team at The Play Date Cafe!! Woohoo!!

Julie Ranae's "color stories" are always so inspiring - I just love this challenge! And I cannot believe I get to be a part of it!! Pinch me, please! ***smiling bigtime and jumping for joy***

The Yellow Rose of Texas...

Howdy y'all, it's Texas Tuesday! Today's card doesn't necessarily jump right out at ya as being Texas-y, but it is...


I had the idea for this card when I saw the latest color challenge over at The Play Date Cafe:


Black and white with a pop of yellow - ah yes, how about a yellow rose of Texas!?! Now I have to tell you - I've lived in Texas for a while now, about fifteen and a half years I think - but I never actually knew the story of the yellow rose or why Texans like it. I googled it for this post. Whoa Nelly! Not what I was expecting, hahaha. I'm not going to go into the details here as my blog remains G rated, but let's just say now I know why they name strip clubs after her. HA!

But back to my card... my yellow rose has a little bling going on, are you surprised?


That beautiful rose image is from FireCracker Designs by Pamela. I'm sorry to say that Pamela closed her store this month. I just wanted to take a minute here to wish Pamela all the best - she is one talented, top-notch lady and I am honored that I got to serve on her design team and creative council in the past. And even though her store has closed, she's still blogging! So visit her often. :-)

Alright my dearies, time to wrap this up and tackle more things on my Christmas/Carter's birthday to-do list! I'll be back TOMORROW with that big announcement I teased about last time, EEEK! I can't wait. And until then, be sure to visit the Texas Tuesday blogs listed on my sidebar - I know that Danielle, Tina, Betty and Mark were planning to play today!

• Stamps: Paper Roses from FireCracker Designs by Pamela, Fancy Flexible Phrases from Stampin' Up
• Paper:SU black, Imaginisce DP
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers, SU white craft ink
• Accessories: MFT dienamics die, Spellbinders oval die, white ribbon, machine stitching

I Love Soccer! + a little teaser...

Dear Everyone, how did it suddenly get to be less than a week until Christmas??? Eeek! I thought I'd be filling up the blog with Christmas cards throughout the month of December, but of course that didn't happen. Instead I have this to share today...


Not Christmas but still cute, no? This "I Love Soccer" image is a digi from Pholkarts Blessings Art Shop. My sweet boy Carter won this image for us to use when he played along with the Children's Challenge a while back and won! Yay Carter! :-) Big thanks to Patti Moore for providing the fun prize, we loooove it! I used the image to make a thank you card for Carter's soccer coach. I couldn't help myself, I had to give the soccer ball a little Glossy Accents shine:


All the kids on Carter's team signed the card and we gave it to Coach at the end of season tournament last month along with a giftcard to a sporting goods shop. I was also in charge of a snack and made some soccer cupcakes! That grass tip is my favorite, hee hee.


And here's my sweet little soccer boy! We're looking forward to soccer starting back up in a couple months!


I'm not honestly sure how much more blogging I'll do this year! My to-do list is long with Christmas & Carter's birthday both around the corner. BUT... I will most certainly be back at least once because I have some SUPER EXCITING NEWS TO SHARE!!! Oh my I just cannot wait!! Let's just say... I'll have something really really cool to share with you on a weekly basis starting in January. :-D :-D :-D

Until then,

• Stamps: Digi "I Love Soccer" - boy image from Pholkarts Blessings Art Shop, Hero Arts message (I think?)
• Paper: Green, black, white cardstock
• Ink: Printer, Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers
• Accessories: Embossing folder, scallop edge die (PTI), machine stitching, Glossy Accents (Ranger)

Happy Lions

Wow this past weekend was fun! I got to feel like a blogging superhero thanks to the Hero Arts blog hop!!! A *huge* thank you to all who stopped by and left me such sweet and lovely comments, they made me so very happy. I was on Cloud 9 all weekend! And now I shall return to being a mere stamping mortal... :-)

I made today's card for my son's good friend who celebrated a birthday on Saturday:


The sweet little lion is from the Hero Arts set Precious Baby Boy. I stamped the lion four times on both colors of cardstock, then cut out the various pieces to assemble him. The eyes and mouth were traced over with black Glaze pen to make him look a little less dull. That sweet banner was cut with an MFT Dienamics die.

Thanks for stopping by!

• Stamps: CL264 Precious Baby Boy and CL272 All Occasion Messages from Hero Arts
• Paper: SU cardstock (Ballet Blue, Green Galore, Gable Green), GP white
• Ink: SU ink (Ballet Blue, Green Galore), Memento Tuxedo Black, black Glaze pen
• Accessories: Swiss Dots embossing folder, Dienamics Banner Strip Die (MFT), black brads

2011 Hero Arts Blog Hop!!

Hello and welcome to the 2011 Hero Arts Catalog Blog Hop!! If you came here by way of the fabulously talented Kelly Marie Alvarez, you're in the right spot. Otherwise you probably want to head back to the beginning at the Hero Arts blog so you don't miss any of the action! You can also check in there for a list of all the bloggers if you get lost along the way.


I am so thrilled to be a part of this hop - I am in some seriously good company. I mean, YIKES, some SERIOUSLY good company!!! LOL! And... I've seen the new catalog and let me tell you, it is WONDERFUL!! My wishlist is long, there are so many stamps I'm dying to play with! But lucky me, I did get to play with a few already...


This first card uses a new Woodblock stamp called H5489 Butterfly Flowers. When I looked at this stamp, right away it reminded me just a little of the Delft pottery that my grandmother loves to collect (and therefore, so do I!). That side of the family is Dutch, and it's one of the more traditional things from the Netherlands that we adore. So I grabbed my blue Copics and got to work. But - gasp! - I decided to crack my pottery with a little Crackle Accents!


Now on to my second card, which uses a flower from one of my favorite flower sets in the new catalog, CL495 Blossom Art.


I looooooove that they included a smaller version that is similar to one of my all-time favorites, CG134 Large Flower! And ever since I saw my friend Heather stamp the larger version on vellum and emboss in white, I've been completely addicted to doing that! So I just *had to* do that with this new stamp, too. Both of my cards also use greetings from a fabulous new set of messages, CL497 Find Joy. You're going to LOVE this set!!

Well would you believe you've come to the end of this fabby blog hop!? It's sad but true. But wait, it's not QUITE over - now you need to head back to the final Hero Arts post, where you'll get to see a full reveal of the stamp sets featured on the blogs today, as well as have an opportunity to win a prize! Woohoo!!

Thanks for stopping by today,

• Stamps: H5489 Butterfly Flowers, CL497 Find Joy from Hero Arts
• Paper: Blue, kraft, white cardstock
• Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Vintage Photo Distress ink, Copic markers, white gel pen
• Accessories: Crackle Accents (Ranger), Spellbinders dies, blue ribbon, Candy Crystals (Taylored Expressions), Wilton doily, machine stitching

• Stamps: CL495 Blossom Art, CL497 Find Joy from Hero Arts
• Paper: Blue, kraft, white cardstock
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, white pigment ink
• Accessories: White embossing powder, Star Dust Stickles, pearl beads, ribbon, scallop edge punch, machine stitching

Christmas Greetings

For today's card I did a little more playing with single layer cards (*gasp*) (who is this person blogging and what did she do with LotsaLayersLibby?) (heh heh).


I loved how this other card turned out when I used the acrylic block background technique I learned from Hero Artist Sally Traidman, and that was also made famous this fall by the mega-talented Jennifer McGuire. You can check out that link to view Jennifer's tutorial on how to do it like a professional. I didn't mist up my block, I just applied ink all over the block & stamped it - that gives the more snowy/stormy/splotchy look to it. Which I happen to like. Then I stamped the trees by coloring directly on the stamp with my water-based markers.

The thing I love most about this card? The sweet little red bird in the tree. hee hee!


Well guess what!?! Tomorrow is the big release of the 2011 Hero Arts Catalog, and the big blog hop featuring new stamps - and would you believe little ol' me gets to hop along with the stamping superstars? Wowza. It's true!! So make sure and come back tomorrow. Especially if you like prizes. :-D

Happy Stamping!

• Stamps: H5244 Winter Tree, CL463 Get Merry! (message) and CL365 Enjoy the Season (bird) from Hero Arts
• Paper: white cardstock
• Ink: Distress Inks (Broken China, Fired Brick), markers
• Accessories: hemp twine

Merry Texmas!

Hi y'all, it's time for another Texas Tuesday! Today I am here to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas, Texas-style! Up first, a super fun and Texas-y Christmas image from Texana Designs:


I love the boots! I gave them a little Glossy Accents shine, as well as some Stickles shimmer on the tree:


The sketch is more or less the latest Mojo Monday, and the colors were inspired by last week's Color Throwdown (why can't I ever play this challenge on time anymore??):


For my second card, I thought I'd *attempt* to be creative with my stamps. I loved this Texas Christmas tree card that Mark made last year, but sadly never got around to getting the stamps I need to recreate it. So I stared at my Texas-themed stamp stash trying to find something to use for a holiday card, when I saw my Deadbeat Designs bluebonnet stamp...


What do you think, can it pass for a wreath? I inked up the stamp repeatedly with a marker, so I could color the leaves green and the flower portion red. It was hard to space it perfectly, but I sorta like how it finally came out. I added a little Stickles to this one, too - I happen to think that Christmas cards REQUIRE a little shimmer and shine!


Before I go, I thought I'd share this little Christmas ballad that my dad used to sing to me when I was a kid. Ahhh, the memories. Isn't it sweet?

Now make sure and head on over to the sidebar and check out what my Texas Tuesday buddies are up to! Betty and Geeta are sitting out this time, but the rest have Texas-y goodness on their blogs!

And until next time,

• Stamps: Granny Heifer Designs Christmas Tree in Boot, Snowglobe (sentiment) from Texana Designs
• Paper: Espresso, Ballet Blue from SU, GP white
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Vintage Photo Distress Ink, Copic markers, brown marker
• Accessories: Cuttlebug embossing folder, SU ribbon, Glossy Accents & Stickles (Ranger), machine stitching

• Stamps: Bluebonnet from Deadbeat Designs, CL343 Holiday Sayings from Hero Arts
• Paper: Always Artichoke, gold from SU, GP white
• Ink: Real Red & Always Artichoke markers from SU, Vintage Photo Distress Ink
• Accessories: Gold Stickles, gold ribbon

This was going to be my Christmas card this year...

...but then I realized that making ~80 of these suckers would take waaaayyyy too long. Now it's December 6 and I still have no idea what my family's Christmas card is going to be. If we even do one this year. Wow I am the worst stamper ever!! And the worst blogger ever - this one has been sitting on my desk for about a week now. Why oh why don't I just photograph the silly things and get them posted?? Geesh! Anywho, here's the card...


I used this adorable Christmas Stockings stamp from Hero Arts and added our names to the stockings. Each stocking is cut out and popped up for a little extra somethin-somethin. I thought it would be a fairly simple card to mass produce. Until I spent the time coloring and cutting out and die cutting and cuttlebugging one of them, LOL!!

Before I go, want to see my cuties with Santa? Oh I know you do!! hee hee


Alrighty, off to stamp another little somethin-somethin for Texas Tuesday. See y'all tomorrow!

• Stamps: K5254 Christmas Stocking, CL343 Holiday Sayings from Hero Arts
• Paper: Stampin' Up Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, GP white
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers
• Accessories: Spellbinders die, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder, machine stitching