My Favourite Cards 2014

At year's end, it's a time to review what's gone.  I thought about trying to pick my favourite card-make for each month but, since I only started getting seriously making cards in August, I decided to try picking my favourite six cards. This is a harder task than it seems!

1.

I adored this colour challenge combination of Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey and Crumb Cake at Pals Paper Arts and it was a top 3 pick there. It was also the first time I'd entered a card into two challenges (It was also a Freshly Made sketch) and my first blog entry to exceed 100 views. And I just love it. Blog entry, September, here.

2.

I also love this card. I really liked the sketch from Paper Players, where the card was picked A Cut Above, and it was the first time I'd used Sahara Sand and Cherry Cobbler and it's turned out to be a favourite combo for me. September 2014, blog post here.

3.

I'm fond of this card because the strong colours appeal to me. It was the first card I made at Just Add Ink and I fell in love with the sketch - you could almost say it took over my thinking until the card was made. It got an Honourable Mention at JAI. September 2014, blog post here.

September was my month of biggest output, as it was the time of I was off work and off my feet convalescing. Things slowed down on the card-making front after September/early October.

4.

I picked this card because it also consumed my thinking for a while. Again, Just Add Ink provided a challenge that was exciting. In this case, it was a technique I'd never used - acrylic block stamping. Also exciting because this card won the challenge. I was really happy with the way the card turned out. October 2014, blog post here.

5.

Again, this as a colour challenge, but at Create with Connie and Mary, using Cherry Cobbler, Lost Lagoon and Smoky Slate. I really liked how this card turned out and although it wasn't a pick, it has turned out to be another post to attract over 100 views. I so liked this card that I couldn't give it away!

November 2014, blog post here.

6.

6.

The last pick was hard but I really loved this Christmas card made for the Black Tie challenge at Paper Players. It's perhaps quite hard to see the lovely embossed pattern on the black panel. I liked the formal elegance of this card, which I think comes from the vanilla, gold and black colour scheme. Sadly, not a pick this time but I loved it and again - couldn't give it away! December 2014, blog post here.

2014, you've been a great year. I've learned a lot about cards, found heaps of great challenge blogs, and have found playing them fun and inspirational as well as finding wonderful papercrafters to follow. Roll on, 2015.

Pals Paper Arts 234

It's been a while since I played at Pals Paper Arts, but more crafting time is definitely one of the delights of the holidays. This colour challenge was a stretcher for me, as I don't use Wisteria Wonder much, although I confess to a recent fling with Night of Navy.

Over the last few months, I've done quite a lot of experimenting with different backgrounds, even though my natural inclination is to lots of white space. I've been wanting to use this embossed background for a while, so after experimenting with the three colours and making a number of panels, I chose to use this decorative panel as the starting place for the card. I inked the Beautifully Baroque embossing folder with Wisteria Wonder, then embossed a piece of white card. Then I used a blending tool to add more Wisteria, followed by sponging on Night of Navy. Finally, I brushed Versamark over the top and embossed with silver.

As I'd used the Beautifully Baroque folder, I used the Beautifully Baroque background stamp to lay a ground for the panel. I feel that the butterfly punches I bought have more than paid for themselves as I love to use the Papillon Potpourri stamps, although on this occasion I've used the butterflies from Kinda Eclectic. I've stamped them onto Night of Navy and embossed them with silver, although the base butterflies underneath are plain navy. The Wisteria Wonder candy dots and brad base finished them off. I was wishing I had silver baker's twine but settled for spraying a piece of linen twine with Perfect Pearls and, although it hasn't photographed so well, this worked a treat.

Ingredients

Card: Wisteria Wonder for the base, Whisper White

Stamps: Beautifully Baroque, Kinda Eclectic, sentiment from Vintage Labels.

Ink: Night of Navy, Wisteria Wonder, Versamark

Other: Beautifully Baroque embossing folder, Corner Rounder, Butterfly punches, silver embossing powder, Brad base, Wisteria Wonder candy dots, Linen twine, Perfect Pearls,  Silver organza ribbon, sponge, distressing tool.

Create with Connie and Mary 335

Today gave me time to work on the wonderful sketch at Create with Connie and Mary.

Over the last few days, I've spent some time thinking about this sketch because I really liked it. I decided on giving my Kinda Eclectic stamp set a go at it. I just love that set! This year's in-colours are the first I've ever bought and I love those too, especially Lost Lagoon and Blackberry Bliss, so it's a happy combination for me. I've used Blackberry Bliss as my card base.

Update: Delighted to be picked in the Top 3 for this challenge!

Ingredients
Card: Blackberry Bliss (base), Hello Honey, Whisper White, Moonight Stack DSP
Stamps: Kinda Eclectic, Dictionary Background stamp, sentiment from Vintage Labels
Ink: Blackberry Bliss, Lost Lagoon, Sahara Sand (for the Dictionary background)
Other: Circle framelits, Butterfly punches, Brad base and Basic Gray candydots, Linen twine, Early Espresso marker to colour cut edges, dimensionals to lift centre circle and to support butterfly wings.

Freshly Made Sketches 167

Now that Christmas is over, it is really starting to feel like the holidays have begun. Christmas Day was lovely with all the extended family over for breakfast, all the children and partners for lunch along with grandparents, the day warm enough for the barbie and the pool but not so hot we felt melted. A glorious day indeed, but at last - some down-time. I was pleased to see the extended time frame for Freshly Made Sketches and, as always, a great sketch to work from.

Today, I just didn't want to make another Christmas card and in the pre-Christmas rush my latest Internet shopping package  had been opened but not played with. (Apart from card challenge blogs, on-line shopping has been the biggest discovery of the year for me.)

 Anyway, here's what emerged.

I reduced the size of the circle element in the sketch but gave it prominence by raising the balloon onto dimensionals. This stamp set from Clearly Besotted is adorable! It's the first set of theirs that I have bought, and I'm impressed at the crispness of the stamped image it produces.

Ingredients

Card: SU Whisper White, Marina Mist, Night of Navy

Stamps: Clearly Besotted Make a Wish

Ink: Marina Mist, Island Indigo, Night of Navy, Black

Other: Dimensionals, Night of Navy marker to colour cut edges.

Just Add Ink 245

This week's challenge at Just Add Ink is an inspiration board. I'm going to give it a go for two reasons: I don't feel as comfortable with this kind of challenge and secondly because while there have been a few neutrals Christmas challenges this year, I've always left them alone - again because I'm not so comfortable there.

I have deliberately gone for a simple design and picked up on the neutral/natural colour palette, the star shape and the Christmas theme.

The Sahara Sand front panel has a star cut out to reveal the Early Espresso underneath and is raised up on dimensionals. The top of the panel is embossed using the Lucky Stars folder.

Ingredients
Card: Sahara Sand, Early Espresso
Stamps: Endless Wishes
Other: Star from Circle Thinlits, Lucky Stars embossing folder, Sahara Sand Candy Dot, Linen Twine, dimensionals

CAS 105

Summer has arrived at last and it must be approaching 30 degrees C. The kids have all gone out, the Christmas shopping is done (if not wrapped), so I finally got a bit of time to myself to spend in my room.

This week's challenge at CAS Colours and Sketches was to take any past doubles challenge and make it Christmas. I chose this sketch/colour double challenge from August 2013, long before I started playing.

The colours are not inherently Christmassy, but neither are navy and silver traditional colours, yet they are often seen at this time of year. So here's what I came up with...

The circle borders are cut using a Circle Confetti die I bought on-line. I cut navy circles to cover the centre circle of the die, embossed the star in white and then popped it onto a dimensional to cover the cut-out circle from the die-cut. The card base is Marina Mist. I like serene feel this card has.

Ingredients
Card: Marina Mist, Night of Navy, Whisper White
Stamps: Bright and Beautiful, Endless Wishes
Ink: Night of Navy, Versamark
Other: White embossing powder, dimensionals, Circle Confetti die.

As You See It 67

I came across this lovely challenge site, As You See It, because I recently started following Jen Mitchell's blog (I'd admired so many of her cards in so many different places) and she mentioned it. Past challenges looked appealing but this week's speed challenge really piqued my interest. I'd never seen one of those before!

So, shades of white and a time limit of ten minutes. Thank goodness for an organised workspace and a phone with a stopwatch! Alas, the phone did not have such a great camera for capturing white on white.

The sentiment is embossed in white onto the card-stock and the tree is embossed onto vellum and mounted behind the window. The whole panel is popped up on dimensionals.

Time: 8:30:16

Update: So happy to be picked as Featured Artist on this challenge.

Ingredients
Card: Whisper White, Vellum
Ink: Versamark
Stamps: Festival of Trees, Endless Wishes
Other: White embossing powder, Lucky Stars embossing folder, Circle Framelits, Organza ribbon, Dimensionals