My Favorite Five of 2012

Debby has a candy over at her blog. To participate you need to pick your five favorite cards of 2012.

I think it's so interesting to see what cards people pick. My experience is that the ones I'm most happy with myself isn't necessarily the ones that give me the most comments or prizes. The feeling I had during the making process also influences how I feel about a card afterwards.  

So here goes for my favorites:






My first card is from February - the month I started my blog. I was quite new to cardmaking at this point, so I'm very proud of how this flowery card turned out, and I love papers with spots!


My second card is my favorite CAS card, made in July. The sentiment is in Norwegian and says "I love you". I was picked top 3 for this card over at LIM, an achievement I was very proud of as I find CAS the most challenging cards to make, and there are SO many talented CAS crafters out there!


My third card, also made in July, is my favorite vintage style card. I had so much fun making this one! The weather was really bad and I was in a mood for Christmas.


My fourth card I made in October. I love wood grain, I love kraft and I love owls! I was new to heat embossing at this point, and I had such a fun time playing with my new tools, as well as paper piecing the owls.


My fifth card, made in August, is a favorite because the image reminds me of my two youngest nephews. When my sister spotted this card, she contacted me to say that she HAD to get this one for her birthday! And so she did! I like making male cards as I'm a bit clumsy when it comes to pinks and flowers and all those girly details, but also I have mostly men in my family, so it's also a practical side to it.

Pink and Pearlie

I've made a birthday card with some of my new goodies!
The Kenny K digi was a Christmas gift from me to myself. I colored her with pink ProMakers and added pink glitter to her boa shawl. Her diadem is sparkled up with Stardust stickles.
The Die-namics musical notes dies I got as an advent calendar gift from my mum, as well as the DP. The DP was part of a crafting package she got at IKEA, it contained several DPs, stickers, tags and ribbons.
I added glossy accent to the music notes. The sentiment is stamped.The black lace and pink pearls are from my stash.

This card is for these challenges:
1) Craftymess challenge blog - #24 Show Some Sparkle/Bling
2) Totally Gorjuss - #164 New (image, DP, music notes dies)
3) In the Pink - #10 Pink and Pearlie
4) Shelly's Images - Out with the old in with the New
5) The Squirrel and The Fox - #34 Party Time
6) Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Kenny K Tag

I hope you've all had a lovely time and enjoyed the holidays. I haven't posted anything for nearly 2 weeks, not because I've been too busy with Christmas preparations, but I've been on holiday to Rome, Italy, and then I've been  with my family for Christmas.

I got the DP with clocks as an advent calendar gift and I thought it would make a great background for a male tag. I've inked the edges with walnut distress ink. The image is a digi from Kenny K, colored with ProMarkers. The sentiment is a rub on and can be translated to "congratulations" or "happy birthday". I've used some jute and twine.

I enter this tag into these challenges:
1) Crafty Boots Challenges - Lads tags
2) C.R.A.F.T. - #186 not a card
3) Craft Room Challenge - Make a Tag
4) I love Promarkers - #148 anything but square
5) Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Not a Christmas Card

I needed to make a male card for an upcoming 18th birthday!
I didn't feel that teddy bears or cute little boys would be quite right for this occasion, so I went for this Kenny K Digi - I hope it's within the limit of decency...
I still have some way to go with my coloring skills, especially with markers, but I'm fairly satisfied with how this one turned out as I'm no hair and skin expert!
I've used a wood patterned DP as background. The ones with spots and squares are leftovers.
I've used die cuts for the number and stickers for the sentiment. The only embellishments are some die cut stars.

This card is for these challenges:
1) Here Come the Boys - Anything Goes
2) Totally Papercrafts – For the Boys
3) Make it Monday - always Anything Goes

Red and White Christmas Card with TeddyBea

It's so hard to get anything resembling a decent photo now - it's dark outside when I leave for work and it's dark when I get home... I so look forward to Christmas Eve, but I don't care much for Winter - I would gladly have skipped January-March...

I just love this TeddyBea image - I think she's perfect for so many different occasions. This time I colored her outfit in different shades of pink - colors I don't use very often. I cut the image using a circle shaped die. I felt there was too much white space, so I manually cut an inner circle so that more of the lovely gingham patterned paper from Forever Friends' A Christmas Tale Collection could be shown.
The snowflakes and large poinsettia are made with Marianne Creatables dies, and the smaller flowers are cut outs from a DP. I've sprinkled the snowflakes with glitter embossing powder and heat embossed them. A bit of glitter glue is added to TeddyBea's wings and to the little star. The border at the top my card is made with a Magnolia die. The sentiment is made with a stamp that came free with a magazine I bought, it's heat embossed with white powder.





This card is for these challenges:
1) 2 Sisters - #120 Snowflakes
2) Totally Gorjuss - #160 Oh No Snow
3) Kaboodle Doodles Challenge Blog - #149 Use the color red
4) Stampin' For The Weekend - Let it Snow
5) Crafty Boots Challenges - Christmas
6) Charisma Cardz - #48 Christmas
7) ABC Challenges - #8 Let it Snow
8) Incy Wincy Designs Challenge - Christmas with Snowflakes
9) Forever Friends - #51 Christmas Cards
10) Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Birthday Card with TeddyBea

The inspiration for my choice of colors is this week's theme over at A Gem of a Challenge.
I've used TeddyBea as image, colored her with Promarkers and added stardust glitter to her wings.
I attached her to a piece of scrap paper I thought fit the colors of her dress.
I made room for a tag with a personal birthday greeting behind this panel. For the tag I also used a the little piece of pink lace I had left and a star metal charm.
All edges have been machine stitched.
I die cut a chevron border, using a Memory Box die, and some stars.
I attached 3 flowers - two of them are purple, they seem blue in the large photo, but the smaller detailed one shows the colors as thet look in real life.
The stamped sentiment has been heat embossed using white embossing powder - today's advent calendar gift!


This card is entered in these challenges:
1) A Gem of a Challenge - #60 Lavender and Lace
2) Glitter n Sparkle Challenge Blog - #10 Use some Metal
3) Hiding in my Craft Room - #74 Super Scraps Saturday
4) Sweet Stampin - Dies and Punches
5) Jellypark Challenges - Stars are Brightly Shining
6) Crafting for all Seasons - #41 Flowers
7) The Teddy Bo Challenge - Anything Goes
8) Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Christmas Stockings

I've used The Sketch File sketch as inspiration for this design.
I love red and white colors for Christmas and papers with spots, hence my choice of DP to make the panels. I machine stitched around the edges, not too straight, for a rough look.
I used 2 different stamps from Panduro to make the stockings - colored only with a red Promarker. I attached some jute for the string, tied a knot in each end to attach the little metal bells. The Christmas sentiment is stamped.

This card is for these challenges:
1) The Sketch File - Sketch
2) Paper Pretties Wednesday Challenge - PPC235 Christmas inspired
3) Ooh La La Creations - Spots & Dots
4) Paper Playtime - Christmas Colors
5) Panduro Hobby - Jul
6) Shelly's Images - Christmas is in the air
7) PaperPlay Challenges - #49 Christmas is coming
8) Pattie's Creations Design Challenge - #58 Christmas card
9) Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Falalala...

My second card using these carolers and lamp post digis from Mo's Digital Pencil- just love these ones, they're so fun to color too!
I've also used two stamps for the sentiments - one located on the red circle and the other one is stamped directly on the DP, beneath the image.
I've used pearl straws (yesterday's advent calendar gift, btw), red and brown flowers and a tied bow with a little bell as decorations.
I've torn the edges of the music note paper to give it a distressed look.

This card is for these challenges:
1) Kaboodle Doodles Challenge Blog - #148 Use Circles
2) Lollipop Crafts - #95 Happy Holidays
3) Whoopsi Daisy - Christmas Cards
4) Love to Create Challenge Blog - #44 Holiday Cheer
5) No Matter Which Challenges - Christmas
6) Cupcake Craftroom - Anything for Christmas
7) The Squirrel & the Fox - Summer or Winter
8) Pile It On - Embellishments
9) Sugar Creek Hollow - #40 Distressing
10) Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Card made of Wrapping Paper

This card is inspired by this week's "Just Us Girls" sketch. I immediately thought of a Christmas gift when seeing this sketch. So the paper I've used is actually wrapping paper, and I added a red ribbon with silver edges to create the illusion of a wrapped up gift. I tied a large bow of red ribbon and I attached a little silver bell to it. The sentiment is made with a stamp from Panduro, heat embossed with silver embossing powder. I machine stitched with silver thread around the wrapping paper and attached it all to a silver card stock base. Finally I added 3 snowflakes as embellishments.

This card is entered into these challenges:
1) Just Us Girls - #165 - Sketch
2) Card Makin' Mamas - Silver and/or Gold
3) Fab 'n' Funky - #148 - 3 of something (snowflakes)
4) Try It On Tuesday - Christmas Sparkle
5) Sisterhood of Crafters - Embossing

Vintage Christmas Gift Bag

My mum, my youngest sister and I have a tradition of giving each other advent calendar gifts  - we give 12 presents to each person, so that makes 24 in total since we are 3 persons. It's perhaps a quite childish thing to do, but at least it gets me out of bed each morning, which normally is quite hard as I like to stay warm under the covers and I'm not a typical morning bird! Today I received a Rachelle Anne Miller clear stamp which I look forward to ink up!

This gift bag contains a gift for my sister for the 5th of Decemeber.
I've used a new die, the Spellbinders Basic Lattice die. I've covered it with flowers, a vintage image and a die cut tree. The flowers have got red and diamond glitter glue on their petals.
The sentiment is a leftover from a DP I used for another card. The background paper has been sprinkled with glimmer mist - it doesn't show on the pictures, but in real life you can see the sparkly effect. I've also tied a bow onto which I've fastened a snowflake metal charm. I've added pearls in each corner of the bag.





This gift bag is for these challenges:
1) Craftymess challenge blog - #23 Vintage Christmas
2) Sparkles Christmas Challenge - #23 Button or Bow
3) The Cupboard Trilogy - #6 Frosty Winter
4) 2 Sisters Challenge Blog - #120 Christmas Sparkle
5) Jingle Belles - Anything Goes
6) Card Crafter's Circle - Bearing Gifts
7) Fussy and Fancy - I Love Christmas
8) Totally Papercrafts – Anything Christmasy but a card
9) It's All About the Vintage - Glittering
10) S J Papercrafts - Christmas plus optional: mix up the alphas