2010 Favorites

Here's to wishing you all of the best in the new year!

I had a fantastic little bread and ready to get back in the swing of things. I wanted to join in on the fun by posting ten of my favorite cards from this past year. Wow, what a ride The Bald Dragonfly has had in 2010 and I hope this year will be just as much fun! Thank you for joining me, and for all your support this  past year.

The Story of the Butterfly: My first go at combining colors that "scared" me.

Thunderstorms: The card that started the journey to the top 10 of the 2010 Gallery Idol competition. It also used my favorite stamp set from my favorite stamp company, Practicing Creativity Designs, which I became a design team member and stamp designer for! 

Anne Taintor Inspired: So not like me to design a card like this. But so true to us all.

 Sweet Baby Girl: Start of my grid fascination.

 Bluebirds: The meaning of this card will always hold a special place in my heart. Also, I am now a design team member of TiffanyDoodles!

 Coveted Blankets: Love the simplicity and bold colors of this card. It is just "me". Additionally, I became a member of the Schlosser Design Team this year.

 Tiled Sympathy: Tried out a few new techniques and fell in love with it.

 A Little Bit of Boo: Clean and Simple. Sigh. My favorite style.

 The Manger: The symbolism in this card rocks (to me, anyway).

 Winter Blooms: Yay! A circle card!

The Practicing Creativity Designs January Release starts in just a few days! And, the new Tiffany Doodles Store will be up tomorrow!

Happy Holidays

I never knew how true this would be until I had boys of my own, big and little....

I made a plate of cookies to share with you this year
I thought it was a good way to spread some holiday cheer.
They all looked really tasty...I thought I'd eat just one...
A little while later, I noticed there were none.
So here's my holiday greeting and some cookie cutters, too.
Now you can make your cookies and maybe share a few!

Fill a bag with holiday cookie cutters, sugar cookie mix, a jar of frosting and some sprinkles.

Taking a bit of a blogging break to celebrate my son's birthday and Christmas,
so here's to wishing you and yours the very merriest of holidays!

(Poem found on Splitcoast Stampers, but I no longer have the link. Holly image is from TiffanyDoodles.
Sorry, I wish I could say this was my handwriting but it's a font, I think the CK Ali Edwards one, actually!)

List of Fours

This card was a case from Ivanka Lentle's card on page 51 from PaperCraft's Holiday Cards and More Volume 5. (This magazine also happens to have my first published card, hoorah!) My version features one of the sentiments from Practicing Creativity's Rejoice! stamp set, as well as some May Arts ribbon and Basic Grey Jovial paper (which I just noticed was adhered upside down!). It's not for any challenge, but does have a pretty interesting background... A gal at work wanted to see my card in print and came back with my magazine two days later with a list of cards she wanted to order!
 

I've had the delightful opportunity to be tagged a few blogger buddies, so here is my List of Fours (subject to change daily).

1. Four shows that you watch:

- Criminal Minds

- Sons of Anarchy

- Food Network Challenge

- American Pickers

2.  Four things you are passionate about:

- Being the best mama, wife, daughter, sister that I can be

- Graphic Design

- Teaching respect and morals to my two boys
- Cardmaking and Scrapbooking

3.  Four words/phrases you say a lot:

- Really?

- Fabulous

- Pick Up!

- I'm calling to follow up on the status of a medical claim (from work)

4.  Four things you've learned from the past:

- If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all

- Things eventually do work out for the best

- Save your favorite toy just to see the excitement when your children love it as much

- Communication IS really the key to a good relationship

5. Four places you would like to go:

- Smokey Joe's house

- Ireland

- Disneyland: solely for the fact to look at the amazement and wonder in two boys eyes

- On a shopping spree with a lot of money that I won

6.  Four things you did yesterday:

- Drove to work on not-the best-plowed roads

- Purchased a blender for a gift and Burt's Beeswax Lip Balm (love that stuff)

- Cooked Spaghettios (why to kids like that stuff so much?)

- Had a really long discussion on why ten spelling words and twenty+ flashcards are very important to a first grader

7.  Four things you are looking forward to:

- Seeing (and holding) (and loving) (and spoiling) Baby Dot

- Seeing my boys grow up to be who they are

- Browsing cards made with stamps I've designed in magazines

- Spending the holidays with ALL of my family!

8.  Four things you love about winter:

- Seeing rosy red cheeks and noses of "little people"

- The beauty of a foot of fresh fallen snow (before plowing, shoveling, etc...)

- Singing Happy Birthday to my oldest

- Adopting a fire hydrant affectionately called Spicket

9.  Tag four people to play along:

- Lynn: The Mango Boys and Me

- LeeAnne: ArtfulDelight

- Sharli: Sharli's Place

- Erin: Homeade Cards by Erin

Cute Oddities

Sometimes it is worth it to go with the flow. Sometimes it is just good to make believe. Sometimes oddities really do exist and sometimes we just have to open our eyes and let them find us... Like cats sitting atop of each other not ready to topple over because they are so graceful and arrogant like that. Like snails all in a row, being content to follow one another, not caring how long it takes them to reach their destination.

These two cards were created with this really neat Lawn Fawn Challenge. Both feature Critters in the 'Burbs, a clean and graphic design, and a touch of glossy accents for added interest.

Supplies Used:

You're the Cats Meow
Cardstock: (Kraft) SU
Stamps: (Critters in the Burbs) Lawn Fawn
Ink: (Onyx Black) Versafine, (Ruby Red Pigment) SU
Other: (Decorative Tape), (Glossy Accents) Ranger


Thank You Snails
Cardstock: (Orange and Teal) Recollections, (White) Georgia Pacific
Stamps: (Critters in the Burbs) Lawn Fawn
Ink: (Onyx Black) Versafine, (Taken with Teal, Pumpkin Pie Pigment) SU
Other: (Sticker Sentiment) SRM, (Glossy Accents) Ranger, (Woodgrain Embossing Plate) Craft Concepts

Blue, Blue Christmas

...And when the blue snowflakes start falling / That’s when those blue memories start calling / You’ll be doing alright with your Christmas of white / But I’ll have a blue Christmas"

I made a card pack for a wonderful woman for Christmas, using various stamp sets and graduated shades of the color navy (Night of Navy and Not Quite Navy Pigment ink from Stampin' Up), the recipient's color of choice. I was inspired to make a monochromatic set of cards for Caardvark's last challenge.

Here's a look at the individual one-layer cards in the pack.

 Schlosser Design's Build a Border with a Waltzingmouse's Teeny Trees sentiment.

 Schlosser Design's Hexagon-A-Thon and Furnishing Fun, with a silver rhinestone.

 Schlosser Design's Circle-A-Thon with a sentiment from WMS's Teeny Trees and hand-drawn lines.

 Schlosser Design's Circle-A-Thon and Furnishing Fun.

Butterfly from Practicing Creativity Design's Nature's Wonder and sentiment from Wplus9's Ever After.

And I wrapped them up in some blue vintage wool thread...

 

The Dog Ate It

Seriously. The dog ate it. He ate the whole batch of bread. I made two-banana bread and cranberry orange bread and he ate all but one mini loaf that I had wrapped up for this project and the one loaf we ate while it was still warm. All in one afternoon while the grown ups were at work and the boys were at school. Lesson learned: wrap your baked goods before leaving the house.

May Arts had a fabulous Show Us Your Plaid Challenge to create a project using their ribbon and plaid. I made a bread cozy! I started by cutting a piece of felt to 2 1/2-3 inches wide and double stitched the edges with the string. I attached a handmade plaid button to one end and cut an opening on the other. To go with my bread cozy, I made tied a handmade tag with the string in a big bow and to identify what kind of bread it is. My card features the same plaid paper wrapped with the red string.  (The design was based off of Amy Heller's 6th Day of Christmas Challenge sketch.)

If you have a spare minute, hop on over there to May Arts and leave a comment! I hear that their is a giveaway too! My mom (a super talented lady who should have a blog of her own but doesn't), even participated! She made these cute hand towels.

 

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (White) Georgia Pacific, (Old Olive) SU

Patterned Paper: (Plaid from Jovial) Basic Grey

Stamps: (All Occasion Tags, From The Kitchen O) WPlus9

Ink: (Vintage Photo Distress) Ranger

Embellishments: (Red Burlap String, Natural Burlap String) May Arts, (Clear Button) SU, (Felt)

Tools: (Circle Punch) CM, (Flower Die) SU

Blooming Love

As I look out my window today and see over a foot of white fluffy snow, I reminisce about the times my husband and I have attempted to celebrate our anniversary only to be sidetracked by blizzards. We often end up with a cozy evening at home.

Today's card was based on the sketch at Skipping Stones Designs. I decided to try out the fabulous layering techniques that Maile Belles uses for the Wee Memories Challenge and Moxie Fab World is still celebrating their Card Creations Week, so this is my entry into the Love category.

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (Vintage Cream) PTI 
Patterned Paper: (Basics Cream) Basic Grey
Stamps: (Ever After) Wplus9
Ink: (Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain Distress) Ranger
Embellishments: (Ivory String) May Arts, (Button)
Tools: (Labels 4 Nestabilities) Spellbinders, (Corner Chomper) WR Memory Keepers

A Holly Jolly Chair + Winner

Some people like to go all out for Christmas, and I admire them. Me, well, I tend to stick to the bare minimum right now-probably due to the two rough and tumble boys that like to hang out at my place! A tree, my nativity and a few ceramic plates is about all I do. I guess you could call my decorating clean and simple too!

The overall design for this card came from the sketch by Amy Heller and the holly inspiration came from the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge. Super easy to create the woodgrain look to the chair from Schlosser Designs Furnishing Fun stamp set by using distress ink!

Thank you to those who commented on my first TiffanyDoodles Blog Hop post! Mr. Random.Org chose Judkajudi to be the recipient of this fine image. Please email me to claim your beautiful digi!

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

36

Timestamp: 2010-12-11 00:30:01 UTC


Supplies Used:Cardstock: (Vintage Cream) PTI
Patterned Paper: (Jovial) Basic Grey
Stamps: (Furnishing Fun) Schlosser Designs, (Very Merry Sentiments) Mint Motif, (Christmas Wonder) Practicing Creativity Designs
Ink: (Vintage Photo Distress) Ranger
Embellishments: (Red Pearls) Queen & Co., (Natural Burlap String) May Arts

Understated Sparkle

Not that glitzy. Not that glam. Just understated sparkle on a clean and simple card. I tried all sorts of other things, I had all sorts of layers and tricks and gadgets...but it just wasn't my thing. So I started over and went back to clean and simple.

I started with a die cut butterfly and painted on some Distress Antique Linen Stickles. Then I adhered him to a bigger green body with some Ivory Burlap String and attached him to the card that was previously embellished with decorative tape, twine and the sentiment.

Wanna play along with us for this Limelight Papercrafts Challenges? Follow the sketch below and be sure to add some sparkle! I'd love to see your creations! One lucky random winner will receive a Kaisercraft Bauble (Ornament) Album from the store. Please be sure to check the great bargains over at Limelight!

***Today is the last day of the TiffanyDoodles Blog Hop! For a  chance to win a free digi, please stop by this post here!***

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (Green) Archer Paper, (Olive) CTMH, (Vellum) SU
Stamps: (Nature's Wonder) Practicing Creativity Designs
Ink: (Vintage Photo Distress) Ranger
Embellishments: (Decorative Tape) Pink Paislee, (Ivory String) May Arts, (Antique Linen Distress Stickles) Ranger
Tools: (Butterfly Dies) SU, (Corner Chomper) WR Memory Keepers

A Cute Rodent?

Why yes, they are quite cute! Squirrels are fun to watch. Their personalities shine when they chase each other, bury things, fight-- all with boundless energy and enthusiasm... Hmm... Sounds quite like my two boys!

All kidding aside, here's another clean and graphic, easily mailable card for the veterinarian mama-to-be, I hope it makes her smile as it does me! The squirrel is paper pieced in a woodgrain pattern, the twine represents grass and I just love those hoopy loopy half circles to make him look like he's on the go. I based the design of this card off this sketch from Amy Heller, I'm seriously amazed at her skills. Moxie Fab World is also having a Card Creations Challenge week, I'm entering this one into the Thank You Category.

***For the TiffanyDoodles Blog Hop and a giveawy, please stop by this post here!***

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (Teal) Recollections, (White) Georgia Pacific, (Only Orange) SU
Patterned Paper: (Woodgrain) Unknown Source
Stamps: (Critters in the Burbs) Lawn Fawn, (Sentiment from Thank You) Heidi Grace
Ink: (Onyx Black) Versafine
Embellishments: (Divine Twine)
Tools: (Labels 4 Nestabilities) Spellbinders, (Scallop Trim Punch) SU

The Red Bird

Welcome to TiffanyDoodles Blog Hop and the first day of the TiffanyDoodles December Challenge-to create a Christmas card! The Hop lasts through Thursday and you have until the 31st of December to enter the Challenge.

For my card I started by creating a text background of a holiday carol and overlayed the RedBird image in my photo editing program. I then colored the bird lightly with pencils, distressed him a bit with ink and then covered him with Glossy Accents. After substantial dry time, I went over the whole image with more distress inks and edge distressed the entire panel before stitching it to the card base.

I appreciate all your comments...comment today here for a chance to win the RedBird image!

Please take a minute to hop on over and comment on each of the team member's blogs, there is a chance to win a free image at each stop!
Tiffany Doodles
Tiffany Richards
Cammy Wall
Collette Landwer
Donna Mikasa
Jeannie DeGruccio
Jill Foster
Jodi Ann Lee
Kim Schofield
Lindsay Amrhein
Lisa Summerhays
Pattie Goldman
Peet Roeven
Shannon Neparko
Simone Naoum
Sue McRae
Willemien Katerberg
Stop back at TiffanyDoodles for a chance to win three doodles of your choice!

There is a lot happening at Tiffany Doodles: Tiffany's store is almost up, there is a challenge every 7th of the month, there is a lot of opportunities for sponsorships and check this out...

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (Vintage Cream) PTI
Patterned Paper: (Jovial) Basic Grey
Digital Image: (Red Bird) TiffanyDoodles
Stamp: (Celebrate from Christmas Wonders) Practicing Creativity Design
Ink: (Antique Linen and Vintage Photo Distress) Ranger
Embellishments: (Natural Twine) May Arts
Tools: (Tag Punch) McGill, (Edge Distresser) SU
Other: (Colored Pencils) Prisma, (Glossy Accents) Ranger, (Thread)

Flocked Birdies

She says she's more into treating the kind with four legs than with two wings, however these little birdies are too cute! I think cuteness is great for a non-traditional baby thank-you card for the veterinarian mama-to-be.

Everything but the Kitchen Sink is hosting their last challenge, which is to use texture. (I wish the hosts the best of luck on their adventures, they sure are a sweet bunch.) I stamped these little fellas in a few rows and covered them with some orange/yellow flock, for a sweet, subtle texture. Flocking is an interesting supply to work with, others in my household thought so too: my husband didn't quite understand what it was but thought that the first bird down below had "exceptional shading", and my littlest son wanted to stick his fingers in it and make a mustache...

Limelight Papercrafts is the sponsor for the challenge, please be sure to stop over there to catch some great, great deals before the doors close. Speaking from experience, Limelight has fabulous customer service and equally grand product. Moxie Fab World is having a Card Creations Challenge week, so I'm entering this into the Thank You category.

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (White) Georgia Pacific, (Gold) Recollections
Stamps: (The Birds and the Bees) Wplus9
Ink: (Onyx Black) Versamagic
Embellishments: (Black Twill) May Arts, (Staples)
Other: (Flock) Studio G, (Black Marker) Pilot

Doodles

 
Thanks a bunch to Tiff at TiffanyDoodles for having me on their talented team! I guess I'd say I'm pretty picky when it comes to any kind of images, but those at TiffanyDoodles stole my heart. I love them! (Thanks as well to Sharli for this really awesome washi tape and to Els for the perfectly deep red rhinestone used in this card today!) This card was made in just a few steps: I printed the puppy image, added the sticker, and then tape and rhinestones. This card will be going to one special mama-to-be, a veterinarian to use for her baby's thank you's. The color inspiration for this card came from the challenge over at Jay Gee's Nook!

I'm excited to let you know that there will be a lot of opportunities available for you to win some fabulous digital images from TiffanyDoodles! Tiffany Doodles is having a Blog Hop that starts this Tuesday, December 7th and runs through Thursday with a lot of opportunities to win. That day the design team will also be featuring cards for the December Challenge (which has four chances to win up to seven digis of your choice by participating!).

Introducing the TiffanyDoodles Design Team for 2011...
Tiffany Richards
Cammy Wall
Collette Landwer
Donna Mikasa
Jeannie DeGruccio
Jill Foster
Jodi Ann Lee
Joy Taylor
Kim Schofield
Lindsay Amrhein
Lisa Summerhayes
Pattie Goldman
Peet Roeven
Shannon Neparko
Simone Naoum
Sue McRae
Willemien Katerberg

***This is my second post for today. To see the latest tutorial for the Practicing Creativity Design's December Release, please click here!***

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (Kraft) PTI, (White) Georgia Pacific
Digital Image: (Puppy) Tiffany Doodles
Embellishments: (Sticker Sentiment) SRM Stickers, (Rhinestone) Art Talent

Listen to the Spouse

So the idea for this card went down like this:
Me: I'm stuck.
Brian (the Spouse): Why?
Me: Well, what do you think of when I say Hot Air Balloons?
Brian (the Spouse): Dorothy.
Me: Um, ok. What else?
Brian (the Spouse): Orange, hot flames.
Me (with the lightbulb going off): Ooh, good idea. Thanks. Carry on.
Brian (the spouse-now with the look like he thinks I'm crazed): Um, ok.

Today's card features both Look Up! and Look Up! Additions by Practicing Creativity Designs and the tutorial shows a bit of Misting and Masking, the best way I could configure to showcase "orange, hot flames."

 Cut cardstock to size.
Stamp image onto scrap paper, cut with a small border and position with repositionable adhesive.
(Or you can use a post it as I've done here, if your image is small enough.)
The big black item in the photo is the top of the spray mist bottle, I hold it about a foot away
from my project and at a bit of an angle.) Spray the mist. I used two passes for this card.

Stamp sentiment.
After stamping the masked image onto another scrap piece of paper,
cut out area where "orange, hot flames" would be and position it back onto your card base.
Sponge the color and remove the mask.

I hope the tutorials during Practicing Creativity Design's Release Week were helpful and fun, as I enjoyed putting them together for you (suggestions or comments for improvement will be most welcome!). Both Look Up! Additions and Nature's Wonders are now availabe! Please stop by Courtney's, Paulina's and Dana's blogs today as well as our talented guest designers' blogs: Valerie, Amy and Vanessa.

***This is my first post today, if you have time, please stop by my second post! ***