A Year of Firsts (and a Mystery Giveaway!)

Hooray! Today marks one year since I started this blog! Wow! So, to celebrate my first blogiversary, I'd like to share some of the firsts that I've celebrated this year.

On January 10, 2010, I wrote my very first post and showcased the first card that I ever made using nearly all Stampin' Up! product.

I won my first challenge with a fun rose card that I posted on February 8, for the Stamping 411 sketch challenge.

My first day to reach 100 hits was February 12th, a little over a month a blogging. Most of these hits were from my Stamping 411 win.

My first card to get A LOT of recognition was a clean and simple take on the Color Dare challenge that I posted on February 13. It got top 3 for the challenge, was featured on Nancy Riley's iPicks and was CASEd by fellow stampers. It was so exciting!

On March 9, I wrote my first non-card post featuring my mom and her crafty talents. Since then, I post from time to time about my mom's fabulous bags and sewing projects.

In April, I shared my first card in a series of cards inspired entirely by a Crate and Barrel catalog. It didn't seem very popular with the readers, but this was such a fun project for me.

I also won my first blog award in April, given to me by Robyn from Rainbows by Robyn. How fun!

I participated in my first blog hop on June 8th. It was my first day to reach over 1,000 hits (WOW!) and my first day to offer blog candy, thus receiving over 250 comments (double WOW!) To date, I've never had over 20 comments!

The first card my dog ate was this one that I made on June 13th. Luckily, it wasn't that great... so I wasn't too upset. In case you're wondering, she hasn't eaten any others.


On July 15th, I shared the first cards my little brother made. He has such a fun sense of humor.

I debuted as a Sweetie on the Cupcake Inspirations Design Team on August 15th. You can catch me participated in the weekly challenge on Sundays. Hope you'll play along!

My first Inspire DEE challenge in September was inspired by my mom's friend, Darlene. It had a whoppin' 3 participants. But it was fun! :)

My first Etsy sale to a non-relative was my first Christmas card of the year that I made on November 2. This card was gorgeous and it was hard for me to let it go. (Actually, I think I may have put it on sale by mistake!)

So there you have it, a year of firsts! And to finish off the year, I'm sharing my first clear card. Let me tell you that this one was not easy to photograph...

DEEtails:

One of my personal challenges this year is to work my way through the Paper Crafts Go-to Sketches Magazine. I made this card for the first sketch. I started with an acetate card and added a piece of Perfect Plum card stock inside. Then I cut a page from an old book down to size and rounded the corners. I stamped the image from SU!'s Just Believe in Perfect Plum ink on Naturals white card stock and cut it out. Then I stamped the sentiment from the same set and punched it out with my Modern Label punch. Finally, I added a button from my stash, threaded with some Baker's Twine. Hope you like it!

Special DEElivery:

This card is for sale at my Etsy shop.

Okay, but really... I know you wanted something a bit more exciting than a hard to photograph card. :) So, to celebrate my first blogiversary, I'll be having a mystery giveaway! I'll be giving away some goodies to one lucky winner. To be entered into this giveaway, you'll need to be a follower and leave a comment below, telling me which of my past projects is your favorite. You'll have until next Monday January 17 to enter! Good luck!