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!

Balloons for Baby

Happy Sunday! Hope your weekend is going well. Here's my card for this week's Cupcake Inspirations Challenge. I'll be honest with you... This card didn't turn out anything like I had imagined when I thought of what I wanted to do. But I think it still turned out pretty cute...


DEEtails:

I played around a bit with the digital stamp image from Bugaboo Stamps, our sponsor this week. I colored my bear with Stampin' Write Markers - Creamy Caramel, Blush Blossom, Chocolate Chip and Melon Mambo. I printed out my balloons on Melon Mambo, Wild Wasabi and Peach Pizzazz. I dipped each balloon in VersaMark ink and added a layer of clear embossing powder and some heat to add that glossy balloon look (this also makes the card stock look darker, so the Wild Wasabi now looks more like Garden Green - the photo is pretty accurate as far as coloring goes). Then I took my exacto knife and cut a little slit under my bear's arm. I used some black hemp to tie my balloons and "threaded" the "string" into the slit on my bear. I took a bright Pacific Blue Good Morning Sunshine DSP for my background and added a fun, frilly ribbon from stash. I stamped an image from SU!'s Four Square set in Pumpkin Pie and added a scallop scare mat in Melon Mambo. I added a Garden Green mat before adhering everything to my Pacific Point card.

Special DEElivery:

This card is for sale in my Etsy Shop.

Winter White (And A Bit About Me!)

Hope you've had a great first week of the year! :) Mine has been busy and I've been trying to get over a cold, but I've been trying to make time to create.

Today I'm here to share a few of my blog and crafting goals for the year. Here goes:

1. Blog More. Last year, I averaged about 16 posts a month, but there were some weeks that I went missing completely. This year, I'm hoping to blog more consistently (maybe even daily...?) So far, so good! This will mean a lot more planning and posting ahead, especially when I'm busy, but forcing myself to sit down and craft is always a great way to relieve some stress (and put a smile on someone's face!)

2. Get Personal. I know in the past I've been a little shy about my personal life, but this year, one of my goals is to let you all get to know me a little better. The truth is, I've always been a little afraid of putting myself out there on the internet. In fact, starting this blog last year was a huge jump for me. I'm so happy that I did because the experience has been phenomenal and I've only encountered nice, sweet, friendly people (not the internet monsters that I feared). :) I have enjoyed getting to know some of you a bit and because of you, I will be starting to share more about myself and allowing you to get to know me better. But don't worry if you don't care to learn too much about me, because I'll only be posting this type of chatter once a week. I won't be blabbing about myself to you the rest of the week. Well at least not too much.

3. Challenge Myself. If you're a regular reader, you know that my comfort zone is inspiration challenges. Honestly, I love not having to think too much and just copying from an inspiration photo. I've been trying to push myself to do more sketch and color challenges, but this year I'm really going to focus on this area of... would you call it a weakness? And I've already done one of each this past week, so I must be on the right track. Woohoo!

4. Inspire Myself. I also want to stop limiting myself to doing only challenges and sort of be inspired on my own. I don't know if you've noticed, but I rarely just make a card on my own. I almost always have to be challenged. I'm taking baby steps here and plan to work my way through the PaperCrafts Go To Sketches and Color Inspiration magazines. Although, it's kind of still a challenge because I'm challenging myself, so I hope it still counts.

5. Find A Home. For my cards, that is. I'll be trying to sell many of my cards on Etsy. And each week, when I update my Etsy store, I'll also update that week's previous posts with a little "Special DEElivery" section to tell you where my cards have headed. I'd love to send more of my cards in the mail to people - not sure if you knew, but I don't even send half of my cards to anyone. Most of them just sit in a box. Sad, I know... That's why I'm trying to fix that!

What about you? What are your crafty resolutions for the year?

On to today's card...


Today's card is for the Moxie Fab Winter White Tuesday Trigger Challenge. Isn't the Tuesday Trigger Inspiration beautiful?


Here are the DEEtails:

I started off with some Whisper White card stock, and embossed a piece of it with PTI's Woodgrain embossing plate. I stamped another piece with a sentiment from SU!'s Heard from the Heart stamp set. Then I added some Whisper White Grosgrain ribbon and a bow. Then I stamped the daisy from SU!'s Fifth Avenue Floral set on Vellum with Whisper White ink and cut them out. I added a bottom layer of Sahara Sand daisies and adhered them to my card. Some tiny Pearl Jewels in the flower centers add that extra touch.

Special DEElivery:

Aunt Susan purchased this card from my Etsy Shop!

Thanks for peeking in today (and putting up with my rambling)!