Top 12 of 2011

Well, I tried to post this earlier with pictures, but it's just not working! So you get one graphic with all the pictures. I've decided to do a Top 12 of 2011 and choose 1 project from each month to highlight. I'm doing this mainly to reminisce and not for you to have to endure, but feel free to come along for the ride! :)

Before I begin, I want to thank you all--I feel that this year my blog has "taken off" and it's all because of the wonderful people I've met through my blogging. So thank you for all you do to help me! I love looking at all the fabulous creations you come up with and I love all your sweet words and the honors I've been awarded. Thank you!!!

And now

without further ado

My Top 12 of 2011
(click on the month to see the post)

January~ I LOVE the way that these Valentine's tins came out. They are now staples in my seasonal decorating and I love that I was able to reuse some tins that I had stashed away for YEARS! So, this was definitely the highlight of all 3 of my posts in January. ;)

February~ Ah, yes! Faux pressed flowers--so beautiful! And this leads me to wonder whatever happened to me using this technique? And why did i forget how well those two punches layer for sentiments? And whatever happened to my Technique Tuesday Spotlight? Food for thought for a later date...

March~ The month of jewelry. Why don't I make jewelry as much anymore?! I must be concentrating quite hard on my paper crafting...anyway, I LOVE this purple set and I wear it often, as purple is my favorite color. I use it to spruce up brown, white, black and cream. LOVE IT! And I also see how bad these pictures are...and I'm hoping you notice how much better I've become at photographing my projects!

April~ Oh, right! This was the month that I received the gigantic box of winnings from EK Success! But that's not this post. This post is the fabulous new bookmarks I learned to make! They're magnetic, and so they don't slip out of your book!!! LOVE THEM! :)

May~ My birthday month!!! I only posted 6 times. Wow! I can't imagine only blogging six times in one month now! ;) This post highlights my favorite digital cards. They're quite punny! ;) I don't post my digital artwork here on this blog anymore. If you're interested in that type of thing, you can go over to my digital blog here.

June~ Wow, so many things to like about June! This was the first month that I participated in One Layer Wednesday, made jack-o-lanterns out of marshmallow fluff jars, got a lot of use out of clear glitter gel pens, purchased some vintage glitter at a garage sale, and came up with my disclosure policy. BUT, this link will take you to a keychain that I made for my dad. He was using a piece of paper from the last time he'd had an oil change as his keychain. A PIECE OF RED STICKY BACKED PAPER!!! So, this is what I made for him! Rather clever, isn't it?!

July~ This was my second busiest blogging month. I resurrected my love for the baby wipe ink pad technique in July. This is also the month I really started to participate in online card making challenges. :) It's given me a purpose in crafting and that really helps me! This post is my first ever submission to Make My Monday challenges. And now I'm a DT member--in just a few short months! WOW. How happy this makes me!

August~ Back to school! To a NEW school! LOVE the people I work with at Swaney Elementary School! :) This link is the card that I won my FIRST award for--from Make My Monday. :) I won twice in August. It really lifted my spirits, as I was just about to quit my blog! Thank you, ladies! :) I LOVE working with you all!!!

September~ The month of STEAMPUNK! I NEVER would've tried this out unless it was part of the MMM challenges! ;) My DH LOVES steampunk now, and wants an aviator hat because of these challenges. He also allows me to buy many more things because they are steampunkish! This post is my favorite steampunk card that won a Top 3 Spot at MMM. Do you see how MMM has totally helped my blogging/crafting life, as well as effected my personal life?!

October~ Happy Halloween!!! I got my face painted, found Case Study challenge, and joined the Gratitude Challenge this month. This post is how I expanded my Gratitude Challenge offerings. A dear blogging friend named Susan had awarded me some blog awards, and so I took the opportunity to thank those who had made me continue my blog.

November~ I was a guest DT member over at MMM this month. ;) My busiest blogging month because I tried to make a card for each challenge. It didn't always work out that way, but I tried! ;) This post is the first card I created for Crafty Cardmakers--a new to me challenge I found in November. Oh, and guess what? I've been asked to be a DT over there!!! Come join us bi-weekly in 2012! It's always a blast!!!

December~ This card amazes me. I cannot believe that my hands made it. It received top honors on a couple of blog sites. And I am so happy with it--I think it's amazingly gorgeous! I believe it's my favorite card of 2012!

As I look back over the past 12 months, I cannot help but be incredibly grateful for all that God has given me in 2011! I have a nice home, a loving husband, a beautiful furry puppy baby, nice clothing, food to eat, wonderful co-workers, a job I truly love, crafty talents to keep me occupied, a fabulous family, and so many amazing blog friends! Thank you for all the highlights of 2011! I cannot wait for a fabulous 2012!

52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown Debut!

Well hello there! I am so pleased to see you here today--I am really excited about this post! Why? Because this is my debut post as a Design Team Member for a BRAND NEW Challenge blog--52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown! I really hope that you'll join us--if you do, you'll have your 52 Christmas cards to send out in 2012! How's THAT for prepared?! So pop on over and join us!

For our first challenge, Jacqueline and I have chosen to do ANYTHING GOES--this means ANY project, as long as it has a Christmas theme! I went with a card--I need as many of these as I can get each year! And it's really fun to have special cards for certain people. :)

Here's my card~

Details~

I wanted something simple--and I recently purchased this pennant punch from Stampin' Up! and decided to make myself a little punched Christmas tree! I used silver paper as my backing and tree middle to add sparkle, but I kept clean lines and blocks of color. I LOVE how it turned out--what do you think?

I hope you'll join us--and please grab our button! You can find it at the challenge blog OR at the top of this post! Merry stamping!!! :)

Still not dead...

...but now my DH is down with the lovely bug. So, I'll just blog for information.

A dear friend (Jacqueline) and I are starting a Christmas stamping challenge blog!!! It's called 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown and our first challenge is going to be posted this Saturday morning at 6:00am GMT. :) We hope you'll join in the fun--if you do, you'll have 52 cards by Christmas, way ahead of your friends, and feel oh, so prepared for the holiday! :)

Grab our button and come play along~

Also, another tidbit of information, I have a very special blog post that will come out on New Year's Day. What's it about? Well, you'll just have to wait and see! Although, some of you probably already know what it will be. :)

I hope you and yours are having a wonderful holiday--happy crafting! :)

I'm not dead...

I just have had the flu. :( I'll be posting what I got for Christmas later today if I feel good enough to get onto my laptop. (Writing this on my phone.) I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday!

Merry Christmas 2011!

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas filled with friends, family, and the immeasurable Love of our Savior!

2011 Christmas Gifts

I thought I'd show you some of the homemade gifts I've made. Not linking them up to anything, just for show and tell for my loyal followers! :)

Pendants for my sisters~

Birthday cards for my mother to give away
(using SCRAPS!!!)
(Some posted earlier...)~

If you'd like to see the digital prints that I made, check out my other blog for my digital crafting here. :) The first three posts were used as framed gifts. :)

Woof, Woof!

Did you notice the title of this post? That's my puppy joining me in saying, "Happy Holidays!" to all my blog friends! :)

AND, before I forget, THANK YOU to everyone who helped me meet my goal of 100 followers! I will be posting how to win some blog candy during the first week of January--stay tuned and follow (if you don't already) for a chance to win!

So, I LOVE my dog--I've shown you pictures, but here's another one to remind you how ADORABLE she is!


I know, adorable! The BEST dog ever--she's so obedient and calm (most of the time) and just perfect for our family! So, what does she have to do with this post? Well, she *made* a card to wish everyone a happy holiday! Okay, she didn't make it, I did, but she inspired it! She wanted to share some words of wisdom... ;)

I'll be submitting this card into this week's JUGS color challenge, Paper Playtime's challenge~ Say it with Sentiments (this sentiment is definitely a statement!), as well as the Moving Along With the Times challenge~ Cats & Dogs. :)

I also want to enter this into Top Tip Tuesday's challenge~Anything Christmas! AND, here's my TIP!!! When taking photos of your projects, use a designer paper stack as your background--it makes a HUGE difference! Just find a pattern as your backdrop, turn the paper into a 90* angle, and take a picture. Doesn't this look nice?!

Here's the card~

And the details~

Isn't it cute?! Happy Holidays, from all of us, including HUNDIE (hoon-dee)! :)

Keeping it quick--I also may be AWOL for a bit--lot's to do over this holiday, but I'll try to post at least a few times a week! Merry stamping! :)

Winter is Upon US!

***REMINDER: IF I GET 100 FOLLOWERS BY JANUARY 1, 2012, I WILL GIVE AWAY SOME BLOG CANDY!!!***I ONLY NEED 2 MORE!!!***

Okay, now that THAT'S over (and hopefully is the LAST time!), I want to welcome you to another round of "What's Mynnette thinking?" Tonight I'm thinking that it would really be lovely if the snow that is on it's way would create a "snow day" for school in the morning...then I could start my break early! I don't think it'll happen...stay tuned to see if it did or didn't! ;D Yep, blizzard conditions possible here in KS! I'm kind of excited, but not, because I have family coming in on Wednesday...or ARE they?! Stay tuned for more info on THAT juicy tidbit...

Okay, now that THAT'S over, let's get to the good stuff! AKA the crafty card I've made for your viewing pleasure! I am entering this one into the Do You Stack Up challenge: Winter, and also this week's Mojo Monday sketch challenge!!! Click on the picture to link back to these challenges. :)

And here is my card~

Details (tried to help you see the fabulous silver paper I used...)~

That's all for tonight--wanna get some goodies done for co-workers...just in case there is school! :) Merry stamping! :)

Make My Monday Seasonal Tag

Hello! Welcome to another challenge at Make My Monday! :) This one is a two week challenge instead of a one week challenge--in order for our Deezine Team to have a little bit of a holiday rest. :) We're asking each of you for a Seasonal Tag!

Here is mine~

And details~

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek--please stop by the other fabulous DT members' blogs and leave a little love--they're all so very talented!!! :) Merry stamping!

Blue Friendship

***REMINDER: IF I GET 100 FOLLOWERS BY JANUARY 1, 2012, I WILL BE GIVING AWAY BLOG CANDY!!! FOLLOW ME TODAY FOR A CHANCE TO ENTER AND WIN!!!***

Hello, friend! Welcome to another round of "What's Mynnette Thinking?!" Here's what I'm thinking--I am REALLY unprepared for the upcoming holiday. But, I will procrastinate anyway and everyone will get their cards late. Hey, it's the thought that counts, right?! I've got blogging to do!!! ;D

Alrighty then, onto more important matters. Meaning the card this post is about! ;D This week at CAS-ual Fridays, they want us to create a card (CAS style, of course!) and matching envelope. LOVE this--I'll probably enter more than once. You know, the procrastinating thing and all. Over at Colour Create, they've given us the colors blue, silver and white. So, I've combined the two challenges to create...

...THIS~

Card & details~

Inside & close-up~

Envelope & close-up~

What do you think? I made it with a specific blue loving friend in mind...we'll see if she actually gets it as I LOVE the way it turned out! I really like how the blue butterflies look on the silver panel--so shimmery! I hope you like it, too! I hope you come and play along at these two fabulous challenges and I also hope that you are having a fabulous holiday season! Merry stamping! :)