A Year In Review Blog Hop

With 2011 coming to an end, we have a tendency to look back over the year and review everything that has happened, both the good and the bad.  Karin, one of my fellow Sparkle N Sprinkle designers, is have a Year In Review Blog Hop at With an “I” for Paper so I have reviewed the last twelve months on my blog and I am going to share with you my 12 favorite cards for 2011. 

Being a designer for Sparkle N Sprinkle the last six months has been an honor and so much fun, so I want to share my favorite cards using SNS stamps and products first.

 

Tri-fold card using Fancy Butterflies.

  

        Bird Swirl Set                                       Easter Chicks Set combinded with

                                                                  Spellbinders' 2010 Heirloom Ornaments.

 

Shaker Ornament using Playful Pengies and Tis The Season sets combinded with Spellbinders' 2010 Heirloom Ornaments.

My next cards use stamps from Our Daily Bread Designs.  When I first started to enter their challenges, I borrowed a stamp from a friend and had to be very creative with this one image to meet the various challenges.  I was really thrilled to be asked to be a guest designer for two months this summer.  Here are a few of my favorites.

 As You Graduate and Faith sets. 

     

        

Card Holder and a set of cards using Scripture Series 2 and Scrolly Borders

A side-step card using Scripture Series 2, Scrolly Borders, and Happy Birthday sets from ODBD.  I added a Garden Oval Topper, Fushia Mix, and Ultra-Fine Sage from Flower Soft.

  

  

         

Holiday Easel Card using Serve the Lord and His Gift stamp sets and Crocheted Circle Die from ODBD and 2010 Heirloom Ornaments, Standard Circles, and Layered Poinsettia dies from Spellbinders.

The remaining favorites use stamps from various companies whose challenges I try to enter as often as I have time. 

I have collected House Mouse stamps for years because they are just tooo cute and irresistible.

Another one of my favorite companies is Impression Obsession.

    

My final card used stamps from JustRite .

This was my first Center Step card and one of the first cards I won a challenge with.

 I hope you enjoyed reviewing these favorites.  I would love if you left me a comment, letting me know which of my favorites is your favorite and why.  Also, don't forget to go here to find links to other blogs that are participating.

One last item - in reviewing my blog I realized that I totally forgot about my one year blogiversary.  I plan to combine this with a celebration of another year to come in January.  Watch for this because I will be offering some candy.

E. Marie

Flower Soft and Our Daily Bread Blog Hop

Welcome to a very special blog with the Flower Soft & Our Daily Bread Design Teams!  As you make your way through the hop make sure you comment on each and every post.  There will be two prize winners chosen randomly among the blogs.  Flower Soft and Our Daily Bread will each be selecting a winner for a $20 prize package!

The blog hop ends on August 30th.  The prize winners will be announced on The Flower Soft blog and Our Daily Bread Blog on August 31st.

If you came here from Dina Kowal's fantastic blog you are in the right place.   If not please start at the beginning at the Our Daily Bread Blog where you will find all the details and the entire hop listed in order.

Flower Soft is the perfect addition to Our Daily Bread Designs’ images.  For my project I decided to make a step card, using a combination of cream, white, green, and some lovely floral background cardstock from K & Co.  On the left side of the card I used a verse from ODBD’s new Scripture Series 2 set stamped inside a border from their new Scrolly Borders.  This is layered on white cardstock punched with a Martha Stewart corner/border punch.

Along the bottom I created a decorative fence, also using a Martha Stewart border punch.  I added seam binding ribbon and a bow.  On top of this I place the flower filled watering can from ODBD’s Happy Birthday set.  I colored the image with markers and cut it out.  I added Flower Soft to various flowers using some single colors and also some combinations I mixed.  Along the bottom I added Flowers Soft’s Fushia mix.

For the middle step I used layers of white, green, and floral cardstock all punched with a Deep Edger Martha Stewart border punch to create a floral edge.  Then I added Flower Soft’s Garden Oval Topper to the last step.  I decorated it with more of the Fushia and Ultra-Fine Sage.  I stamped the birthday sentiment and added four little butterflies, also from ODBD’s Birthday set.

Now hop on over to Deb Felt’s blog to see what wonderful project she has waiting for you.  Don’t forget to leave some love for all the designers for a chance to win.

Thanks for stopping by.

E. Marie

This card has been entered in the following Challenges:

Aifactory Challenge #089 – Anything Goes

Art Impressions Stamps Challenge #29 – Summertime

A Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge #162 – Happy Birthday

Flutter By Wednesday #168 – Open Challenge

Fussy and Fancy 1000 Followers Celebration Challenge – Celebrate Something

Kaboodle Doodles Challenge #81 – Ribbons

Sentimental Sundays Challenge #69 – Happy Birthday Projects

Stamp and Create August Challenge – Critters/Bug or Animals

Totally Stampalicious Challenge – Use Three Different Punches
The Pink Elephant Challenge TPE113– Inspiration Challenge!!

Fall, Fall, and More Fall

We have been having such beautiful weather and the leaves are starting to change even more.  My friends and I are planning to do a little excursion into the mountains soon to see all the beautiful color.  I am still in the mood for Fall cards.  I have also fallen in love with the Funky Fold Card technique that I used for my last card.  I was so excited because I won my first challenge with it.

Well, I decided to play with it some more using the Fall theme.  I used my borrowed set of stamps from Our Daily Bread (bet my friend is wondering where her stamp set went) to create a beautiful Fall scene with sunflowers.  I used chalks to color them. 

The fence is a MS border punch.  Behind the sunflowers is a scalloped oval that I lightly sanded to bring out the lined pattern in it. 







The leaves were cut out with a Spellbinder die and run through the Big Shot to emboss. 

Then I used the die as a stencil, added versamark, and then sprinkled different colored embossing powders on top to creat the beautiful coloring.  I had so much fun with these.  The message on top is also from Our Daily Bread, stamped onto a Cuttlebug Die.

I entered this card in the ODBDSLC33 Anything goes but with ODBD Stamps Challenge.

I also entered it in Our Daily Bread Designs Stamping In Time: On Assignment Challenge (SNTODBD20) using embossing powders.  I used 4 different embossing powders to "paint" the leaves on this card.

Crazy 4 Challenges C4C59 also had the theme of Fall so I thought they might enjoy this card.