My Favorite Projects of 2014

Hahahaha! .......And so, with nothing else to do, I craft!  :)

"I have noticed that what cats most appreciate in a human being is not the ability to produce food which they take for granted --- but his or her entertainment value."
                                                                            ----------------Geoffrey Household

Hi, Friends.....

Seems like lots of the real bloggers do a retrospective at the end of the year reviewing their own favorite projects.  It's always kind of fun to get another look at their terrific work again!  

As I was putting mine together, I noticed a couple of things taking shape.  This year-in-review was really a look at how I had grown as a crafter over my first year of blogging and also about discovering what style is beginning to become "mine". 

I didn't limit my favorites to the Top 10 or to one per month.  I have snagged one or more from each month that I really love, or that I think say something about me as a crafter.  Besides, since this was my first year of blogging, many of you might not have seen my earliest cards. :)

Here goes......way back to February when I started my blog with my very first card I ever posted.  I still love this gold heat-embossed rolled doily and the glass flowers.  Completely unmailable, but it went hand-delivered to a friend who was just home from surgery.  Already, you can see that I am enamored with heat embossing!!  :)

This other one from February shows my CAS side.  (I am soooooo schizoid!!!  Ha.)  It also is beginning to reveal my love for pink.  My experimental and messy side is showing with the splatters.  That technique is still really scary to me, though, because I never know what it will look like. 

Here we are in March with another rather fussy pink card.  Even now, I am far from mastering the shabby chic genre that I admire so much, but you can see that I was trying in a few of my early cards. 

Another try at the shabby look in this bridal shower card.  I really love this one.....almost white on white, but not quite.  Flowers and butterflies are showing up a lot in my work.  :)

Now on to April with this gift box I upcycled from a Priority Mailer.  I don't do a lot of altered projects, but I like how this one turned out.  Still kind of the shabby look.

Mother's Day in May with a vintage card for my dear Mom-in-law.  Not shabby enough to be chic, but lovely Graphic 45 image.  Gold has shown up again along with more flowers.  :)










Back to more of a CAS look and one of my favorite cards ever.  I am beginning to dabble in using watercolors in some of my images.  Flowers, again.  :)  Also, starting to use sketches and loving fresh color combos.







Here I am in June with a fun little card.  You can see a bit of my whimsical sense of humor in this one I made for a "travel" theme.  This was a sketch, too.  I was really getting to love having a pattern to follow.  I find that really helps me get going.

This June graduation card is about as CAS as I can ever manage.  I really love that wonderful clean look, but can rarely pull it off.  I think it's because I love to put stuff on my cards and can't leave them alone.  :)   Love how this one turned out.  So fun. 








Nothing in July really struck my fancy for posting here.  Summer doldrums, I guess....but I made up for it in August!




This bird at dawn card in August is a favorite of mine.  I hadn't really stamped pattern paper much before to make a background, but loved how this turned out.  It foreshadows my love for backgrounds.  I also love the silhouette look.  And it is pink!  :)






Here is one of my very favorite cards.....kind of CAS , and following a sketch.  Also, another one with a fresh color combo and watercolors on the image.  The buttons are different for me.

 
Still in August, this card shows my real and genuine jump into background techniques!!  Thanks to MFP Tutorial Time Challenges (bring them back, please!!!!) I was brave enough to try something new.  SO glad I did!!

This September mixed media card shows my wacky and weird side.  It was so fun to play with so many papers and inks and other products.  The result was definitely ....umm... "different"... but I LOVE it.  :)

Still in September, I have a favorite autumn leaf card, showing one of my molten backgrounds......in gold, of course!

October bring us more background fun with this card using an Add a Little Dazzle metal punched leaf that I also heat-embossed.  LOVE!

I also began making shaker cards in October.  The little bat stamp I used for this card stole my heart and I had to buy him.  I loved how fun making shakers turned out to be!!!

Even though this one, also from October, reminds me of a vintage funerary card, it really is not supposed to be one.  Ha.  It was one of my first sanding and chalkboard-look cards.  I fell in love with this look. 

I have just one card from November to share.  I made some little shaker bundles and used one for this simple cut-out Christmas tree shape.  I discovered that I LOVE a simple triangle for Christmas trees.  Naturally, I had to add gold to the snowy dry-embossed background and to the star.  :)











In December, this fun little gift card holder was my first attempt at using a digi-image.  I had so much fun making this little project.  My new Wink of Stella glitter pen made it even more fun!!!

December also found me in full swing with my backgrounds.  Love this molten Christmas card with the snowflakes enhanced with embossing powder and another simple triangle tree. 


So, there you have my favorites.  I hope some of them are your favorites, too!  What I learned about myself is that I love both the simple (almost CAS look), but I also love a rich elegant look.....either using a shabby look or my more recently developed background techniques.  

Thanks for walking through this year of projects with me.  You readers and your comments mean more to me than you can imagine.  Your encouraging words inspire me and help me to understand which styles and techniques are most effective for my particular kind of art.  Thanks always for your feedback.  I am looking forward to the coming year!!!  

May you and your loved ones have a very blessed and happy New Year!!!

<3
Janis