It's been a year!!!!!

Tomorrow is my "card-making" first anniversary!!!!
I uploaded my first card in my computer a year ago!
Waow!! It seems like a lifetime ago! I can't believe what an incredible year it has been for me, discovering all kind of tools and techniques!!
I still remember how impressed I was the first time I saw the resist technique used on one of Erika's cards, or how excited my friend Sandrine and I were the first time we used embossing powder and a heating gun! Let's not forget the discovery of the Cuttlebug and it's wonderful embossing folders...♥ (Yes, embossing is probably my favorite thing to do with paper, it's magical to me.) And the brads, the eyelets, the ribbons... *happy sigh* :-)
Sometimes I just sit at my desk and open my drawers and look at all my little treasures, or go through my patterned papers... and it makes me happy!

So, it's been quite a year, and not just because of paper and colors and finding a new way to express myself. Looking back there were signs, in my photo albums, or my kids birth announcements, that papercrafting was right there, waiting to find a way out.... ;-)
But it also has been an incredible year because of the people I "met" who share this passion. A year ago I had no clue this "paper-crafting world" even existed and now I feel like I have this wonderful net of women who inspire me in so many ways! :-)

I just want to thank all of you, who have made this such an exciting experience!! I am not done learning and discovering, it's only the beginning!...
And I am looking forward to many many more years sharing that passion with all of you and getting to know you better! :-)

Distressed masculine b-day

It's my Dad-in-law's birthday in a few days and I had to get out of my comfort zone and do a masculine card. *gasp* I think I have never done one so far, my poor Dad doesn't get many cards because I just don't know what to do... *shame*

So I decided to start with something that would remind me of a shirt's fabric and do a little distress too, thinking it would look more masculine if it wasn't too polished.

I haven't done anything in so long that I was a little nervous. Every time I try to sit down and make a card I stop quickly because I don't like where it is going. I hope the mojo will be back soon, I am tired of this!

This time though I was happy because, once I started, it came to me pretty quickly and easily! It might have been because I got an idea yesterday while looking in a catalog and it involves fabric squares... :-)

This card is slightly brighter in real life, the happy b-day saying is actually gold ink rubbed over a Cuttlebug embossing.

Beachy birthday

It's Lizzie Anne Designs' anniversary and the celebration is going on!

One of the events/contests is a sketch challenge. There was a choice between 3 sketches. I chose the simplest one with a square base, I love square cards.

It is really funny though, when you look at other people's work, to see how much they stuck to the sketch or went in a more personal direction. For example I saw quite a few rectangular cards which surprised me...

In general I think a sketch is a skeleton and it is supposed to be tweaked to your personal taste and inspiration, but in this case (= a contest), I tried to stay as close to the original as I could, while still adding my personal touch...

I was in the mood for a beach theme, and I especially love those cute sets, plus the recipient of the card (a dear e-friend of mine) had mentioned that red was her favorite color, so that explains why my little crab is as red as if he was already cooked (yuck!)... He is just too cute to be eaten, and I knew I had to use him and that he would be perfect holding the sentiment for me!♥ I embossed him to give him some shine and dimension. Same with the sentiment and the top of the wave (too bad I didn't have a shine pen for the bottom). I used a white Soufflé pen for the starfishes.

My card is fairly small (4x4) so there wasn't much room for a lot of action, and I kept everything simple since the card is traveling to Britain and I'm always afraid of brads, ribbons and such being a problem in international mail traveling...

Actually, every now and then, I really like making a simple card like that with little to no embellishments where the stamping really takes center stage!... :-)

Flowery birthday

I made this card for my mother-in-law's birthday. I was not too happy with my lines of dots not being straight, but there was no time for do-over since it will arrive late probably already... Let's hope she doesn't put her reading glasses on when she receives it... ;-)

The thing looking a little weird behind the stamped panel and the flower is ribbons weaved through the paper... It's hard to see since the ribbon is sheer...