Tanya's 2013 Favorites

Happy New Year, everyone!  Tanya here, to share my favorite projects of 2013! To narrow it down, I picked 5 layouts, 5 cards and 3 projects that I really love! :)  I have included links to the original blog posts too, where you can get more description and close up pics of each creation! :)

LAYOUTS:
RIP Droopy-Doo
I die cut this rainbow and used happy, fun colors on this tribute to my Basset Hound, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge in January 2013.

In Sickness & In Health
My husband spent Valentine's Day in the hospital recovering from a second surgery in two weeks.  I used Doodlebug's Love Birds collection, and carried the 'birds' into the theme of the layout.

First Bloom
I used white-on-white and covered the background in die cut patterns.  It is a little hard to tell from the photos, but I think the stark background paired with the vivid color of the hyacinth is just beautiful.  The link above has some better close-ups.

Say Cheese
I love all the die cuts and messy stamping, along with so much going on with this fun layout.

9
I stepped outside my box for this anniversary layout.

CARDS:
Valentine
My favorite thing about this card is actually the envelope!  I die cut it from a Kerri Bradford Studio file and love the tear-open flap, along with the hearts on the front.

Whoo's Turning 8?
This was a fun card for my nephew using a die cut file from Miss Kate Cuttables.  I also carried the theme onto the envelope using an owl stamp for the "o" in his name.

Wedding
I love the colors, stamping, embossing and everything about how this card came together.

Party This Way
I liked how this card came out so much, I made several of them in different color schemes!

Thinking Of You
A simple card with lots of texture and dimention that could be used for many different occasions.

PROJECTS:
Mother's Day glass etching
I finally tried my hand at using etching creme with vinyl cut with my Silhouette Cameo to make personalized gifts.

Boat Vinyl
I made several decals for our boat using vinyl cut with my Silhouette Cameo.

Project Life title page
This title page from my first year of Project Life encompasses everything my life is made up of - love, my dogs, home, fun and bright colors, scrapbooking ... it makes me happy to just see it. :)

Thanks for looking back at 2013 with me!  I can't wait to see what others chose as their favorites! :)

Designer Showcase: Wedding

Welcome to Wednesday and another Designer Showcase. It's Cathy here, and our theme this week is Weddings.  With the beautiful weather of the Spring season, we see lots of weddings on the calendar, so we thought it was a good time to share a few projects to help give you some ideas. There are so many details and  activities involved in getting ready for a wedding. There are plans to be made, people to be contacted and  parties to attend.  It is a wonderful time when families and friends come together to celebrate. We've included  some project ideas for each of the steps along the way.

The question has been popped, and the answer is "yes"!!  They are engaged!  This sweet card celebrates the joy and anticipation. I made this for my sister who recently got engaged. I thought this silhouette image was perfect on it's own. So I kept the card design simple and elegant.

This is a framed shadow box that I created for my niece as a shower gift.  I used digital scrapbook papers to create the design, and the rolled roses. I designed their names and date in a heart shape. This makes a great personal gift for a shower, wedding or anniversary.

There are many opportunities for capturing great photographs at weddings. Cindy used photos from both during and after the ceremony to create this heartfelt page of the exchanging of the rings.  The journaling that she included is the vows that she and her husband exchanged. One of the things most dear to Cindy on this page is having those vows written in their own handwriting.  That really makes the emotional page even more personal. What a great idea!

Dolores created the amazing digital page. I love the elegance of the scalloped edges, the flourish and lace touches. I love how she uses the lace to mat the photo, like the edges of the gown train that are flowing in the photo. The colors are so perfect for accenting the beautiful photo. This is such a gorgeous page!

This glamorous page is by Vicky. The circles are perfect on a wedding page to represent the unbroken link of the couples vows and unending love.  The flourished edge to the outer circle, and the beautiful flowers really add to the elegance of the page. The neutral colors really compliment that photo while allowing it to take center stage.  It is stunning!

Showers, rehearsal dinners, ceremonies and receptions. There are a lot of festive times surrounding a couple as they approach the big day.  Having cards to share with them is another fun way you can bring your creativity into the plans. The above is a pop up card that I made. I recolored the digital elements (flower clusters on the inside of the card) so they would match the wedding colors.

To create this wedding card, I used a bit of old lace and some rub-ons.  The elegant edge was created by combining several border punched papers.  This card could also be used as an anniversary card.

Finally there is the honeymoon. A wonderful ritual of escape from the everyday for the newly married couple. I created this page featuring a view key photos from my honeymoon. A great way to sum up the wonders of a fantastic trip on just one page.

We hope these projects give you some great ideas for capturing the joy, emotion and excitement of a wedding.