Farewell 2022....Hello 2023.

Well another year is ending, and thankfully I didn't break any of my resolutions this year (mainly due to the fact that I gave up making any, but let's not dwell on that).  

Anyway, my traditional Dec 31st round-up is due, and I'm saying farewell to the old year with some of my favourite creations from the past twelve months.

Yet again, I express my sincere thanks to those who've continued to craft alongside me this year.  Some of my posts here have no comments now, so I fear that blogging is a forgotten trend in favour of the instant gratification of a 'like' button on the other Social Media platforms, but that just makes the few faithful commenters much more valued. I really am grateful that you take the time to do so, and I do read every single comment. 

So, please brace yourself for a photo-laden farewell to 2022.  

I wish you all a happy, healthy and creative 2023. 

My 12 Favourite Creations of 2022:

1)  I had a fear of colouring these intricate butterfly images when I first bought them, so I was delighted how this one turned out during my drive to use some of my older stamps at the start of the year (yeah, those good intentions didn't last long!!!).  Sadly the owner of Stamping Bella passed away a few months ago, which makes these stamps even more treasured.

2)  This card was also an older image, but also one of my oldest layouts with a strip of pretty ribbon covering the join of a duo of patterned papers and decorated with a double bow and paper flowers. The LOTV image is one of my favourites too. He is just calling out for a hug!

3)  I love making shaped cards, and this little Kitten Chef was perfect for decorating a cupcake shaped card.  I also took more time to stencil the backgrounds of my images this year to give a little more interest to the image.

4)  I experimented with different shapes of standard basecard shapes too, trying not to stick with my usual 6" squares.  Also I invested in a few new embossing folders which I loved using, so I've built up a better collection now.

5)  I still love making tags, especially large ones using my Crealies XXL tag dies because they can have as much decoration as a card, but make a gift extra-special.   This squirrel image is from Lee Holland, another designer who I'm honoured and delighted to design for as I love his style of images, especially the woodland creatures he draws, like this squirrel.

6)  I ventured outside of my comfort zone with this card created for Papermill Direct using some silhouette stamps on some of their lovely Kraft card. The cards were very simple, but quite effective and I enjoyed making them.

7)  I also tried learning how to use my Silhouette a little more, and this Autum card featuring a foxie from Lili of the Valley was one of the results of those trials.

8)  As a DT member for Amanda Jayne Designs, I loved some of the new characters she created, including this adorable polar bear.  I also decided to try a foiling machine, which I've been using to create foiled sentiments, like the one on this cute but simple Christmas card.

9)  Another shaped card I enjoyed making this year was a simple hexagon fold, which was very simple to create. I did use a hexagon die which made it even easier, and a simple coloured image with very few embellishments seemed to look very effective. This cutie is a DT card from another of my favourite stamp companies, Lili of the Valley.

10)  I couldn't have a 'favourites' list without including a 3D project or box of some kind, and this cracker gift box is of my favourites of the year.  Another image from Amanda Jayne and a box cut using my Silhouette and some gorgeous Marine Blue card from Papermill Direct.

11)  One last shaped card in the form of this very simple snowflake die cut card.  I did invest in quite a lot of large dies this year, and this was a good investment as I used it a few times to make a quick but interesting cardbase. The white layer is a gorgeous white glitter card which is beautifully sparkly. I couldn't actually bear to part with this card, so it's the one I gave to hubby (which effectively means I get to keep it afterwards!!!).

12)  And finally, I was so incredibly honoured (and stunned) to be one of the winners of this year's My Favorite Things Card Superstars with this Clean and Simple card created using their stamps.  I've entered a few times in previous years without success, and the quality of entries is high, so I am extremely proud to have been selected this year. I've kept the card as another one that I can't bear to part with because of this!

Well that's all folks. My favourite 12 cards of 2022, and why.

I look forward to crafting with you next year, but for now, have a lovely New Year's Eve, and I'll see you on the other side.

Happy crafting
Annette
xx