Thursday, January 3, 2013

Retrospection: Top 12 of 2012 ......


Happy, Happy New Year everybody ..... its hard to believe isn't it ? .... another year gone, another arriving  - and with it reflections of a year gone by.  2012 has been an amazing year, so many blessings and so many challenges, both to learn and grow from.  I believe that I have grown as an artist, and slowly I'm still unravelling my style and everchanging artistic direction.  I just would love to share with you my top 12 of 2012 ....... the projects that are special to me for either design aspects or personal reasons.

So here we go .........

No. 12 ...... "Girls are like Butterflies" ..... Created for Kaisercraft for CHAW2012.  I am NOT an apricot kinda gal.  Ever.  But for some reason this layout just seemed to work.  It made my top 12 - not necessarily because I love it, but because of my triumph over a color that is so foreign to me, and the fact that it actually worked !!!!  I still look at it in disbelief.



No. 11 .....  "Sparkle" designed for Heidi Swapp, showcasing her new resist papers.  This layout took forever.  Seriously.  Each flower, butterfly and leaf is die cut and either sprayed with mist or colored with Pan Pastels.  This layout pushed my patience to the end after hours of die cutting, not to mention my over developed left arm muscles from churning everything through the Cuttlebug.  "Sparkle" was also the catalyst for the purchase of my new e-bosser ...... say no more.



 No. 10 ..... "Dream your Life" created for my first blog post with Pink Paislee.  I just love the combination of diamonds, roses and text.  All my fav design elements wrapped into one layout.




No. 8 ...... "Pure Delight" ...... created for Prima CHAW2012.  I adore the pastel colors in this one, the contrast of shabby and clean, and the magic in Madison's smile.



No. 7 ....  "Kindy Girl" ..... another Prima CHA creation.  This layout reignited my love for bold color showcased on pale background.  It also recorded by baby's photo shoot the weekend before she started kindy.  


No. 6 ........  "Love, Mummy"..... are all you US girls cringing at the spelling .... lol?  I know I do when I see Mummy spelt Mommy !!!!!!  Anyhow, pure romanticism and everything I love to play with just rolled into one layout.  Lots and lots of ridiculous fussy cutting, I often sit back and just muse over the time i spent cutting images from paper.  It's kind of crazy.




No. 5 .... "Eight" created for Prima CHAW2012.  It's all about the layering and clustering.  I remember receiving the Almanac line and just swooning.  There are just some patterned papers you see and you know exactly what you want to create and what you want to do with them.


No. 4 .......  "Love is Patient" ........ it's all about the clock frame.  And the flowers.  It's always about the flowers.  lol.



No. 3 ...... "Hope" ..... something different for me, playing with paint and rainbows !!!!!  I just had this idea and went with it, and amazingly after attempting the painting 3 or 4 times, it finally worked.  In addition to the wonderful process, I had the pleasure of teaching this layout to over 50 girls in Adelaide over 4 classes.  It has wonderful association with my love of teaching and my love of color. 


No. 2 is kinda shared (I couldn't pick) ..... firstly "Sleeping Beauty"....... a huge embellished doiley on a 12x12 page.  I played with the Tea Thyme range from Prima, alot of cricut die cuts and my pretty lattice die from Cheery Lynn.  I love the way that the design didn't detract from the small photo, and the fact that I remember where the heck all those layers went when I went to glue them down. !!!!  


and "Mine" again with Tea Thyme.  I have this layout framed at home as it suits my shabby chic decor and the products are just sooooooo beautiful.  This photo of the girls and myself was taken by my husband as we were just sitting by the front door talking, I couldn't believe how beautiful it turned out.  (Im one of those girls who you need to take 100 photos just to get that two to pick from) !!!!!

Drumroll.... 
I am seriously amazed if you made it down this far..... lol

No 1 of 2012 .... "She is so Stunning" .... (well she is in my eyes !!!).  Ever have one of those layouts that just grabs your heart and wont let go ?  Well this one does that to me.  Created with Jodie Lee's Nature's Garden, its neutral palette and pretty embellishments fuse together to frame my sweet girl so beautifully.  To me it is the embodiment of why of love to scrap.




So that's it.  2012 in a creative nutshell.  Thankyou so much for sharing my journey with me, and I look forward to 2013 and every wonderful opportunity it might present ......









17 comments:

  1. Wow Steph! How awesome to see all those divine layouts again in the one post. They are all stunners that I long admired when I first saw them throughout the year and again just now - talk about drool lol. Amazing techniques and creative ideas abound from you Steph - thank you so much for sharing your glorious work with us. All the best for an awesome 2013!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ever single one is gorgeous! All my favorites too! Happy new Year Steph!

    ReplyDelete
  3. You have done so many stunning creations throughout this year. This post is so full of eye-candy. I have to say that your no. 1 lay-out is actually one of my very favourite lay-outs that I have seen this year. Truly stunning!
    I wish you a very happy, healthy and creative 2013!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anything I say will fall short because your work is breathtaking as ever!
    Happy New Year, Steph :)
    Hugs from India.

    ReplyDelete
  5. ooooh Steph.. thankyou for show casing your beautiful works of art .. simply love them all.. you are one heck of an artist .. blessings xx

    ReplyDelete
  6. Happy New Year Steph! Gorgeous creations!!!! love them!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Loved taking this stroll down Memory Lane of the past year. Your projects are always just so fabulous! I have been picking up copies of Australian Scrapbook Creations here (even though we get it months behind) simply because of all your beautiful projects and tips in it. Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Gorgeous creations wow I love your work!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh wow, these are stunning and your style has such a mature sophistication about it.. love all the flowers, really beautiful.. look forward to more beauty and wonder from you in 2013!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Steph. I have just found your blog and have spent a wonderful 20 minutes reading through your most recent posts. I've been a big fan of yours for a long time so I have no idea why I hadn't found your blog earlier. BTW, if I had to pick a no 1 for your top 10, I'd pick "Hope". Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  11. wow beautiful, especially love the pastel ones

    ReplyDelete
  12. Awesomnessssssss !!! N more awesomenessss thats all i can think of after going through your blog n truly u deserve to be on all dt's as your work is so varied and fresh ... Shabby colourful summery pastel ...like all lovely creations ... Iam a very new crafter and absolutely love prima thats how hopped to ypur blog ...

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi awesomenessss!!!! N more awesomnesss thats only what i can think after going through your blog ... Ism a very new crafter n love prima thats how i got on to see your work ... U deserve to be on al the dt's .. Summery fresh chic shabby pastel ...clean ...love love love ur work ..

    ReplyDelete
  14. I haven't been to your blog in quite a while. Awhile before you switched to blogger. Oh how I enjoy browsing your dreamy projects. They are so beautiful Steph! I had to chuckle about the Mum/Mom comment. LOL I think since I started hanging out on the web and talking on the phone with scrappy friends around the country and world, I start picking up some of their wording. It is fun.

    ReplyDelete
  15. WOW i just have to say that you totally rock those rainbow layouts....i cant believe i did that head layout yesterday and today when i come its almost like a combination of both pieces...your work is ever breathtaking steph xxxx

    ReplyDelete