I went through my posts from 2011 and chose my favorite ten cards from this year. This was not an easy feat–and I’d probably pick more favorites if I had half a chance! Most of these cards were shipped to Operation Write Home and they show a number of different techniques and designs. So here goes!

#10 – Space Monkey

Just a fun kid’s card. Having a space monkey is pretty perfect–this is something I would have made for my son when he was younger. It was fun to use predominately the BoBunny patterned papers to put this together with the help of a card sketch.

#9 – Simple Blue Butterfly

Another very simple card. I used an eye-catching die cut butterfly from Paper House Productions to steal the show on this one. I love the striking velvet ric-rac that runs across it. This was inspired by OWH Sketch #61.

#8 – Chipmunk Alert

Furry rodents are tops in my book! So this was a no brainer! I actually won a blue ribbon for this card at the Oregon State Fair, so it can’t be all bad! It features the Magenta stamp “Chipmunk Collage,” which is incredibly cute. The card sketch (#109) this was based on came from Card Patterns.

#7 – Hot Air Balloon

This has been a very popular card at OWH. I used a great stamp set from Verve Stamps. This card was created using OWH Sketch #76. It could be used for any kind of occasion with this sentiment. I colored the balloon with Copic markers to match the papers. Just a fun card.

#6 – Dancing Mouse

This was an unusual sketch for me because of all the round elements (it is Clean and Simple Sketch #148), so it was kind of a stretch for me. I love the mouse stamp from Kodomo. This card could be used for any occasion.

#5 – Valentine’s Day

This was the first Valentine that I made for Operation Write Home this year. I used the OWH Sketch #93 and was able to put together different scraps of paper for the final design. That is always a good thing!

#4 – Folded Christmas Tree

This was a great Origami exercise for me. I claim to be folding-impaired, but luckily my son helps me out when I need it! Jan at Operation Write Home offered a superior tutorial on how to create the tree, which helped me big time!

#3 – One of Many Penguin Christmas Cards

This penguin Christmas card was one I made for an OWH Christmas card challenge. I got to use one of my Cat’s Pajamas clear stamp sets, which is always a pleasure!

#2 – Magic Rabbit

This card features another Cat’s Pajamas stamp set. I made four of these for my son’s mentors at his magic group. I used Clean and Simple sketch #167.

#1 – Eiffel Tower

I made this card using the 99th sketch at Operation Write Home. It had several dimensions with different elements popped-up with double-sided tape for some visual interest. I also layered stamping instead of using patterned paper and used Ranger Distress inks at the edges of the layers.

Thanks for visiting and reviewing my year with me. It has been a good year for cards! I think I sent over 100 to Operation Write Home this year, which was my very small contribution to the over 1 million cards shipped to the troops via OWH. We’ll see what this year brings!