Welcome to Day Number Two of  2011: The Year in Review! Today we are looking back to the merry months of April, May and June.  To see the original posts with details, just click on the month and name of the post.  I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane as much as I did!


April – Sailing with The Paper Players

One of my favorite stamps from this year’s Summer Mini was Sail Away.  Every time I looked at this stamp, it cried out, “Emboss me, Ann!”  and emboss it I did! I found it to be perfect for the emboss resist technique, as was the anchor from The Open Sea.  And boy did I have fun distressing this card! The Color Spritzer Tool, the Seven Sided Tool, and the Waterspot stamp from French Foliage all received a workout!  This was a special card which was sent to a special person.

May – Pals Paper Arts Throws a Wedding

I am always amazed by those paper artists who are able to do fabulous things with punches.  As for me,  flowers are as creative as I get.  For my niece, I designed this Wedding Bouquet card using the Fancy Flower and Five Petal Flower punches.  And no…this one definitely was not mailed!


June – Snow Much Fun

June, with its Idea Book and Catalog pre-order, was a fun month.  From the minute I saw the “So Much Fun” stamp set, I knew that it would be coming to Iowa to live with me.  Pool Party and Calypso Coral were a delightful duo to use.  Of course, hind sight is 20 – 20.  If I were to make this card today, I would have added…can we say it all together now…Pearls!

Free Paper 


I hope you enjoyed this retrospective, and that you will join me Friday for the months of July, August and September!  But for now, which of these three cards was your favorite?   Your comment could win you fifty sheets of 6″ x 6″ retired Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Paper.  The lucky recipient will be randomly selected from all comments left on this post through Noon CST Saturday!  And remember to click on the name of the card to take you back to the original posts.  Until next time…

(Note to Bettie:  The information for the card featured on my Christmas post can be found here:  A Wish for Peace.  This card first appeared on The Stampin’ Schach back on December 9, 2010.)

As 2011 draws to a close, it is time for the Pals Paper Arts Annual Best Dressed List!  This is a collection of our 12 favorite paper creations from throughout the year. One was selected by members of our Design Team for each month from our original weekly picks. Of course, to see the entire list, you will need to visit the Pals Paper Arts site.  

January – Giovana

Clean and elegant are two words that come to mind when I look at this gorgeous card by Giovana.  My eyes are immediately drawn to the sentiment, with its beautiful ribbon treatment.  I love how she snipped out the heart, and popped it up on dimensionals.  The rhinestones, which follow the curvature of the image, are the perfect accents.  Giovana, your card is a timeless classic.  Congratulations on being my choice for the Best Dressed Winner for January.

October – Marlene Peters

“Wow” was the first word out of my mouth when I spied this unique creation by Marlene Peters.   From the spiders suspended inside the “carved” pumpkin, to the curled card stock tendrils, to the adorable tiny “boo” tag held in place by a mini library clip, this card exudes cleverness from all angles!  And the inside is just as cute as the outside, too!  Congratulations on being my choice for the Best Dressed Winner for October, Marlene!

The Pals would like to thank everyone who participated in our challenges in 2011 and invite you to join us next week for our first challenge of 2012.  We have some surprises in store for you! Until next time…

Hey…did you see that?  That was me doing the “Happy Dance”.  I had so many of you emailing to ask how Brody is doing that I am going to write a very short post to let you know that he is home and is sleeping. The bump on his lip is no more!  After looking at it up close and personal, both of his vets feel that all will be fine! We will know for certain early next week. 

In this picture you can’t even tell where the bump was located because his upper jowls are covering over it.  But doesn’t he look like one loopy puppy!  Until next time…