Favorite Projects of 2013

I spent some time last night going through my blog posts from the past year, giving myself a chance for a little retrospection.  I thought it would be fun to collect some "blog favorites" over the year to share with you.  Today, I am highlighting some of my favorite projects from 2013. 

I didn't keep up with my Christmas in [Insert Month Here] series as faithfully as I had hoped, but it did yield a few project favorites that I will be doing again.  Besides finding ways to reuse all those Christmas cards, which I enjoy doing every year, I also really liked the patchwork/collage effect of the paper stockings I made back in September. 

I gave several of my acrylic and ink painted glass Christmas ornaments as gifts this year.  The results are so varied and unexpected that I can see myself making more just to see how they turn out.

Before I learned proper bookbinding techniques at the CREATE art retreat this past summer, I made these adorable little raisin books using electrical tape and rubber bands.  I've made tea box books, too.  My next books will be from soap and butter boxes with some proper stitching, so stay tuned!

One of my very favorite projects this year has been carving my own rubber stamps.  In fact, I am considering a major rubber stamp carving project for this next year, which I'll tell you more about soon!

Some cute little "object stamps" that are perfect for mail art

The silhouette stamps are some of my favorites!

Though the tag and clipboard stamps are right up there, too!

I'd like to try some more houses on a hill to perfect that design a bit.

And, ah, the Dennison label-style stamp!

More house stamps...I can't resist!

I really enjoyed learning a gesso resist technique from a Claudine Hellmuth video that created the designs on these hearts back in February.  I have whole books full of paint techniques I haven't tried; hmm....I may have to work that into my plan for the new year, too!

Scripture journaling was another new project I tried this past year.  It's hard work to translate Bible passages into visual representations!  It is such an effective way to internalize the message of the Scripture, but it takes real discipline to stick with it.

Learning some of the symbols, fonts, drawings and designs associated with Sketchnotes has been a fun part of the project, and applicable to other drawing and note taking projects besides just scripture journaling.

I absolutely loved the birdhouse charms I made from a kit from Heather Alexander last month.  I ended up giving a couple as Christmas gifts, and have several more on my craft desk, half-made.  My husband noticed that the wooden crates our clementines come in have triangular wood pieces that could be trimmed to size for additional roofs.  Reduce, reuse, recycle!





And, of course, throughout the year, my love for collage and mail art continued.  My glue stick and sewing machine continued to work overtime to create postcards for friends and just for fun over the months. 

from "Finally!" post in November

Paper scraps, fabric, postage stamps, rubber stamps, stickers, decorative tapes, buttons, ribbons, photographs, text pages, postcards, musical scores, vintage documents, book illustrations--all were pressed into service for collaged mail art through the year.

from "Feeling Stitchy" post in October

 

from "Stitchy Vintage Collage" post in October

 

from "More Mail Art & a Giveaway Winner" post

from "More Mail Art & a Giveaway Winner" post

And finally, I continued creating Zentangles this year, even taking a workshop on the subject at a local arboretum.  The tangled borders on the postcards below were a great exercise in various tangle designs.  With six or seven Zentangle books on my shelves, I'll be revisiting this calming drawing practice again in 2014!

Going back through my blog posts gave me a chance to review my projects, my excursions, and the swaps and challenges that filled my creative year.  I'll be back with a couple more retrospective posts, and some creative plans for 2014 very soon.

Wishing you all the best for these final days of 2013!