Extra! Extra! Read all about it ...

... today sees the launch of my CHNC challenge extra for January - a new blog that is a spin off of my CHNC challenge blog that has now been running for two years. Weekly challenges will continue on CHNC and will usually have a specific theme to follow, whereas monthly challenges on my CHNC challenge extra blog will always be 'anything goes'. So please don't pack away your Christmas stash - keep it available and start making cards for next Christmas. Those of you that did this last year will understand how beneficial this is and those of you who didn't ... perhaps you need to consider that it would make sense to make Christmas cards throughout the year to ease any panic towards November and December. I hope to see you there!

This is the card I've made for CHNC challenge extra for January, using Bugaboo 'AKV Santa' and 'stocking mouse' coloured with copics - all of my CHNC challenge extras are being sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps. I have a Guest Designer joining me for the January challenge, so please go over and visit her too.

All papers were from my Christmas offcuts box (one of my crafty resolutions last year was to use up offcuts - I've been trying to do that all year, so how come I seem to still have as many in my boxes?

Stitched ribbon and strips of gems from stash, as well as sentiment banner.

I'm also linking this for:

A card a day on facebook
Pixie's crafty snippets week 53
Lady Anne's Friday sentiment challenge
Gingerloft: Christmas or winter
Cutie pie 33: cutie Christmas
Cards und more 72: Christmas
More than favors wacky Wednesday 78: Christmas
Craft us crazy 33: merry Christmas
MilkCoffee: Christmas or winter holiday
Di's digi designs: Christmas
Fussy & fancy 79: furry friends
QKR stampede 19: let it shine - difficult to see, but the lines of gems really shine and there is shine on the background paper too
Craftymess 24: show some sparkle/bling
Bloggers challenge: sparkle and shine
Pixie dust studio: any celebration will do
Bunny Zoe: celebration
Whoopsi Daisy: celebrate
Catch the bug: holiday/winter
Lady Ann's stamp challenge
Here come the boys 42: anything goes - suitable for a young boy
Hiding in my craft room 78: freestyle
Cute card Thursday 249: anything goes
Papertake: anything goes
Through the craftroom door 51: anything goes
Cards galore January: anything goes
Spark your creativity 5: anything goes
Challenges 4 everybody 10: anything goes
Order of the opus gluei 147: free for all
Simon says: anything goes
The pink elephant 180: anything goes
Stamp-n-doodle: anything goes
ATCs and cards with attitude 30: anything goes/celebrations
Mark's fiuest papers simple salutations 25: anything goes (with a sentiment on the front)

Wags n whiskers 94: anything goes

Artistic inspiration 21: celebrations/anything goes
Kaboodle 152: anything goes
Paper make up 69: anything goes
Make it Monday 121
52 card pick up week 52

Top Twelve of 2012

Wishing all my visitors a

Happy New Year

While blog-hopping  four or five years ago I found that quite a few crafters had shown their Top Ten makes for the year and so, at the beginning of January each year, I've done the same, except I changed my choices to twelve, one for each month of the year and that's what I'm doing again this year.

If you click on the links, you can go to the original posts and read more about each item. The items shown aren't just my favourites, but are reminders of various techniques and things I enjoy doing.

Update: the recipe swap challenge for January on Catered crop is to show our top 12 for 2012 - I hope it's OK that I'm back linking (which I normally wouldn't do) because I'd already done mine as you can see here.

My top twelve of 2012

January 2012: Favourite things - using some favourite Basic Grey papers:

February 2012: You are my queen of hearts - a project put together digitally:

March 2012: Two special dogs - I just couldn't leave them out! pages from a CJ:

April 2012: Wow! what a day - a reminder of a lovely time spent with crafting friends:

May 2012: ATCs sewn up - this was part of a swap - reminds me to do some sewing!

June 2012: Steampunk ballet - a reminder to sometimes do something a bit different:

July 2012: Just a note - I love the simplicity of this and also I've used one of my favourite Penny Black stamps:

August 2012: Miss Anna Autumn - I love the autumnal colours of this:

September 2012: Autumn birthday - a reminder to get the PanPastels out again!

October 2012: No patterned paper - I love patterned paper (I have rather a lot of it!), but it's good to sometimes craft without it:

November 2012: Mum's birthday - I just couldn't leave this out - a special card for a special person:

December 2012: Have a cool yule - no review of the year would be complete without a Christmas card - regular visitors will know that I make a lot of Christmas cards and have a CHNC challenge blog - also from today I have started monthly challenges on my CHNC challenge extra blog:

I have found it quite helpful doing this review of 2012 - it has brought back many memories, but has also reminded me of some techniques etc that I haven't tried for a while, not just in the items that I've chosen to show here, but in many other items that have been blogged over the months.

It's over to you

Perhaps you would like to do your own 'top twelve of 2012' - if you do I'd love you to leave me a comment with a link so that I can come and look at your choices.

And then encourage others to do the same.

By the way, just in case anyone thinks I've spent  New Year's Eve preparing this - no, I haven't - it was prepared and scheduled much earlier!

And don't forget to also link to Catered Crop's recipe swap challenge.