Here we are on the last day of 2014! Already?! That means it’s time to once again looking back on our favorite projects of the year!
The Paper Pile
Sam says: This post was my favorite in the Paper Pile category this year. Even though I didn’t actually go on to finish much more of this project (in retrospect busy-December isn’t really a good time to try to start a new daily habit!), this is still my favorite. I think because it was about the memories, about recording them, getting them off my electronic devices. And it was about forgiveness for the imperfections… sometimes those imperfect parts of a project give it the most character! I’d definitely rather have the project with its imperfections than never have it to begin with! More of that next year!
Gail says: Sam used my deepest felt and best-loved Paper Pile project at the end of this post for the “each other’s” choice, so I’ll let you discover that shortly. My second favorite is a tie (in our family, we have a hard time committing to just one thing LOL) I chose this rewards/benefit board because it had the longest list of reasons I like it — it almost literally assisted in its own birth it was so effortless to design, I love the bright pops of color mixed with the soft accents on the ivory papers and tags, and I had the courage to sketch and doodle extras on the paper’s print (and still liked it afterwards.) Plus I’ve used it through two Get Organized Challenges at thescraprack.com and it has served me well both times :) The tie is this wedding shower card I designed and made, which makes me smile!
The Craft Room
Sam says: Do you ever have a project idea come out even better than how you envisioned it in your head? This project was exactly that! And it made it all the more sweet to me because it was a gift for some very special mamas! I’d do this for another baby shower in a heartbeat! Also, thank goodness for my Cricut machine that cut out all those little onesies! Who’s having a baby next?
Gail says: Hands down, this upcycled bamboo sake box is my favorite crafty project of the year. I’m so proud of it! It needs a little repair since one of my adhesives didn’t hold the “things” banner pieces together, but not only did I love doing it and do love seeing it, it is useful! Anything small that needs a temporary place to hang out gets tossed in this little box until I feel like emptying it or someone wonders where that one earring might have gone to ;)
The Studio
Sam says: When it comes to the studio category I just can’t not pick one of our monthly photo sessions of Abbi. It might not be my most artistic post, but when you take photos of this sweet baby 8 months of your year, I just think there is something to say about that. I think maybe because, after all is said and done, it is truly such a visual passing of time. This was Aaron’s and my first WHOLE year of being parents, and as quick as it flew by it is amazing how much can change! I think it might be time to break out the camera for another Abbi mini-shoot soon! Only another 6 weeks until she is a year and a half?!
Gail says: Being a photographer’s mama on a blog that relies on photography can be a little intimidating, but I have to remind myself I was actually taking photos with a fancy camera long before she was born LOL Part of my inner definition is observing nature, observing detail, and observing design lines. These photos were from a day where I roamed around with my camera for a couple hours celebrating that part of myself. (Runner up: February, Zenspirations-style) Note to self: don’t be afraid of upping the exposure!
Eat Drink & Dessert
Sam says: Canning Adventures has to be my favorite in this category this year! It is SO representative of my food adventures. I mean, I’ve definitely had plenty of other food amazingness this year (I saw these cookies while deciding and can’t stop thinking about them…) but this was truly a brand new adventure in the kitchen! One that totally caught on for both my and hubby and one that we are already excited to do more of! In fact we already have some new pepper plants started inside for next year! Pickled jalapenos anybody?
Gail says: I have such a sweet tooth, and looking through my Eat, Drink, and Dessert posts shows that I mostly made sweet things this year. So I am really surprised to be choosing a savory dish as my favorite food post of 2014. But getting Tomato Cobbler into my life, which I didn’t even know existed before this summer, was amazing. All thanks to Sam’s brother-in-law randomly saying “tomato cobbler” as a half-joking comment on Facebook one day. Who knew? (for sweets, see my own creation of Autumn Popcorn Bark)
Yarn & Yardage
Sam says: I was actually really torn over my pick in this category, but this project just makes my little heart happy. It was such a simple little project, completed in a couple of hours while watching tv (Dawson’s creek if I remember right, lol)… but this project… it literally makes me smile every single day! Every night as I’m getting ready for bed, and some mornings when I actually get to wake up on my own and not immediately have to get a baby up too. ;) (and just in cast you were wondering, this was almost my pick in this category, I’ve used it now with success quite a few times!)
Gail says: I didn’t do a lot of sewing this year, but the one item that I did sew that makes me happy inside when I see it every day is this pillow on the right. I like the left one, too, but the linen leaf applique pillow makes my heart sing. I created it from vision to its first use! It isn’t even shown in our Yarn and Yardage category because I included it as part of my Family Room Reveal House and Home challenge. Although a second coordinating linen-with-leaves pillow was started, it’s still not complete… I really didn’t hang out with my sewing machine much at all! That’s gotta change in 2015!
House & Home
Sam says: Now this post, this was such an obvious pick for the House & Home category! Because… hello? I spent months working on it! And there were so many little projects that were part of it, and it had the most impact on my house! It makes our main part of the house feel so much more put together! I’ll let you click through and peruse the other projects yourself, otherwise I’d keep chatting about this room for far too long…
Gail says: Maybe I had better do a more thoughtful job at choosing categories for my posts, because I find that a sewing project is my choice for favorite House and Home post here, and I just used a House and Home post above to show my favorite sewing project LOL … Anyway, this crib mattress cover still looks fun and fresh and did I say FUN? Granddaughter Abbi has had many long and short sleeps on this mattress cover since I made it. It lets my house be her home, too, when she visits. Therefore, even though it was a sewing project, it’s rightly categorized in House and Home! Keep those visits to Grandma Gail’s house coming!
Life & Style
Sam says: Have I gotten too boring and predictable yet by picking this post? It’s just that it wouldn’t feel like an appropriate pick in the LIFE & style category if it didn’t include this main little thing in my life. This year has just been SO different from any other year… good different… but a HUGE change. One I think I’m still getting used to a little bit, but one I need to get a hang of soon other wise I’m screwed when the Bean shows up. ;)
Gail says: Mmmmm, that cake with the strawberry frosting was so good! What a glorious day we had for Abbi’s first birthday, and what a great get-together it was!
Sam did much more Life-ing and Style-ing than I did this year! I had a much more introspective year than planned, overtaken by short bouts of furious organizing of my creative supplies. I’m nearing the end of that tedious stop-and-start but rewarding process and so maybe I can accomplish last year’s goal of “Just Make Stuff.” To represent my organizing efforts, and because I think this picture is fun, I choose this as my favorite Life and Style post. Plus, my scissor samples actually work, and show you just how I bring my engineering brain to the creative crafting world :)
Each Other’s Posts
Sam says: This is my favorite of Mom’s posts/projects this year! Not only because it is obviously so very pretty, but because it just talks to that deeper part of yourself. She talks about this project speaking to that depth of self, and I think it feels so appropriate again right now as a new year dawns and we naturally start thinking about upcoming changes. Creativity with heart behind… what we always kind of try to do, but this project just nails it on the head. :)
Gail says: Aww, thanks, Samantha :) …
Sam made great food, threw awesome parties, worked on her house, raised a baby and began gestating another, is active in three wonderful groups, and entered fall having trained for and accomplished two sprint triathlons. So even though my favorite post of Sam’s isn’t a creative project, what she says in *THIS* post is what I find glorious about her year :) #proudmama #alittletearyeyed
Sam also accomplished the creation and implementing of our jointly designed blog style update! Hip hip hooray for her mad skills as our webmistress!
———–
There are our favorite bits of creativity and snippets of our lives, large and small, from 2014. Cheers to 2015 and more to come!
Happy New Year!
Sam and Gail
.jpg)