First of all I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year.
Over at Beccy's Place we are being encouraged to post our favourite cards of 2020.
Now I know it was a pretty strange year. We have lost so much, people we loved, freedom to do many 'normal' things that we took for granted. It was a nothing year in many respects but it was also a year which gave us the opportunity to slow down, connect with people in a different way, change some bad habits and enjoy new ones.
For me in January I started the 2nd part of a meditation course with a local company Mindspace. This 6 week course was about Peace. I can honestly say I truly believe it prepared me for what was to come. The course was about not overthinking things and situations, living in the now, not stressing about past present and future and to slow down. I know without that my stress and anxiety would have been through the roof. I meditated every day, listened to the teachings at every opportunity. Did a lot of soul searching and felt truly calm and free of burden. I actually felt completely content for the first time I cane ever remember. Best £56 I have ever spent I can tell you. The guy that runs it (Adam Dacey) has done so many meditations each day during lockdown, completely free and still available on his YouTube channel. I have never been able to meditate until I went to his beginners course in September 2019. He has a really calm voice and his style of meditation is different to any others I had previously tried.
Many people see 2020 as being a bad year and I know it was for a lot of people. I personally know 3 people who have passed away from Covid, one as recent as the 30th December :( . I have a very good friend who is a nurse who has been on the frontline, my sister and niece work at a care home, again on the frontline and putting themselves at risk.
Fortunately my Husband has been working from home. He would have travelled on the bus so I am happy that he has been safe at home. I have not been working, my plant to take a break and then start looking for a new role after Easter hasn't quite panned out but we are okay on hubby's wage. I have been decorating, gardening and running the house. This has given him so much more free time and made his health better. He has even started a new job in a more fulfilling, employee orientated company and I am very proud of him for that.
For me, crafting has been a really important part of my year. I have been on several design teams which has kept me focussed, expanded my creativity and I have made things completely different to other things in the past. I have entered lots of challenges and had lots of wins and top 3's. I am not a bragger, I find it very difficult to 'big myself up' but I am proud of what I have achieved this year. Beccy's suggestions
So to start off we have a card I made for our friend's Daughter in January. Original Blogpost is here
February my favourite card was the little robin. Original Blogpost is here
March my favourite was this card I made for Mother's Day. Original Blogpost is here
April saw me making a series of cards to cheer people up. I never make 2 cards the same so they all featured the same sentiment and butterfly but in different colours, papers and layouts. This is one I made for my MIL. Original Blogpost is here
May we had a socially distanced street party for the 75th Anniversary of VE Day. It was a marvellous day and a great way to get the neighbours together. This is a card I made for a neighbour who had organised it. Original Blogpost is here.
June I made this fab card for my Father in Law. I am so proud of the tools I made on this.
July is actually really hard as there are 4 I really liked a lot and am proud of for different reasons. I have picked this one as my fave as it features my new favourite embossing folder.
Gosh August is another month where there were 3 I really liked. This one in particular really stretched me so far out of my comfort zone. Original Blogpost is here.
September's favourite is this pretty butterfly card.
October had me choosing the smiley sunflower card.
November had me making loads of Christmas cards for the
Month long challenge at Beccy's Place.
I have 2 favourite cards, 1 Christmas and the other for a little girl.
December has got to be the card I made for my husband's birthday.
It was so hard to choose only 1 for each month as I have made so many cards last year.
Hopefully this crafty spate will continue into 2021.
Currently the majority of the UK is in a very high state of lockdown restrictions and it is being rumoured it will get worse as the numbers are rising. My panic level is still low. I have realised I am mostly an introvert and as long as my hubby is safe and we are still so happy together then we will ride whatever storm is to come. I am lucky to have a craft room full of supplies, Netflix, a good coffee maker and I will be decorating the Hall Stairs and landing when the weather gets warmer. I am sure I will be able to keep myself occupied.
Beccy, thank you for the opportunity to do this. It's weird how until I reviewed my cards I hadn't realised how many I had made and also how many I really liked for different reasons.
Very nice work!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm so pleased you posted your favourite cards Mandy, and that it gave you an opportunity to see what you had achieved during the year. Thank you for sharing the story of your year. I'm so very sorry that you've lost friends to the virus, and I hope the front line workers in your family stay well and healthy. It was lovely to read about the positives you've had too, it's easy to get swept up in all the chaos at times like these and I think it's important to stop and think about what's good in your life.
ReplyDeleteAll your cards are fabulous Mandy, thank you so much for sharing them again.
Cheers,
Beccy
Love your style Mandy! Your cards are beautiful. I especially love the cards you made for Beccy's Month of Holiday Card challenge. Wishing you a very Happy New Year. Stay safe and healthy and God bless you and your family.
ReplyDelete