Top Ten Blog Hop 2016

Happy Wednesday, friends!  I'm so excited to be participating in a fun Top Ten Blog Hop hosted by my scrappy friend Christine Meyer.  There are a bunch of awesome scrappers taking part in the Hop, and you can also find the Hop on each scrapper's Instagram feed.  Several of us are also doing a YouTube Hop, so you can see and listen to us discuss our favorite layouts for 2016 and why we chose them.

Check out all these talented ladies joining in the Hop!

Here are my Top 16.  Yes, I couldn't narrow it down to just TEN, so I went with 16 in honor of 2016.  These are in no particular order.

 1.  I created this for Hip Kit Club, and I love the colors.  I used Cameo sketch pens to draw the title, used watercolors to color in the letters and then hand stitched around it with coordinating colors of thread.  I love all those flowers, too.

2.  Another layout for Hip Kit Club.  I found the quote on Pinterest and backed it with patterned paper.  I did some subtle watercolor work on the background and then created two clusters to balance out the placement of the quote.

3.  This was made for A Flair For Buttons, and I love it dearly.  It holds a special place in my heart since it's about Autism Awareness.  I recreated the hand print using my hand and some acrylic paints to start the background design and then came in with watercolors.  I love what this page represents, and it celebrates how my sweet girls literally color my world :)

4.  My first layout for the Bella Blvd Creative Team.  I went crazy with the Illustrated Faith She Blooms flowers.  I used lots of blue acrylic paint on the background to make those flowers pop.  I love how the title turned out using lots of different fonts.

5. Another layout for Bella Blvd using Illustrated Faith Bright & Brave.  I love all the bright colors and the pops of black.  Those cassette tapes are awesome, too!

6.  One more for Bella Blvd...I sound like a broken record, but I love the colors!  The circles are a mix of patterned papers, Clear Cuts and transparencies.  The stitching brings it all together.  Plus, this celebrates my weirdness...haha!

7.  This one is for My Mind's Eye.  I love how the big title turned out.  Although this color scheme is not my normal choice, I think it suits my photos perfectly.  Plus it has a masculine feel to it, which showcases this photo of my husband well.  I love the subtle watercolor in the background and all the messy thread.

8.  This is a recent page made for Simple Stories.  Again, I cut a large title on white cardstock and then backed it with patterned papers.  I machine stitched all around those letters!  I love how the big title encompasses the photo of my daughter trying to lick Santa...haha!

9.  Another page for Simple Stories using the Carpe Diem line.  Again, a big title backed with patterned papers.  I just love the patterns and colors on this one, plus all the florals behind the photos.

10.  I made this using my stash of washi tape mostly.  I used some gesso and Shimmerz as well.  I used lots of green and purple to bring out the colors in the photo.  I just love this memory of my daughter wearing her giant shoes to bed.  These fun phases of their lives must be documented because they fly by so quickly.

11.  Another layout made from my stash...I started off this one with dark kraft paper.  I covered it in gesso and then went to town with all the Shimmerz, creating some soft pastel colors.  I wound up using it to back these pretty rose cut files and then arranged them on a grey patterned paper.  I love how soft and pretty it turned out.

12.  I created this earlier this year for The Cut Shoppe Design Team.  Again, I cut this cute quote from Pinterest using lots of patterned papers.  I love using colored cardstock as my background, covering a lot of it with subtle gesso and then using watercolors to add varying shades.  Plus I love all the stitching!

13.  Another layout for The Cut Shoppe.  This time I used my photo behind one of the letters and then showcased it with softer colors of patterned paper.  I love the sandy colored background paper and the watercolors on top of it.

14.  This was made for my Guest Spot at Pink Paislee earlier this year.  I used the same cut file as the above layout.  Same idea...backed the letters with Fancy Free by Paige Evans papers, added gesso to the background and then came in with pink Shimmerz.  I just love this quote and the photo so much!

15.  I made this recently for Freckled Fawn.  I love the white die cut on the white background and how the watercolor looks over it.  Those big acetate words are so fun and colorful, and I love the pops of black and white.  More of my favorite photos, too <3 p="">

16. Finally, I created this one not too long ago for a Guest Spot at Pretty Little Studio.  Again, my favorite things:  big title backed with paper, gesso, Shimmerz, thread and stitching.  And POOL PICTURES!  My favorite :)

 Here's the video version of these layouts on my YouTube channel :)

Make sure you visit all the names on the list...there are some prizes along the way!  Thanks for playing along with us!

Here is the order of the Hop:

Mendi Yoshikawa

Audrey Yeager

Christine Meyer 

Juliana Michaels  

Wendy Antenucci 

Suzanna Lee 

Karen Hunter

Monique Liedtke

Kat Benjamin

Jennifer Haggerty

Jen Matott

Missy Whidden

Marcia Dehn Nix 

Heather Leopard

Rebecca Keppel 

Traci Penrod

Melissa Elsner

Monika Wright

Laura Whitaker 

Chantalle McDaniel 

Have a great day, friends!