Wrapping up 2016

Hey everyone, 2016 is quickly coming to a close.  It's been quite a year for me, as I'm sure it has been for you too!  It was a year of extreme highs and crushing lows.  It was a year where started a great many journeys, where I went from barely even stepping foot inside my craft room to being on some fantastic design teams and starting my own YouTube channel.  It's also been a year when my depression reared it's ugly head and I am still working on managing it as best I can, in whatever therapeutic ways I could find, as well as realizing when it was time to reach out for help.  I decided this year to try and be happier with myself and happier with what my life is offering right now.  As always it's a work in progress, but by being vocal about it I feel I've gained so many kindred spirits!

So in wrapping up this year and moving forward to the next I have created my favorite 16 of 2016.  Below I'm showcasing 16 of my personal favorite layouts that I've created over the year.  Some of them are from design teams and some are ones that I created just for myself, but they are all ones that I am especially proud of!

Let it Snow - Freebie Printable

Didn't think I'd be back so soon did ya?  Well I'm back, but not with another layout or process video, but with a special gift for all of you.  So before I was scrapbooker I was an designer and illustrator.  After a while I stopped drawing and creating, and moved on to other hobbies.  It's been at least 2 years since I actively sketched or worked on a piece, but just recently I have had the motivation to create again, so I started with a cute printable!  Since it's so snowy where I am right now I created a cute snow kitten.  She is in 5x7 format, but can be scaled down to 3x4 to make a cute Project Life card.  Click on the picture to download her!

Tis the Season Day 10 - My Favorite Things

Hello hello hello!  This holiday season I got a chance to be part of an awesome Christmas collaboration with 11 other amazing YouTubers, all organized by the wonderful Audrey Yeager!    We are doing 12 days of Christmas and Holiday videos and we want you to join us.  I'm up today with my layout for Day 10.  I decided to take my number prompt of 10 and use it to create a top 10 list of my favorite Christmas activities!  Make sure you pop by my channel to check out my process, and don't forget to check the description of my video for links to all the other fantastic ladies!  Oh and did I mention there was a prize?  Yeah, there's a prize, so make sure you check out the video below and check out the descripton for your instructions on how to participate!  All you have to do is create a layout inspired by any of the layouts in the series and leave a link in the comments of that video!  A winner will be chosen on December 15th!

So here is my layout for Day 10!

Black and White

ey hey! I'm back again, and yes, I'm still suffering from a creativity rut. I don't know what it is but I just can't seem to get out of this funk that I'm in, and I really want to be creative, but every time I sit down I draw a blank. Even though I can't seem to get out of my rut I still wanted to make a new video since it's been a little while. I decided to try something new for myself, and I gave myself a challenge. I went with a black and white theme, something I wouldn't normally be drawn to, since I just love working with lots of colour, but having a set idea in mind and knowing what I wanted to use helped in deciding on papers and embellishments. Instead of taking forever to scour though all my papers I went immediately to the papers I knew would fit. It also helped that the Cool Kid collection from Crate Paper had a ton of black and white embellishments for me to use. I am really happy with the funky sketchy look of the layout, it has a very loose feel to it, and though I didn't do a ton of layering or embellishing it definitely pops!

Scrappy Adventure #47 - Witchy

I'm getting into the festive Halloween mood by scrapping some witchy photos of my daughter.  I'm using my stash again for this one and combining lots of patterned paper!

Big Sister - Hip Kit Club

Hey, so here I am again with another layout for Hip Kit Club.  I only have one or two more of these layouts left as I am not continuing on as part of the Design team after September.  I was initially saddened by the news that I would not be staying on, and of course hearing news like that while also suffering from mental illness is never helpful, but I decided my best bet was to focus on the positive aspects.  I'm looking forward to getting back to doing some more of my own videos and starting a few new series as well!  Meanwhile though I am still enjoying my August kits while I wait patiently (okay IMpatiently) for my September kits to arrive! 
For this layout I decided to focus on some of the ephemera I had left in abundance, particularly the Crate Paper Cute Girl puffy stickers and the Pink Paislee Paige Evans Take Me Away wood veneers.  I punched out some of those cute circles from the Dear Lizzy Saturday paper that came in the kit to create a fun cascade!  This is a simple sweet layout that really kept the focus on the photo. I used the September sketch (picture below) and the September mood board (picture below) to help me out with my design concept! Also, I didn't actually make a process video for this layout, unfortunately, but hopefully I'll be back in the swing of it soon!

Donut Shoes - Hip Kit Club

I mean, what can I say.  I had a picture of my daughters cute donut shoes, and there are a ton of donuts in the August Hip Kits.  How was I not going to do this!  I used a fantastic donut cut file designed by Kim Watson to create my background.  I then used the Crate Paper Cool Kid alphas to create a delicious title!  They were so fun to make and since they were wood already it worked out perfectly!  The new Amy Tangerine collection Oh Happy Life has so many donuts in it too that I had no problem embellishing my layout!  Make sure you take a look at my process video so you can see how I made everything and put it all together using the awesome Hip Kits!