Top Ten of 2017 / Blog Hop

Hey there! Welcome to the Top Ten of 2017 Blog Hop!! You should have arrived here by way of my friend Monique's blog, if not, be sure to begin over at Christine's blog and hop your way back here. There is a plethora of beautiful papercrafting projects to ooh and ahh over on your way back here and I know many of the ladies are hosting giveaways too!

Choosing is never very easy... It's kind of like having to choose a favorite child - you would never do that! And, I often compile my list and remember I've forgotten about this layout and that layout. Each layout is a special in it's own right. What you the observer don't realize is that, often times, not only is there a story being told on the page, but there is a story to the making of the layout as well. That's where the process videos come in; the story behind the story! Kind of a fun way of thinking of them, really.

Anyway, so, I chose ten layouts that I loved for their designs. Coincidently, all ten of my layouts are 12x12 layouts. I have created a good number of letter sized and pocket layouts this year but none of them really rocked my world. Well, that's not true. I do have a number of letter sized layouts that I loved, they just couldn't stand to the proportions of the 12x12's, if I'm honest. Like the series of our house through the seasons (okay, only spring and summer are finished... I have the photos for fall and winter!), I love those layouts but they didn't make the list. Anyway, yes, the layouts. So, in no particular order, here goes;

Every month the SpiegelMom Scraps social media sites has a theme. One month, Jody set mixed media as the theme. I was far from thrilled with this at the time. And yet this, the Waterlilies layout and the sequins layout below were the result of her pushing my boundaries. I have certainly incorporated a lot more mixed media into my work since. I even did a mixed media series with Christine! Crazy, I know!

This sequins mosaic was created using a Paige Evans cut file that is available at the Silhouette Design store. It was incredibly time consuming, I was seeing teal sequins by the end and my fingers HURT! But it was well worth the effort and time involved.

This one is a bit of a mix between SpiegelMom Scraps and Cocoa Daisy; it was created using my November Cocoa Daisy kits using a SpiegelMom Scraps sketch and sequins! The best of both world. I am a lover of bright colors. Bright colors work for me. And white. Given the choice between white and ecru, I'm always going to go with a crisp, clean white. It's why companies like Pebbles, Bella Blvd, Elle's Studio, etc work so well for me. You will sense a theme to many of many of these top ten layouts; white, bright colors and structure; clean lines.

In addition to really putting a lot of emphasis on process videos and growing my YouTube channel, sketches featured highly in my life. Both creating them and using them. I used a Cocoa Daisy kit with one of my own sketches to create the above layout. Back when Cocoa Daisy kits were a mix of exclusive and other manufacturer goodies. The ice cream stacks are also a creation of my own; I have created a few digital cut files for Cocoa Daisy and others are available here, on my blog for free download.

Large photo layouts are probably my favorite of all. I had fun creating a scene from the large birch trees and using modeling paste to create snow amongst the trees and falling onto the photo. It was fun to incorporate a letter sized photo into the 12x12 patterned paper.

Another Cocoa Daisy favorite, this one was created with the March kits. The border of this layout was created using scraps left over from other projects. The letters are fussy cut from a Shimelle patterned paper. Another element of papercrafting that features highly in my work; fussy cutting. Inevitably, there is either a digital cut file and/or something that has been fussy cut. It's such a great way of getting more out of your stash.

I made the cut file that is the foundation of this layout. I had been browsing Pinterest and seen a quilt that looked just like this. I thought it would make a really cool design for a layout. So, I created a cut file. And sewed lots and LOTS of lines on my page. And did some more fussy cutting!

Number eight! Lucky number eight! There are so few opportunities to be published these days. I chose this one because I thought the technique was pretty cool and because it was published. The digital cut file is backed with torn washi to create the leaf veins. You get a better sense of what I mean when you watch the process video. Fall is my favorite season and Simple Stories always puts out the best Fall collections. Or Autumn.

Sigh.... This is just about my all time favorite. I converted the pictures to a sepia in order to have them work with the brown of the striped paper and the outline of the flowers. I then combined some OLD goodies from my stash with the 1Canoe2 fussy cut flowers to bring fresh life to my stash. The sparkle of the gold thread and letters really adds a pop to an already sharp layout, don't you think?

Last but not least, this beauty created for the June 1st Stuck Sketches reveal. I don't often use square photos so this was different for me. The die cut cork shapes really made this layout stand out. And the mixed media "water" helped add some blue back into the layout. Just a happy, happy layout.

So that, my friends, is my what I feel to be some of my best of 2017. I have a prize that I am giving away over on my YouTube channel so be sure to head over to my YouTube channel and watch the video to find out how you can enter to win a $10 giftcard to Scrapbook.com You can access my YouTube channel via the sidebar to the right or just search for Suzanna Lee. Or click HERE. Or http://www.youtube.com/c/SuzannaLee

Suzanna Lee <------- you are HERE

THANK YOU!! Thank you to all of you who visited me this year and left comments. Thank you to those of you who have just found me and I look forward to seeing you again! May each and every one of you have a safe and happy new year! See you again in 2018! From here, it's on to Marcia Dehn-Nix 's blog and all the goodness she has to share with you! Happy hopping my friend!

17 Comments

Fantastic creations!!

Posted by: Karthikha Uday | Monday, 01 January 2018 at 01:28 AM

Such lovely layouts.

Posted by: Iris M Soscia | Sunday, 31 December 2017 at 09:09 PM

This may sound weird, but I can't pick a favorite. I could save each of these and scraplift them. Each of your pages have there own beauty. Lots of design I would like to try, "favorite peeps" and some I haven't thought of at all, snowflake. Thanks for the inspiration

Posted by: Tammy | Sunday, 31 December 2017 at 11:53 AM