top ten blog hop 2016 | a few of my favorite things

Welcome to I Love It All, the blog. I'm Monika, my photo is the 5th one over on the top row in case we've never met, and I'm so happy to have you dropping by for the Top Ten Blog Hop today. There's also a hop over on Instagram and even more inspiration over on YouTube for all you video fans out there.You may have arrived from the blog of the crafty and creative Melissa Elsner...but if not, no worries, just keep clicking to the next blog {direct link at the end of this post}where you'll be inspired and may even have the opportunity for giveaway prizes from each of the participants, too.

Here are a few of my favorite things this year...

Lists

I love mini books and I love creating lists!

I've played along with the 30 Days of Lists for 12 challenges and have used mini albums for 11 of those classes. For the December 2016 challenge, I decided to use a travelers notebook {see my notebook and lists here} for a more low key approach but ended up decorating my pages after all.

I've not done a blog post sharing all my lists for this challenge, yet, but I did share them over on my Instagram if you're a list nerd like I am.

Mistakes

Mistakes happen. And when they do, I try to find a way to repurpose the boo boo's and make them usable. Honestly, sometimes a boo boo projects ends up being some of my favorites. Here's the blog post sharing what this journal looked like before I embellished my mistake.

I used this notebook to letter quotes for an Instagram challenge.

Art Journaling

I've been inspired by the freedom of art journaling that I've been seeing on Instagram this year. So many talented gals are doing bible journaling using markers and scrapbooking supplies and watercolors and I love it. My girls had a watercolor set and I had this stencil, so I decided to use them to embellish some pages in one of the Gratitude Journals I'll be using in 2017.

Art journaling is definitely a style that takes me out of my comfort zone, but I'm having fun just playing around. In the end, that's what it's all about...having fun.

My Creative Process

Sometimes it can be daunting to sit down and begin a project. With this post, I wanted to show my own process of beginning with blank pages and how my mini book projects evolve from

the before...

during the pre-embellishment stage...

...and then the after.

See all before, during and after pages of my list mini album in this post.

Smashbooking

Curating a collection of papers and ephemera makes me happier than it probably should and when I make new journals for the shop, I tend to want one of each for myself. I can't always do that, but when I do, I try to make it count.

I used this one to participate in a bible lettering verse challenge.

Gifting

My husband loves to remind me that some of my most often purchased and most Pinned items are goodies I've made for him {and then added to the shop} for his birthday, anniversary and Christmas. I guess that makes him my muse, right? 😉

I'm a fan of hidden journaling, are you? For this page, I had to tell Mr. wRight to go back and flip up the playing card to read the note.

Here's the post with a few pages I shared. But mark your calendars for January 3rd for the full reveal, just in time for Valentine's Day inspiration and gifting to your own Mr. Right. 

I used this journal {pictured below} and in my January post I'll share how to use the optional embellishment kit to create your own treasured keepsake love journal.

So yeah, he's the King of my Heart and he's right...this and this and this are all customer favorites.

Giveaway

Thanks for hanging out with me, I hope you found at least one thing to inspire you to pull out your crafty supplies today and have a little me time creating something new.

THE PRIZE

13 cover color choices | with or without initials inside heart

THE GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Next up in the Top Ten Blog Hop is Laura Whitaker

SaveSaveSaveSave