NSD Video Hop ~ "My Favorite Things"

Its a day I always look forward to every year because there is so many fun things to participate in. I try to set aside the day just for that (although that doesn't always work out).

This year, I'm so pleased to participate in a You Tube blog hop. There are many different people involved in this hop so there is sure to be a lot of inspiration.

The theme is "My Favorite Things". On the layout shown below, I share some of my favorite things I use consistently.

In the video I share five of my most favorite things that I am always using and gravitate to on most layouts. Here they are:

It's no secret that I use kits from kit clubs on most all of my projects. I have subscribed to different kit clubs for a few years now. I usually only sub to one at a time because that's just about all the product I can get through and don't like to have a lot of excess just sitting around not getting used. (Learned that the hard way!).  I am currently subbing to The Hip Kit Club. I love kits! I love that they are all coordinated so well. Everything is planned to work together so I don't even have to think about it when I get started. I pull out my kit and I'm ready to go! I can just add a few other things from my stash if I like, even though I get more than enough product in my kits to do what I need to do.  

Being a busy wife, mom, grandmother with a full time job as well, I don't have a lot of time to think about shopping for supplies or putting things together when I get a little time to create. That's what I love about kits. The thinking is done for me! 

This should be no secret as well! I love mixed media! I love to get messy when I create layouts. I've stated this before but when I create layouts, they are primarily for the creative process mostly. I do Project Life which allows me to capture much of the day to day stories. So I love that when I am creating my layouts I don't have to be to concerned with getting much of the story (although I do on some, as I did with the layout above). I love that I can just get creative with my mixed media supplies. You'll find me with gesso, texture paste, watercolors, distress inks, gelatos and...well, you get the idea! I love it!

One of my most recent addictions, in recent months anyway, is cut files. I am using them on almost all of my layouts lately. I don't know what I'd do without my Silhouette! Cut files are just so versatile. You can do so much with them. You can resize them to make them larger or smaller, you can recolor them, use them as embellishments or whatever you desire! You can also use them as stencils. They add so much to a layout. I'm hooked on cut files! 

This little beauty came into my life a few months ago after a viewer suggested it. I guess I had been complaining on one of my videos about the new tip on the Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive bottle. They had changed to tip and it was just awful! I felt so strongly about it that I even emailed the company and voiced my opinion. Apparently it wasn't enough because they have had no complaints and had no plans to change the tip. Boohoo for my voice! LOL  Well a viewer left a comment for me suggesting this refillable bottle so I ordered them. Well my life changed! (Ok maybe not life changing but pretty close). The best applicator bottle ever! It has a super fine tip so it's great for fine applications like on wood veneers or thin line items. It has a long needle nosed tip and in the cap there is a long needle that fits inside the tip so it never clogs! Hello???? Is that not awesome? I hope you're as excited as I am because that was just what I needed! Now I can have my Quick Dry Adhesive and a decent bottle to use it from. Since I'm sure you'll be equally excited, I'm sharing the link to Amazon which is where I purchased mine from. I've heard recently that you can also find them at Hobby Lobby now. Here's the link: Fineline Applicator Bottle

This one isn't exactly earth shattering or life changing and is nothing new but I do love date stamps! There is something about having the date of the photo on my layouts that I just have to have. There is nothing worse than looking at a layout in a few years and not remembering when it was taken. To avoid this, I always have the date stamp somewhere on my layout.

Here's a couple of close ups of my layout. I used all my favorite things on this layout.

I cut the title with my Silhouette just using a font on my system. Again, love my Silhouette!

I hope you've enjoyed hearing about just a few of my favorite things! I have a video posted of my process if you're interested. In the video description on You Tube, you'll find links to all the others who are participating on the video hop. There are some amazing designers on there so grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!

Thanks again for stopping by! Have a fun day!