Top Ten Blog Hop of 2015

Can you believe 2015 is coming to an end? This year has flown by!  I couldn't even catch up!  My blog posts were few and far between but I swear that I am going to try to do better this year... a sort of resolution.  I accomplished so much this year in my art and also in my life.  So many changes, so many positive choices, some mistakes and lots of laughs!  

For this blog hop, you just need to leave a comment on each of the posts (links below) up to 24 entries!  

We are giving away an $80 USD to the online store of the winner's choosing. To be entered you need to leave a comment on my blog by 11:59 pm CST on January 3. Then hop around to as many blogs as you want! Christine will choose a winner on the 4th and then I'll post it later on the 4th here.  You can get up to 24 entries for commenting on each blog.  Many of us have individual giveaways too - so make sure to check out those requirements. I will have details on my individual prize at the bottom of this post!

2015 was a crazy year for sure.  Time flew by and I found myself scrambling to finish projects but I also made some of my favorite art ever!  Sometimes deadlines help get me moving and creative juices flowing! Here are my top 10 favorites this year:

 This is an encaustic piece that I won 1st place at the New York State Fair Art Exhibit this year!  I love this piece an plan to create more in the series! It's made on drawing paper, beeswax, Pan Pastels, oil pastels, Gold Leafing, charcoal, and Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft Stamper's Big Brush Pen.

 An art journal page with lots of Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft products!  Love the Cicada stencil from UmWowStudio!

 Another art journal page with lots of Steampunk Gelatos colors! 

 There are not many scrapbook pages here this year... I just love my mixed media projects, but I do love the colors and techniques on this page.  My gorgeous friend, Nicole from NicoleJames Photography took this photo.  It's a symbol of womanhood to me... strong and soft.

 This little mini album was so fun to make with UmWowStudio's tag book and stencils.  LOVE the Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft products on here too!

 Even though my Ustream video cut out due to an electrical storm that cut my power during the filming, I still love this mini canvas!  Someday I'll re-tape the process.  I just haven't had the time lately!

 This tote bag was a favorite of mine to create and I love the mediums and stitching that I did on here!  It's gorgeous and I always get complements wherever I wear it!

 This box was made for the Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft and Graphic 45 blog hop... I love this ATC box so much!  All the little details with mediums, Gelatos colors, and metal accents!

 Another Ustream project... a canvas bib necklace.  Love wearing this!

Another project that I did for a blog hop on Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft blog... clutch purses are so fun to make.  I think I'll be making more to match different outfits!

These last two are more encaustic work that I love.  I make the above when subbing for a professor at a nearby University this summer!  I was so honored to be asked and enjoyed the time to make art with students who inspired me! The below was a gift to my mom and dad for Christmas.  Empty nest symbolism but the colors were so soft and the nest was from a photo I took of a nest in the Adirondacks this summer.

So a few more than 10 but that's okay... I love looking back at how much I did accomplish this year in art making.  Even if I didn't share it all here, I love reviewing the past year and looking forward to a new artsy year!  Leave a comment here and on the other blogs and you could win a gift certificate of $80 for a store of your choice!  I am also giving away a Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft Steampunk Gelatos set!  

Comment here by 12:01am on 1/5/16 and I'll choose one lucky winner!  Check back on 1/5/16 at 8pm and I'll post the winner!  Happy New Year and happy blog hopping!!

Blog Hop List 2015

Christine Meyer http://scrappingwithchristine.blogspot.com

Mendi Yoshikawa http://snippets-of-mendi.blogspot.com/

Cathy Harper http://alteredplayground.blogspot.com

Nicole Nowosad http://justnicks.blogspot.com

Chantalle McDaniel http://copasetique.blogspot.com/

Becki Adams http://beckiadams.blogspot.com/

Wendy Antenucci http://antenucci.blogspot.com/

You are here---->Jen Matott http://arttalk-sigmagirl.blogspot.com/

Katrina Hunt http://paperscissorsandglue.blogspot.com/

Michele Kovack http://chelemom.blogspot.com/

Kelly Holbrook http://kellyrholbrook.blogspot.com/

Rhonda Van Ginkel http://snapwhiz.blogspot.com/

Jennie McGarvey http://jenniemcgarvey.typepad.com/

Suzanna Lee http://lifestrivialities.typepad.com/

Monique Liedtke http://moniquesscrapbook.blogspot.com/

Jennifer Haggerty http://livethemoment-jen.blogspot.com/

Marcia Dehn Nix http://onescrapatatime-bymumsie.blogspot.com/

Rebecca Keppel http://www.myclutteredcorner.com/

Kelly Jean Guzlas http://www.kelsterjean.com/

Melissa Elsner http://www.theprofoundbrunette.com/

Shannon Morgan http://designsofapaddymack.typepad.com/

Juliana Michaels http://www.17turtles.com/

Monika Wright http://www.iloveitallwithmonikawright.com/

Audrey Yeager http://audreysreflection.blogspot.com/

Graphic 45 and Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft

Check out this blog hop project with Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft and Graphic 45!

 

What's in the box?  Come see on the blog!

Hop Along with May Arts and Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft

There’s a May Arts & Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft Blog Hop going on this week & I hope you’ll check it out! I was given some fun new ribbon from May Arts to work with... the 2.5" open weave ribbon and multi-size bead strands.

Stop by the blog & make sure to leave some love & then visit The May Arts Blog! :)

2014 Top Ten Blog Hop

It's my annual Top Ten of my projects from this year!  I love looking through my artwork/ paper projects and picking my favs.  It's a way to wrap up the year and look forward to the new year! So, if you having joined the Blog Hop, make sure you see the other talented artists in the list below and leave comments on each for a chance to win a $75 Gift Certificate to Paper Issues!  WOW!

So in no particular order, here are my favorite pieces this year:

My Sketchbook Project journal from this year! Lots of Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft on this!

Love this layout... I used some dress patterns, doilies, and LOFT tag that I stitched on with my new sewing machine!

An Inside Out Art Journaling kit layout! 

A guest DT project with UmWow Studio and encaustic!

Ice Resin and Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft necklace.

Another wearable art piece... UmWow Studio and Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft!

Encaustic piece that won Honorable Mention at my NYSATA conference member show!

Love this page from November's Inside Out kit!

Just a fun page about my little man with lots of media and color!

Another Encaustic piece... this time a drawing on encaustic that SOLD at my NYSATA conference!

A recent layout for UmWowStudios!

** Okay... yes, that was #11.  Whoops... just can't pick only 10!

How to Enter: You can get an entry for commenting on blogs up to 24 entries (no more than one comment per blog will be counted). The comments will close on January 4th and a winner will be announced on the blog that the comment came from on the 5th.

Top Ten Blog Hop for 2015
Juliana Michaels
Michele Kovack
Chantalle McDaniel
Christine Meyer
Mendi Yoshikawa
Kelly Holbrook
Laurel Seabrook
Katrina Hunt
Wendy MorrisSaponaro
Becki Adams
Suzanna Lee
Melissa Elsner
Monika Wright
Wendy Antenucci
Jen Matott  (You are here!)
Marcia DehnNix
Ashley N Newell
Kathy Skou
Linda Auclair
Kelly Jean
Monique Liedtke
Rhonda Van Ginkel
Jennifer Haggerty
Cathy Harper

Happy hopping!   Have a Happy New Year!

 

*** Double whoops... I think an even dozen is even better!  LOL!  Just couldn't resist a New Year's layout in here!

It's a Blog Hop! Spellbinders + Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft= Fa la la!

It's a Blog Hop!  Spellbinders + Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft= Fa la la!  I was lucky enough to get some fun dies to play with in my project. Here is the pretty holiday card I made with these fun dies...

 I got the Spellbinders® Nestabilities® Card Creator Elegant Labels Four dies.  They are not only pretty but layer beautifully to create gorgeous cards or projects! This holiday card was super easy to put together with the help of this set!

 I used DCWV Adhesive fabric paper to make the tag on top and wove a fun holiday ribbon through the openings.  So easy!  Stamp a fun sentiment on it with some of Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft's Stamper's Big Brush pen and you top off the card with a gorgeous look!

 I also used Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft's Stampers Big Brush pen to stamp some of the word stamps on the cork.  I used some text paper printed in red for the bottom die layer.

 Underneath it all, I used Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft Gelatos® colors in Metallic Mint, Lime Green, Green Tea, and Iced Chai.  

Don't forget to hop along with the other fun designers... Check out the Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft blog and Spellbinders blog!  There are prizes involved!  Leave me a comment here and I will pick a winner for a set of Steampunk Gelatos® color set on Monday, November 24th by midnight.

Materials:
Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft Gelatos® colors in Metallic Mint, Lime Green, Green Tea, and Iced Chai
Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft Stamper's Big Brush Pen in Chrome Green  and  Scarlet Red.
Spellbinders® Nestabilities® Card Creator Elegant Labels Four die
American Crafts cardstock
7 Gypsies paper
DCWV adhesive fabric paper and cork paper
Stamps: Studio Calico
Bling: Queen & Co. & Prima Marketing
Ribbon: May Arts
India Ink and Gold ink

Faber- Castell Design Memory Craft and ICE Resin Blog Hop

I'm honored to be sharing an artwork using a really cool product from ICE Resin and my favorite products from Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft! 

 Here are some of the items I received from ICE Resin... immediately, my mojo was super charged!  I couldn't wait to try it all!  I have never used ICE Resin before so I had no idea how to begin.  I went looking for online tutorials to get me started!  ICE Resin has some great demo tuts on their website and I found a few from their designers too!
So, with some ideas from the tutorials, I started mixing up some resin.  I let it sit for a few minutes while I prepped a stamp with some Gelatos®colors in Margarita Mix, Snow Cone, and Metallic Mint. 

I also used a mold I had and got a few papers to try some Resin paper with the left over. 

I poured the ICE resin on the stamp so that a puddle formed and left it to set.  I poured a bit more into my butterfly mold and sprinkled some Opal Fire inclusions into the wet resin.  This stuff is GORGEOUS!  With the left over resin, I brushed it onto the papers. 

Here is what I made with the papers, poured resin and molds:

 This mixed media pendant necklace was so fun to make!  I had some scrap fabric, metal pieces, and wire to create a fun piece that would be special to wear or to display. 

 Here is a close up of the resin papers.  I colored them with Gelatos®colors too and then brushed the resin on and allowed it to set.  The papers are flexible and translucent.  This is a technique I'm going to try again and make some other items with them!

 The ICE Resin came right off the stamp with the Gelatos® coloring the transparent resin just by pouring it over the rubber stamp!  It is so cool!  I cut it with scissors and could punch through the resin to attach to the metal and jump ring.

 Here is a view of the resin butterfly.  I just set it there but may use it in another piece later. I used some ribbon for the necklace part. 

 You can see the little turtle charm that I embossed and some ICE resin with inclusions and a word sticker that says "Joy".

I hope you enjoyed my project for the blog hop... check out the other designers projects throughout the week by following the links below!

 Want chances to win a Designing with Gelatos Kit or an ICE Resin Kit?
The blog hop projects will end on Friday but you have until midnight Eastern time on Sunday, May 18 to post a comment. Winners will be announced Monday, May 19th.  Two winners will win a Designing with Gelatos kit OR a  prize pack from Ice Resin (a Resin Plunger, a Bezel, Medium and a Relique). 

Monday May 12
ICE Resin: Kathy Cano Murillohttp://www.craftychica.com/site/2014/05/mixed-media-greeting-cards/
Faber Castell: Jill Fosterhttp://www.studiosessionsart.blogspot.com/ 

Tuesday May 13
ICE Resin: Jennifer Priesthttp://hydrangeahippo.com/2014/05/use-art-ice-resin/
Faber Castell: (This is me!) Jen Matott http://arttalk-sigmagirl.blogspot.com/ 

Wednesday May 14
ICE Resin: Tatiana Allenhttp://blog.craftycutie.com/inspiration/if-you-do-you-will-be-ice-resin-and-faber-castell-bog-hop/
Faber Castell: Rita Barakat  http://wp.me/p47OIs-yy 

Thursday May 15
ICE Resin: Jamie Doughertyhttp://jamiedoughertydesigns.blogspot.com/2014/05/blog-hop-with-ice-redin-and-faber.html
Faber Castell: Tiffany Johnson  http://iheartartblog.com/?p=12820

Friday May 16
ICE Resin: Jen Cushmanhttp://jencushman.wordpress.com/2014/05/08/oodles-of-dood...-faber-castell/
ICE Resin: John Creighton Petersenhttp://artnewwave.com/?p=747
Faber Castell: Mou Saha http://collagecollagecollage.blogspot.com/2014/05/blog-hop-with-ice-resin-faber-castell.html