Some of my favorites

I have some things I avoid when scrapping--pink, and purple, and pages about Valentine's Day--but I have some things I love too that always seem to work their way onto my pages. Here's a few:

1. Color. I love pages that have a lot of color, or some punches of color here and there.
2. Stitching. I have been a cross-stitcher since I was in the 4th grade. When I started scrapping, I rarely stitched, and my first attempts were disasters (I put the holes too close and shredded the paper). Now I love stitching a border using my mat from Stampin' Up! or flourishes using Bazzill templates. It doesn't take too long but adds nice energy.
3. Patterned paper. Oh, how I love me some patterned paper, especially 2-sided, heavier paper.
4. Border punches. Right now my favorite is my EK Success Big Scallop punch.
5. My Studio Calico kit. I like that it has exclusive papers and stamps, some hard to find products, and nice mixes of things I may not otherwise buy. It stretches me creatively.
6. October Afternoon label stickers. I tend to buy them as soon as they come out, and I always use a lot on my pages. They are a nice way to add a date, clustering a few embellishments around it. Well worth the money.
7. Journaling stamps and spots. My all time favorite is one by Hero Arts. I also like a few smaller ones from Autumn Leaves and Studio Calico. Spots I like include Jillibean Soup and October Afternoon.
   
8. Mixing products. I rarely put together a page with only one company's products. (Probably would be a different story if I were on a design team!) I enjoy seeing what goes together and mixing it up a little.