Craft Hoarders Anonymous Blog Hop

A happy hello to all of my crafty friends! Welcome to the BRAND NEW Craft Hoarders Anonymous Monthly Blog Hop, hosted by one of my favorite ladies in the paper crafting universe, Gloria Stengel! You should have arrived here from Bonnie's blog. After your visit here you'll hop on over to Wendi's blog. If you'd like to start at the beginning and work your way through the hop, just click on the above link to Gloria's blog.

I tend to purchase supplies in bulk, collecting quite a hoard over time. What better way to put my stash to work than this fun blog hop?

I fussy cut around the inside of the top sheet of design paper to create a raised frame, then distressed, stitched, and layered the papers. 

My project is almost purely Prima. I have a huge box of the Tea Thyme collection that has been waiting patiently to come out and play. The beautiful papers carried me away to my 'secret garden' that has lived in my imagination since I was a little girl.  

My card ended up being too chunky for an envelope, so I created a coordinating box.

  

If you peek into my sweet little garden you'll find a tiny bird's nest tucked away among the blooms. 

Here are a couple more photos. I'll include a product list at the bottom of the post.  

Thank you for stopping by! I send wishes for a beautiful day filled with happiness. 

Hugs,

   

Product List;

Prima Tea Thyme Paper Collection

Prima Flowers and Nest

Prima Twine

Prima Wired Thread

Petaloo Flowers

Mr. Huey's Manilla 

Magnolia Rose Leaf Die

Cheese Cloth

Berries from Hobby Lobby

Red Lead Stamp

Archival Ink 

Gesso and Paint Brush

Ranger Water Brush,

Ranger Mini Mister

Tim Holtz Distress Tool 

McGill Flower Shaping Tools

McGill Corner Punch

Sewing Machine and Thread

Adhesives

Tim Holtz/Tonic Studio's Detail Scissors  

Craft Hoarders Anonymous January Challenge!

Hello and welcome! We've ushered in the New Year since my last post. I don't know about you, but I've established a couple of resolutions I'm determined to work on this year. 

I also have some news I'm excited to share with you. I've been invited by Gloria Stengel to be a part of her design team at Craft Hoarders Anonymous! I'm absolutely thrilled! I'm a long time fan of Gloria's work, and I am honored to be a part of her fabulous team.

Our January challenge theme is Choose your OWN Challenge! You'll choose elements from the chart below, using at least one element from each column, then create any type or style of project you wish. You may choose more than one item from each category, but you must include AT LEAST ONE from each. Pull out all those hoarded products, have fun, and welcome to a NEW YEAR at Craft Hoarders Anonymous! Be sure to list the elements you have chosen from each column in your blog post and LINK your project up using the Link Tool at the Craft Hoarders Anonymous Challenge Blog.  

My project is a bit outside of my usual style. I dug deep into my supply hoard to create this 'woodland fairy' themed mini album for my grand-girl. It's her autograph book and memory album for our trip to Disney World.  

I created the album using chipboard and a Tim Holtz three ring binder, then painted it inside and out in a vintage gold color. I layered, stitched, and distressed some beautiful papers from Heartfelt Creations. I've been hoarding them a long time and they were perfect for the album. The spine cover is grunge paper embossed with a Tim Holtz embossing folder then painted in vintage gold. 

I did a lot of fussy cutting and layering to create a miniature enchanted garden, centering everything around a frame and computer generated verse. I cut the chipboard frame with a Spellbinder's die and used a punch for the little flowers and dragonflies. I pulled out the vintage gold paint again to add some sparkle to the frame and dragonflies. The chipboard flower fairy is the keeper of this garden. I found her hiding in one of my hoarded Prima collections.    

I crafted quite a few pockets for this album, dressing up the edges with a Martha Stewart punch. I filled the front and back pockets with flower fairy postcards from collage sheets I purchased on Etsy. The rest of the pockets are empty and ready to hold mementos from the trip.The pages between each pocket are blank cardstock in pastel shades. These will provide plenty of space for character signatures and photo mats.    

I added two handmade stickpins and a tiny Prima nest. I also added some woodsy floral wire, a flourish of Prima pearls, and metal filigree pieces to a couple of the corners, The finishing touches were a generous sprinkling of fairy dust glitter and a bit of cheesecloth string.   

My chosen elements from the chart were paint, thread, die cutting, folding, scoring, punching, chipboard, metal, flowers, and bling. 

Thank you for stopping by and sharing in the crafty fun. I hope you'll be able to play along with us this month! Don't forget to check out the amazing inspiration from the rest of the design team!!   

Amber Milone
Christy Butters
Debbie Seyer
Donna Idlet
Ginny Nemchak

Glenda Brooks
Gloria Stengel
Kathy Clement
Nancy Dynes - YOU ARE HERE 

Pam Bray
Teresa Horner
Wendi Robinson

Hugs,

Supplies: Chipboard, Tim Holtz Grunge Paper, Damask embossing folder, and large 3 ring binder, Vintage Gold paint. Heartfelt Creations Vintage Floret design papers. Prima chipboard element, pearls, and nest. Spellbinders Teardrop Circles die. Marvy dragonfly and small flower punch. Martha Stewart Fairy Dust, Gold Glitter and Eyelet Lace punch. Seven Gypsies book binder punch. Flower Fairy and Postcard collage sheets from Etsy. Cheesecloth, filigree metal corners, and floral wire, Scotch ATG tape, red line tape, hot glue gun, adhesive pop up dots.      

'Thinking of You' Card

Hello to you on this wonderful Monday! I hope your week is off to a great start. All is well in my little part of the world. My mom received good news from her lymph node biopsies. No cancer!! We are so relieved we are walking on air! 

It's time for a new challenge at Craft Hoarders Anonymous Challenge Blog, where I am once again delighted to be a guest designer! The challenge theme is 'Who's the Boss?' with the following guidelines: Show some embossing on your project. You can use dry embossing or heat embossing. You can use an embossing folder or a stencil. You can emboss with embossing paste or embossing powder. You can even create something with ultra-thick embossing enamel. You probably have some sort of embossing apparatus in your hoard! Pull these embossing tools out and put them to use! For all other entry details just click on the link above and it will take you directly to Gloria's challenge blog.      

This adorable vintage girl sought out a quiet garden from which to ponder her thoughts, surrounded by the fragrance of cool earth and lush summer blooms.    

I chose dry embossing using two Marianne Creatables dies. The embossing didn't show up clearly in the photo of my whole card, so I've included several closes ups to show more detail.  Marianne Creatable dies are amazing. Each one is feminine, elegant, and easy to work with.    

I die cut several rose leaves from a Magnolia Doohickey's die and shaped them to add dimension. I hand crafted the two larger roses. The rest of the blooms are from my stash of pre-made flowers. I stained and painted each flower to coordinate with the papers I used; Prima Time Traveler and Cartographer. I can't seem to get enough of the new Prima papers. They've taken up permanent residence on my craft desk 

I distressed and layered my papers and frames. I also added a jute twine bow. The reason I use jute twine so often is because I have a ton of it in my stash!   

. 

I scattered a few Melissa Frances pearls here and there and added a couple of die cut flourishes

Thank you for stopping by and sharing your time with me. Each time you visit you bring sunshine into my heart. May you have a blessing filled day!  

Hugs,

Hidden Garden Tag

Hello!! I hope you're enjoying a wonderful day! It's my favorite time of the year. Summer is in full swing in Charleston with it's  lazy, hot, humid days and chirping chorus of Cicadas. Almost every afternoon a good thunderstorm pops up, giving me the perfect reason to brew a cup of tea and watch the rain come down. 

I have some exciting news! I am honored to be a guest designer this month for Gloria Stengel at Craft Hoarders Anonymous Challenge Blog. The challenge theme is Tag, You're It! The simple guidelines are as follows: 

Use a tag on your project. Create a handmade gift tag. Create a tag mini album. Add tags to your scrapbook layout or your card. You may use some hoarded tag shaped packaging or you may cut tags from scrap paper using a die cut template. Maybe you hoard shipping tags of all sizes. As long as your project contains some sort of tag, you will meet the requirements to play along!  For all additional challenge rules please visit Gloria's blog by clicking on the link above.  

I created a secluded garden setting for this sweet girl decked out in her finery. I have a special place in my heart for gardens.They are beautiful, mystical places that capture my imagination and turn my thoughts to fairies and magic. My favorite gardens are those tucked away little treasures you happen upon when you least expect it.  

I die cut several of my embellishments and hand crafted a few roses. The smaller flowers with the stamens are from 'I Am Roses.' I hand painted all my flowers to blend with my color scheme. I'll leave a full supply list at the bottom of my post if you're interested in any of the products I used.    

I stitched and layered up my papers and embellishments then tied everything together with a jute twine bow. I challenged myself to use only the leftover paper scraps I keep stashed in a zip-lock bag for this tag.  

  

I found this beautiful vintage image some time ago on Pinterest and printed it up. I wish there would have been a link to the creator, but unfortunately I have absolutely no clue who to give the credit to. 

Update: A visitor has identified this image to be from Janet K. Designs, a graphic designer from the Netherlands who shared her work on her blog at no cost. Unfortunately she recently closed down her blog due to people selling the images she shared.  

For a finishing touch I added a few drops of morning dew to the leaves of my roses. 

Thank you so much for spending a bit of your precious time with me today. I treasure your visit and hope you'll come again soon. May your day be filled with happiness and and your heart be filled with peace and joy! 

Hugs,

Supply List: Tim Holtz Grunge Paper, Pion Vintage Summer Basics Paper, Prima Cartographer and Time Traveler Papers, Vintage Image, Marianne Creatables die, Magnolia Rose Leaf die, Accucut flower die, Tim Holtz Paint Dauber in Tattered Rose, Antique Linen, and Burlap, Gesso, I am Roses small flowers, jute twine, red line tape, Ranger Glossy Accents, glue gun, Crystal Clear Glass Effect Gel Pen, Tim Holtz Distress Tool, large eyelet, Susan's Garden flower shaping tools and mat, ivory thread, sewing machine.