A Case for Hoarding...

Oh such a dirty word!!!! Yet, I freely admit my guilt!  I have things in my 'stash' that range in age from one-month to 15-years old! Why??? I am always asking myself that question, and the answer is so very hard to explain.  Some things I believe will make their way back into fashion (think vellum, corrugated paper, slides - but truly you can just laugh out loud here); mostly I just can't bear to throw anything away that I so lovingly purchased at any time during this 15 year party.

I consider anything 3-years or older as part of my hoarding.  We've discussed stash before - I have a stash of wood, flair, etc. that is probably larger than I will use before they too go out of fashion.  But it won't matter, as this post is about to illustrate.  Honestly, I don't feel anything ever goes out of fashion in my scrap supplies... I don't believe in fashionable when it comes to nearly anything (as my closet can attest too!).  Fads, yes.  But if you really, really loved anything once, you probably still do in some way.  Oh my, I digress.

So in my never-ending quest to use my supplies (mostly so I have room for new stuff!), I have made it an issue to think back to my hoarding stash before going to my new things whenever I make a layout this year.  Of course, this isn't always going to work.  But for sure, I have more than enough accumulated 'holiday' embellishments that it's worth a shot!

However, before I get on to the examples, I want to just mention a few things.  I have completed about 40-50 layouts since the beginning of the year.  No, I don't plan on bombarding you all at one time with these atrocities.  Rather I plan to show a few examples along the way to illustrate a point.  So sometimes you may see a layout more than once, please just go with it.   Okay... on to a few layouts showing how I've been finding and using my immense hoard:

On this layout I used those lovely snowflake rhinestones that I've had for at least 7 years, the Martha Stewart snowflake punch I've probably had just as long, as well as my vellum paper and some little pearlescent white paint I've had for 10 years or more.  Yet they all look lovely with the Crate Paper and 2Ps items, eh?!

You'd be surprised at how old some of these elements are - for instance the black thickers are several years old.  The heart flair is at least 3-4 years old (the other is a button from a jeweler that I've had about 8-years).  Then there's that Anna Griffin laser-cut XOXOXO paper that I have used almost every Valentines day for years and years.  Oh and lest I forget, the lips brad that poses as the dot over the i... that brad is at least 12-14 years old. Whew!

This layout is one I stole from Shimelle - putting everything practically straight on one side to showcase a lovely paper - and wow! do I love this Maggie Holmes paper!  While many of the embellishments are new (Crate Paper and Flea Market), its the hearts themselves that classify as hoarded - all American Crafts foam and vellum and from a 3+ year-old package.

Last layout today!  It was a total surprise when I remembered that I had that gold 'foiled' paper that makes up the scallops... I've had that 8.5x11 paper for 10+ years.  Then I found the large crown die (actually a CuttleKids set) that I bought at almost the same time I got my Cuttlebug (6-7 years) so used the small crown EKS punch (purchased in a set with a heart on clearance) to create all of those out of some glitter paper.  WooHoo... actual uses for those things I got and then threw in the drawer!  Everything else on this page (except letters of course) is Maggie Holmes to include the Project Life cards (left blank for GiGi to document).  

So needless to say, I've very proud of using my hoarded supplies... which now actually makes them 'stash'.   I hope not everyone is as bad as I am, but if you are or just keep things for a little longer than the '6-months' rule, hope this encourages you to pull them out and put them on layouts.  Well, at least to have absolutely '0' guilt over hoarding/stashing all those purchases... they probably could come in very handy!

Also, just noticed this upon previewing the post... All these layouts use Project Life cards! Oh, I know, you're thinking, "Not that 'Warm Me Up' one".  Well actually that's one-half of a 2-page layout that you'll be seeing soon (remember I told you some would reappear later).

Okay, now go get scrappy!

Stay Safe and Scrap On!

P.S.  While I appreciate the great comments, I only received 2 addresses via my email - really you guys don't want a freebie?  

“A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Obsessions...No.1

For many months, even before my hiatus in the winter, I have been more than slightly obsessed with Title/Journaling cards.  At first it was merely the cut-apart sheets that came with each collection.  But lately my obsession has moved on to include Project Life cards.  And noooooo, I'm not a Project Lifer!

Sometime in the winter, I had obtained some divided page protectors (I believe it was in response to a Shimelle weekend challenge that I was unable to fulfull).  Other than transferring and completing a page that was half-done with an 8.5x11 protector that came from somewhere in the office (?????), these protectors sat on my desk for some months.  Then, quite a while before any of the 2013 Christmas photos made it to my desk, I used a few to complete last years layouts - specifically 2-page layouts.  At that time I mostly used cut-up 12x12 paper with a few 3x4s from cut-apart sheets.  It was really quite fun and I promise that you will see these in the near future - but as that's not what this post is about, let's move on.

My obsession with cut-apart sheets grew... then, alas, manufacturers started creating Project Life cards that coordinated with their more popular paper lines.  And so, I took the plunge and purchased a few (DL Polka-Dot Party & MH Flea Market were purchased at Hobby Lobby while the DL Daydreamer was ordered online).  They are awesome and once I used a few, I was surely obsessed (you'll see my first layout later, but as this post is not about that - well, etc.).  These 'mini-kits' come in a lovely little box like this:

While shopping the Project Life section at Hobby Lobby, I found these even smaller packages of Project Life cards:

and guess what???? many of them coordinate with other paper lines... i.e. the 'Winter' mini-kit matches the Crate Paper's Bundled Up, the 'Love' kit matches Crate Paper's Fourteen, the 'Celebration' kit matches Crate Paper's Party Day, etc.!!!  Oh, heavenly!  Most of these mini-kits come with two each 3x4 cards/1-2 each of 4x6.  Of course the boxed versions have a few more cards than the other packages.  These are the perfect size for me, I like 2 of each card as I really don't want that many redundant cards in my album.  Also, if I screw up on the patterned side of a card (have done that already) I can just cut a new one from a 6x6 pad.

So, even though I love some of the themes/colors of the large Project Life kits, I just cannot buy one as they usually contain several of each card - even with my obsession, this is totally too much for just me!!!

Now, on to the main point of this post.  I recently purchased a WeRMemoryKeepers kit of 3x4 & 4x6 cards at a very good sale price.  It is of the "Capture" line.  Once I had opened it, I found that, even though a relatively small looking kit, it had several of each card - many more than my 'two' rule.  So here's the deal, I have a few sets of 3x4/4x6 cards I would like to give away rather than just letting them sit here in a box somewhere.  Therefore, if you would like a set of these, send your name and address to me at: tjthenonna@gmail.com.  (Even if you're across the pond, still go for it if you're interested.)  It's first come, first serve of course as there are only a few sets each of which consists of approximately 63 cards - 2 ea of 24-3x4 and 1 ea of 15-4x6.  As each card is different on the front and back, they are really very versatile.

Okay, that's it for today.  It's really cold here in Florida today after a night of severe thunderstorms and flash floods, so I'm going to wrap up and put on a movie.  I hope everyone else is super crafty.

Stay Safe and Scrap On!

“One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.” - Friedrich Neitzsche