Thursday, September 4, 2014

Catered Crop: New Again

It's time for a new challenge at Catered Crop.  Linda is challenging us to bring something back from the "stamping graveyard" because it might become new again!

Don’t throw the past away
You might need it some rainy day
Dreams can come true again
When everything old is new again
~ lyrics by Peter Allen, 1979

I wish that I would have looked ahead to the Catered Crop challenges (looking ahead is one of the big advantages to being on design teams!)  I have been in a major purge mood all summer.  I have half the clothes that I had at the beginning of summer - all of those items that I thought I liked but never wore have been donated!  My cookbook and knitting book collections went from six bookshelves to three.  Our teeny, tiny mountain condo has gone to livable again with incredible amounts of old ski gear, warm clothes and family games and puzzles being donated or thrown away.  I started the summer feeling like life was closing in on me - do you ever feel that way?  And I purged everything just to make me feel "lighter".

My stamping stash was no exception.  That purge is still ongoing as every week I challenge myself to fill another trash bag and a donation bag.  Sadly, the stuff the truly belonged in the "graveyard" went first as those were the easy decisions.  If I hadn't touched something in years, it was gone.  This has made the "graveyard" challenge a little difficult.

One thing that I kept was a crimper.  I know this one is an oldie because Linda included it in the challenge graphic (see below).  Can you see the dust on my crimper?

Crimper

I'll always keep my crimper because to this day, I love crimped fall leaves. Just cut your leaf, fold it in half and run it through the crimper at an angle.

Leaves

I also kept my box of charms.  I'm not sure these are really graveyard items but I can't remember the last time that I saw a charm dangling from a bow on the card and it used to be totally normal.  I checked out an online stamping store from which I often got beautiful charms and they only have two styles now - so I decided to use them on this card.  (But after I decided to use them, I say that the brand new Stampin' Up Holiday catalog includes snowflake charms.  Although it is interesting that they never refer to them as "charms" they simply tell you that you can use linen thread through the loop to hang them.)  This box shows you why I had to use a few charms on this card.

Charms

I wanted to use a beautiful, dimensional ghost charm (you can kind of see at the bottom of the box) but it was just too big for my card idea.  I ended up using a trio of flat charms.  Using these flat charms told me why charms might have gone out of favor...they are impossible to photograph!!!  Here's a picture with the charms all "lit up".  With my limited photography skills, getting the glow on the charms makes everything else look gray.

Trick or Treat close


And here's the card as a whole.

Trick or Treat

I used the crimper horizontally and then did a small strip vertically.  All edges are sponged with gray but you can only really see that in the bottom left corner. It's a nice look since only the raised portion catches the ink.

This card also made me wonder whether striped baker's twine is in the graveyard.  Personally, I had to dig really deep to pull mine out.  I do a lot of twine - but all I've used for a long time is solid color hemp twine.

Here's Linda's graphic on stamping items in the graveyard.  You can also check back at Catered Crop this Sunday to see what else the design team came up with.


Do you have any of these items?

Do you agree that they are in the graveyard?

What else do you have so far back in your stash that you've almost forgotten that's it there?

I hope you ponder these questions, then play along at Catered Crop.  I look forward to seeing what you come up with!


  • Stamps: none
  • Paper: Papertrey Ink Terracotta Tile, Smokey Shadow
  • Ink: Simon Says Fog (just for sponging on the edge)
  • Accessories: Papertrey Ink Tricky Trio dies, Charms (unknown), Baker's twine from The Twinery, Fiskars paper crimper

15 comments:

  1. I got a good chuckle from your post today! My crimper looked just like yours when I pulled it out (after looking through several drawers because I couldn't remember where it was stored)last month. I had never seen it used on leaves like this -- I am going to have to wipe off the dust on my crimper again and try this -- so cool!

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  2. Great card. I like to challenge myself to use older things from my stash as well, although I too have gone through a purge this summer. I do hope that bakers twine doesn't go into the graveyard as I still use it quite a bit on my cards.

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  3. Thanks for the tip about crimping leaves! Love the look of it. Your card is fabulous with the crimped background and those charms!
    I have most of the items on the inspiration board. I refuse to throw everything out just to buy the newest trendy things that will then be old fashioned in a short time! And who knows maybe some of the things will be back in style. Although purging my craft area would probably help me not feeling so overwhelmed... I admire you for being able to let go!

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  4. Sigh, that's still on my to do list!
    I'm a collector of all things crafty because I always see 'possibilities' for the most curious stuff. :-)
    but it's a very good idea to go through all my stuff and household too. :-)
    Love your card, ha, ha, the charms are sooooo very charming!
    Bye,

    Marjolein

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  5. Wow, you made those old items so freash and new on your card! I'm with you, a crimper is still a good tool to have.
    Great card!

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  6. Kim no surprise that you took those graveyard items and gave them new life! I have/had most on the items in Linda's graphic. Some went to the graveyard this summer during a 'mid-summer nights purge'--LOL The challenge looks fun!

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  7. I need to do a house wide purge myself - hopefully sooner than later. I had to giggle as I have that exact same crimper and love it. Your leaves are fabulously crimped!! Great cards.

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  8. What a great idea for the crimped leaves! I did a purge in early January but there is certainly stuff in my stash I haven't used even since then! What a fun challenge! Love the fun design of your card. Hugs xxx

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  9. Cute card! I really enjoyed this post because I could so relate...Hubby and I have lived in our first and only house that we have ever purchased for a very long time. So it means years of years of accumulating...so Now I have been trying to purge and purge...I find my craft items to be some of the most difficult things to let go...I'm still working on it...Thanks for the inspiration!

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  10. Totally fun Halloween card! You rocked the crimper :) !!! I remember the first time I saw this tool at a SU show and I thought it was the coolest thing ever :) !!! Hugs ~S~

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  11. the dangly thingies are totally cute, and hello Crimper is back in business!

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  12. the dangly thingies are totally cute, and hello Crimper is back in business!

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  13. Kim, your purging-post has me smiling; I've been busy doing the same. Clothes still with price tags on them (yeesh!) have been donated, and a bag of crafting stuff is ready to hit the road, too, Ny limited collection = limited give-aways, but oh, I have some doozies in there, that fall into the 'what was I thinking' category. Wonderful to see you breathe new life into your crimper, and the the stash of charms are keepers indeed. You just never know when a 'dangle' is needed, as this challenge clearly reveals. Your card is, once again, nothing shy of amazing. From the crimped background, to the die cut words, to the adorable Halloween charms (I need to find some; they're adorable), this is pure delight! Spook-tacular!!
    ~c

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