Goodwill Power of Work Blog Hop + an Altered Frame for YMH & Blog Candy!

Welcome to Goodwill “Power of Work” Blog Hop! You should've arrived here from Madison's blog, Funky Cards. If not, go to the first blog in the hop - Dalis at Stamper Girl! The first week of May is “the power of work” week for Goodwill, we want to end this week with a BANG. I want you ladies (and gents) to get inspired by items you find in a Goodwill store (or a store like it). Think of vintage clothing, laces, buttons, children’s table games, puzzles, old magazines or books. Goodwill has helped thousands of families and gave them the chance of a new beginning. To learn more about Goodwill and their efforts to help your community please visit them  HERE.

Our challenge to you is to use a Goodwill find in your project. Think of all the possibilities - it could be an altered item or some buttons or fabric from a vintage shirt. Through out the blog hop you will find fabulous inspiration from all those joining in the fun. What are the prizes you might ask? How about a $20 Gift Certificate from Cropstop.com AND 2 Cutting files or Digital Stamps by Paper Crafting World AND Emma Aguilar from My Creative Time with Emma has donated the “Just a Little Note” stamp set!  In addition to that, some of the ladies along the hop have some giveaways too!  And that’s not all - use code CTAA-01 for a 10% off your purchases from Cropstop.com.

You have 2 ways to get your name into the winning pot:
1. Leave a comment at every stop of the blog hop (12 stops = 12 comments), then GO BACK to Stamper Girl's Blog HERE and leave your NAME in MR. LINKY.
2. Leave a comment at every stop of the blog hop (12 stops = 12 comments) AND play with us with our Goodwill challenge. GO BACK to Stamper Girl's Blog HERE and leave your NAME (and the word "PROJECT") in MR. Linky. If you don’t have a Goodwill store near you, then try another store like Goodwill. This gives YOU 2 CHANCES TO WIN & You have until MONDAY to join in by commenting, creating, or BOTH!

Now, onto my project, a fabulous Goodwill find that is also doubling as my Your Memories Here DT project this week! I discovered a plain, brand new, ready to alter frame at the store for 99 cents...yep, 99 cents compared to the the $4 bucks it is at the craft store. I also found a brand new, unopened package of Wilton wedding style silk leaves for 27 cents! Woo-hoo! All other items I had on hand so not only was this project super duper cheap, it was super duper easy & turned out really cute...I just love it!! However, if you want to get this yummy paper for yourself, check out the YMH Store HERE! But not only does the YMH Store carry all things Prima, but also Tattered Angels products (such as the mist I used), Imaginisce goodies and much, much more!! Ya know, like the Cosmo Cricket yummies I love so dearly...hehehe!!

After painting the edges of the frame with some black craft paint, I Mod Podged a gorgeous piece of Prima paper to the surface. While that dried I spritzed some white silk flowers with some Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Vintage Rose. I absolutely love how the flowers turned out. Now, my flowers were on hand but the Goodwill does carry silk flowers too so make sure to check there first!

After the flowers & frame were dry, I hot glued the roses & some leaves to the frame. I cut some of the green wire off the flower/leaves stems, curled them around the pencil & added them with hot glue for more dimension. I finished off by drawing some swirls on the frame & using my Imaginisce irock tool to adhere the pink glimmer studs. If you don't have one of these, you must get one! I absolutely love mine! I just recently got it & this was my first time using it but it was so easy & the result was fabulous. I cannot rave enough about this product!

I haven't yet added a photo to the frame since I am still deciding on one. However, the mat I threw in there for now is simply the backside of the same Prima paper. So you can use 1 full size sheet of a pretty 12x12 paper & that's all you'll need!! Now, I must admit that while I was at the Goodwill, I not only picked up my craft supplies but also some books & a cool retro desk fan for our kiddo. It is a great place to shop around for great finds...just think of it as upcycle heaven! Also, I would love to share with you that Goodwill shares a special place in my heart. Where I live, they have a training center & employ those with various physical & mental disabilities. My little sister, who passed away nearly 11 years ago, was both physically & mentally challenged, and the most wonderful, compassionate & beautiful human being you could ever hope to meet. They trained her, she worked there for years, and she loved it. It was a wonderful place that does wonderful things for people from all walks of life. So please, support your local Goodwill...not only are you supporting those in need, you are supporting jobs & your community!

Now, back to the hop!! The next gal on the list you need to visit is the wonderful Melin at PaperCrafting World! Hop over there to continue the journey & don't forget to leave a comment on everyone's blog. If you need a little help, or get lost along the way, here is the full Power of Work Blog Hop list to help you along!

Blog Hop Linky List

1. Dalis - Stamper Girl 

2. Gaby - Gaby Creates 

 3. Maria Elena - Maria Elena World 

 4. Madison - Funky Cards 

 5. Crystal (THAT'S ME!) 

6.  Melin - PaperCrafting World 

 7. Helen - Helen's Craft Haven 

 8. Christel - One Scrappin' Sista 

 9. Roberta - Texas Scrapper Mom 

10. Vicki - Validation of Vicki 

11. Heidi - Heidi's Happy Stamping 

12. Michelle - Inspiration Blooms

And now for MY blog candy...yay! I am offering up a couple of mini scrap books/albums to be altered that are NIP Studio K &  Basic Grey! They are either ready for some fun photos or add your own personal charm to them with papers & fun embellishments. Either way, these two books are cuties! All you need to do in order to be eligible for my blog candy is become a follower (if you already are...yay me!) & leave me a comment. That's it...no jumpin' through hoops on this gal's blog...LOL! I hope you decide to play along with the challenge (and visit the YMH Store or DT Inspiration Blog) so I can see what you create but first, let's get to hoppin' y'all!!

Create Cherished Family Christmas Cards...for FREE!

Do I have an amazing deal for you my crafty peeps...and just in time for the holidays! And, I'm totally psyched to have this opportunity to share a deal with you too! I am gonna share with you a little secret to make your holidays a little less crazy & give you a little more time for the important things, like actually being with your family during the season. Pssstt...come here & let me whisper, no, let me scream....Shutterfly! Yep, that's right, I said Shutterfly. Why, you may ask? Well, guys & dolls, I am about to tell you!

See, I am one of those people who wait until the last minute to do anything....and I mean anything. Every year I say I am gonna get Christmas cards out to friends & family, and every year I never do. So very sad. But, this year is different! This year, I am rockin' & rollin' thanks to the awesomeness that is Shutterfly. See, I already have my Christmas cards done & they are on their way to my happy (& much more calmer I might add - leaving me more time to chase the dog) home where all I have to do is address the envelopes & drop them (or have hubby drop them) off at the good 'ol post office.

For those of you that don't know, Shutterfly is fabulous photo storage site that allows you to store an unlimited amount of photos for an indefinite amount of time for FREE. Yep, free! Don't ya just love free?! But not only do they offer free storage, they offer awesome items like cards, invites, photo books, & pretty much anything you can slap a picture on. What makes them great is when you join Shutterfly, you get 50 FREE 4x6 prints automatically. Cool, huh?! They also have amazing discounts on all of their holiday cards right now too (and photo books!) ...and they have a ton of designs - absolutely gorgeous, fun, modern designs. These are not your Grandma's photo Christmas cards...unless, of course, hers were really cool!! Because Shutterfly's Christmas cards are cool! Plus, at the end of this post, I am gonna share with you how YOU can get 50 FREE CHRISTMAS CARDS of your very own!! How about them apples, huh?! I know, I know, ya love me, right? Right! LOL!

What I am showing you is a tiny, not even half a percent, of the cards available...just for the holidays! That doesn't even count graduation, birthdays, greeting cards, Valentine's...I could just go on & on! And, I can't wait to show you how ours turned out; I am so very excited! The hubby helped pick them out & they do feature our fur baby while also being a little non-traditional. They should be in soon and when they arrive, I will make sure to share them with you (as well as a do a dance of joy...so warn the neighbors!) They are soooo awesome!

In the meantime, hop on over to the Shutterfly site & join in the fun. If you are not already a member, registration is easy & remember, you get 50 FREE prints just for joining. And if you would like to have a shot at getting 50 FREE Christmas cards of your own, simply check out this link HERE! It's so cool, I know! Let me know if you decide to get some of your own cards through Shutterfly this year, I would love to see them...or if you have used them before, tell me what you love about them!

I'm also linking up to share this great opportunity with other crafty peeps at:

MY BACKYARD EDEN









(This is a sponsored post. I am getting free cards in exchange for this post. All comments and opinions are my own.)