Anniversary Amore Blog Hop

Good morning everyone and welcome! 

Today, I am happy to be taking part in my friend Candace's Anniversary Amore Blog Hop!

My sweet, talented friend Candace has put together a great Blog Hop today complete with a fabulous line-up of talented crafters to help her celebrate her one year blog anniversary!  There are also going to be some great prizes along the way.  And, if you leave a comment on each blog, you will be eligible for some great prizes by our wonderful sponsors Pink By Design, EAD Designs and Pretty Little Studio.

So, before we get started, if you came to my blog from Erica at My Cricut Craft Room, you are in the right place.  If you just stopped by my blog for a visit and would like to start at the beginning of the hop, head over to Candace's place at Scrappin Two Little Princesses.  If you should get lost along the way, I will have the complete line-up at the end of this post.

Now...onto my project.  I tend to keep every little note, every drawing from my grands, ticket stubs and small mementos of everyday life.  I find myself sticking them in drawers, pockets, the bottom of my purse and all over the place.  I really love these little tokens and the memories they hold for me, so I decided to make a special "home" for all my little souvenirs of everyday life....

 (click on photo to enlarge)

Recipe:

* I started with a plain, paper-mache, heart shaped box that I purchased at Hobby Lobby.  I didn't have a shade of paint that I really liked, so I mixed a couple that I had on hand - Linen and Baby Pink, both by Folkart.  I painted the entire box with my mixed paint.  Letting it dry completely between coats, I used 3 coats of paint...

* Next, I hand cut banners using 6 different patterned papers.  I used paper from the Flea Market paper stack by Colorbok and the Valentine Sweetheart paper stack by K&Company.  After cutting each banner, I inked up the edges using Versafine Ink in Vintage Sepia.  After inking up the edges, I adhered my banners all the way around the bottom portion of the box, leaving a small space between each banner....

* Now, it's time to start on the lid!  I traced the heart shaped lid onto my patterned paper and cut out the heart about a half inch smaller than my traced line.  Then I distressed and inked up the edges and adhered it to the lid.

* Using the Cricut cartridge, Art Philosophy, I made 3 roses from pink cardstock.  I cut two roses at 5 inches and one rose at 6 inches using the image found on page 68.  I inked up the roses with Distress Ink in Worn Lipstick, assembled them and gave them a sprinkle of coarse glitter.

* The leaves are also from Art Philosophy.  I used the image found on page 43 at 3.5 inches.  I cut it out twice on my patterned paper and twice on green cardstock, then glued the printed image to the solid cardstock for more stability.  The edges were all inked up with the Vintage Sepia ink and sprinkled with more coarse glitter.

* I also hand cut a banner for my sentiment.  Using the Vintage Sepia, I stamped my sentiment from the beautiful stamp set Enjoy The Journey by Pink By Design.

* Now it's time to put the top of the box together.  I used my hot glue gun to layer first the leaves, then some off-white tulle.  I tucked my sentiment banner under the leaves and glued on the roses.  The final touch was a couple of beautiful stick pins by Close To My Heart...

* I covered the rim of the lid with some beautiful, dark brown, velvet ribbon and some pink pearls...

And, that's it!  I hope to preserve many special memories in this pretty, heart-shaped box.  And, I hope you have enjoyed the time you've spent with me today.  Enjoy the rest of the hop and don't forget to leave a comment on each blog in order to qualify for one of those awesome sponsor gifts! Oh...before I let you go...I also have a gift to give away to one lucky follower today...

(Cuttlebug embossing border set Measure By Measure and Cricut's Jubilee cartridge)

All you have to do to enter this give-away is

1)  Be a follower of my blog

2) Leave a comment on this post

I will choose a random winner on Friday, February 17th.

One last thing...here is the complete hop line-up in case you should get lost along the way...

1. Candace - www.scrappin2littleprincesses.blogspot.com
2. Emily- http://www.createserendipity.net
3. Kristi - http://www.littlepapersprinkles.blogspot.com/
4. Rachel - http://www.loveandsushi.blogspot.com/
5. Bryan  http://www.scrapguy.blogspot.com
6. Lisa - http://prettypaperprettyribbons.blogspot.com/
7. Nicole- http://canadiannickelscrapn.blogspot.com/
8. Tanya - http://nonnascraftcorner.blogspot.com/
9. Kathy - http://kathyand3kids.blogspot.com
10. Kim- http://rickettscricuts.blogspot.com/
11. Candace www.papercraftsbycandace.blogspot.com
12. Jenny - http://crazyaboutcricut.blogspot.com/
13. Michelle- http://www.scrappinwithmybug.com/

Next stop - the fabulous Kathy at Kathy and Kids!  Enjoy the hop and I'll see you soon!
Until next time,