Hoarders Unite

Elves in the Attic

Isn’t that a great shop name? Shop proprietor, Julie, came up with the name when she and a good friend began to design custom scrapbooks. It exudes fun and whimsy – exactly the image she projects in her work.

Elves in the Attic (http://www.etsy.com/shop/ElvesInTheAttic) is a fairly new Etsy shop, opening only last June. But Julie’s love of art and colour go way back to elementary school; probably even earlier, as craftiness runs through the family. Her mom and sisters also love creating!

Julie loves to play with paper. Although she has dabbled in book binding, she is currently sticking mostly to scrapbooks and cards. She loves clean, simple designs, and finds inspiration from the world around her, including ads, catalogs, billboards and the like.

Don’t you just love this Valentine's card?

This is a current work in progress - the beginnings of a Valentines' Day pocket mini album.

It’s clear why Julie is a member of the Hoarder’s Unite team. She says it’s easier to list what she doesn’t hoard! Included in her stash are fibers of all sorts, paper, stamps, ink, ribbon, rub-ons, chipboard shapes, eyelets, wire, magazines, die-cuts. She also hoards templates, though she never uses them. Other hoarded items include fabric scraps and boxes, because you never know when you might need them!

While Julie says she doesn’t have anything really unusual in her stash, she has been known to snag brads off the kids’ school projects, buttons off clothes, and old CDs. I guess it’s volume over uniqueness! She did acquire a mini sewing machine several years ago with the thought of using it for scrapbooking and card making. She didn’t really like how I worked, so relegated it to the shelf to collect dust. Can’t get rid of it – it’s “still good”!

Elves In the Attic’s “corporate offices” are based in Edmonds, WA, just north of Seattle. Her work space is a tiny room in her home, which is also doubles as the office. She says it’s often in a state of chaos, because that is the environment in which her muse whispers best. But it looks totally organized to me!

Julie describes the most interesting thing she’s made from her hoard as her embellished mailbox. She painted it with red polka dots using acrylic pains left over from a project from her wedding. The wedding was 15 years ago, and the paint was still good!

Advice to other hoarders? Well, it won’t help reduce your stash any, but those 40% off coupons from Michaels and JoAnns really shouldn’t go unused!

When scissors and paper scraps aren’t flying, chances are good that Julie can be found at an ice rink, soccer or baseball field. She and her daughter play soccer, her husband and two boys play hockey, and her youngest also plays baseball. Her favorite moments are those spent with her family camping or hiking. And this great bunch is totally supportive of those Elves in the Attic!