Paper Scraps

Every six month or so whenever I run out.....I take a day or two and make up a bunch of cards.  This is just as satisfying as making a scrap quilt out of small pieces of nothing, but a heck of a lot quicker.  I had a small pile of coordinating papers and some odds and ends of embellishments that didn't fit my filing system  very well.  So I had them all laid out and spent most of two days on my porch, cutting, pasting, rearranging & folding to end up with these.......



Notice on the center card I used some postage stamps ripped off a recent package. 


I have a thing for stamps.....but I come by it naturally.....my parents still collect a first edition stamp and block sets and have for years and my Grandma K. kept little envelopes of stamps she liked off of packages and letters which I still have......  of course.   So you see I really can't help myself.     :)

Here are a few mores cards done using Martha Stewart punches, which I must say.....I really like all of them.  The deep punch designs are beautiful and work very well and give you a wow factor with not a lot of effort.  Since I don't have a Michael's close by.....I pay attention to my coupons....if I know I am traveling and try to pick up a new one when I have the opportunity.

I did over 40 cards with that small pile of leftovers....so that should last me for a while.  Also another thing I like to do which is shown above......I use the word happy or happy day which is somewhat generic.....so it obviously could be a birthday card, but it also could be pretty much anything someone might be celebrating.  I like that so I can tailor what I write to fit any situation and make it very personal.

To streamline this process:

• Limit your amount of coordinating papers
• Limit your choices of embellishments
• Use your larger pieces of paper for card blanks and large embellishments
• Use your smaller scraps for small embellishments
• Use strips for borders and border punches
• Don't agonize over every decision, make a decision and move on....if you don't like something, cover it up with something bigger or throw it away....start over!!!
• Collage style or color blocking is a great technique when you are left with small pieces.
• When you are done, give what you have left over to your child or grandchild for their craft box.