Don't throw your scraps of paper away!

Whenever I cut my cardstock to make cards and other papercraft projects I end up with little strips of leftover pieces. 

When I first started as an independent Stampin' Up! demonstrator I didn't have a lot of cardstock so I saved every little piece of paper because I thought I might find a use for them . . . 

and I have found lots of ways to use my leftover pieces.

I have layered them on a card front to make an interesting background and then I decorated it with die cut flowers, leaves and a punched sentiment.

My daughter die cut through layers of cardstock to make an cute tag for her school lanyard.

You can make a unique card by gluing different sized strips of coloured cardstock on a card front and then stamp it with an image. Just make sure the colours aren't too dark for the image you're stamping.

I've made quick and easy cards by gluing scraps of Designer Series Paper onto a card base and just adding a sentiment.

I wove together some black and white scrap pieces to make an interesting background for a stylish birthday card.

I've even used scrap pieces to add colour behind a die cut shape and to create a Christmas decoration.

I always end up with lots of strips of white cardstock which are the perfect size to create sentiment banners. I added some gold gilding to the space between the sentiment pieces to make this card shine!

You can even create a theme for your cards by carefully selecting the type of sentiments you choose.

For my butterfly card I chose encouraging and loving sentiments which would make it a great Valentine's Day card.

I made a video showing how to use the Itty Bitty Birthdays stamp set to make a colourful birthday card decorated with a hummingbird from the Touch of Ink stamp set.

So next time you have scraps of cardstock remember to keep them, because you can create a wide range of interesting cards!

#KeepCalmAndCraft #ComputerAndCraftDesigns #StampinUp #CreativeTherapy #KeepStamping #RubberStamping #FunFoldCard #CardMaking #ScrapCards

Three techniques to make cards from pieces of paper scraps

I must admit that I am a hoarder, but not in a bad way. I only hold on to things that I know I will use in the near future. For example, when I cut my card mats to size there is always a little sliver of paper left over and I keep all those little pieces in a scrap paper drawer so I can use them on future projects.

Sometimes they are useful for stamping sentiments for the fronts of my cards and some pieces are just big enough for a little die cutting. However I end up with lots of straight strips of paper which are great for making backgrounds on cards.

I made a video to show how to use the little strips in three different ways on card fronts.

The first card I created by gluing a variety of coloured strips on to a thin piece of Whisper White cardstock. I used the coloured piece as a background to stamp an image of birds from the Free As a Bird stamp set in Gray Granite ink. I then embellished the front with Mossy Meadow Twine and a sentiment stamped on a scrap of Balmy Blue cardstock.

For the second card I used scrap strips of Come Sail Away designer series paper. I stamped a piece of Sahara Sand cardstock with a sentiment from the Peaceful Moments stamp set in Mossy Meadow ink on a diagonal. I glued the dsp strips on the same angle, leaving a little gap between each piece so the Sahara Sand cardstock could be seen. I then added a little anchor from the Sail Away Trinkets with some Night of Navy/Sahara Sand Baker’s Twine.

I attached this to the front of a Night of Navy card base and use another piece of Sahara Sand cardstock on the inside which I stamped with some images from the Sailing Home stamp set in Night of Navy and Sahara Sand ink.

The final card I made with only two colours -- black and white. I wove the scrap pieces together to make a background mat which I cut with the second largest Stitched Rectangles die. You can learn how to weave paper by watching my video.

I glued the woven die cut piece on to some Real Red cardstock I had put embossed with the Subtle 3D folder. I stamped the field of poppies image from the Painted Poppies stamp set on to a scrap piece of thick Whisper White cardstock using Tuxedo Black Memento ink and coloured them with Real Red Blends. I finished off the front with some Real Red ribbon, rhinestones and words cut with the Well Written dies. This was all attached to a Basic Black card base.

For the inside I used some more images from the Painted Poppies stamp set in Memento Black and Real Red ink on Whisper White cardstock.

I hope my three cards have inspired you to keep those scrap pieces of paper to make your own unique cards!

#KeepCalmAndCraft #ComputerAndCraftDesigns #StampinUp #CreativeTherapy #ScrapPieces #PaperScraps #keepstamping