Do you save your card, paper and ribbon scraps? I do because, as a Stampin’ Up!® demonstrator, I create quite a few – and they’re a really useful crafting resource. I continuously strive to reduce waste in my crafting, both for environmental reasons and to show people how they can save money.
These five projects all show you how you can put your Stampin’ Up!® scraps to good use, while making fab cards which don’t cost the earth – in both senses of the word.
It’s almost time for Stampin’ Up!®’s 2021-2023 In Colors™ to retire so we will be saying a fond farewell to Pale Papaya, Soft Succulent, Evening Evergreen and Fresh Freesia. And in my case, a resounding “good riddance” to Polished Pink! 😂
That being said, there WILL be a Colour Revamp with the upcoming Stampin’ Up!® Annual Catalogue, so there is always the chance that one or more of these will survive. And, as in 2018 I was eagerly anticipating the demise of Flirty Flamingo and it came back as a core colour, it seems inevitable that Polished Pink will be the one to make the cut. We shall have to wait and see.
But working on the assumption that these Fab Four and the Frightful Fifth are on their way out, I thought it was time to use up my 2021-2023 In Color™ scraps.
All of the cards you see here are made from the small pieces I found in the bottom of my 2021-2023 In Color™ card stash, some ready-made card bases I found in there, small pieces of 2021-2023 In Color™ Designer Series Paper and scraps of ribbon.
I began by cutting the Designer Series Paper and smaller pieces of cardstock into 1cm strips. The width doesn’t really matter – it could be 1.5cm, 2cm or, if you prefer imperial measurements, half an inch or three quarters of an inch. They don’t even have to be all the same.
For my first card I wanted to use this Polished Pink card base I found which already had a circle cut out of it. I think it’s left over from a class I did about a year ago.
I began by sticking strips of Designer Series Paper to a square of used grid paper.
Using old grid paper as a backing sheet for this type of project serves several purposes. It puts your old paper to good use, saves money and doesn’t add too much weight or bulk to your project.
I adhered this stripy piece behind the circle aperture and then covered the mess (because yes, it was a mess) with a blanking piece on the inside of the card.
It’s finished off with a die-cut ‘thanks’ and an Evening Evergreen bow made from a small piece of ribbon I found in the bottom of the ribbon stash.
Next up was this Just a Note card where I added a strip of Soft Succulent cardstock into the mix as I realised I had no Soft Succulent Designer Series Paper left to play with. I staggered the strips to create a multi-coloured panel, which I stuck to a piece of Evening Evergreen which just came out of the box in the perfect size.
I added a diagonal greeting on top, stamped using Go-To Greetings. this idea is CASEd from US Stampin’ Up!® demonstrator LeeAnn Greff; I’ve had the idea Pinned for simply ages.
It’s finished off with some 2021-2023 In Color™ Opal Rounds from my stash, purchased before I decided I could make cards without bling so they are more recyclable. I’ve broken my own rule here and confess I do feel quite uncomfortable about it.
For this card I decided to step things up a little. I’ve only used cardstock here for a smooth, uniform look. I created a panel of horizontal strips – again using some old grid paper as my backing sheet – which I stuck to the front of the card. In fact, I made it a little too wide, so trimmed a strip off and stuck this inside of the card (not shown – the picture would be quite boring).
To make the stamped tag, I stamped ‘Just a Note’ using Go-To Greetings and then punched it out using the Rectangular Postage Stamp Punch. Yes that is much bigger than this but I carefully punched again and again, lining up the edges exactly, to make the tag smaller.
The focal point of this card is a striking white leaf made using the Forever Flourishing Dies. This is popped up on tiny pieces of Stampin’ Dimensionals cut from the edges of the sheet (waste not, want not!).
It’s finished off with a piece of Linen Thread tied around the stem.
After making this card and tidying my work space, I found the piece left over from the die-cutting and had an idea...
Continuing the theme of reducing waste, I used this negative piece to create another leaf card, this time backing it with just the Soft Succulent and Evening Evergreen scraps on my table.
I was running very short of Designer Series Paper scraps by this point so I had to position some of these very carefully. The final piece of Evening Evergreen was used to add more height to the panel, so it was more in proportion with the card front.
A very small piece of Fresh Freesia ribbon was sacrificed (I’m saving the rest for a class) to go across the front of the card.
A simple strip of ribbon with a linen thread bow is a great way of being frugal with your ribbon and also is a great way of adding interest without bulk. You only need a piece of ribbon a little wider than your card layer, secured at the back with tape. Then you can add the bow using Linen Thread or any other Baker’s Twine.
The greeting for this card comes from Friends Are Like Seashells because I wanted those really plain block capitals to provide a contrast with the very busy leaf design. By this point, I’d also discarded the tiny bits which popped out of the base of the die, so I wanted to use the greeting cover up this section of the leaf to make it less obvious.
You can see here how I used the leaf and the negative it left behind to make these two cards.
Finally, just before I packed away, I thought I’d swallow my distaste and try to make something in pinks; well in Polished Pink and Fresh Freesia. This is where I went a little off-piste and cut some wider strips. I began with a Basic White panel which I ‘scribbled’ glue on top in a sort of arc around the top and left sides. I stuck my strips on top – throwing in some Pale Papaya to mix things up a little — and then trimmed them off at the top and left with scissors.
This really was all the Polished Pink ribbon I had left so it was great to finish a reel properly, and I used the Linen Thread bow trick again to add interest without bulk.
Again, the greeting comes from Go-To Greetings (a must-have stamp set in my opinion) and I finished off with more 2021-2023 In Color™ Opal Rounds.
You don’t need Stampin’ Up!® 2021-2023 In Color™ scraps to recreate these projects; all of these cards can be made with any scraps of cardstock or Designer Series Paper. I hope I have inspired you to use those scraps instead of sending them to the recycling centre.
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