March 15, 2025 by Born To Organize

ScrapHappy: A Balm for the Soul

My recovery from hip replacement surgery is going well. Without needing ice packs and elevated limbs, I could comfortably sit at my crafting desk to make a few ScrapHappy cards. Thank you, Kate, for bringing us together for these monthly challenges.

I have an inordinate amount of green paper scraps spanning many shades, solid and print. I managed to work four green scraps into three cards. I will continue to challenge myself to use more. I have an unappealing shade of leftover green paper from a paper pack that I will never use, so it went into the “scraps for testing ideas pile,” allowing me to cull the useable greens.

The first card incorporates two shades of green and a blueish background from a Halloween pack, believe it or not. As I’ve challenged myself over the years, I’m more confident about mixing the unexpected. It’s fun.

card made using green and blue paper scraps

Once or twice a year, I receive a coupon mailer from a clothing company called Tommy Bahama featuring beautiful tropical art, something I can’t bear to toss. I set the envelope aside and waited for inspiration. This month, I incorporated the front and back of the envelope into two cards.

Tommy Bahama Envelope with tropical flowers

This first card uses a cutout from the front of the envelope, set behind a trellis die-cut using a green scrap. I inked a piece of white paper to get the shade of blue I wanted, then sandwiched the trellis, orchid, and blue paper, matting a sliver of purple to tie the colors together.

The final card uses the back of the tropical art, one more green scrap (yay), purple scraps from my sister, and a butterfly transfer to tie it together. I enjoy using up what I have, repurposing when I can, and, most of all, creating cards to send to friends.

three dimensional card using green and purple scraps, butterfly transfer

These are difficult times. If you’ve been looking for a way to reduce stress, creative outlets like card-making, sewing, knitting, gardening, painting, or writing are a balm for the soul.

Here’s a list of contributing scrap-happy bloggers:

Kate, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan,
Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Nóilin, Viv, Karrin, Alissa,
Tierney, Hannah and Maggie

January 15, 2025 by Born To Organize

ScrapHappy for Last Year’s Calendar

Thank you, Kate, for bringing us together for these monthly scrap-happy challenges. Kate and Gun have hosted this blog hop for a decade. Impressive, eh? Forget your troubles, come on get scrappy.

My contribution this month uses scraps of velum and several pages from last year’s The Old Farmer’s Almanac calendar to create three greeting cards.

I used two pieces of heavy white card stock for the body of the card, then adhered a pretty section of the calendar to the card front. These illustrations by artist Kristen Kest are too pretty to toss.

I ran both layers through my nifty die cutter, then scored the top and glued it to the back layer.

I stamped a couple of sentiments onto scraps of velum (I love using velum) and added them to the front of the card. Making these cards was quick, easy, and fun or in Kate’s parlance, scrap-happy.

I have a few more pages of the calendar to craft with. I hope to get to that next month.

Old Farmer's Almanac art by Kristin Kest

Thanks as always, Kate.

Here’s a list of contributing scrap-happy bloggers:

June 15, 2024 by Born To Organize

ScrapHappy June Cards

On the 15th of each month, Kate invites bloggers to join in the fun of creating something from scraps. Participants create with fabric, metal, paper, and sometimes all three. If you have something to share made from scraps, please join us. You can contact Kate, linked above, for details.

I’m sharing three cards this month: two made from a reflective folder once used for school papers and a collage card.

My friend Mary Ann, also a cardmaker, gave me the folder and challenged me to create with it. Her scrap became my scrap; now it’s a pair of cards.

I love this sort of challenge, though I’ll admit that the intense shine and reflection of the folder gave me pause. It worked out in the end, though, and I had fun.

The pink card is my beginner’s attempt at collage. I follow a fabulous collage artist in Canada, and she inspired me to give it a go. You can take a look at Wilma’s gorgeous work here.

For the background, I used scrapbooking paper passed on from my sister featuring dress-maker patterns. I inked similar paper before die-cutting it into flowers. The pink sewing machine comes from a leftover piece of gift wrap. I used a few odds and ends of rub-on decals to add a bit of green and light pink. I want to study this medium in more detail to continue making this card style. It’s fun.

The following bloggers enjoy taking part in ScrapHappy. Click on any of the links below to see what they’re creating.

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan,
Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Nóilin, Viv, Karrin, Amo, Alissa ,
Lynn, Tierney, Hannah and Maggie

April 15, 2024 by Born To Organize

ScrapHappy Upholstery (In Miniature)

It’s time for another installment of ScrapHappy, a monthly meme hosted by Kate and her friend Gun.

I’ve been busy turning small fabric scraps into miniature upholstery for one of my fairy gardens.

In addition to sewing a seat cushion for the bench, I made an accent cushion by covering a button with fabric. I added a French knot with green embroidery floss to the center of both cushions. The orange button has been in my stash since the early eighties.

I cut small sections of the leaf motif from the same fabric scrap, attached a few strands of green embroidery floss, and then fused the pieces to make seat covers. I tied the thread along the back of each chair to hold them in place.

After years spent outdoors, the tiny garden bench lost one of its legs. We can’t host a fairy garden party with broken furniture, so a quick fix was in order.

I found a rusted screw from Mike’s workbench to repair the broken/missing leg. He kindly glued it in place.

Fresh flowers grace the table in a tiny brown bottle, and as the day ends, clouds give way to the sun.

ScrapHappy is open to anyone using up scraps of anything – no new materials. Please contact Kate for details or visit her recent blog post at Tall Tales from Chiconia.

February 15, 2024 by Born To Organize

ScrapHappy: Stone Paper Card

I made a card for this month’s ScrapHappy post (shocking, right?) using a scrap of white paper, inked to a lovely shade of blue, and a salvaged piece of Stone Paper®. Yup, Stone Paper is a thing.

Last fall, my friend Barbara sent us a care package from Spoonful of Comfort, a delicious, soup-based meal. The soup arrived with a reusable cover made from Stone Paper. We devoured the soup, and I saved the cover for a future card.

I’ve crafted with Stone Paper before. The paper is soft to the touch, easy to cut, strong, and sustainable.

Barbara loves birdwatching, and as it often happens, the disparate pieces clicked. I made her a card by die cutting the “soup bonnet” from her gift and adding three wild bird postage stamps from my stash.

I added texture to the blue background using a spatter-patterned embossing folder, then used a glitter pen to create the illusion of raindrops on a window.

Thank you, Kate, for organizing ScrapHappy each month.

Click the links below to see what other crafters have shared this month. If you want to join us, please get in touch with Kate. She does a fantastic job keeping this fun and organized.

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy,
Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti, Viv, Karrin, Amo, Alissa ,
Lynn, Tierney , and Hannah

January 15, 2024 by Born To Organize

ScrapHappy Paper Portfolio

It’s time for a monthly scraphappy post; as usual, I’ve made something out of paper. Last month I made a few scraphappy cards for my friend, Mary. Today, I’m sharing the portfolio I made to hold those cards.

Late last year in Florence (Firenze), I enjoyed a fun prowl through a paper store called Il Papiro. The items they sell are created with paper using the same methods and techniques used in traditional 17th-century artistry. I bought one sheet of adorned green paper, thinking I would use it to make Christmas cards.

I used the paper to die-cut Christmas trees for cards and a few bookmarks for the Little Free Library, with enough of a remnant to create a scraphappy portfolio.

After measuring the size of the cards, I folded the paper accordingly, scored the center to create dimension, then glued the center and both sides of the new folder. I folded the top half inward, then covered it with Washi tape for a clean edge. I used my last rub-on decal on the cover.

Click the links below to see what other crafters have shared this month. If you want to join us, please get in touch with Kate. She does a fantastic job keeping this fun and organized.

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy, Tracy,
Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Nóilin, Viv, Karrin, Amo, Alissa ,
Lynn, Tierney and Hannah

December 15, 2023 by Born To Organize

ScrapHappy December: Covered Booze Box and a Few Scrappy Cards

It’s the middle of December, or in Kate-speak, it’s time to show off our monthly ScrapHappy challenge as we wind down the year.

I have a few things to share this month, starting with a Christmas card made from a damaged gift bag.

After removing the striped paper from the sides and bottom of the bag, I selected the lower corner of the bag facade featuring a panda plushy. Those eyes melt my heart. Once cut to size, I used a dry embossing folder to add texture to the card, then cut it with a stitching die from my stash.

I created a mat for the card using the paper from the side of the gift bag and then added a thin border of gold paper for contrast. I used my glitter gel pen to add highlights where the original artist used them on the bag. A small greeting embossed on a heavy vellum finished the card.

Next, I created a series of cards using leaf skeletons gifted by my friend Mary. She said, “I thought you could use these to make cards,” so I did. The leaves came in an assortment of sizes and colors.

My last share is a wooden box gifted to Mike with a bottle of long-forgotten alcohol. I claimed the box for storage on my crafting table as it is sturdy and the perfect size for the various plates I use for my die and embossing machine.

It sat unadorned for a year before I gave it the Washi tape treatment. The wooden box has a slot for the lid, so one of the four sides needed leveling. I settled on take-out wooden chopsticks, building the edge in layers till even.

All three of these projects were a lot of fun. On that note, please look at some of the other fun ScrapHappy projects at the sites linked below.

Thanks, Kate, for inspiring us to put our scraps to use.

November 15, 2023 by Born To Organize

ScrapHappy for Someone Else’s Scraps

My friend Mary Ann is a cardmaker, among other things. She sells her wares on Etsy and at several craft shows near the holidays. As such, people give her “stuff,” hoping she can use it.

Lucky me.

Someone gave her this stack of parchment-like paper with a rectangle of gold foil in the center. She, in turn, passed them on to me. There are over 70 lustrous sheets, and I could hardly wait to tuck into them! Today’s scraphappy post is brought to you by a friend’s, friend’s scraps.

I made three cards covering Halloween, Christmas, and Autumn.

I used one of the foiled sheets as a background, then used my die cutter to cut the leafy inset. The rest of the card is done with ink.

The Christmas tree incorporates the gold center and part of the parchment for the trunk. The green scrap below has been kicking around in my supply drawer for years. I’m glad the paper found its purpose.

The last card has a simple design and as such it’s my favorite. All of these cards were fun to create, though.

I also made a gift card holder using a small envelope template I’ve had for years.

Thank you, Mary Ann!

If you’re a scrappy maker (paper, fabric, metal, etc.), consider joining us for this enjoyable endeavor.

Thanks as always, Kate. Please follow the links below if you would like to see what the other makers are up to.
Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,

Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy, Tracy,

Jan, Moira,Sandra, Chris,

Claire, Jean, Jon, Dawn, Gwen,

Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, Edith

Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,

Debbierose, Nóilin, Viv, Karrin,

Amo, Alis

September 16, 2023 by Born To Organize

ScrapHappy Wine Tags

I’m a day late for the monthly scrap-happy share, but I’m popping in any way to say, “cheers.”

If you’ve been following here for a while, you’ll recognize another page from my 2022 Bees & Honey wall calendar. The beautiful images feature in several scrappy projects. I used the heavier-weight cover paper to make eight wine glass tags.

The process is simple: I cut 2.5-inch circles from the calendar images, then cut a smaller circle from the center to go around the stem. Cut an opening along one side, and you’re good to go.

I made eight tags, including one that said “bee,” but I didn’t think it through. When I removed the inner circle, it said BS instead. Whoops. I cut one more, to make a G-rated set, though most of our friends would get a laugh out of the BS story.

Cheers!

If you’re a scrappy maker (paper, fabric, metal, etc.), consider joining us for this enjoyable endeavor.

Thanks as always, Kate. Please follow the links below if you would like to see what the other makers are up to.

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,

Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy, Tracy,

Jan, Moira,Sandra, Chris,

Claire, Jean, Jon, Dawn, Gwen,

Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, Edith

Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,

Debbierose, Nóilin, Viv, Karrin,

Amo, Alissa, Lynn, Tierney, and Hannah

August 15, 2023 by Born To Organize

ScrapHappy: Bookmarks and Craft Kits

It’s another ScrapHappy post inspired by Kate and her friend Gun.

I’ve made cards at my crafting table during the hottest part of these too-hot days. Card-making leads to scrap-making, and that’s what today’s post is all about.

I assembled twenty paper crafting kits and placed them near the children’s Little Free Library. They are always popular and fun (for me) if I’m lucky enough to be in my craft room when a young one claims one of the kits.

Using scraps passed on by my sister, I made an assortment of bookmarks for the Little Free Library.

I have a drawer full of beautiful ink, so I pulled out six to represent the rainbow.

I used stencils to add color, then stamped an image or a quote on the bookmark.

I applied ink to the last pair without using a stencil, and I like the look of the saturated inks.

My last make is a blend of scraps and upcycling. This beautiful envelope arrived with promotional material for Tommy Bahama stores.

I cut the most prominent section for the front of the card, adding a scrap of velum below. I fussy-cut the other flowers and used them to decorate the envelope. I have as much fun using new products as I do with scraps.