July 14, 2021 by Born To Organize

So Many Scraps, So Little Time

I look forward to Kate’s monthly crafting challenge. Kate encourages the art of creating something beautiful or useful or both, made entirely out of scraps.

My volunteer work has kept me busy this month, so in addition to challenging myself to craft with scraps, I also challenged myself to find windows of time for creativity. I made a simple to-do list to go along with the lengthy one. The simple list says: Blog, garden, craft, repeat. It’s a reminder to take time for myself doing some of the things I love.

My favorite scrap-happy project this month is a thank-you card. I made the card for the recipient using the envelope from one of her cards. The colors are a calming blue and green, with a splash of orange.

Here’s the envelope with the flaps opened flat.

I cut a piece from the front that incorporated several of the colors, above.

I embossed the section with a flower pattern, then trimmed it to a clean rectangle.

Of course, having my name in the center of the card wouldn’t do. So, I took another piece of the envelope, embossed a scrap, and used it to hide my name.

I embossed a few more scraps to bring color and texture to other parts of the card.

I used a scrap of white card-stock to cut the word “thanks” and another scrap to make a white folding card.

Here is the finished card, above. I used the remaining scraps to create a label for the front of the mailing envelope and for a seal for the back. I wanted to include credit for the envelope art, so I put her name on the back of my card.

The scraps were too small to make a label, so I pieced them together, then cut with one of my dies.

Ironically, my next scrappy project is an envelope. Elizabeth loves horses, and spends her spare time on a ranch. She buys bags of carrots before she goes. I traced an envelope template onto carrot-patterned paper, leftover from an Easter pack. I cut a scrap of green card stock, used brown ink around the edges for a distressed look, then wrapped it with a scrap of leather from a pair of old bootlaces. I secured the edges of the leather with waxed thread that has been rolling around my sewing box since 1980!

My last and quirkiest entry this month is my nautical jewelry. I tied a piece of jute string around the neck of this tiny bottle. The bottle held a single-serving of hot sauce either at a restaurant or on a flight. I don’t remember. I rescued it from its likely destination (the trash) and used it once for a costume. It recently resurfaced, and I’ve pressed it into use as a necklace. I wrapped the bottle with nautical-themed Washi tape, and scrapped my way to an original piece of jewelry.

The necklace also doubles as a cat toy.

That’s a scrap (wrap)!

Do you have scraps laying around the place waiting for a new life? Come join us for future scrap-happy posts.

Thanks for hosting, Kate.

Be sure to check out the blogs listed below for other scrap-happy posts.

Kate, our host, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynn, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy, Tracy, Jill,
Claire, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Kerry, Claire, Jean, Jon, Hayley, Dawn,
Gwen, Bekki, Sue L, Sunny, Kjerstin,
Vera, Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Noreen,
Bear, Carol, Preeti, Edith, Debbierose

June 14, 2021 by Born To Organize

Crafting with Paper Scraps: A June Birthday

I’m joining our host Kate for another monthly crafting challenge. Kate, who blogs at Tall Tales From Chiconia, encourages bloggers to dust off their scraps and turn them into something new.

My dear friend has a birthday later this month, so she’s received instructions NOT to peak at this post.

I used what remained of a 12 x 12 scrap of paper to make gift wrap and a card.

We both love fairy gardening, and my friend is also partial to aqua and teal so the colors are spot on. I cut a 6 x 8 section of the paper and adhered it to an envelope. Used alone, the scrap isn’t big enough, but attached to the envelope it made the perfect wrap for this small book, a copy of Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem.

I used another section of the scrap to cut a circle to seal the back, stamping “hi” just above the bird.

It’s gratifying making something pretty from scraps. It challenges your creativity and your ability to work within certain parameters. I’m not sure why that floats my boat but it does.

I used the last little bit to mat the “happy birthday” sentiment on the face of the card.

I wish I could capture the garden shadows in the photo and transfer them to the back of the envelope. It looks like the bird has a long set of tail feathers.

Do you have scraps laying around the place waiting for a new life? Come join us for future scrap-happy posts.

Thanks for hosting, Kate.

Be sure to check out the blogs listed below for other scrap-happy posts.

May 14, 2021 by Born To Organize

Having Fun with a Paper Shopping Bag

I’m joining our host Kate for another monthly crafting challenge. Kate, who blogs at Tall Tales From Chiconia, encourages bloggers to dust off their scraps and turn them into something new.

My inspiration this month is a paper shopping bag. Pretty scrappy, eh? I fell in love with the artwork, which is different on all four sides of the bag.

Reverse side and bottom of Anthropologie shopping bag

The bag is originally from a trendy store called Anthropologie. It arrived filled with donations where I volunteer. I couldn’t bring myself to recycle it, so I brought it home for a crafting project.

The paper is a nice weight, with a different design on the front and back and two additional designs along the sides. I fell in love with the black and green cat pattern, but all four sides are interesting.

I made a notecard using my last scrap of black paper, a border die, and the cat side of the shopping bag. I would have done a few things differently, but part of the challenge of using scraps is that you have a limited supply of materials.

I used another section of the cat paper to make a gift tag for my son’s birthday. He loves Chipotle, so I bought him a gift card and wrapped it with a scrap of green paper. I added a fussy cut paper cat. We all love cats around here.

On the subject of cats, after completing the tag, I took a brief recess so that Tessa could finish her nap on the bag. She rules the roost around here. We adore her.

After Tessa’s catnap, my crafting resumed.

I had a lot of leftover cat paper, so I papered an ugly postcard and stamped “delight in life” in black ink for some interest.

I recovered my ever-changing bookmark tin for the Little Free Library and used some of the smaller patterned sections of the bag to make two-sided bookmarks.

Bookmarks made from three of the four sides of the bag

The pattern on the opposing side of the bag didn’t interest me as much, so I used it to line the drawer in my laundry room. It’s been 17 years since I last relined it, so it was time for a refresh.

The sides of the bag are narrower, so I had less paper for crafting. I love the snails, so I fashioned a few bookmarks, then stamped them with black ink. I made more bookmarks using the purple pattern on the opposing side.

The final make from the shopping bag is another card. I used a daisy die to cut the purple paper into the lacy flower pattern you see below. The purple lost some of its vibrancy, so I wanted to punch up the color. I used daubers and assorted ink and placed color on a scrap of paper below the punched surface.

I assembled the pieces into this finished card:

Thanks once again for hosting, Kate.

Be sure to check out the blogs listed below for other scrap-happy posts.

April 14, 2021 by Born To Organize

Thirty Days in the Garden: ScrapHappy

What’s a ScrapHappy post? It’s an opportunity to create something new using scraps of paper, cloth, yarn, really anything. Our host, Kate, of Tall Tales from Chiconia, turns out gorgeous projects month after month. If you would like to join us, please let Kate know.

My dear friend Laura sent me a gift last year wrapped in beautiful blue paper, dotted with bumblebees. Bees have significance for her and her family, so she incorporates them in her art, cards, and other beautiful creations.

I gently unwrapped the gift to preserve the paper and set it aside to make her a card.

Gift wrap can be tricky to work with as it’s generally thinner and easier to tear. In this case, it worked beautifully.

*Laura’s Bee Card among the succulents and nasturtiums*

In addition to the gift wrap, I used a scrap of black card stock. I stamped the sentiment “You are Wonderful” on the upper left, then attached it to a 5 x 7 card. I used my die-cutting machine to cut circles around several of the bees.

One of the bees sits on the front of the card, raised with a few foam dots.

Two of the bees decorate the envelope, and a fourth one acts as a seal on the back.

I enjoy these monthly ScrapHappy posts. If you’re reading this and thinking of joining us, please do. Be sure to check out all the other scrappy posts this month linked below. Most of these blogs will be live on or just after April 15, 2021.

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynn, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy, Tracy, Jill,
Claire, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris,
Kerry, Claire, Jean, Jon, Hayley, Dawn,
Gwen, Bekki, Sue L, Sunny, Kjerstin,
Vera, Nanette, Ann, Nancy, Dawn 2, Noreen,
Bear, Carol, Preeti and Edith

February 11, 2021 by Born To Organize

Hearts and Scraps: Valentine Kits for the Little Free Library

I’m joining bloggers from around the world in a monthly “ScrapHappy” endeavor. We’re challenged to make something entirely out of scraps.

The heart at the top of the sign is made from an old playing card

Here in the US, as in many other countries, February 14th is Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day customs – sending greeting cards (known as “valentines”), offering confectionary and presenting flowers – developed in early modern England and spread throughout the English-speaking world in the 19th century.
Wikipedia

In honor of this tradition, I’ve pulled together scraps from a variety of sources to create Valentine’s Day card-kits for our Little Free Library. Young library users have snapped them up. It’s so satisfying imagining them crafting at home.

For starters, the base card and envelope are from my friend and fellow blogger Heidi from Minnesota. Heidi makes gorgeous cards! She had leftover paper and envelopes and kindly shared them with me to use in future card kits.

Heidi also sent sample-sized selections of Washi tape, seen below in one of my miniature gardens.

The colorful paper is leftover from kits I made a year ago.

Colorful paper scraps staged on top of the anemone going to seed

The small paper doilies are part of my stash. As a young girl, I loved the way the layers stuck together. You could peel them apart like an onion. Doilies evoke a sense of nostalgia.

The red rickrack in the kits sat in a storeroom at Lifted Spirits for almost three years. Boxes of sewing supplies arrived as part of a donation. We turned yardage into tablecloths, farmed out suitable quilting fabric to quilters in the area, and used assorted ribbon to color-code baskets. Rickrack has fallen out of favor from a sewing perspective, but it will make excellent trim for someone’s Valentine.

Finally, the small tag board embellishments and hearts were leftover from a volunteer project. I found them in a cupboard when I cleaned out the former director’s office.

Recycled baggie (turning single-use into double use, but still too much plastic)

Please contact our host Kate, of Tall Tales from Chiconia for details. We create with scraps, then blog about our experience on the 15th of each month. Be sure to check out the creativity of my fellow bloggers linked below on February 15, 2021.

Kate, Gun,Eva, Sue,Lynn,Lynda,
Birthe,Turid,Susan,Cathy, Tracy,Jill,
Claire,Jan, Moira,Sandra, Chris,
Kerry, Claire, Jean, Jon,Hayley, Dawn,
Gwen, Bekki, Sue L, Sunny, Kjerstin,
Vera, Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2 and Noreen