May 14, 2023 by Born To Organize

ScrapHappy: Tablecloth

Thank you, Kate, of Tall Tales from Chiconia, for inspiring us to put our scraps to good use. I enjoy the challenge but don’t often make, photograph, and post on the same day. Phew!

It’s not the first time I pulled out this green scrap of outdoor material. I considered making a tablecloth this time last year but then realized it had white paint near the center. I vaguely remember using the material as a drop cloth (silly me) or simply getting it too close to an outdoor painting project. So I folded the scrap and put it away.

I found this lovely silky square in my “treasure” drawer a few days ago. The drawer is a place to keep small gifts and tokens of remembrance that don’t otherwise have a home. This lovely Tana Lawn pocket square is a gift from my friend Kelly. She brought it back from her trip to England a few years back. Something clicked in my brain, and I thought: I bet that matches the green fabric (it does), and I wonder if it will cover the paint (yes, it will). The tablecloth was a simple make, both pretty and practical, with a touch of friendship on the side.

Please visit these crafty makers below to see what they have to share this month. Welcome, Hannah!

If you want to join us for ScrapHappy each month, please get in touch with Kate at this link.

Happy scrappy, everyone.

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

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

September 15, 2022 by Born To Organize

ScrapHappy for Flower Cards

Once a month, Kate inspires a group of bloggers to dust off their scraps and embrace the ScrapHappy vibe. I’m always up for the challenge of creating from scraps. Kate is a talented quilter, a raiser of chickens, a gardener, and an all-around good soul. Check out her blog for more inspiration and fun.

It’s fair to say that I took the directive to “dust off your scraps” literally. My friend Donna gave me a pair of National Geographic magazines several years ago. She knew I would appreciate the flower prints in the magazine’s fold.

I’ve pulled out both issues from my drawer many times, but I couldn’t decide what to do with them. It’s one thing to use a five-year-old-scrap but quite another when the scraps are pages of a magazine published over one hundred years ago. The fragile paper doesn’t leave any margin for error.

I decided to turn some of the smaller prints into cards. I trimmed them to size, leaving a small border and the identifying state and the flower’s name.

They needed a little oomph, so after testing on one of the magazine’s ads, I cautiously proceeded. I ran each print through my die machine using a floral embossing folder. It applies just enough pressure to emboss the card without tearing the paper.

Using my green scraps, I found the perfect paper to create four cards.

I had one tear when I tried removing the tape backing. As a result, the California poppy description is on the back of the card. Otherwise, I’m both pleased and relieved with the results.

I’m looking forward to mailing the cards to dear friends.

Are you crafty? Scrappy? Come join us on the 15th of each month and let us see your ScrapHappy creation.

Check out these creative blogs:

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy, Tracy,
Jill, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,(that’s me)
Claire, Jean, Jon, Dawn, Jule, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Carol,
Preeti, Debbierose, Nóilin and Viv

Postscript: Here are some photo outtakes. Tessa had to get in on the action

December 15, 2021 by Born To Organize

ScrapHappy Snowflake Card

It’s December 15, or in Kate’s speak, time to gather lingering scraps and give them a new life.

I enjoy the challenge of Kate’s ScrapHappy days. Even in December, with the holiday hustle in full swing, it’s nice setting aside some time to craft. I had a sewing project in mind this month, but it will have to wait.

Tis’ the season, so a Christmas card seemed the obvious choice. I used leftover aqua-colored paper strips, gluing them at an angle on scrap paper. After trimming the raw edges, I ran the piece through my paper embosser using a snowflake pattern.

Assembling monochromatic hues of aqua, then embossing them with the snowflake pattern created an interesting texture for the card. I’ve made strip cards before, but I generally use complementary colors.

As luck would have it, I found a scrap of shiny silver paper to frame the card sentiment and the embossed background. This challenge has inspired me to make more monochromatic cards in the future.

It should also inspire me to keep the door closed, but where is the fun in that? One of my embellishments went missing, later recovered and removed from the underbelly of a particular cat. I’ll leave it to you to sort the outcome of the Sticky Kitty Caper.

Kate, thanks for keeping us organized and engaged.

Kate, our host, 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, Noreen,
Bear, Carol, Preeti, Edith, Debbierose, and Jule

October 15, 2021 by Born To Organize

ScrapHappy Day: Once a Diary

My friend Alicia sent me the following note, along with this Cats in Art diary from 1988.

“I came across this unused diary, and though I have no use for it, was reluctant to discard it. I thought of you, wondering if you might find some purpose for it in your crafts.”

It’s nice when your friends get you, eh?

I’ve had so much fun taking apart the pages and turning them into cards, both big and small. My favorite images included cats in the garden or perched near windows and the art that beautifully conveys the natural world. While I appreciate all art, I’m not enamored with dark oils or dreary scenes.

I made two small blue note cards, a pair of craft paper cards, two oversized cards, and even a couple of postcards. I wanted to preserve as much of the original art image as possible.

The one exception is this z-fold card. I used part of the image on the front and another part of it on the inside. Both are viewable when the card is open.

I made ten cards in all, plus the thank you card using the beautiful art. I cut circles out of some of the calendar pages and made stickers to go with the cards.

It then occurred to me that I could re-purpose the calendar cover to make a folio for the set of cards. I carefully cut the remaining pages, made a flap over the rough center, and then covered it with Washi tape from my stash.

I adhered three craft envelopes in two different sizes to hold the cards and stickers in place. Everything fit beautifully. The final detail: adding a piece of vintage seam binding, also from my stash, to pull it all together.

I hope she likes it. I sent it off last week.

Thanks for hosting, Kate.

April 14, 2020 by Born To Organize

Scrap Happy April: Craft Kits at the Curb

Our Little Free Library, surplus children’s books, and craft kits, just off the sidewalk in front of our home.

What’s a ScrapHappy post?

It’s an opportunity or an excuse to make something entirely out of scraps. Our host, Kate, of Tall Tales from Chiconia, encourages the use of scraps to make something useful or beautiful or both.

If you would like to join us, please see the details at the end of this post.

I reorganized and tidied my paper crafting area last week and took a hard look at everything I had. I set aside items that have remained idle. I pulled together paper punches and acrylic stamps, ink pads, and paper, and created small craft kits. In other words, I used some of my scraps and materials so that others could make their own ScrapHappy® creation.

Assorted kits for the taking

Aqua ink, square punch, and paper scraps

Fall-themed kit with ink, stamp, punch, and paper

Kits placed near the Little Free Library

Watercolor pens and paper flowers

Kate, I hope this still counts.

With children forced out of school for the rest of the year, several Little Free Libraries are offering crafting material to help keep children engaged.

Our library is still open, and at least one grateful teacher has stopped by twice for books. She said she had to leave her classroom and couldn’t bring any of her teaching materials home with her.

In other crafting news, I made a few Easter cards last week.

Would I normally make Easter cards?

No.

Did I buy a packet of adorable paper in 2016 thinking it would be fun to make Easter cards?

Yes.

Card made from Authentique paper, vintage seam binding with inked edges

Now I have time on my hands.

The paper came in a kit, so not technically a scrap, however, all the solid paper, ribbons, and bows are legitimate scraps.

Easter Morn

I’m calling them ScrapHappy® cards in training.

Fingers crossed that I’m not drummed out of all this ScrapHappy® fun.

Here’s a gallery of the Easter cards using Authentique Collection’s Eastertime: (click on individual photos to enlarge)

Purple card for Sharon

Purple card interior

Here coms Peter Cottontail

Here comes Peter Cottontail interior

Just for you

Just for you interior

Easter Morn

Easter Morn interior

Easter Traditions

Peep Peep

Easter Traditions interior

Life in Bloom

Happy Easter

Check out the links below on March 15, 2020, to see the other scrap-happy posts.

Kate, Gun, Titti, Heléne, Eva, Sue, Lynn, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy, Tracy, Jill, Claire, Jan,
Moira, Sandra, Linda, Chris, Nancy, Alys, Kerry, Claire, Jean,
Joanne, Jon, Hayley, Dawn, Gwen, Connie, Bekki, Pauline,
Sue L, Sunny and Kjerstin

June 29, 2017 by Born To Organize

Lonely Crochet Hooks and a Gorgeous Tool Roll

I started teaching myself how to crochet earlier in the year as a way to relax. I follow quite a few crafty bloggers, and several of them excel at crochet. Was I missing out on all that fun? These clever crocheters seem to pick it up and put it down as casually as a grocery list. I’ll even venture to guess that a few of you have a hook dancing in your lap as you read this.

I learned to sew at the age of six and our mom taught us the basics of knitting a few years later, but crocheting wasn’t part of her repertoire. I learned how to make a chain, and my skill set ended there.

It’s been slow going, but crocheting is as relaxing as I knew it would be, after I mastered a few knots. The book-learning bores me to tears, but once I get the hang of a stitch, my shoulders drop and the soothing rhythm I craved takes over.

During a comment conversation on Tall Tales From Chiconia, I offered to send Kate a couple of large crochet hooks in a size she couldn’t find at home. Kate graciously offered to make me something in return. I know she’s pleased to have a pair of plastic crochet hooks in sizes N and Q, but I’m over the moon at what she offered in return: this gorgeous, handcrafted tool roll in all my favorite colors!

Crochet Hook Tool Roll

Opened Tool Roll

Tool Roll Interior

Gorgeous color and texture

Tool closeup

As I cast my eyes on this lovely thing, I keep reminding myself that it’s a tool roll, not a museum for lonely crochet hooks. The heat will pass, our busy kitten will mellow and I will sign up for a class to further my skills so that I can continue with this relaxing craft, turning out something I don’t mind bringing out into the light of day.

That said, and in the spirit of Jan’s garden post, here are the meager beginnings of what I hope to call craft one day.