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Illinois Marge- Your pulp cards are absolutely stunning!
Constantly. I swear half my stash is recycled items. Tonight I bought a beautiful choker necklace on clearance. I am using that as new trim. It was attached to the most beautiful embossed cardstock. I saved that. Then the health insurance cards finally came in today. DH was taking care of those. He handed me two beautiful glossy sheets of cardstock the cards were on. I saved my empty pudding cups tonight to put paint in. I did wash them. ;) I know somebody would ask.
Surprisingly, what I use the most are my precious recycled items. I hardly ever have stash. Then I get all upset because I need more recycled stash. My recycled stash is my favorite. I think I make the best projects out of my recycled loves.
Don't get me started on my magazines. Tonight I bought a new storage system for all my magazine cutouts I have collected over the years. This week I will be organizing over 4,000 cutouts. Girls, I am not joking. I really have over 4,000 images. I counted them this Autumn.
I do have a rule. Each storage system I have recycled stash, if it gets too full then something has to be tossed. It is recycled so it is ok if I toss it. I can get it again and it's not a loss because it was free in the first place.
I'm proud to report that I used a scrap of wrapping paper I had saved and one of those clothing ribbons to make a couple of cards this week. Feels good to say this was a used it instead of a add to week.
Speaking of paper scraps, since putting all my bits together with the same full size color family a few years ago I have managed to use up almost all of the basic color bits of white, off white and black. I actually had to cut a full size sheet to make sentiment labels for my cards this week.
Proves that sticking to a goal I set a few years is working and was well worth it.
I also try to write a quick note about the design of the card, making note of the treasure I saved.
What a good idea! I've taken to printing pics that inspire clever uses of things, but I confess, there are items I have that I think 'what was I saving you for?'
__________________ If you don't want your tax dollars to help the poor, then stop saying you want a country based on Christian values, because you don't. ~ Jimmy Carter
The handles of the bags you get at Loft are a nice, wide, grey ribbon with a fine white line. It's beautiful ribbon. I saved it for awhile but finally got rid of it.
I have two larger containers of SU ribbon I don't use enough of!
I have saved and used that exact ribbon from LOFT, it is enough to wrap around a pillow box that I die cut from my silhouette. I use the pillow boxes to put gift cards in for Christmas
I'm a big cardboard and wrapping paper saver for jewelry and art projects. I recently made a nice pair of earrings from recycled cardboard and paper scraps.
It's kind of inevitable with the cost of things! If you can find it in what you already have, in some way...... LOL It just happens! It happens with other crafts too. You look at what you already have before putting out more $$$. Stretching the dollar! ;)
Hi, I do most of the above mentioned, don't use a lot of it but like to check those containers first. I also love to save plastic tubs that food comes in either new or takeout for containers. Depending on size you can use them for water to paint with, acrylic paints themselves, storage, etc.. I love using the plastic lids for paint or if I have to spray a card with adhesive or glitter I can lay the card down on it. Love jars, too, but am fussy about them.They need to be a uniform size and I love Stonewall Kitchens jam jars both regular size and small ones. great for so many small items and buttons and look really great lined up on a shelf.
I keep the ribbon straps from shirts as well. I just know I will find some way to use it.
I hate throwing away the small bits of paper that are created when I make a card. Before I throw out the paper bits, I cut hearts out of them with a small punch. I'm collecting the hearts in a small container that will eventually find it's way to my nephew's school library. They have a STEAM center set up there and one of the activities is card making.
I also have a collection of jewelry boxes. I can't seem to throw them away, because I know I can fill them with tags or small cards and give them away as a gift. I have quite the collection, but haven't used any so far. I need to because they take up valuable storage space.
I also have a collection of jewelry boxes. I can't seem to throw them away, because I know I can fill them with tags or small cards and give them away as a gift. I have quite the collection, but haven't used any so far. I need to because they take up valuable storage space.
I too have so many boxes! I "alter"small jewelry boxes, they become a gift, as much as what goes in them (usually a gift card).
Illinois Marge, your boxes are indeed amazing! I have a ton of them that I am passing on to someone who makes (and sells) jewelry. Maybe I’ll keep a couple........
Oh my IllinoisMarge! Wow!!!!!!!! I love your boxes. I really love the tea box. Really, really pretty. Did you do the polymer clay? I love the glazing on your boxes. Can I ask what glaze you use. It is gorgeous.
To give you an idea of how long I "save" (yes, "save" not "hoard" ;) ) I used to get these beautiful, fancy appointment/planner books from American Express. Big, heavy with fake leather. All kinds of maps, charts, phone numbers and area codes world wide ... I don't use that kind of calendar. I saved it, because I told myself I might want to use it for mixed media, or do something with the maps or who knows. This was in 2007. A couple days ago I was unpacking a box from our move almost 2 years ago. I told DD that eventually the dates would be correct again (Jan. 19th would be on a Friday, etc.) Guess what? It works for this year! AND, best of all, now I have a use for it. It sat for 11 years, but it's now being put to use.
I also have quite a collection of plastic mesh bags, because years ago I saw a card that used it and I wanted to CASE it. Never did make a card with it, but I now have enough mesh , in a variety of colors, to make hundreds of cards. :rolleyes: I can't bring myself to throw away those fancy shopping bags or gift bags with the beautiful ribbon or pretty cord handles without first saving the ribbon or cord. Oh, and boxes and tins ... don't get me started about those. lol
Great post. I’m waving my hands in the air as I am “guilty” of many of the “hoarding techniques” listed above. I too remove the ribbons from garments. I have even bought new underwear and removed the bows, as I felt they would look far nicer on a card ! When I receive card backed envelopes in the mail, I always save the piece of card, and use it as a backing for my dies. I collect even the tiniest of off cuts from my cardmaking and store them in colour order in A4 ziplock folders. When I was about to put the Aldi Christmas brochure in the recycling, I noticed the cover had a lovely foiled design, so off came the cover, which is now safely stashed away ! Not sure if you have Pukka teabags in the US, but they have the most lovely packaging, so that gets saved too ! Just glad I’m not alone ��
Oh my IllinoisMarge! Wow!!!!!!!! I love your boxes. I really love the tea box. Really, really pretty. Did you do the polymer clay? I love the glazing on your boxes. Can I ask what glaze you use. It is gorgeous.
Thanks!
The teapot box uses a castoff Christmas ornament on top. The 'string' had broken and it could no longer be hung on the tree. Don't toss it -- glue it to a box, LOL
The leaf box uses a stoneware leaf, glazed and kiln fired, that I made in a ceramics class out of a small scrap of clay.
The varnish I use is American "Duraclear" polyurethane varnish. I get it at JoAnn's. Sometimes I use gloss, sometimes satin. I usually use at least 2 coats, sometimes 3 coats. I also use it on coasters and other things that I decoupage.
Thanks!
The varnish I use is American "Duraclear" polyurethane varnish. I get it at JoAnn's. Sometimes I use gloss, sometimes satin. I usually use at least 2 coats, sometimes 3 coats. I also use it on coasters and other things that I decoupage.
Thank you so much for letting me know. I love Duraclear. It is one of my favorite varnishes too. I love varnishes and always looking for new kinds.
Saving Things- I saved the handle off my Chinese rice box tonight. Those metal handles are really great wire. I needed some more.
When I started papercrafting, it was with recycled materials and I've never stopped. Yes, I save tags and ribbons and offcuts of paper and card: all neatly stored and by colour, so I always get a chance to check the 'bits' before I go for a new piece. I had a fad for collecting boxes recently, just household ones, until I got too many - my Advent box is a set of drawers made from paracetamol (acetaminaphen) packets, with the outside and dividers from cereal pack card.
I think it needs some more snowflakes on top - but that depends on some pieces of recycled card being just the right colour.....
When I started papercrafting, it was with recycled materials and I've never stopped. Yes, I save tags and ribbons and offcuts of paper and card: all neatly stored and by colour, so I always get a chance to check the 'bits' before I go for a new piece. I had a fad for collecting boxes recently, just household ones, until I got too many - my Advent box is a set of drawers made from paracetamol (acetaminaphen) packets, with the outside and dividers from cereal pack card.
I think it needs some more snowflakes on top - but that depends on some pieces of recycled card being just the right colour.....
Lynda
Oh Lynda, Your Advent Box is a true work of art! The colors are so lovely, too!
When I started papercrafting, it was with recycled materials and I've never stopped. Yes, I save tags and ribbons and offcuts of paper and card: all neatly stored and by colour, so I always get a chance to check the 'bits' before I go for a new piece. I had a fad for collecting boxes recently, just household ones, until I got too many - my Advent box is a set of drawers made from paracetamol (acetaminaphen) packets, with the outside and dividers from cereal pack card.
I think it needs some more snowflakes on top - but that depends on some pieces of recycled card being just the right colour.....
Thankyou very much. The papers are Bo Bunny Snowfall, one of my favourites, and I think I might have used a piece of new glitter card for one of the snowflakes, but all the other papers and card are recycled, too. Oh, and the brads for the drawer-handles are new as well, but I did manage to incorporate something recycled with those: they're all threaded through a tiny piece of plastic tubing (like you'd get in a pump dispenser or spray bottle) to bring them forward slightly to aid grasping them.
Oh boy, is this me. I save lots of things, but do keep them organized. Many are the typical things ribbons, cords, foil etc. Think some of my strangest are the foil caps on the top of wine bottle. Some are quite lovely and of course go with wine or grape themed cards, but some have initials that work for personalized cards or have a design that can be used in place of a button. Then there are the various net bags that groceries come in. Have used the softer red ones to make really special bows on cards, the black ones make impromptu spider webs on Halloween cards, the white ones looks like fish netting for nautical cards, there are yellow ones that look like honey combs and very fine ones that make veils on hats or wedding dresses. A lot of them are really great stencils to sponge or brayer through, too. I have other weird things I save, but I think I have revealed enough of my hoarding habits!
I recently read (I think it was here?) about using fabric sheets underneath your paper when cutting out die cuts on the cuttlebug. So I tried it with some used ones, and it worked! So now I have a use for those used dryer fabric sheets. Loved it, because it also helps emboss the image, so I don't have to run it through again with the mat. I do have a box of the perfumy cheap dryer sheets, and I will use them too. *Can't use them for drying, allergies.)They have videos on youtube about this. They said to use four dryer sheets and fold them in half to put under your paper and die.
Love reading through this thread! Creative people see possibilities everywhere
Marge and Lynda, I love your altered box creations!
I was raised in a "trash to treasures" household. Both my parents were very creative and thrifty. I have many of the same things in my stash that you've listed. One of my favorite saves is the foil lid from peanut butter. The flip side of the lid is white and works well with alcohol inks.
So, you know that 'poor man's turtle' recipe that you pull out around the holidays ... with the baby pretzel, the Rolo and the pecan? Those Rolo wrappers sure found their way to my craft room and I can see all sorts of ways to use them. and while taking my time to be more careful unwrapping them made me laugh at myself, I have a lovely little stack right now. They're so feather-light I can see them in mixed media, or being burnished over a die cut, or glued onto CS and embossed, or ...
__________________ If you don't want your tax dollars to help the poor, then stop saying you want a country based on Christian values, because you don't. ~ Jimmy Carter
I'm not a saver of scraps... of any sort. Anymore. But I didn't need to be. When I needed a blender for my paper pulp, I called my MIL. And she would dig one out and send it to me. When I needed a toaster oven for baking polymer clay, I called my MIL. When I was making beaded amulet pouches and needed empty toilet paper rolls to use as a base, I called my MIL. And when I mentioned I needed something shallow so I could pick up my beads with my needle, she sent me Pringles lids, And they were perfect. Bless her little hoarding heart; I miss her so much!
__________________ Linda E
Caution: You are entering an artistic zone. This is not clutter - this is creating. These are not pajamas - it's my work uniform.
I'm not a saver of scraps... of any sort. Anymore. But I didn't need to be. When I needed a blender for my paper pulp, I called my MIL. And she would dig one out and send it to me. When I needed a toaster oven for baking polymer clay, I called my MIL. When I was making beaded amulet pouches and needed empty toilet paper rolls to use as a base, I called my MIL. And when I mentioned I needed something shallow so I could pick up my beads with my needle, she sent me Pringles lids, And they were perfect. Bless her little hoarding heart; I miss her so much!
Your post made me misty-eyed. Just like my MIL, she also saved plastic containers and sour cream ones were her favorite. I never knew they ate so much sour cream!
__________________ We can't all be stars but we can all twinkle.
I have a friend that is beginning a women's ministry, with several Saturday conferences planned. She is needing some door prizes, and a tight budget. I told her I would dig in my stash, and get to work. I found a cute jar that I transformed in a ribbon embellished sewing kit, and sewed a simple tote bag with coordinating fabrics. I will make card sets to go with both of these. I will be spending a lot of time on pinterest looking for ideas.
__________________ Patrice. Organized people are just too lazy to look for things.
????????that is awesome of your friend and you but I'm confused. Did you have story or point that is related to non craft items that you save to use on cards or other paper crafting projects?
I'm not a saver of scraps... of any sort. Anymore. But I didn't need to be. When I needed a blender for my paper pulp, I called my MIL. And she would dig one out and send it to me. When I needed a toaster oven for baking polymer clay, I called my MIL. When I was making beaded amulet pouches and needed empty toilet paper rolls to use as a base, I called my MIL. And when I mentioned I needed something shallow so I could pick up my beads with my needle, she sent me Pringles lids, And they were perfect. Bless her little hoarding heart; I miss her so much!
Sounds like my mom! No matter how I ended the question, "Mom, do you have ___________?", the answer was always "yes"! Anyone remember the margarine that came in those cute little yellow tubs? Yeah - several stacks at least at any given time...
When I needed fabric to make Renaissance costumes for my kids, she had the PERFECT flocked fabric for my son's knight tunic, and the perfect satins for the girls. Anything and everything was saved!
This wasn't a crafty thing, but one time the grocery store had several huge boxes of bananas that were too ripe to put out in the produce section, so my mom got them for a dollar a box. She spent an entire day making batches of banana muffins and froze them (we had a chest freezer in the garage). We had banana muffins any time we wanted for quite a while...
She's been gone for fourteen years, but I still think, "Oh - I need to call mom and tell her..." We never stop being "kids", do we?
I used to be a hoarder of crafty things, but I sold/donated pretty much everything when we moved across country three years ago, and I've tried really hard not to go there too much since. My weakness is anything glass - it just seems so shameful to put it in a landfill, and our apartment complex doesn't recycle (although our county does).
Sue- When I moved I threw away my box of trash to treasure. I wish I gave away expensive things instead. I sure miss that box, lol. This Summer I threw away a bunch too and I miss it. I love my trash. I do think "Oh, I can get it again." Then I regret it.
On to recycling trash. The plastic bags our stickers, embellishments, stamps come in. I save those and use my Fuse to make new bags. You could also seal them with Washi too.
I upgraded my iPad that was on her last legs. The beautiful box it comes in I made a new box for my foam stickers. I used my WalMart beauty box to store die cuts in I made from recycled packaging.
Is anybody using recycled materials in their Scan n Cut?
...some of your fused bags! You can also think of it as an accerorizer for your recycled boxes etc.
Gregzgurl when my mom passed a coworker told me, "you will learn to deal with her being gone but never get over it". I thought it such a strange thing to say at the time but it was so true.
????????that is awesome of your friend and you but I'm confused. Did you have story or point that is related to non craft items that you save to use on cards or other paper crafting projects?
I made the tote bag out of a set of curtains that I never could coordinate colors with, and I used ribbon off boxes of cookies received at the holidays, and the sewing jar was made from a very unique jar received as a gift that contained jelly. The gift sacks turned out nicely. I took a class last week learning to crochet with wire and beads to create jewelry. I am going to hit up my friends to start going through their costume jewelry and see what we can create.
__________________ Patrice. Organized people are just too lazy to look for things.
I am always over the edge, oh you are talking about crafting..........;)
__________________ The quickest way for a parent to get a child's attention is to sit down and look comfortable. Practice safe eating always use condiments
