Tag Archives: scraps

Making pretty paper from offcuts

08 Tuesday Oct 2013

Posted by in Thoughts and comments, Using up scraps

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Hi

Have you ever finished making something and had a whole heap of small pieces of pretty paper left over?  Me too, so I thought I would show you what I did with a recent pile of left over strips of designer series paper (DSP) from Stampin’ Up!

I made new pretty paper!

I got a piece of white paper the size of a card front and glued the leftover strips of DSP to it.  I then trimmed off the edge so I had a gorgeous patch work style front for a card.

Using offcuts of DSP to make pretty paper

 

I had enough pieces to make two.

IMAG0191Now I just need to figure out what to do with them – I’ll show you when I figure it out.

This would be a great thing to do with kids too – even with torn up strips from old magazines or catalogues.

Enjoy!

Caro x

 

My favourite baby card

05 Monday Aug 2013

Posted by in 1 3/4 inch scallop circle, 1 3/8 circle, Baby cards, Cards, Tutorial, Using up scraps

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One of my favourite things to make is a card for a new baby.   Today I wanted to show you my favourite card to make of all time – a little “onesie” baby card.

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It might look a little tricky, but it’s really quite straightforward once you get the hang of it.   The main tools you’ll need here are a craft knife and ruler and/or straight hands with scissors!, a scallop punch and a circle punch that is just slightly smaller.   I’ve used the Stampin’ Up! 1 3/4″ scallop circle punch and 1 3/8″ circle punch.

I’d love to say I came up with this idea all by myself – but I used a tutorial kindly shared by Stampin’ Up! demonstrator Becky Jensen.    This is such a great tutorial – step by step instructions with pictures of each step.

The only changes I’ve made to Becky’s basic design (which is in inches) are:

  • I’ve used standard Australian sized card (10.5 x 14.8 cm)
  • I’ve cut the arms at 4.5cm
  • I cut small strips of scrap designer series paper to decorate the arms instead of using the scallop edge punch for the arms.
    I have made these cards using the scallop edge punch to decorate the arms as well (it matches the scallops at the neck and legs) but I must have given them away so don’t have any pictures.  I’ll have to make some more!

Once you’ve made a few of these, you will probably feel you can use your trimmer to cut the section out to make the arms and body (ie, cut in 4.5cm and then cut down to the leg).  Once you master that, these cards are ridiculously quick to make.

These are so much fun to make I always seem to make them in batches.  These cards are another good way to use up little scraps of paper you don’t want to throw out.

Here are a few more pictures:

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Here are some packaged up for sale.  They look so cute all lined up together!

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I hope you enjoy making one of these cards next time you have a new arrival to celebrate!

Caro

Another favourite card layout

26 Friday Jul 2013

Posted by in Beautiful Butterflies, Big Shot, General occasion, Tutorial, Using up scraps

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Hi

Just popping by for a quick post to show you another one of my favourite card layouts.   This one is also really simple – but because it’s a little different to the cards you usually see in the shops it can have a bit of a ‘wow’ factor.    But check out how easy it is to make!

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This is a gatefold card.   So when you untie the ribbon you get to open up the card to see the message inside.

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The dimensions will depend a bit on the size of your envelope!  My square envelope for this card was 14 cm square.  So I wanted to make a 13cm square card to fit inside.

This means I cut a piece of cardstock 26cm x 13cm.

To make a square card that opens the normal way you would just score and fold the long side at 13cm to make a 13cm square card.     To make a gate fold card you need to fold in from either side to make the ‘gates’.   So you score and fold at 6.5cm in from either end of the long side.

Here’s a little sketch to show you what I mean:

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And here’s another picture of the card showing a little more of the inside.   I’ve used some butterflies cut out with my Beautiful Butterflies die to decorate it.

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The strips of paper on the front are 12.5 cm x 6 cm.  And the strip at the bottom is 13cm wide – I can’t remember how high but it really doesn’t matter.    This layout is another good way to use up those little scraps of paper you can’t quite bring yourself to throw out because they are so pretty!

You can add the ribbon in a couple of different ways.  For this card I’ve just glued the ribbon across the back of the card.   You can also punch holes in the front of the card and thread ribbon through and tie a bow.

You can use this layout in so many ways.   I will try and post some more examples of cards I’ve made using this layout soon.

Thanks for reading!

Caro x

Simple card layout

14 Sunday Jul 2013

Posted by in Butterfly (retired), Full heart, General occasion, Punches, Small Heart, Using up scraps

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Hello

The other day I had to come up with 2 birthday cards for some lovely little girls.  And I had about 10 minutes max to make the card and gift wrap the presents.  (Note to self: make a few extra cards to have lying around the house for card emergencies!)

One of the little girls had had a lovely time playing with my Stampin’ Up! full heart punch when she came to visit one time, so I’d bought her one as her birthday present.   So I wanted to make a card using that punch to give her some ideas of how to use it.

Thankfully I have a few fail safe card layouts that are fantastic when you need a quick card that is still effective.   I’m not sure what it’s called, but I call it a ‘punch trick’ card.  I learnt this from Sally Ann Williams, whose blog is definitely worth following for lots of lovely (and simple!) card making techniques.

Here is the card:

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You can see I’ve cut a heart out of the front of the card and then another heart out of designer series paper.  (Don’t throw the card stock away!).   Stick the designer paper heart on the inside of the card and it makes a heart shaped “window” which can look really effective for a simple card.

TIP!  Don’t try and glue the heart on the inside of the card and hope to have the punched window and the cut out shape perfectly align.  It’s much better to close the card and stick the pretty paper through the window.  Perfect alignment every time!

I used some ribbon, another full heart punch from DSP and a punched small heart and faux pearl just to add a bit of extra detail to the front of the card.

You can see a bit better from this picture how the window and cut out works:

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And here’s a picture of the inside:

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Don’t think this layout only works with hearts either!  You could try birds, cupcakes, butterflies – or make a window to highlight a sentiment.  It’s a great card layout for using up small bits of pretty paper you can’t bear to throw away.

Here is what the same technique can look like with a butterfly punch:

photo-6photo-8[Sorry, those photos are pretty bad.  Must get my proper camera fixed!]

I mentioned that you shouldn’t throw out the heart/butterfly you cut out from the front of the card.   Stay tuned tomorrow and I’ll show you why not!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Caro

More covered notebooks!

02 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by in 3D projects, Notebooks, Uncategorized, Using up scraps

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Hopefully you saw my other 2 posts about using up left over paper to cover notebooks – either mini notebooks or larger ones.

Here is another idea – using a simple blank ‘jotter’ style notebook but making it a little more special with a bit of pretty paper and a ribbon.     These books take less than 5 minutes to cover but are so much nicer to have on your desk or kitchen bench than a plain old notepad.

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photo-4To work out the length of paper you need, all you need to do is measure the size of the notebook (measurement 1) and measure the size of the spine (measurement 2).  The length of your paper will be  1 + 1 + 2.   The width will be simply the width of your notebook.

You could just cover the notebook, but I like to add a ribbon tie to keep the cover closed when it’s not being used (and ‘cos it looks pretty!)

Again, this is very simple.  Turn your notebook onto the reverse side once covered, run a strip of glue (eg Snail adhesive) along where the ribbon will go and adhere.

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Once you have stuck on the ribbon, simply turn your notebook right side up and tie a bow!

Too easy 🙂

Card layout for using up scraps

30 Thursday May 2013

Posted by in Cards, Cupcake Builder, Fancy Flower, General occasion, Punches, Using up scraps

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So far I’ve focused on little projects and ideas for using up left over pieces of pretty paper.   If you’re anything like me though, you probably have a pile of paper that you have been saving for a rainy day, because it’s too beautiful to throw out, or because you haven’t quite figured out what to do with it.

Today’s post is a suggestion for a simple card layout that can use up some of that gorgeous paper by turning it into cards.   These cards are really easy – if each one takes you 10 minutes I’d be surprised!  Probably more like 5 once you get the hang of it!

This Soft Suede card is 14 cm x 14cm.   The Pool Party background is 13 cm x 13cm and the DSP (from the free Everyday Enchantment set from Stampin’ Up!’s 2012 Sale-a-bration) was 12.5 x 12.5cm.    I added a doily, a Pool Party and Whisper White circle and used the Cupcake punch and matching stamp set to make the centre embellishment.

20121210_154540The great thing about this card layout though is that it can work with pretty much anything in the middle.    Here’s another one with a Fancy Flower in the middle.

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Pretty much any flower, heart or circle punch would work, as would a butterfly.  You could also turn it into an age birthday card by adding some die cut numbers in the middle.   The possibilities are endless really!

Thanks for reading.  I hope you’ve gotten some ideas to try out in your own card making 🙂

Peg magnets

28 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by in 3D projects, Beautiful Butterflies, Blossom Builder, Gift tags & wrapping, Notebooks, Tutorial, Using up scraps

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Here is another idea I borrowed from the very talented Tanya Bell’s blog – this time, making magnets or paper holders out of pegs covered with DSP.

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These are so easy to do!  Step one, measure the size of your peg (cheap wooden pegs are the best).   Step 2, cut out lots of strips of DSP (this is such a great way to use up tiny little pieces you couldn’t figure out what to do with but couldn’t bear to throw away!).  Step 3, stick onto the peg!   Snail adhesive works well but starts to lose its “stick” after a few months so double sided tape like Sticky Strip is best.

I turned my pegs into magnets by sticking some magnets onto the back side of the peg.   One tip I learned here – if you want to use the peg as a magnet, either don’t decorate the reverse of the peg, or definitely use sticky strip to adhere the DSP to the paper.  Snail adhesive is not strong enough to keep the DSP stuck to the peg once it is stuck on the fridge with a magnet!

Here are a bunch of pegs with the DSP stuck on, waiting to be decorated.

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And here are a bunch more, after being decorated with butterflies, birds and flowers.  I’ve used die cut and punched butterflies, the bird from the Stampin’ Up! bird builder punch, and various flower punches.  Pearls and rhinestones can add some added ‘bling’.

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They can look quite cute packaged up in cellophane bags for a small gift for someone.

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Adding some pegs with a little covered notebook (see yesterday’s post) can also look really cute.

20121209_220108So next time you finish a project and have a thin piece of DSP left over, why not turn it into a cute little peg fridge magnet?

Covered mini notebooks

27 Monday May 2013

Posted by in 3D projects, Notebooks, Tutorial, Uncategorized, Using up scraps

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Hi.  Thanks for stopping by my blog!

I wanted to show you another cute use for some bits and pieces of DSP (designer series paper) or other pretty scrap paper you have lying about.

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I got this idea from the very talented Tanya Bell, who posted some gorgeous covered notebooks, as well as a YouTube tutorial on how she made them.  I get a lot of inspiration from Tanya’s blog, so encourage you to check it out.

I made mine a little differently, but the basic idea is the same.    I bought some little notebooks from a $2 shop (I think I got 8 little books for $3?).   Rather than covering the books just with DSP like Tanya’s tutorial, I wanted to make the cover a little sturdier so covered it with card stock first and then decorated with rectangles of DSP.

To make the card stock cover, I measured the size of the width of the front of the notebook and added 2mm on either side.   This is the width of the card stock you’ll need to cut.    To figure out the length you need to:

1 –  measure the length of the front of your notebook (eg 8cm) and double it (ie, 16cm)

2 – measure the depth of the notebook (ie, the size of the ‘spine’) (eg 0.5 cm)

3 – add 2mm overhang for the front and back (ie, 0.4cm)

The total length would be 1 + 2 + 3 (using the dimensions in my example, this works out to be 16.9cm)

You then want to score the length of the paper where the fold for the spine would be.  (Using these example measurements, you would score at 8.2cm in from either side of the long end of the card stock, leaving a .5cm fold in the centre of the card stock which would go around the spine of your notebook.)

Fold and make sharp creases on the score lines.  I use a bone folder to get a really nice crease line.

Attach the card stock to the front and back covers of the notebook and stick down over the spine.  You can use glue (eg Snail adhesive) to do this, but I found that using Sticky Strip (Stampin’ Up!’s uber strong double sided tape) gives a stronger hold.

To decorate the cover I used some leftover DSP and the snail image from the Button Buddies stamp set, with a button on the snail attached with a glue dot.

I have made these notebooks with all sorts of decorations.   Butterfly punches can make them look especially gorgeous!

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I have also used DSP and various punches and stamps to decorate plain spiral notebooks.  These are super easy – just measure the front of the spiral notebook just to the edge of the spiral, then cut and glue on the DSP.

20120727_185607I decorated these ones with the Stampin’ Up! Blossom punch in Daffodil Delight card stock, and I used the wings from the Bird Builder punch to create leaves.  A 1 inch circle punch made the centre of the flower and a cute button in Daffodil Delight finished it off.

These are so easy to make I hope you have a go.   I’d love to see a photo of anything you make!

Thanks for reading

Caro

Gift card holders using envelopes and scraps

23 Thursday May 2013

Posted by in 3D projects, Gift card holders, Gift tags & wrapping, Tutorial, Using up scraps

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You may be sensing a theme here – but yes, here is another post on how I’ve been using up scrap pieces of DSP I can’t bring myself to throw away.

Today’s idea is a gift card holder made out of an envelope.   I’ve used the Stampin Up Whisper White C6 envelopes here as they are nice and sturdy with a good sized flap.  You could adapt the basic design to suit any envelope though.

20121206_143756I can’t remember where I got the original idea for this – somewhere on the internet I’m sure!  It is really simple though and very effective for using up small bits of coordinating DSP.

Step 1: Take a envelope and fold it in half bringing the 2 short sides together.  Score along the fold line to make a nice sharp crease.   Then open it out again.

Step 2: Cut down the fold line on the envelope flap.  I find it’s easier to make 2 cuts about 1mm apart – so you basically make a wide cut along the crease and discard the 1mm along the crease line.

Step 3: Lick, fold down and seal one half of the envelope.    The other half will be the pouch for your gift card.   These pictures show how it will look when decorated.

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Step 4: Decorate!!!   I also like to add a belly band made of a strip of DSP and some scallop circle/circle punches.

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If you want to go the extra step it is also quite cute to use tag punches and (more!) scraps of DSP to make little name tags/gift cards.   You could also use the Stampin Up jewellery punch.

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I’ve also made these gift card holders for birthdays out of floral DSP for pretty feminine gift card holders,  out of stripes for masculine gifts and fun spots with cute animal stamps for kids and babies.

UPDATED 26/5 – I found some pictures of some gift card holders I’ve made out of pretty florals.

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I always feel slightly guilty in giving a gift card rather than a personalised present, but making a nice personalised gift card holder makes me feel much better!

I hope you enjoy making these – they are so easy but really effective.   If any of the instructions aren’t clear leave me a comment and I’ll try and answer.

Thanks for reading 🙂

Caro

More uses for scraps – present cards

22 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by in Big Shot, Birthday, Cards, Embossing folders, Framelits, Gift tags & wrapping, Square Lattice, Using up scraps

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I’ve done a few posts over the past few days on how I’ve been trying to use up all the little bits and pieces of card stock and DSP I have lying about my office/craft room.

I have been on a mission lately and made a pile of cards from the paper cluttering up my desk.  I donated them to a local op shop which makes me feel good as well as well as having an (almost) clean desk!

Here’s another card design which is great for using up scraps.   I’ve used Tangerine Tango (14cm x 14 cm) and Whisper White (13cm x 13cm) card stock with scraps in varying sizes from the Sycamore Street DSP & Tangerine Tango ribbon from this year’s Sale-A-Bration.

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One tip – when assembling the presents I used a small scrap of offcut paper and stuck the rectangle “presents” to the scrap.  This made it really easy to keep the rectangles aligned and tie the ribbon before attaching the “presents” to the Whisper White card.

I also made a version where I ran the Whisper White version through the Big Shot with the Square Lattice embossing folder.

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I also made a 7cm x 7 cm gift card:

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The Happy Birthday label is stamped in Tangerine Tango on Whisper White from the Itty Bitty Banners stamp set and cut out with the matching framelits.

This basic design could be used in any colour scheme – I think it would look great in ‘Christmassey’ colours as an easy but effective Christmas card too.

Thanks for stopping by!

Caro