Good morning, everyone! It is time for another tutorial…after all, another month has passed! If you’ve been following my tutorials, you know that we’ve been dealing with our paper scraps. So far, I’ve presented a whopping 17 ideas on how to use up all those neglected paper scraps! If you’ve missed my previous posts on this subject, don’t fret…here are quick links to find them all:
Today will be the last installment of this series. I’ll go over 6 more fantastic ideas on how to use up that neglected pile of paper bits, and give you tips on how to organize all the scraps you still have on hand in a way that will make it impossible for you not to use them on your future projects 🙂 Let’s get to it…
Small Sketch or Notepads
I don’t know about you, but I always like to keep a little notebook and pen out on my kitchen counter. I use it for jotting down groceries I need to pick up next time I’m out shopping, writing notes to family members, and for scribbling down things I don’t want to forget. (Yup…I have the memory of a chicken, so a notepad comes in handy A LOT of the time!)
Rather than reinvent the wheel, I thought it best to direct you to a great tutorial by PhotoJoJo. This little notepad is even bound using glue so that you can easily tear out single pages…just like you’d find at your local store 🙂 In case you missed the link, you can find the tutorial right HERE.
Fridge Magnets
There are a few different ways you can create fridge magnets using your paper scraps. You can glue your scraps to a Scrabble tile or domino and add a magnet to the back. Why not even add a couple of googly eyes and make them into little bugs or monsters? Another idea would be to glue a piece of scrap into the bottom of a bottle cap in place of the Scrabble tile.
My personal favorite idea for making fridge magnets is to glue a piece of scrap paper to the back of a glass cabochon using Glossy Accents. After the glued has dried, trim away the excess paper, and glue a magnet onto the back. If you’d prefer a little more detail on creating these, and a great idea for packaging them as a gift, you should hop on over to Deborah Velasquez’s blog and check out her tutorial.
Decoupage
I’m sure most of you will have heard about, or even tried decoupage. Decoupage is something you can do to pretty much anything (jars, boxes, desktops…), and is a great way to use up the tiniest of scraps. All you really need is Mod Podge, Multi Matte Medium or other glue and your paper scraps. Just in case you’re wanting a few tips on how to decoupage, Linda wrote a great tutorial on the “Mod Podge Rocks!” blog right HERE. And even better yet, Linda even gives you a great project to make using decoupage…Christmas ornaments:
Christmas Ornaments
While we’re on the topic of Christmas ornaments…why not put the paper inside the ornament instead of decoupaging the outside? Stephanie Lynn wrote a great blog post on exactly how to create this beautiful ornament:
Just in case you missed it…you can find Stephanie’s tutorial right HERE.
Paper Quilling
Another thing that is becoming increasingly popular among crafters is paper quilling. So…why not try your hand at it and use up some of those thin strips of colored paper to create a unique piece of art? There are an amazing number of different shapes you can create using a thin strip of paper. I’m not going to pretend that I know how to quill paper…I’ll leave that to Craftsy. Erin Curet put together a pretty comprehensive tutorial for their blog. You can find her tutorial HERE.
Altoid Tin Games and/or Dioramas
Okay…seriously…how could I avoid the topic of Altoid tins in this tutorial series? These tins are the perfect size for your scraps, are readily available and a ton of fun to alter. You can do a ton of things with these cute little tins, including making travel games or dioramas. I even saw an adorable little suitcase fashioned from an Altoid tin…sooooo cute! Here’s a brilliant example of a diorama created using one of these tins:
When I see this work of art, I just can’t help but think “Graphic 45″…I can’t wait to use up some of my G45 scraps to create a diorama!
One last article I think you may want to check out is this article over at redbookmag.com. It is filled with several ideas for some fun games that can be created using Altoid tins. They even include a tutorial on how to create a miniature pool table! Although the ideas they present aren’t focused on using up your paper scraps, you can certainly jazz up the outside of the tin using your scraps 😉
So…there you have it. That’s all I will be covering when it comes to using up your paper scraps, BUT…I did find an amazing Snapguide filled with even more project ideas for using up your scraps 🙂 It’s a must-look if you ask me, and you can find it right HERE.
Before I sign off for today, I do have a couple more things I think are perfect for concluding this tutorial series…
Scrap Swap
Using up your scraps is always challenging. I find part of what makes it so challenging is getting a bit bored with working with the same paper collections over and over again. Am I right? Well…while creating this tutorial series, I have read many, many blog posts, viewed numerous videos, and sifted through a plethora of pins on Pinterest for the best ideas on using up your paper scraps. One idea that I saw come up several times is such a crazy good idea to help alleviate the boredom of working with the same paper that I HAD to bring it up here…
Why not hold a scrap swap with all your scrapbooking buddies? By trading scraps, you get some papers that you may have never worked with before. It’s a phenomenal idea for getting rid of scraps you don’t want to use. Obtaining some new scraps should get you excited to use up even more of that growing pile, too!
Organizing your Scraps
The last thing I thought would be pertinent to discuss is how to organize any remaining scraps you have in such a way that they will get used. So…where to start?
- Cut all your scraps into squares and rectangles. One of the most frustrating parts of dealing with your scraps can be all the weird shaped pieces you’re left with after die-cutting or tearing. Do yourself a favor and trim all those awkward edges and create scraps with nice clean edges that are easy to file or stack. All those smaller cut off bits can either be recycled, or put them in a basket for your next decoupage project 😉
- Separate patterns, colors and/or paper collections. Organize all your nicely trimmed scraps according to pattern, color or paper collection…whichever works best for you.
- Create a filing system. Your filing system will depend on how big that pile of scraps is after you’ve trimmed everything down. You can buy a plastic bin with hanging files, pick up an accordion file box, or do what Caroline Davis does…
Well…that does it for this tutorial…and this tutorial series 🙂 I hope you found the ideas helpful, and you’re fired up about dwindling down that pile of paper scraps. Thanks for popping by, and have a great weekend! Cheers!
