I admit it. I am guilty. Despite my best efforts to control the bits and pieces of leftover paper and embellishments from my projects, I have a hard time throwing away my scraps. So lately, in an effort to shrink the mountain of scraps, I've been reaching into my "pile of potential" to begin my projects. This set of projects began with two partial sheets of Dream Street paper I had originally cut into for a previous scrapbook page.
Since I originally only needed a strip of the green grid paper, I was careful to leave the large flower piece for another use. I decided it would make a great enhancement for a plain white gift bag. With the addition of a stripe of my leftover dotted paper, a scrap of green cardstock, and my favorite Helmar Premium Craft Glue, I had my base. I created my flower embellishment using the "Bold Blossoms" set from Stampendous (cutting the smaller flowers from the same large stamped image) , "Moss Green" ink from Clearsnap, and my Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots.
I finished up the gift bag, was in a creative mood, and still had some paper left, so I made up a quick card using the same materials.
Since I didn't have to put away my supplies and then get out new ones, I saved quite a bit of time. I added a sentiment to my card using the same Clearsnap ink and another stamp from Stampendous. The card stays closed by tucking the green cardstock stripe under the flower stamp attached using Liquid Scrap Dots.
Since I was on a roll and had a tiny bit of both time and paper left, I whipped up a quick bookmark for my daughter. I added some spare bits of ribbon, also from the "pile of potential".
Note: The button brads on all three projects were a last-minute addition. Since I didn't want to remove the stamped flowers to add the brads, I snipped off the brad prongs and attached the button fronts using Helmar Gemstone Glue. It dries clear, so I didn't have to worry about it showing through the button holes. Worked like a charm!
The next time you finish a project, see the potential in what is left over. It's quick, easy, and economical!
Carla Schauer, Helmar USA Design Team
