Paper Scrap Storage, Part 1

Here is the way I store my larger paper scraps. Some of these aren't scraps per se, they're 8.5 x 11 pieces of paper. As I've moved to scrapbooking with mostly 12x12, I've ended up with a lot of leftovers from the "olden days" when I worked with the smaller size. The other pieces in this file tote are those that are too large to fit in my smaller scrap storage drawers. I'll talk about the small scraps tomorrow.





I've found that for most of my paper storage I prefer a vertical rather than horizontal system. This is an inexpensive tote, probably from an office supply store. (I've had it so long I don't remember where I got it!) It contains hanging files, neatly labeled by color (I love labels) and alphabetized (I even alphabetize my spices!). It's wide enough to hold paper scraps that are up to 12" wide. I keep it close at hand in the desk/storage unit my husband built for me.





Scraps can quickly get out of hand; I encourage you to experiment and find a system that works for you!





Immi

Going Out Like a Lion

I'm sitting in my studio (sounds really fancy, doesn't it!), watching snow swirling outside. We may get several inches today. I think that constitutes going out like a lion.

Here's a photo of part of the scrapbook page I mentioned in the post about blue tulle. The background is a patterned scrapbook paper; no work there. I placed the vellum seashell stickers along the right side, with the tulle on top. I poked holes for the buttons and sewed them on with dental floss (I didn't have any clear thread or fishing line around). I used Judikins Diamond Glaze to adhere the beads. For the beads, I started out with a few clumps of beads, but decided I'd rather have an irregular line going the length of the tulle. The D.G. also served to adhere the tulle rather than relying only on the spots where buttons were sewn. I found it easiest to work with the beads in sections. I'd squeeze a line of adhesive and place the beads down. Because of the tulle, they didn't immediately stick securely to the paper. I placed plastic wrap on top, and weighted it with a heavy book. I think I did it in three sections. Afterwards, I rubbed over the beads with fingers to check that they were secure; if they came off, I used additional D.G. & weighted as before.

Keep experimenting!
Immi

Colored Tulle

I discovered yesterday how easy it is to change the color of tulle. I was working on a scrapbook page that had a sea theme, and wanted to use tulle to represent a net. All I had was white, so I wondered what would happen if I swiped an ink pad over the surface of the tulle. Lo and behold, I quickly had blue tulle! I used a Fresco dye ink pad, although I imagine another type of ink pad would work, too. I think dye ink pads would dry better on that type of surface. I tore the edges of the tulle so that it was very raggedy, and placed it along the edge of the page over some vellum shell stickers. I then glued down some pale colors of beads, and really liked the way it turned out. I didn't have time to take a picture, but I'll try to post one in a couple of days.
Happy experimenting!
Immi

Paper Scraps

I'm going to share a secret with you; I hoard paper scraps. In the process of making a scrapbook page or other paper arts, I end up with a lot of scraps! In a later post, I'll talk about how I store all those pieces of paper. For today, I wanted to share some cards I made yesterday, mostly from scraps. The card bases are not made from scraps; those are 8 x 11.5 pages cut in half.



Birthday Card

• Torn scrap of dictionary page, painted
• Scrap of blue patterned paper
• Shipping tag (office supply store), painted & stamped; small scrap of blue on the end; scrap of ribbon through the hole

Birds on Blue Card

• Torn scrap of book index, painted & stamped
• Black scrap, deliberately torn
• Leftover piece of blue paper

Birds

• Torn strip from book index, painted
• Torn piece of tissue paper, stamped
• Shipping tag, painted (acrylic) & stamped; blue scrap on the end; ribbon scrap through the hole

Celebrate

• Torn scraps from book index, painted
• Blue scrap, stamped
• Flower border, stamped & watercolored
  

Simple Thanks (L)

• Shipping tag, stamped & swiped with ink pads; scrap of hem tape (swiped with ink pads) through hole
• Leftover paper flower embellishment
• Scrap red paper, torn
• Scrap brown patterned paper

Simple Thanks (R)

• Scrap from book index, painted & cut in shape of tag; stamped; edged with red from ink pad; red eyelet through hole
• Leftover paper flower embellishment
• Scrap brown patterned paper, torn
• Scrap red paper, torn
• Scrap black paper
• Bird, made with punch (Martha Stewart)

First Day of Spring

We woke up this morning to the first day of spring! Spring in Minnesota is not at all what I remember from my days growing up in the South and Southwest; spring there is not usually heralded by snow. Yep, it's snowing here, which seems to me to be a cruel irony.

While poking around on the internet this morning, I came across SnowCrystals.com where I found gorgeous photos of individual snowflakes. So in honor of the season, I'm posting one of my favorites. Enjoy!

Immi

My husband doesn't forward emails very often, so when he does, I know it's going to be something I'll appreciate. He received this image the other day, and sent it on to me. I thought this would be a great time to learn how to upload a photo to my blog, and how fitting that I received this during Holy Week! I haven't researched to see if it's true or not, but this is labeled as being done with a single stroke of a pen (if you click on the picture, you can see an enlarged version). Whether or not that's correct, it's a beautiful piece of artwork, and provides a focus for what's most important: Jesus.

Just Getting Started

This is my first attempt at blogging. I've recently learned about subscribing to blogs that interest me, and I've decided to try my own blog. This idea has been floating around in my head now, and for some reason, I feel brave enough to get started today. After all, the idea is Experiments in Creativity!

I hope to learn how to upload scans of some of my artwork as well as learn more about the process of journaling through this blog.

Thanks for reading!
More later,
Immi