Technique Tuesday - Using Those Scraps Up/Simple Card

I just can't make myself use that gorgeous paper!

How many times have you thought this to yourself?  I know I'm not the only one, because I've seen you in the forums, complaining about the same thing!  I have even said it out loud!  Yes, I'm guilty!  I have hoards of papers that the thought of cutting into gives me palpitations.  Yet, there it sits, pristine and lovely. I think part of it is knowing that once I cut into it, the left over pieces will not be large enough to use for anything else, and then they will have to go into the *gasp* dreaded scrap pile. 

With the help of my friend, Arlene, I am starting to realize that 1) I have way, way, way too much paper; 2) I will never live long enough to use it all (even if I used a sheet a day for the rest of my life; and 3) It does no one any good just sitting in my craft room.  So, I have begun the process of "weeding out" my scraps and other items taking up space in my work room.  This is a horrendously difficult thing for me.  Being from the baby boomer era, we were always taught to not waste things, and to use every bit of something, and to save (remember the 'eat everything on your plate' philosophy?).

Nonetheless, recently, several bags of itty bitty scraps left my room to take up space in someone else's work area. Some went into a craft box for Keeley to play with when she stamps with Nana (me), some went to a donation box, and some even went into the recycling bin.  I know, I know, the horror of it.  Hubby even had to put some in our neighbor's bin so that ours weren't so full after I cleaned and sorted my room!  I reasoned that even if I wanted to use those scraps, I would never be able to find them in the huge piles they were in.  My once unruly stash of cards stock is finally all neatly sorted by color, each color having it's own bin in those 24 slot paper bins (I have six of them). In each color category, the scraps that I did keep are on top of the full sheets, thereby allowing me to use those before cutting into a new sheet when I just need a piece, and enables me to find them when I need them.  Loving life!

My patterned paper, however, is a different story.  I did organize that better, and can now put my hands on just about any pattern/manufacturer I need, BUT, I haven't been able to part with my scraps as readily as I did my card stock itty-bitties!  It's just so pretty!  I am starting, however, and I'm a determined person once I start something.  Again, it goes back to that 'don't throw anything out/use it all or save it for a rainy day' mindset I like to blame on my parents.  Hey, ya gotta blame someone!  But, just as we are now learning that telling your child to 'eat everything on your plate' is not necessarily a good thing (can lead to overeating, obesity, yadda, yadda), I feel the 'save it for a rainy day' philosophy is highly overrated.  And the older more mature I become, the more I lean to the 'use it, use it now' way of thinking.  So, look out pretty paper scraps, HERE I COME. 

Now that I've had my ranting, here's today's card.  Someone actually asked me to write about ideas for using scraps, really.  I will have more in the future, but for now, here's a card made with scraps left from one of my favorite papers.  Don't you just love that Asian paper and the yummy gold crinkled paper? 
The pocket is actually a piece of gold pp that I cut into a rectangle, then cut a 'v' shape for the pocket bottom, then folded under the top, sides, and bottom, and adhered it to my card stock panel.  I lined the panel with my gold leafing pen to carry out the gold from the pocket.  Before attaching my 'pocket,' I wrapped some gold cording with some flower punches woven through around it.
The 'handkerchief' sticking out from the pocket is from one of my most beloved pieces of pp.  It's actually two scraps, which I trimmed so they were rectangular, then folded them to resemble a folded hanky.  I tucked them into the 'pocket' for a simple and easy card.  NOW, to make myself give it away...that's something else I have to work on!

Now, I'm off to my dining room table, where I have piles of patterned papers, photos, and several scrapbook layout sketches I worked on over the weekend.  My goal is to get all the sketches matched up with papers and their respective pictures, package them up into individual layout folders,  then head upstairs to my craft room to select some embellishments, ribbons, etc. to each one, and pack them up to take on my weekend crop in a couple of weeks. 
Definitely will NOT be done in time for dinner.  Hopefully WILL be done by Friday evening, as my sweet little granddaughter, Keeley is coming to spend the weekend with Nana and Papa.  I can't wait!  Our daughter and son-in-law, and Keeley's little sister Kennedy will be coming on Sunday to get Keeley and to celebrate my 40th-ish birthday.  Faith doesn't want me to cook, but I don't want her to have to cook either, so I've decided I really want a big bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken!  I haven't had that in ages, and the thought of it has me salivating! We'll get all the fixins, some wine, a cake, coffee, and I'll be happy. 
I know, I'm just a party animal!

Blessings,
lynda