Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Grateful for all we have, and reuse


The cute Thanksgiving turkey made by daughter Emily gets a reprise here, in a notecard also crafted by the progeny.

Wouldn't this be sweet to see on a Thanksgiving table setting, where family members could write down those things for which they are most grateful? Read them later, at dessert, and save them in your scrapbooks to commemorate those happy memories of Thanksgiving 2010.


Today, I think I will make some napkin rings and placecards to match this cute design. I've been saving "rings" -- empties from toilet paper, paper towels, tin foil, etc. -- for a while now while I decided what to make. Seeing this card has inspired me!


What about you? Do you see potential in random things like empties? What do you save from the landfill to use in your crafting? Here are some things I've recently read about recycling, though haven't tried them yet:


  • Soda cans - open them with tin snips and flatten the aluminum. Emboss and die cut the aluminum (unprinted side is your good side) for metallic accents on your cards and scrapbook pages. You can paint on the aluminum using alcohol inks.

  • Cereal boxes - a good cardboard weight for cuts in between cardstock and chipboard. You can make your cuts and cover them with pretty paper, or use the cereal boxes for testing your cuts before using your good stuff.

  • Old clothes - fabric can be stiffened, backed and cut for flowers or other embellishments. Buttons can be snipped off and used on cards and layouts. Zippers can be cut out and the "teeth" used for a variety of embellishments, even for "monster teeth" on Mini-Monster cut outs. Fabric itself can be used (see yesterday's gold rib knit) as a mixed media.




  • Nature's own - leaves and flowers can be pressed and dried and used like any other embellishment. No special equipment is necessary -- just use a heavy book and time to flatten your findings. I dried these two autumn leaves in my Oxford dictionary, and plan to make a card for my parents who -- since they moved to Florida -- no longer get to enjoy the blaze of colors we experience in "Penn's Woods", Pennsylvania.

Do you have other ideas you'll share here? Leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you!


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