It hurts our hearts a little to see the remnants of a beautiful cardstock page littered with cuts and holes that seem to render it unusable. It’s a crying shame. There’s so much paper leftover, and yet none at all! “Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink.” (Thank you, Samuel Taylor Coleridge.) Potential appears to be squandered. Dreams run dry. Yet we still find ourselves clinging to these scraps, hoping someday we’ll find their purpose.

But there comes a point where a crafter can simply no longer endure anguish of this magnitude—something must be done about the scraps! So, in the spirit of this month’s theme of organization, we set out to find a purpose for these bothersome scraps that are so tantalizingly lovely in their brokenness. We were determined to use them, rather than stuff them away into that easily forgotten dungeon we call “the scrap box.”

And so we did! Want to see what we came up with?

#1) THE LAYOUTThis authentic and eye-catching layout is made with scraps from ELEVEN different papers! (Check the recipe at the end of this post to see which ones.) The best part about it is that, thanks to the Cricut® overlay, we only needed small scraps of the papers to weave into the layout. The different patterns and colors working as one make for a brilliant display that proves these paper scraps are better together than they ever were apart.

Other noteworthy things we love about this layout:

• The White Daisy ink splatters against the kraft cardstock. We love the way this adds texture and life to the spread, encompassing the repurposed and artful utilitarian nature of this layout.
• The way the journaling is seamlessly integrated into the flow of the layout. We’re just tickled over how the journaling blends so seamlessly with the layout that it’s become another artistic feature! It also adds a dose of personality and life to the layout.
• The creative use of the Sparkle chevron shapes. Did you notice that the lines of sparkles stemming from the photo are actually cut from Sparkle chevron shapes? Cool, right? Just one more example of how to use bits and pieces to create something beautiful.

#2) THE CARDS
The scraps that are too small for layouts can be used on card designs. Cards are the ideal location for little bits of paper that can be pieced together in original designs.

Check these all-stars out!

Thanks to Close To My Heart’s exclusive color palette, you can match papers and patterns across paper packets because the colors are consistent. The intricate weaving on the Hello Sunshine card was done with yellow- and white-based scraps from SEVEN different papers. If it’s possible to make this many patterns look good together, then it will surely be possible to make something visually appealing from blending your own scraps.

Other noteworthy things we love about these cards:

• Embellishments that add that finishing touch. Whether it’s the Flaxen extra thick twine, the teal Shimmer Trim, or the bling gems gold assortment, we love how those little glittery pieces of this and that provide the final bit of glam for these hodgepodge cards.
• Steady patterns that lend structure to the patchwork design. One way to balance out the discord from using scraps is to corral them into a simple and repetitive design, like those seen on these cards. It’s all about that yin and yang!

Now it’s your turn to make something useful of those piles of scraps you have lying around. Once you start, we think you’ll come to realize that your usable paper stash just got a whole lot bigger!

Recipes

12″ x 12″ BEyouTIFUL Layout
E1029 My Acrylix® Marquee Uppercase, E1030 My Acrylix® Handwritten Print, X7190B Brushed Paper Packet, X7189B Confetti Wishes Paper Packet, X7185B Scaredy Cat Paper Packet, Z2033 Paper Fundamentals Whimsy Assortment, Z2032 Paper Fundamentals Adventure Assortment, Z2031 Paper Fundamentals Enchantment Assortment, X5762 Lagoon Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5929 Whisper Cardstock, Z1375 Kraft Cardstock, Z1991 Teal Glitter Paper, Z2195 Lagoon Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z2643 Canary Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z2192 Pacifica Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z2263 White Daisy Exclusive Inks™ Re-inker, Z2062 My Crush™ Holiday Happenings Assortment, Z1909 Sparkle Chevron Shapes, Z3009 Chalk It Up Assortment

Cricut® Shapes:
Artbooking
9″ Overlay <t> (p. 52)

5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″ Hello Sunshine Card
Wishes: Celebration Card Workshop—Card 4™
D1634 My Acrylix® Rain or Shine, X7190B Brushed Paper Packet, X7189B Confetti Wishes Paper Packet, X7191B Wanderful Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z2033 Paper Fundamentals Whimsy Assortment, Z2032 Paper Fundamentals Adventure Assortment, Z2162 Honey Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z2023 Bling Gems Gold Assortment, Z1985 Gold Shimmer Trim

5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″ Hey There Card
Wishes: Three in a Row™
D1469 My Acrylix® Polka Dot Alphabet, X7191B Wanderful Paper Packet, X7184B Chalk It Up Paper Packet, X7188B Snowhaven Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, 1386 Black Cardstock, X5762 Lagoon Cardstock, Z2105 Black Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z3036 Flaxen Extra Thick Twine

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