Category Archives: From the Scrap Drawer

Distress Ink Autumn Themed Mop Up Tags

Distress Inks Autumn Themed Mop Up Tags: Use Your Scraps Series

Hello, Friends! Today I have another idea for putting scraps to good use. This time, I’m talking about using scrap “ink”. Let me explain. These pretty little Distress Ink autumn themed mop up tags started when I used plain manila tags to clean up puddles of leftover ink from other projects.

I hate to waste good materials. Even leftover ink on your craft mat can be put to good use. When I have leftover ink on my craft mat, I just grab a standard sized manila tag and sop it up. I always have several of these mop up tags in different hues stored in a bin kept close to my work surface. Instead of wiping my leftover ink up with a paper towel, I grab a tag that will work with whatever colors are on the mat and add another layer of ink. When I like the way the tag looks, I just add some stamping or ephemera to finish it off into a little art tag. Waste not, want not, right?

Ranger makes a great manila tag that holds up well to mixed media applications. They are a staple in my studio. Of course, you can cut tags from scrap paper yourself, but depending on the structure of the paper, the tag may or may not hold up well.

Everyday Distress Ink Autumn Themed Mop Up Tags

This tag came together in minutes because the base tag was nearly finished, thanks to all the mopped up ink. I simply added some quick stamping and stenciling. Keep an organized ephemera file in your studio, so that when you need a little image for a tag, you can find it quickly. I use a plastic bin with labeled divider tabs for this purpose.

This nostalgic image is one that I printed out from a Gecko Galz collage sheet called Be Thankful for Fall. The autumn leaves came to me in a little thank you packet in my Funkie Junkie Boutique order. Linda, the shop owner, always tucks in a sweet little envelope with paper pretties as a thank you gift. The ribbon is Moss Green Shimmer Satin from RRR.

Hello, Beautiful Distress Ink Autumn Themed Mop Up Tags

Here’s another example of a mop up tag. This image, the die cut leaves and maple leaf charm also came in a little goodie bag from The Funkie Junkie Boutique. I added stamped images and stencils to finish the tag off.

The die cut leaves come as plain white cardstock. To dress them up, I added some ink, also mopped up from my craft sheet. To add texture, run the damp leaf through an embossing folder. Then stamp randomly over the top. I finished this tag with a vintage button, twine, mustard seeds and ribbon.

These tags will be tucked into orders from my Etsy shop as thank you gifts from me. It’s a fun way to pay it forward.

I’m thinking about periodically sharing a post about fun ways to use scraps. Is this something you all would be interested in? If so, please let me know in the comment section below, and I’ll start planning more of these posts into my blog calendar.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

The Wearin’ O’ the Green: St. Patrick’s Day Easel Card

St. Patrick’s Day Easel Card for Petaloo International

Oh, the Top of the Mornin’ to you, my friends! There are so many things to be happy about today. It’s March, which means Spring is on its way. Soon the earth will be bursting with beautiful spring flowers and tender green leaves. And, we get to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this month! Since I have Irish roots in my family tree, I love this holiday. We eat fish and chips, enjoy an ice cold Guinness, I bake Irish Soda Bread and we all wear green. Today’s St. Patrick’s Day Easel Card is definitely green!

Believe it or not, with the exception of the gorgeous Petaloo blossoms, this card was made entirely with bits and bobs from my scrap bin. I went foraging for every scrap of leftover green paper I could find…which turned out to be quite a bit. Some of this is Christmas paper, some bits are mixed media backgrounds I created long ago. The sweet vintage style image came to me as an “extra helping” from an order I made at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. It felt so good to create something new and pretty with all these bits and pieces. Do you ever do this?

Green, Green and More Green

After stitching all the patterned papers together, I mounted them onto this 5.5″ square easel card base. Then the real fun began! I dug through my Gypsy Soul Lasercuts chippies and found this stunning Victoria Small Layered Border. After treating the bottom layer with Antique Gold Embossing Powder, I painted the top layer with Antique Linen Distress Paint. The two layers were glued together and secured with binder clips until the glue set. After that, I glued it on the left hand side of the card base.

While that was going on, I die cut 3 Tim Holtz Ornate frames and layered them together with strips of foam tape. Then I trimmed the image and glued it to the back of the frame. To add even more depth, I backed the frame with two layers of waste chipboard. Next, I glued it to the center of my card base.

Now for the ribbon cluster! The base layer is a triple loop bow tied with Moss Green Gingham ribbon. I looped a gold tassel over the center of the bow, then topped it with these gorgeous Pistachio Green Anemones. These bodacious flowers are so flirty! The ruffled layers of petals add the perfect shabby chic touch to the design. Finally, I tied this itty bitty teacup charm to the frame with gold metallic string.

St. Patrick’s Day Easel Card: Building the Stopper

One of the reasons I love to make easel cards is that they display so nicely. To achieve this, you have to build a “stopper” to hold the front cover of the card open. I began the process by laying down a strip of antique crochet trim about midway up the interior of the card. Next, I die cut the green striped paper and matted it with green cardstock. I softened the edges by dry brushing on a little Antique Linen Distress Paint. Gold brads hold the number plaques in place. Finally, I backed it with waste chipboard and glued it in place.

But it looked a little lonely there all by itself. To remedy this, I anchored the corners with Darjeeling Green Mini Garden Rosettes and Green Hydrangea. I was careful to glue just the bottom petals to the striped paper so that the card could open and close. The finishing touch is that cute little shamrock charm. It was originally silver, but I painted it gold. I added the labels and was finally happy.

The Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow

Every St. Patrick’s Day Easel Card needs a pot of gold tucked in somewhere, right? So I added a gift card pocket to the card and filled it with an individually wrapped chocolate. Since I had a couple pieces of mixed media paper on the desk I cut them into little banner flags and glued them in place. Finally, I created the sentiments on the computer, printed them out and added them to finish off the card.

Here’s what the card looks like folded shut.

Do you do anything fun or special for St. Patrick’s Day? I remember dressing for school when I was little, and you had to be sure to wear green so you wouldn’t get pinched! Fun memories…and that’s what paper crafting is all about.

Thanks for joining me here today! May the road rise up to meet you!

Cheerio,

kathy

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National Pet Adoption Weekend: Who Saved Who Tags

National Pet Adoption Weekend: Who Saved Who Tags From the Scrap Drawer

Hello Friends! Did you know that February is the month when National Pet Adoption Weekend takes place? Sadly, severe allergies prevent me from enjoying a furry companion, but I thought I would participate by creating this pair of Who Saved Who Tags.

Creative ways to use your scraps

After making my larger Shabby Chic Dog Folio and Cat Mini Albums this month, my work table was loaded with little bits and pieces of paper. As you know, I’ve been using my scraps to make quick little cards. But these scraps were too small even for that. What’s the answer? Tags, of course!

Create a tag base by cutting the corners from a rectangle of leftover cardstock. This one measures about 5.75″ tall by 3.5″ wide. I had fussy cut this sweet little doggie image from Authentique’s Devoted paper collection earlier, and just layered it up with patterned papers from that same collection. A bow tied with brown plaid ribbon provided just the right color contrast for the blue tones in these papers. I topped this with natural burlap string to add just a bit more texture and a rustic feel to the tag.

Another great way to use scraps is to cut them into banner flags and die cut with small doily or flower dies.

This sweet little kitty cat tag measures just 2.5″ x 5″. Once again, the tag base is made from scrap cardstock. The image was fussy cut from one of the patterned papers in the collection.

I love the way this 3.8″ Light Blue Micro Gingham Ribbon frames the focal image. It’s just the right width for this petite tag. Blue hemp twine adds just the right amount of texture.

I’m a firm believer that nothing in this life should be wasted, I hope I’ve shared some ideas with you that you’ll be able to use in your own crafting. Please consider adoption the next time you decide to add a furry friend to your family. You’ll be glad you did!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

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RRR Anything Goes Challenge: Artisan Style Card Trio

Hello Ribbon Lovers! Welcome to the first Really Reasonable Ribbon Challenge for 2017! Bonnie is taking it easy on us this time around with a fun “Anything Goes with Ribbon or Trim” theme. I spent some time creating from my scrap drawer for this challenge and ended up with this fabby Artisan Style Card Trio.

Graphic 45 Artisan Style is one of those “oldie but goodie” collections. I love the color palette and the quirky images. I had quite a few scraps, and set myself a challenge to see how many cards I could make without cutting up a fresh piece of designer paper. Turns out, I could make three!

This little top fold card uses a scrap of a mixed media background that I made quite some time ago. It was the piece that actually inspired me to work with the Artisan Style papers. Peacock Alley Seam binding ties the most gorgeous bows and just pops off the background colors.

Many of you have asked me how I tie these bows. I use my Zutter Bow-it-All, of course! The real secret is that I studied all of Bonnie Garby’s YouTube videos and then practiced like crazy. Start with a soft, pliable ribbon like this seam binding, then work your way up to heavier ribbons. After you work at this for a while, you’ll find that you develop your own personal bow-tying style. I know this is not the “magical” solution that many of you were hoping for, but just like learning how to play an instrument, tying bows is all about practice! The more you practice, the more skilled you will become!

Pocket cards make me happy, so I added two to this card. The top one holds one of my favorite tea bags.

The bottom pocket holds a book mark and a journaling tag where you can write a personal note. The stamps are from the Artisan Style collection, and the piece of paper is also a scrap from another mixed media project.

Artisan Style Card from Scraps #2

I’ve used Peacock Alley Seam binding again here. The row of houses is fussy cut and raised up on foam dimensionals.

If you’ve never tried stamping flowers on printed paper….I highly recommend it! So. Much. Fun!

And here is a peeky at the inside.

Artisan Style Card from Scraps #3

This ribbon is also tied with seam binding. Noble Peacock is such a rich color,and a near perfect match for my peacock feathers!

These polka dot flowers were left over from a project I did back in May. I save all my extra stamped flowers in plastic cases. They eventually find their way onto the perfect project.

Here I’ve layered up a bunch of small strips of patterned paper. I love the way these patterns all play together in harmony. It’s a great way to use up little bits and pieces.

Now, it’s YOUR turn! Link up your Anything Goes with Ribbon or Trim project to the Really Reasonable Ribbon Challenge Blog. You’ll find all the necessary details HERE. And be sure to visit the rest of the team projects for more inspiration.

I can’t wait to see what you create!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

Art Tags from Scraps

Hello, Friends! I don’t know about you, but I have piles and piles of pretty little scrap bits that I can’t bear to throw away. I keep them all in ziploc bags that I’ve tucked into a plastic bin. They are all organized by theme: beach, animals, food, etc. I also have a tea bag tin full of manila tags that I keep handy to mop up extra ink when I’m working on a project. It’s my mom’s fault. She drilled that “waste not, want not” mentality into me when I was young, and it’s never left me. Sometimes when I’m really stressed out and need to truly “play” I break out my scrap bits and my inky tags and I make art tags from scraps. It relaxes me, reduces clutter, and sometimes you end up with a tag that’s so pretty or fun that it just washes all the anxiety away. That’s what I did today, and I thought I’d share the finished product with you in case you also have piles of scrap bits, inky tags and stress.

This first tag has layers and layers of ink on it. Anytime I worked with any shade of blue or aqua, I mopped up the extra ink with this tag, then put it back in my tin. I embossed it with a flourish texture fade on the top and bottom, stamped on those pretty clocks and heat embossed them,then sprinkled it with Antique Silver Embossing powder just for fun. I layered on a bunch of bits and pieces that I had in my scrap bin along with some pretty Petaloo flowers that were left over from an earlier project. Even the ribbon was in my ribbon scraps. (I put leftover ribbon bits into ziploc bags, sorted by color. Yeah, I know…I should have bought stock in Ziploc years ago. I singlehandedly keep them in business as I use their bags for all sorts of storage solutions.)

On this tag, I found a piece of scrap watercolor paper that had been sponged with Distress Inks. I must have been playing with blending ink colors or cleaning off my ink applicators or something like that.. I trimmed it up and stitched it onto a mop up tag that was too dark for my taste, and I like the way it turned out. I confess to using fresh ribbon for the bow, but everything else came from my scrap bin or a little dish that I keep on my desk to toss odd bits and pieces into at the end of the day. It’s full of random clips, frames, flowers and such.

Even though this bird image is super small (postage stamp sized) it holds its own thanks to the addition of the frame. That’s a handy tip to remember when you are looking for a way to make a focal with a tiny scrap of art.

So I cleaned up some “stuff” burned off some stress, and made a couple of art tags from scraps that I actually like quite a lot. They’ll pretty up a gift package or get tucked into an ETSY order just for fun.

Thanks for stopping by!

Kathy by Design

Custom Paper Art for All Occasions

Category Archives: From the Scrap Drawer

Distress Ink Autumn Themed Mop Up Tags

Distress Inks Autumn Themed Mop Up Tags: Use Your Scraps Series

Everyday Distress Ink Autumn Themed Mop Up Tags

Hello, Beautiful Distress Ink Autumn Themed Mop Up Tags

Cheerio,

kathy

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