Tag Archives: From the Scrap Drawer

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

Who Sazved Who Tags by Kathy Clement of Kathy by Design Photo 1After 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!

Who Sazved Who Tags by Kathy Clement of Kathy by Design Photo 2Create 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.

Who Sazved Who Tags by Kathy Clement of Kathy by Design Photo 3Another great way to use scraps is to cut them into banner flags and die cut with small doily or flower dies.

Who Sazved Who Tags by Kathy Clement of Kathy by Design Photo 4This 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.

Who Sazved Who Tags by Kathy Clement of Kathy by Design Photo 5I 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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Art Tags from Scraps

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.

Aqua butterfly tag 01

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.)

Rose Tag 02On 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.

Rose Tag 03Even 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!

Cheerio,

kathy

 

Forget Housework

Forget Housework: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Hello, Friends!  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  We enjoyed classic fall weather with clear blue skies, a slight nip in the air and brilliant sunshine.  Saturday, I ran away from the rigors of having our house on the market and indulged in some “sister therapy”.  Susie and I had breakfast (pumpkin pancakes!) and then added a little retail therapy into the mix.  Since our son Joel and his dear wife Melody were in town for the weekend, we got to hang with them for while and play a few rousing games of Bananagrams.  Yesterday, we had to show the house, so we escaped to our oldest son’s home for Sunday brunch (cinnamon rolls!) and cuddles with the grand girls.  I feel like a new woman this morning!  Sometimes you just have to follow the advice on this fun card I made with Crafty Secrets goodies and FORGET HOUSEWORK!

Kathy by Design for Crafty Secrets: Forget HouseworkI love this sassy lady riding on her vacuum cleaner! And boy, can I relate to her desire to run away from housework!    In one of my rounds of cleaning up the studio, I ran across my scrap bin.  Some time ago, I started the habit of paper going through all my scraps about once a week and paper clipping bits and pieces that work together well into little bundles that could be used to make a quick card.  This way, I’m more likely to actually use the scraps I’ve held onto.

Forget Paris Crafty Secrets 01On this cute card, I have Black Lace Halloween Paper from our Creating with Vintage Halloween CD paired up with Pink Stripes and hot pink polka dot paper from our Radiant Digital Papers.  Isn’t it amazing how nicely these patterns play together?

Forget Paris Crafty Secrets 03The focal image here is from the Girl Time Homespun Cotton Scraps.  I just stitched this onto the pink glitter paper, and added the Eiffel Tower image from our Mini Vintage Creative Scraps behind it.  A die cut crown and fleur de lis add just the right amount of glitz and glam.  A loopy bow with White Iridescent Metallic String  and a vintage button add even more sparkle.

Forget Paris Crafty Secrets 04The inside uses an image from our Girlfriends’ Creative Scraps and a computer journaled sentiment.

I’m curious…what do you do with your scraps?  How do you store them?  I hate wasting paper, so this method works well for me.  Having the scraps in organized little bundles makes for a quick card…and a cute one, too, if I do say so myself!

If you’d like to purchase this card, you can find it in my ETSY shop.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

Kathy

Sew Vintage

 

Crafy Secrets Sew Vintage 01a

Hello, Friends!

You know how inspiration seems to strike when you are cleaning up your crafty space?  Well, I was tidying up the other day and ran across some fabulous scraps from Crafty Secrets.  I was sorting them into categories (yeah, I’m a little OCD) when I suddenly saw several pieces from the Sew Decorative CD that I thought would make a great card. Next thing I knew, I was knee deep in creativity mode, and this Sew Vintage Birthday Card was sitting on my desk.  Ta da!

Kathy by Design/Crafy Secrets Sew Vintage 02I really love the papers and ephemera on the Sew Decorative CD.  The soft pink doilies and floral measuring tape that I placed on top of my banners make me feel a little bit giddy!  And just look at the flapper paper in the background, the one where she’s admiring herself in the mirror…isn’t it fabby?  That’s from Creating with Vintage Illustrations.  I love her! Crafy Secrets Sew Vintage 01I found a fun party girl in a champagne glass (from the Girlfriends Creative Scraps) and I added her to the mix.  Sheer polka dot ribbon from my stash was the perfect accessory.  I topped it with a touch of bright green organza to pull out the greens in the card.  The pearl and rhinestone gem that tops the bow is an old earring of mine.  Sadly, it’s mate was lost in the shuffle of life, but it’s been given a new purpose on this fun card.

Crafy Secrets Sew Vintage 03The inside of this card is ready to party, too!  These papers are from the Creating with Vintage Illustrations CD. And I might have a scrap or an element or two from Creating with Vintage Patterns and Typography!  The rosette is an ephemera bit from one of those CD’s, but for the life of me, I can’t remember which one!)  I know I say this all the time, but if you are on a budget, or don’t have a lot of space for crafty goodies in your home, these CD’s are worth their weight in gold.  You just pop them into your CD, open the file you want to use and print.  Or you can get fancy and layer things up digitally….but they are very user friendly either way.

Crafy Secrets Sew Vintage 04I added a pocket flap to the bottom panel of the card so that a little gift card can slip right in there.  And, I stamped some sentiments on the background paper.  Easy, peasy!

The whole point of this post is to remind you to clean your craft area!  NOT!!!  Hahahaha!  No, the point is to remind you that little bits and pieces can be combined to make something beautiful.  Life is like that, too.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

This item is available for purchase in my ETSY shop.