Those of you who know me can guess that a clean-up project for my craft room begins like all my other clean-up projects. Cleaning the liquor cabinet involves drinking the leftover blackberry brandy. Emptying the refrigerator means eating the rhubarb crisp. Tidying up the freezer requires cooking the last three turkey burgers, and so on. So my craft room clean-up project starts with using up the many bits on my table left over from other activities.
I challenge you to use the Label Me Pretty stamp set and coordinating Pretty Label punch, along with your scraps to create your own version of this birthday card. First choose colors for the card base and embossed layer. I chose a Granny Apple Green base, with a layer embossed first with yellow embossing powder, then with an embossing folder. The yellow embossed piece was one of my leftovers.
Stamp an image from the Label Me Pretty set with Tuxedo Black Memento ink. Punch it out with the Pretty Label punch and color it with watercolor pencils and a blender pen. Use shades that complement your card colors. My pencils are Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Granny Apple Green and Melon Mambo.
Use Your Stash in your Clean-Up Project!
Pull out some flowers and leaves from your stash and then layer them on your card. Most of the ones I used are leftovers from Paper Pumpkin kits. Afterwards, punch some Vellum leaves with the Sprig punch and add them in the background with mini glue dots. Since I also had a narrow scrap of woodgrain paper, I added that as a planter box for my flowers. So now I’ve used up the embossed layer, woodgrain piece, and both flowers and leaves from my stash. Above all, I didn’t create any new leftovers!
By adding the Happy Birthday greeting on top of the other layers using Stampin’ Dimensionals, you can make it stand out. In order to finish the card, just add a couple of Gingham Gala Adhesive Backed Sequins, or other small embellishments. I love these sequins, because they change from peachy to pinkish, depending on the light. Note that both of these colors coordinate with the rest of the card!
Now it’s your turn! Let’s see what you have created with your scraps, so we can admire your handiwork! Leave a comment and let us know what you made.
Crafting Storage Tip
If you have a lot of little cutouts cluttering your space, re-purpose a storage bin. Label each compartment with the type of die-cuts it contains. I took a bin from my workshop that used to have screws and fasteners in it, moved it to my craft room, and filled it with the bits of leftovers shown here. Then when I needed a couple of flowers, I knew exactly where to look!
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