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I only needed a small piece of paper towel so to took a sheet and tore it in half.
When I looked at it I said "Oh no I can use this one it tore perfectly for cloud sponging " LOL
OI
__________________ "I have not failed . I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work" --Thomas A. Edison
So true! I often find myself saving little shiny objects like buttons, pop tops, bottle caps, etc. because they might be good embellishments on something! Heck, I even save my coffee sleeves because I'm sure they will look good on something! lol
I just noticed my post should have said " I can't use this one------"
I had a struggle with myself to throw out a Puff's tissue box that had a great print on it. My first thought was I could die cut that print out and use it on a card. Then I came to my senses and looked at all the paper I have and closed my eyes and threw it in the recycling bin LOL
__________________ "I have not failed . I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work" --Thomas A. Edison
Ha! Not only do I find myself cutting packaging into manageable sizes (the kind that is heavy and glossy) and saving attractively designed tissue boxes....all my friends bring stuff they think I might use too! People get to know who is the sickest in the crowd! LOL...it's me!!!!!!
And with all the paper I have, I have asked other stampers to send me their scraps of dsp (which I don't buy much of) so that I can punch flowers out of it! Begging for scraps, that's me (shameless, I know!). I couldn't believe when ladies were saying they throw scraps away! If it's bigger than a penny, It goes in my scrap folders!
And with all the paper I have, I have asked other stampers to send me their scraps of dsp (which I don't buy much of) so that I can punch flowers out of it! Begging for scraps, that's me (shameless, I know!). I couldn't believe when ladies were saying they throw scraps away! If it's bigger than a penny, It goes in my scrap folders!
You sound like my friend, Sheilia. We always give her our leftover scraps after class. She can come up with amazing ideas!
I bought some Tim Holtz embossing folders the other day and the plastic they came in??? Maahhhhvelous!
I find myself checking everything before I throw it out. Then I get a grip because my craft room is way beyond full. I feel guilty throwing anything away but I try to be selective about what I save. I'm out of control - lol. This morning I noticed a teeny tiny little bell stitched on one of my cats toys. I cut it off for their safety and saved it. What am I going to do with it? Who the he## knows. I'll find someplace to use it, probably for Christmas cards. it's actually really cute. I'm thinking about buying them another six pack of these toys so I can have the bells. Yes ladies, this is definitely a sickness. Every time my husband sees me getting a delivery he says, you're kidding. What could you possibly need that you don't already have? Hmmm, if he has a few hours I'll tell him - lol.
I volunteer in a thrift shop...really bad for my craft room. I keep buying all kinds of containers and crafting items I think I can use...this volunteering is costing me all kinds of money. ;o)
__________________ I got a Nikon camera. I love to take photographs, so momma don't take my kodachrome away."
Paul Simon
I was just saying this same thing to myself yesterday. My daughter was at the doctor and I saw some cotton gauze and thought, hey I could use that for stamping! LOL!
__________________ Christine O.
SCS Gallery Moderator My Gallery ~ My Blog
I was just saying this same thing to myself yesterday. My daughter was at the doctor and I saw some cotton gauze and thought, hey I could use that for stamping! LOL!
I just came across so gauze from when my hubby burned his hand a few years back. I've been cleaning and getting rid of stuff. Anyway I thought what a great background that would make. LOL We are too funny!
Isn't it comforting to know we're not alone? We're ALL crazy - lol. I do LOOK at that Going Cold Turkey thread but you know and I know, it ain't happening.
This hobby gives things that formerly were trash a whole new life LOL
I am having fun making punch flowers. I needed something to allow them to sit upright while the glue dries.
I was changing the bottles on the Fabreeze Plug In when I realized the little plastic covers on the bottles would make a great punch flower drying system. I punched holes in a Styrofoam sheet and glued the covers into it. Now I have a drying rack LOL
The Styrofoam sheet was a nice piece of packing material I saved from something
I do need to be very careful how many of these great ideas I share with my kids. I am 70 and I don't want them to think I have gotten senile LOL
__________________ "I have not failed . I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work" --Thomas A. Edison
Last edited by Barbara Jay; 07-19-2011 at 09:19 AM..
LOL loved it Barbara. Now I have to go check out the styrofoam that came with the Mr. Coffee I just bought. I felt bad about clogging up the landfill with styrofoam and NOW, I don't have to. Thanks!! Barbara, good news bad news. The good news is that we KNOW we're not senile, the bad news, our kids who are adults (when the hell did that happen?!) seem to think no matter what that we ARE senile and of course, they know more than we do. I like to shock the you know what out of them (2 daughters) every now and then and tell them about some things I did when I was young (er). What I hear is MOM! Too much information. LOL. Isn't it amazing that they think we currently have NO LIFE, that we're inept, and they can do it better? NOT!! They should be happy I haven't told them everything. They couldn't take it - lol. I always thought it was just MY kids but I hear more and more stories from people that sound very much like mine. When I'm up in craft Heaven looking down I am going to be laughing my @#$ off watching them go through the same experiences we have now with THEM. You know what they say about payback........
Always scavanging the office trash for the backs of writing pads, etc. to repurpose for little book covers. Never let a good piece of cardboard got to waste!!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by caostampin
I was just saying this same thing to myself yesterday. My daughter was at the doctor and I saw some cotton gauze and thought, hey I could use that for stamping! LOL!
Oh, this is bad.......first thing I thought of when I read this is, I wonder how gauze would look if you dyed it? Needless to say, I'll just have to try it! See what you started? LOL!
LOL I always look at the long Q tips and the gloves. I have 150 gloves why should I even be looking at them! And the long Q tips...I just look at them and wonder what I could do with them - lol. Help! LOL
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OMGOSH! I am a sucker for all things that "might" work on a card some day! I currently have two cards in my gallery that I used the awesome net bag packaging. I also have a card that has a flower I made, die-cutting pcs of an already fantastic, aged looking, bakery box. Oh, and my MFT28 card has layered, ink dyed buttons that I made, using the inside of recycled, USPS flat rate envelopes. I have one bin in my craft room that is dedicated to all things that may be recyclable! Yes, we do have a sickness ... but we are doing our part to help save the planet by recycling old stuff with new paper, right? Heehee!
Quote:
Originally Posted by RubberLady603
Oh, this is bad.......first thing I thought of when I read this is, I wonder how gauze would look if you dyed it? Needless to say, I'll just have to try it! See what you started? LOL!
It looks fab dyed with distress ink! You can wrap a doll or ghost die-cut with it, ink it up to get it "dirty" and you have a fun, dimensional die-cut for a card or s.b. page. To a gauze pad or several layers, you can stamp on it. You can ink the gauze and press in into your c.s. to get the texture pattern (mine didn't really make much of a texture but ... .) Just recently, for the first time in over 10 yrs, I updated my first aide box. In an old, metal bandaide tin, I found a near-full roll of gauze that I knew I'd had for about 13 yrs! Knowing I could buy a new one for $1 at the local $1 store, I rolled it out, inked it up and made a bow for a grungy thank you card I sent my friend. With more of it, using several layers to get the thickness I want, I plan to try to make a twisted flower. If there is any left, I plan to try to use several layers to make a pleated 'ribbon' on a card, as well.
Oh, and the thin cotton pads you sometimes get in packaging, make super dimensional, die-cut clouds!
My Mom told me I should write a book on how I've re-purposed/recycled stuff. Couldn't we all?
And with all the paper I have, I have asked other stampers to send me their scraps of dsp (which I don't buy much of) so that I can punch flowers out of it! Begging for scraps, that's me (shameless, I know!). I couldn't believe when ladies were saying they throw scraps away! If it's bigger than a penny, It goes in my scrap folders!
PM me your name address and when I go through my scraps I will put some in an envelope and mail them to you. I save my scraps thinking I will use them and eventually I do a cleaning out of some of them. I'd be happy to send them to you.
I do need to be very careful how many of these great ideas I share with my kids. I am 70 and I don't want them to think I have gotten senile LOL
I almost spit out my coffee LOL at this My mom is 70 and I'm 48 (I'm the crafter) but I think creative ideas she comes up with, for the most part, are pretty cool! The only thing that bugs me is when she tries to "art critic" my cards when I post 'em on Facebook ;) Don't go there, girlfriend LOL
__________________ Jeni in PA, proud SCS Fan Club member My BlogMy Gallery wife, mom, nurse case manager, crafter, SU! demo and Sr. Supervisor - Cross Country Crafty Chicks
"You're gonna need a bigger boat" ~ Chief Brody, Jaws
I like to shock the you know what out of them (2 daughters) every now and then and tell them about some things I did when I was young (er). What I hear is MOM! Too much information. LOL. Isn't it amazing that they think we currently have NO LIFE . . .
Oh, don't worry, we know you have a life ;) There are just some things I DO NOT want to picture my mom doing LOL I'm sure my kids feel the same way about DH & me when we still kiss in front of them I really think my mom (age 70 but looks a HE** of a lot younger) just likes to see my face when she describes her, er, social life. Excuse me while I go bleach my brain ;) LOL LOL
__________________ Jeni in PA, proud SCS Fan Club member My BlogMy Gallery wife, mom, nurse case manager, crafter, SU! demo and Sr. Supervisor - Cross Country Crafty Chicks
"You're gonna need a bigger boat" ~ Chief Brody, Jaws
I must get some gauze! I bet it will look great on my Padre Island scrapbook pages.
I just got some of the Shimmerz Sprays - in Sea Foam and I can't wait to give it a try. I know DH has a big box of old gauze pads in his bathroom.. Look out - here I come!
I love these ideas! I recently remembered an idea I found here on SCS about using paper towel rolls. Cover them with paper, close up one end - I even made a handle from my leftover papers - put my pre cut borders in them and now they hang out where I can see and REMEMBER to use the borders!
__________________ Karen - proud owner of 3 cats and a 80 lb, German Shepard Owner of an unorganized scrappy place I CAN ONLY SHIP IN THE USA
I recently had an outpatient procedure and they give you these blue-guazy-shower-cap-like hats to wear. When I was done, the nurse was taking off my cap and I asked if I could keep it. She kind of looked at me questioningly but said sure. I told her I was going to make something out of it - what I don't know, but I couldn't see it going into the trash. Luckily I could squish it up and stuff it in my pants pocket so my dh who was in the waiting room didn't see it, otherwise I'm sure I would have gotten that "What are you going to do with that" question along with the complimentary eyeroll!
it is a sickness and i am having fun passing it onto my granddaughter.my husband tells her she doesnt have to ask me if i can use every piece of paper she finds.LOL
she is 8 and she loves helping.
br3n
Lorraine
OH Wait until they find the neatly stored treasures we have saved LOL
Empty tissue boxes with great prints, empty clear plastic egg cartons, Fabreeze and other caps and perfectly good styrofoam packing material! LOL
Ok, our kids will think we're absolutely crazy. When I helped my mom clean out my great aunt's house (she was a crafter) years ago, she had hundred's of egg cartons, thousands of the those green plastic things strawberries used to come in, millions of old buttons etc. My mom at that point said she had to make sure she cleaned out her house before we had to. She never did. :(
I'm getting more fussy. My family used to ask me before they threw out anything. I finally said start throwing. I wasn't using much, how many jars, cans, boxes, tins etc. can one keep? Answer a lot, but what will you use?
I save pretty tissue boxes, especially the square ones, for "trash" when I have a stamping class or event. They are sturdy, pretty, and FREE...I also empty them and reuse them if they are not soiled. So now you have a another reason to save them, too. Sometimes when I am stamping alone, I use one for trash, one for paper scraps, and one for card stock scraps. I have small hands that can easily reach in to retrieve the scraps I need, but you could always make the hole bigger if needed.
I, too, use my scraps for punching assorted shapes. I filled little bags of 100+ punches last year and sold them at a craft fair for $1 each. They were all made from scraps I punched while watching TV with hubby.
I haven't chuckled soo much at a post in awhile; Thank you to everyone and their honesty; I knew I wasn't alone! I hate throwing things out that may potentially look good on a card or scrap page or gift container and NOW everyone has given me even more ideas. Love this post, thanks!!!
__________________ Dawn
"Go In The Direction of Your Dreams"
Last edited by dhaus; 07-20-2011 at 05:51 AM..
Reason: Hit send before finishing sentence.
I was just saying this same thing to myself yesterday. My daughter was at the doctor and I saw some cotton gauze and thought, hey I could use that for stamping! LOL!
I use cotton gauze (4x4 squares) to ink the edges of different projects. I work in a school clinic and will open a package of sterile gauze to bandage a child and if I only need 1/4 piece, the other 3/4's goes in a baggie for crafting. Good for applying ink and chalks.
I like the tissue box idea for trash at classes. Plastic bags taped to the work table do the job, but are often in the way, or sticky things gloop them closed. I'll have to remember that one
At home, when I work, I have to work at my kitchen table. When I get on a roll, I take up a lot of space. I can't work on cards or sb pages without a waste basket next to me. The trouble with a wastebasket is it's always in the way. Little ones are too low for me. So, I started using an empty box from a 12 pack of soda. I used packing tape to seal up the crevices on the unopened end, and the slot for carrying the full soda pack. Then I stand it up on it's closed end, and have perfect waste "silo" that isn't always in the way.
It proved to be a bit "tippy", so I solved that problem by standing it in one of the bazillion ice cream pails I have stored up. It stands right next to the table leg and isn't in the way when I have to get up and down, nor does anyone have to move it to walk past me to get to the fridge.
You won't believe how much one of these soda "silos" can hold! I've been doing this for years, and it still amazes me how much "stuff" comes out of that silo when I empty it!
My friend and I call them our "Trash Time Capsules". When they are emptied, the layers of itsy paper scraps and whatnot remind us of each project we've done. It's sort of nostalgic, lol.
I suppose I could just toss the box out with it's load of trash, but I just empty it and keep using it until it gets tattered, then I tape up another "silo" to replace it.
Another thing I recylcled was my daughter's insulated lunchbox from school...which she never used as a lunch box. She kept "stuff" in it. She was going to ditch it awhile back and I snagged it. It's gray, pink and black with a large, pretty butterfly on the top. Being insulated, it's "cushioned" inside. I keep my Prisma pencils in it.
I had a sack of kitchen sponges from the $1 store and I cut several to size and lay them on top of the pencils before zipping the lid closed. That adds extra cushion and keeps the pencils from tumbling around when I carry the lunch box around.
This is a great topic and I've enjoyed reading all the posts
When I had surgery on my hand last year they used a plastic support which softened in hot water and then was moulded to my hand. I kept this thinking I'd pop it into hot water again to see just what I can make with it. And those cotton pads you use for cleansing your face with....the rough layer of mine just keeps falling off before use so I've now got a box full of them awaiting inspiration. I did use some of them here: Stamp Club Challenge | Crafty Jo's blog of craft techniques
Had to stop my sister from bringing me everything she's about to throw away 'just in case' - I was starting to feel guilty if I had to trash her trash