Baby Wipes
After cleaning a number of stamps with them, let them dry out and use as background, wrapping paper for small packages, college elements.
Brown Paper
Scrunch, smoothen on a table using your palms, paint over with a thin layer of acrylic paint. Wash off most of the paint under running water (rinsing as in hand washing). Hang to dry! Embellish by Printing, stenciling or burnishing gold or silver paste
Cello Ribbon
I have a little gadget that will cut a ribbon into shreds. So I use that little gadget to shred the cello ribbon and then use it as an accent in my collage cards. I also fill stamped container images (vases, bowls, bags, cans, etc. ) with the shreds. If you have a solid container stamp, you can make a slit at the top and push some shreds through. Then you just have to tape the back of the card to secure the shreds. You can also use the green cello ribbon to wrap flowers. Or use the shreds to accent a bouquet.
Cello Ribbon
Stamp a fan on your card and an additional piece of cardstock. Cut the cello ribbon to about the size of the fan. Wrap tape around one end of the cello ribbon. "Fan out" the other end of the ribbon. Stick this to the cardstock over the stamped fan (I use double sided tape or Miracle Tape so that I don't have to wait for it to dry). When you stick down the ribbon, make sure some of the ribbon peaks out over the top of the stamped fan. Then color and cut out the fan stamped on cardstock. Using double-sided tape, stick this fan to the cello ribbon. This is a fun and festive 3D card, especially when you use colored cello ribbon or use lots of glitter to enhance the stamped fan.
Cheese Cloth
Saturate a piece of cheesecloth in a mixture of white glue and water, about half water and half glue. Wring it out and place on the front of your card. Twist it, fold it, whatever looks "right" to you. While it is still wet, you can apply glitter, watercolor paint, beads, etc. onto the surface. Set aside and let it dry. When dry you can tuck in all sorts of goodies (leaves, charms, pods, paper bits, stamps, etc. )
Fabric Softener Sheets
Stuff it into a cup or glass, cover with water and add food coloring, remove from cup and let dry. Gives a tie-dye sort of look. Tears sort of like Mulberry paper.
Gift Cards To Match Wrapping Paper
Here is an idea for making matching gift cards to go with gift wrap. Take a blank card I used an index card but any card stock will do. Cut the design, print, whatever from a left over piece of wrapping paper to fit the card. Then use any household glue thinned down with water to glue the wrapping paper print to the outside of the card. You can add "TO" and "FROM" to the inside of the card either by hand or using stamps. I used a teddy bear design and once it was in place and dried, I cut around the three open sides of the picture through to the back of the card. Punch a hole in the top left corner and you have a matching gift card
Greeting Cards Or Wallpaper Leftovers
Cut images such as flowers, birds, landscape etc. glue on a wrapped gift. Use part of a card as a gift tag.
Greeting Cards
You can use the pictures for decoupage. Just cut out the characters or pictures and using Mod Podge or decoupage glue, tack it down on an old or new box, plaque, etc. you can paint the box first if you're using one picture so the background is solid, or make a collage of related themes. You could also make a story picture book for a child by gluing pictures and making up a story to accompany. You can glue a teddy bear in a beach scene for example and create a whole new scene. Another idea I saw at a craft show was you cut out with an Exacto blade around certain objects in a scene that you want to emphasize such as a basket of flowers and a lawn chair on an old fashioned porch. Then using foam tape, tape the cut out in it's original position making a 3 dimensional picture. Them mat it, maybe add highlights with an extra fine glitter, gold pen, or tiny seashells or something related, then frame and give as a gift or keep and appreciate yourself!
Nylon Shower Sponge Thingy
If you take it apart, you can use it in many ways. 1. In collages as part of the picture. 2. Lay it on your cardstock as part of the background. 3. Lay it on your cardstock then sponge color over it and then remove it.
Nylon Shower Sponge Thingy
You can use this when it is still one piece by tapping it onto your ink pad and then onto your cardstock or paper.
Paper Doilies
glue on wrapped gift, use doily as a stencil and spray paint over it, embellish. You can also do this as a background for a card.
Paper Lace:
Cut off a piece approximately as long as the card (or the area you want to have this effect) then sponge color around and over the lace. When you pull up the paper lace, you have a wonderful background! If you use a smooth sponge, you'll get a great airbrushed effect!
Plastic Storage/Grocery Bags
Crumble it up and tap it onto your pad and then on to your paper. Build up the background design. Different amounts of tapping pressure will give you different effects as will different types of bags.
Stamp Off Sheets
Cut into strips and weave for a neat background for your cards. Also makes neat envelopes.
Stamp Off Sheets
Rather than throw away all those wonderful stamp off sheets that you have done your testing on, make envelopes out of them. Or use them as background on some cards. Or use them in collages. You can even use them to cover hand made books.
Tissue Paper
Layer different colored tissue paper to wrap the gift, cut a small X at the top of the using a sharp knife. Fold the flaps over
From: Pam
I guess I keep a lot of stuff without realizing it. Of course there are the scraps of paper and if I see a nice pattern on a box of whatever, I cut that up and save it too. I have used these scraps to cut thin strips for "mosaic".
A lot of times I find images printed on envelopes or fliers in the mail that I will cut out and save to add to something later. I have used a lot of these to collage on envelopes that I am sending out.
I've saved a bunch of used postage stamps to use in collage but confess that I haven't used one yet!
From Maggie
I save everything. Scraps of cardstock, pieces of ribbon, buttons, charms, beads, anything and everything I can. I even asked a friend to cut the moose off of a carton of moose tracks ice cream for me. Everything is a design waiting to be used at some point and time. Maybe not this week, maybe not this month, but eventually something will come along and I will say, "Ah Ha!" I've just the project to put you on or in. I really get enthused about anything with even a hint of texture too. Things I may have passed by before, I find new possibilities for now. It always seems funny, if I'm working on Christmas, that's when I'll find lots of Easter things. Never can find the things I want at the time I need them!
From: Darla
I save lots of small pieces and can punch out of them. I of course try not to toss anything.
Darla
From: Bibi
My number one favorite stamp related leftover is Lumiere rinsing water. I use it to make interesting background papers. I have posted about this before, but in case someone missed it and want to try, here's what you do: Leave rinsing water in a plastic container. Crumple up a sheet of paper of any color into a ball, open up and repeat. Open the ball up a bit, then press it into the container so that the rinsing water covers all of it. You can press another piece of paper on top of the first to make sure at least one paper is totally covered with water. Make some more "rinsing water" if you don't have enough.... Leave paper for several hours, preferably over night. Pull the paper up from the water, and carefully open it up and leave to dry on a flat surface. Once dry, you can use it as it is, or put a sheet of scrap paper over it and iron it flat. Lumiere has tiny metallic particles that will fall into the cracks and folds of your paper for stunning results! If your rinsing water has been sitting there for a while, you might need to stir in it before you press your paper into the water, to make sure the metallic particles are not just laying on the bottom of the container.
My other favorite leftover is embossing powder. I put all leftovers in the same jar, and use the mix as layers when I emboss with clear UTEE. I never know what it will look like, which is part of the fun.
From: Tweety
Mine are my watercolor palette and my watercolor rinse water. Much like Judi's "debris of embossing powders the palette is usually a conglomeration of colors and some of the most interesting shades and hues of other pure color. I love to use them in areas of shading from the palette. I love to use the dirty rinse water to base coat some of my new designs. When I first started taking watercolor classes, I did not understand why the instructor had such a messy palette and I mentioned that fact to her and she told me it only looked that way but she had some delightful colors there.
She was right. I think my finished water colored pieces are looking better and better since I rarely work with "pure" color any more.
I have also started saving bits and pieces of commercial cards that have been sent to me. I am thinking that I will use them to make a collage for a background. But right now they just inspire me in ways to use my rubber stamps.
One put the rinse water in the storage cupboard when I am finished with it and secondly I am storing my works in process in a plastic box. Sunny is crying "foul" but I am not letting him at my "art". Seriously, I am thinking of putting down a large piece of paper. Puddle some different colors of water color on my palette and leaving the water bowl out and then let him have at it with me making sure he does not leave his "work" area before I clean his paws well. I think I might end up with some lovely background papers. I just fear he may decide to lay down and rub in the whole thing and I would end up with a "Joseph" cat. You know the coat of many colors. So I am still thinking if I want to let him stretch his artist's wings even more.
