Here we are…at the final day of my scrap mini. I'm a bit slow at getting the photos uploaded but the scraps used were just collected from Day 5. At first I thought they presented a bit of a challenge but then I began to see the possibilities.

Here's the pile of scraps.

 

I didn't use anything from that brown envelope. I did use the ad for the Cinna Stix….that fell out of our Domino's Pizza box as I took it to the recycle box. (Not a big fan of Domino's–what's your fav. pizza?) Luckily this matched my colour scheme! I also received (in the mail) a letter from Sick Kids Hospital soliciting funds and a package from Heart & Stroke Foundation with Christmas Cards (and seeking funds!). My question to you: who gets these, uses them and sends money? And who throws them away because they feel too guilty to use them without paying for them? I don't throw them away because I think it's wasteful but usually stuff them in a drawer, unused (because I feel guilty to use them without paying!). I did end up opening the pack because I really needed some more materials for my book and seriously, this WAS in the mail. I may have to send a bit of money now! Anyway, this is what I had to work with.

First up was inking the page with the Dylusions ink. I love how vibrant orange it is. I think I'll have to get a few more of these. I happen to be an inker. I love inking everything. I like the effect I get. If you've never tried inking and would like to, let me know and I can give you a demo. It's super-fun. You can also use stamp pads, chalk inks, distress inks and numerous other very similar items. Notice the labels laying on the right of the picture. Yup; taken out of the Heart & Stroke package. The orange piece is the back of the ad.

I also cut a piece of this packaging to use as a mat on the inside of the orange ad which is about to become a flap. I managed to use a bit of the gold strip as a border but still had some writing showing which seemed a bit glaring…

…so I used ANOTHER piece of that packaging, flipped it over to the smooth white side and made a mat. I also made a little pocket on the inside of that page…

…out of this. Whoa…at first I thought that was the Heart & Stroke envelope but luckily it's not. Hee hee.

How cute is this snowman note pad? It was in that H&S envelope too. I do have enough note pads though so I found a good use for this one. I simply cut the snowman off. Luckily, for my purposes, the adhesive was at the bottom so I still had a little notepad which…

I can tuck right into this little pocket. You know the one that also has a Christmas tag decorating the front of it. That tag just had a bird on it so I'm hoping it'll blend into the album okay. If not, I know how to fix it! 

Here's the flap closed. I added a belly band strip cut from the packaging paper. Now I can slip extra photos or something in here. I might have to add a little something to the bottom to catch them though because I don't like when they slide through. I'd much rather have them held in place. I could add another strip that's open so the photos slip under it or just a little circle or tab for them to stick into.

The script on this letter caught my eye and I knew I wanted to use it. I still had a couple of unfinished pages at this point. I removed the top fold and glued the other two together….  

I trimmed them, keeping the line around the edge of the paper as part of a border, rounding the bottom corners and trimming the top ones to make a tag shape. I punched a hole and still need to add ribbon or something and I'm sure I can find a "scrap" of ribbon somewhere in my stash. Of course, you can see I inked them as well. This was partly to distract you from reading the script (which I didn't so I have NO idea what it says but it was from one of those envelopes). I'm kind of happy with them though.

My foil flap was also a little plain looking. The orange ink didn't hold to the foil. I bet some of my alcohol ink will and I may still dig it out and try a bit to colour this up. Once it has photos on it, it'll look just great. For now, I added a little bow (transformed magically from pink to orange with my handy-dandy Copic marker) that I cut out from one of the letters.
 

I also cut a couple of pieces from that same letter because I liked these little doodles and I added them to the inside. I had to colour these ones orange too because they were pink which just didn't match. I also did marker scribbles over the words. I might be able to add a couple of tiny photos on top and you'll never see it. Think about that if you're making an album with recycled materials–if you're adding photos, no one's ever going to see many of these pieces. I had to patch some because I was SHOWING a blank album but once covered, it'll never show!

And so there you have it. Last night I was looking for papers for something else and came across this vintage paper ribbon I bought at a yard sale once.

I LOVE it! I had already decided this little book could become my Thanksgiving thankful book. I should be able to make a closure with this paper ribbon. I might even be able to cut a couple images out to decorate pages. What do you think?

Of course, most of us have access to tons of paper and trimmings for scrapbooking and don't need to scrapbook from scraps. But…I'm just saying….keep your eye out and when something catches you…don't be afraid to use it in an album. This concept could also be good for kids who want to "scrapbook" too. Maybe you should use a bit of scraps so they won't mind doing it either.

And just so that you don't think I'm cutting off my own business: you're going to need glue, tape, cardstock, scissors, cutters, ink, ink blending tools, and so much more! Plus I have paper that's not vintage but you won't be able to resist.

Be sure to share your recycled projects with me! And if anyone wants to comment on this post, I will offer ONE YARD of that vintage ribbon to one commenter (by random draw) so hurry and comment. If you win, I'll get in touch to deliver/send it to you!

Thanks for reading!