Birthday Cards from left overs

Do you hoard scraps, bits of paper, pieces of ribbon and embellishments?  I do.  Yes, I'm guilty as sin when it comes to paper and ribbon hoarding and I'm proud of it!  

I can't throw away mistakes or technique samples, extra punched or stamped images, one off buttons, embellishments and 2 inch scraps of ribbon, because I know in my heart of hearts there's the odd chance I'll use them.  So they're stashed away on a shelf at my creation station in little baskets just like the one above, just waiting for that "ah ha" moment!
 

I just can't throw these "extras" away!

During a recent Wacky Watercooler Challenge that called for silhouette stamping on a watercolour backgound, I wound up with several sample watercolour pieces that I didn't use.  You guessed it, I stashed these background pieces away waiting for just the right moment to haul them out and construct something else. The following are two birthday cards I made utilizing the two left over background images in the center of this photo.

While trying to create a suitable background for the challenge, I applied Calypso Coral, Lost Lagoon and Hello Honey inks with re-inkers to the raised part of a Mosaic Madness Embossing Folder and then covered them with Natural Ivory card stock.  I ran one piece through the Big Shot while it was still wet (not a good idea as I left a big mess behind), and the other two I simply applied pressure to the outside of the folder with my hands to transfer the images.  The results were fascinating, in that none of the pieces were alike.  

 

Here are the two cards I made:

For my first card, I layered the cardstock in the three ink colours noted above, starting with a Hello Honey base measuring 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and scored at 4 1/4".  This was followed by a layer of Calypso Coral measuring 5 1/4" x 4" and a Lost Lagoon layer measuring 5" x 3 3/4"  I cut the embossed layer down to 4 3/4" x 3 1/2".  

I stamped the small floral motif in Lost Lagoon randomly on the embossed background layer.  Both of the butterfly images and the 3" piece of Lost Lagoon taffeta ribbon I added were in my stash, left over from a month or two ago when I was stamping with the Basic Butterfly stamp set.  I added a few basic rhinestones to the center of the butterfly.   

Since I can't throw anything away, I wound up with a small strip of the embossed background piece which was ideal for using as a layer on the inside of the card.  I carried the butterfly and floral theme to the inside of the card by stamping the lacy flower butterfly, small flower and happy birthday sentiment from the Butterfly basics stamp set in Lost Lagoon ink. 

 

In this closeup, you might see something unusual about the Modern Mosaic Embossing folder image. Trust me you're not seeing double and they haven't changed the folder.  I created this effect by running the embossing folder through the Big Shot twice.  The first time through was to create the normal image and the second time through I offset the cardstock about an eighth of an inch.  I really think this creates a neat effect, even if I do say so myself. 

For my second birthday card I used one of the more subdued water colour backgrounds and a wonderful stamp set called Celebrate Today that will be carrying over into the new catalogue.   When I added the inks for this one I really used the water spritzer to move them around on the card stock, so it blurs the image of the mosaic. 

Once I used Calypso Coral, Lost Lagoon and Hello Honey inks for this background. The base of this card is made from an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of Natural Ivory cardstock (retiring) scored at 4 1/4"  The Lost Lagoon layer was left over from a card class I did a few months ago and had been embossed with the Polka Dot Textured Embossing Folder.  You can just barely see the embossing behind the background layer.  The ties on the balloons are from leftover butcher cord in Calypso Coral.  Both balloons were die cut using the coordinating Balloon Framelit Dies.

This is the inside of the card.  I added a strip of the embossed folder at the top of the inside layer for some additional detail.  The inside Natural Ivory cardstock piece measured 5 x 3 3/4".   I love the tail on this balloon.  Makes me smile!

Well that's it for today folks.  I hope you're now inspired to use your scraps.  I'd love to hear how you make use of them and whether you're as big a hoarder as I am.   How do you save your scraps?

Happy Stampin!
Penny Tokens 

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