Tag: scraps

Repurpose & Upcycle your Paper Pumpkin Boxes
Organization, Paper Pumpkin

What should I do with all those leftover Paper Pumpkin boxes?

Laura's Craft Closet

I write about Paper Pumpkin kits a lot. Every month a box of crafting goodies is delivered to my mailbox from Stampin Up, and these are projects that can be created and look beautiful even by people who insist they aren’t crafty!

I use each one to make the already designed projects, make alternative cards and projects “outside the box,” use up all the leftovers for more crafts, and have stamps and ink pad available for future projects.

Not much gets wasted from these kits, but what about the box? That sturdy, perfectly-sized-for-two-piles-of-A2-cards box.

 

 

I had been keeping my extra cards in a craft drawer, but when I needed a specific one, it was difficult to find. Keeping organized keeps me crafting, so I knew I needed to separate my cards by occassion. Repurposing these fantastic boxes was so easy and looks a lot cuter inside my craft closet.

Steps to Repurpose your Paper Pumpkin Boxes

  1. Turn the Box inside out. You can do this by carefully pulling the flaps out from all the corners, and folding each side the other way. Push the flaps into their new homes.
  2. Decide what cards you want in this box! For me, birthday cards are a necessity to have extras on hand, so my first box was to hold birthday cards. (The second was coffee cards because who doesn’t need a little java pick-me-up sometimes?)
  3. Decorate! This is a great way to use up those scraps of pretty paper. You’ll need 9″ x 6″ for the top, 2- 9″ x 1 1/2″ for the front and back, and 2- 6″ x 1 1/2 for the sides.”
  4. You can add a small envelope holder on the inside top of the box. This one is 6 1/2″ x 6 3/4″. Score an inch on 3 of the sides, and fold these tabs under. This’ll form a box. Fussy cut 1/2″ from the top, and adhere the tabs to the inside of the box lid.card box with envelope holder inside
  5. Decide what other categories you might need for these boxes! Thank you cards are great to have ready, as are sympathy and get well cards.

    upcycled paper pumpkin box for extra crafts
    I made this one to store my Paper Pumpkin extras!

If you liked this idea for repurposing the final piece of the Paper Pumpkin boxes, I hope you follow my blog, or bookmark it to be able to check back for more ideas, inspiration, and tutorials!

If you want a little extra inspiration with your Paper Pumpkin kits, I write tutorials with alternative ideas and tips to use every last scrap. Check out these recent posts with Paper Pumpkin kits:

alternative cards using aug 2018 paper pumpkin blissful blooms kit  June 2018 Paper Pumpkin Broadway Star Alternative Card stack of independence day invitation cardsJl9OHgODSn+0YRSZkHZerA_thumb_38  cards from leftovers

Paper Pumpkin August 2018 Alternatives: 15 Blissful Blooms from One Kit!, How to make 19 cards from 1 Paper Pumpkin Kit (Broadway Star June 2018), Red, White, and Blue; Independence Day Invitations as a Paper Pumpkin Alternative, Stamp a Stack from Scraps! You Are My Anchor Scraps Tutorial, Wildflower Paper Pumpkin Leftovers Card Tutorial

Want to join in on the fun? Grab a pre-paid subscription below, or click here to subscribe  and get creativity delivered to YOUR door! I will be here as your creative coach to offer alternative suggestions and more ways to use your scraps!

1-Month Prepaid Paper Pumpkin Subscription

$19.00

3-Month Prepaid Paper Pumpkin Subscription

$57.00

6-Month Prepaid Paper Pumpkin Subscription

$108.00

12-Month Prepaid Paper Pumpkin Subscription

$209.00

Happy Crafting!

halloween treat holders
paper

Halloween Candy Crate Treat Holder

Laura's Craft Closet

Anything that holds candy can be super adorable, even when it’s for the spookiest holiday!

I was looking for a simple treat holder for trick-or-treaters when I created this. We get a lot of kids and wanted something quick and easy, yet cute!

halloween treat holder

It’s also quick enough to make multiple of these candy crates, making them a good idea for a teacher to make for their students, a “room parent,” or anyone who wants to make something cute for the candy-lovers in their life!

Check out my easy tutorial for this halloween candy crate below.

Supplies:

Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack

$11.00

Wood Words Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$22.00

Wood Crate Framelits Dies

$30.00

Liquid Multipurpose Glue

$4.00

Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$8.50

Cat Punch

$18.00

Mango Melody Classic Stampin' Pad

$7.50

Gusseted Cellophane Bags

$5.00

Basic Black Baker's Twine

$3.00

And your favorite Candy, of course! I lived in Hershey, PA for a few years, so of course the kisses (wrapped in orange foil) went into the treat bag!!

Just a few easy steps:

  1. Create the Crate.
    • Use the Wood crate framelit to cut two pieces out from the wood textures paper. I was able to cut both from a single sheet of 6″x6″.
    • Fold and Glue together.
  2. Use the Cat Punch with a black cardstock scrap for your black cat.
    • Glue to the front of your crate.
  3. Stamp the moon from Wood Words in Mango Melody on a white cardstock scrap.
    • Die cut using the wood crate framelit set.
    • Glue to the front of your crate.
  4. Stamp a sentiment for your tag on a white cardstock scrap using Mango Melody ink.
    • Cut out using the wood crate framelit set.
  5. Fill the bag with candy and tie it up 12″ of your with your bakers twine.
    • Don’t forget to tie your tag onto it!

halloween treat holders

If you found this tutorial useful, please follow my blog so you can find many more! I love sharing my passion with others and hope to see you again!

With this project, I’m playing along with the following challenges:

If you love halloween as much as I do, why not make a few fabulous halloween cards to send, too? These use the Stampin Up Beautiful You set, and are perfect for sending to your “ghoul-friends!”

Happy Crafting!

marbled paper using nail polish to create a stack of cards
DIY, paper, tutorial

Marble Watercolor Paper with Nail Polish and Make Your Own Designer Series Paper

Laura's Craft Closet

A stunning background can really make a card have that WOW factor.

There are many ways that can accomplish that, so I always love to find a new one! I love Designer Series Paper, but did you know you can make your own??

nail polish marbled paper for stack of cards

If you are anything like me, you have a lot of nail polish bottles that are getting a bit old, but out of guilt you keep them — and once in a while treat yourself to a manicure (if only just to cover up the ink stains on your hands from stamping!), but the joy for that specific color or painting your nails is no longer there. I get it; I hate wasting. Even as I continue to simplify my life and minimize my possessions, throwing things out is hard.

So I found a creative way to use those nail polishes: use them to make a scrapbook page or a fun card! That orange would be perfect for a “Tropical” layout, but just doesn’t cut it anymore for my nails ha ha!

On Pinterest, I’ve seen people using nail polish to color wood and other materials, but wondered if I could use a similar technique for my paper crafting! See below for what I did:

How to prepare:

Ingredients: Nail Polish, Watercolor Paper, Pan, Water, Toothpick, Paper Towels or Newspaper, Drying Rack (optional)

supplies needed to marble paper with nail polish
That’s it? This will be easy!

Choose some nail polishes. I used three colors for each dip but more or less would be fantastic, too! Open their tops to make it easy to quickly pour. Mine are fairly old (more than a few years) and they each seemed to have their own behavior in the water, but that added character to the marble!

Have your Watercolor Paper ready. I use a heavyweight paper from Stampin Up, but if it holds up to water, it should hold up well with this craft.

Lay out pieces of newspaper or paper towels on your table or surface. I actually used junk mail. Whatever will protect your surface in the event of messiness.

Pour about an inch of lukewarm water into your pan. Your pan should be large enough to accomdate the size of your paper.

Spread out your supplies. Moving efficiently will increase the likelihood that your papers will turn out well, so you’ll want everthing prepared and within reach. No need to rush, but the following took me about 5 minutes.

How to marble paper with nail polish:

1. Pour a few stripes of one color of nail polish in the water. Pour a few more of a different color. Continue with all of the colors your want to use. Have fun with it! Don’t try to purposefully draw anything– just let the water swirl.

Pour in a few drops of your first color.
Pour in other colors.

2. Use the toothpick to swirl a few lines through the polish.

3. Pick up your paper and place it face-down on the water surface for a few seconds. With one corner, carefully pull the paper back up and flip it over. Place it down on your drying rack or paper towels.

Place paper face-down
The drying rack helps
But the rack is optional

4. Depending on the size of your paper, you may have used most of the polish up. If that is the case, use your toothpick to glide through the water to pick up the “skin” that forms a layer on top of the water. Now your pan and water is ready for more polish and more paper marbling!

clean water by pulling a toothpick through the water to pick up the skin from the polish
The polish skin “sticks” to the toothpick as it dries.

5. If you were using small pieces of watercolor paper, you may be able to (quickly) dip more paper on the surface. By the third dip unfortunately, enough time as passed for the nail polish to congeal a bit. Blek. My paper ended up looking like a spiderweb of plastic.

6. This seems to be the limit before pouring out and using new water. Let your papers dry fully before using them.

You never know how this will turn out, and I LOVE that!

first marbled paper using nail polish for tropical colors

Multiple pieces done all in less than 10 minutes!

I was worried about the texture of the paper after I had layers of nail polish on it, but it just feels like sturdy cardstock! It doesn’t smell like nail polish, and BONUS: the paper is now water-resistant!

marbled paper cards

To make these cards, you’ll need:

Supplies:

Watercolor Paper

$5.00

Stampin' Write Markers New Color Assortment

$48.00

Tropical Chic Clear-Mount Bundle

$44.00

Fabulous Flamingo Photopolymer Stamp Set

$21.00

Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies

$30.00

Crafting Forever Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$20.00
Ink and Cardstock Colors:

Melon Mambo
Petal Pink
Mango Melody
Garden Green
Night of Navy

AND OF COURSE NAIL POLISH! Whatever colors you own, your new DIY Designer Series Papers will go well with cardstock in matching or neutral colors!

Want other ideas for your watercolor paper? Check out this Stack of Watercolor Cards!

Or create other cards using these adorable stamp sets: Check out this fun-fold Tropical Chic card tutorial and these Happy Crafting comic cards!

I’m playing along with the following challenges:

I hope you had fun with this tutorial. I’d love to see your marbled paper, so please leave a comment or a picture! And if you found this tutorial useful, please bookmark it or maybe even follow the blog for more craftiness! Happy Crafting!