Let’s go shopping

In our stash…not the store.

Part of my stash

Do you sit and watch the “Haul” videos on YouTube?  Do you have a stash of goodies in your craft space that would make everyone else drool?  Well, I have a mess.  A ginormous mess that will be taken care of by organizing and cleaning in the upcoming weeks.  Right now I have a project to do and I’m in the midst of it.

You may  have seen my previous post about Post-It-Note Holders that I am making.  I’m into the second round of this task and I am working “smarter” instead of harder.

Paper?  I have tons of paper and don’t need to purchase more.  It is time to get into my stash and make use of the papers I’ve been hoarding for a number of years.  My recent purchases have been specifically for these Holders and, most likely, I won’t use all the papers I’ve purchased.

I have a stack of the 7″ x 7″ cardboard my husband and I have cut up from a larger sheet.  These are stacked on my work surface and ready for the creative process to begin.  Which all starts with a theme idea.

Pullling the theme together

Check your rubber stamps for ideas.  I will be using this Tim Holtz set of stamps for a medical theme.  I have no idea if my friend has someone in the medical field but I’m covering all of my bases.

For a pretty and feminine holder I am using some papers from DCWV and the Mariposa collection.  Only one page out of the entire package intrigued me.  Now there are 47 other papers I will be trying to figure out what to do with later on.  I am pulling some Stampin’ Up! papers that, more than likely, have been discontinued but work well with the Mariposa papers.

Do you have paper stacks with only one or two papers used?

Mariposa paper and Stampin' Up! card stock

More Stampin’ Up! card stock and a piece of 8″ x 8″ paper from Graphic 45 A Proper Gentleman collection.

A Proper Gentleman

Some Club Scrap papers from two different collections I’ve been hoarding along with some of their unmounted stamps.  A postcard I picked up in the Bakersfield, California area when we were working this summer.

Club Scrap papers I've been hoarding

Once I pulled together the papers I will be using, along with some rubber stamps, stickers, or other items that MIGHT make they way onto the holder….just some ideas floating around and can be changed later….I have put all of the items for one holder in plastic sleeves that are for taking layouts to crops.

These sleeves come in so handy for me when I’m doing a large project like this.

Organizing with plastic sleeves

I have a cheap recipe card tucked into the sleeve with the “Working Title” of the Holder and the papers I’ve chosen for this particular unit.  Don’t know what else to call it.  In the sleeve I also dump in any sticker sheets, rubber stamps, or other paper items….Tim Holtz sticker books (with the spiral binding sticking up).

I have already covered the cardboard with the papers I’ve chosen.  The prep work on the Post-It-Note cover is done.  All scoring, folding, and inking has been done and is tucked into the sleeve.

Can you tell I’ve been busy? 😀  You should have seen my hands when I finished the gluing of all the papers to the cardboard 😀  Messy it was.  Now, I’m just discolored 😀

Inky fingers

Now the covered cardboard pieces are being pressed with highly technical equipment 🙂

My press

A sheet of wax paper between each of the paper covered cardboard bases.  Atop the bases is a glass trivet that measures about 11″ x 14″ that I’ve had for years and years.  The weight is my cast iron Dutch Oven.

The bases will remain under this pressure until around 7 or 8 tomorrow morning when I get back into my room and begin work on this set.

Take a look at your stash of goodness.  Money is tight this year for nearly everyone.  Creating your Christmas gifts to give to family and friends will accomplish several things.

1. You will bring a smile to the face of the recipient.
2. You will hear incredulity in the voice of your recipient “You MADE this?!”
3. You will find papers, stickers, and embellishments you forgot you had.
4. You will fall in love with your stash all over again and the ideas will be jumping around in your head.
5. You will use up things in your stash which will, then, justify a trip to the craft store for another “Haul” 😀

We paper crafters are all creative.  Sometimes it just takes a nudge to get the magic flowing once more.  For me, I’m having a wonderful time going through my stash to remind myself how blessed I am to be able to be creative.

Are you ready to take a look at your stash?