Treasury of Memories

get those Christmas cards out of that basket....

and re-use them on a scrapbook layout re-capping all of your holiday fun!!! I love capturing the beautiful artwork and sayings included on holiday cards by using my very favorite square Marvy punch...

Step #1: Gather cards with fun artwork and sayings.
Step #2: Punch out squares (or circles if you would like) from those cards.
Step #3: Punch out pictures of your holiday gathering, the food, the stockings, your children opening up their presents, etc. using the same punch.
Step #4: Arrange all squares or circles in a grid-like pattern on your page with a fun title and maybe some paint/ribbon/stickers and VOILA!! - unto you a Christmas/holiday scrapbook page is born in a matter of minutes!
Here is mine:
 
Happy earth-friendly, holiday crafting everyone!!!
xo,
Patti

brown bag winner!!!

My deepest apologies for taking this long to post the winner of our brown bag idea post!! All of you ladies had such great and innovative ideas for re-using TOM's brown bags....I decided to create an art or inspiration journal for the lucky winner....DANI!!!
This journal was made with 100% recycled materials...either brown bags, recycled chipboard, or bits and pieces I pulled out of my overflowing "scrap" drawer at home. I even made pockets out of the brown bags that could hold inspiring pictures from magazines or brochures from traveling.

Conratulations Dani...this little diddy will be waiting for you at TOM. Thank you all for playing and keep re-using those bags!!!
xo,
Patti
P.S. See those fun polka-dots on the cover of the journal? That's bubble-wrap painting my friends...a technique we will be mastering in my upcoming class, From Trash to Treasury! Come join the fun and sign up today!

brown bags, brown bags....

what to do with all those brown bags you accumulate from shopping at your favorite store, Treasury of Memories???

Here are some fun ideas to reduce your own waste and re-use these little beauties:
- use them as a craft mat to paint on (cutting them in half and spreading them out on the floor is perfect for painting large canvases)
- paint or draw on them and then use the design to wrap presents!
- cut them up and bind together to create a fun art journal or a place for shopping lists
- crinkle them up to use as background paper on your scrapbook layouts
- splatter paint on them and then cut up to make different shapes (we will be learning how to make paper flowers out of these brown bags in an upcoming class...they are so cute)
- ball up and use as filling in different baskets or to cushion fragile packages when mailing

How do YOU re-use your brown bags??? Leave a comment sharing your "earth-friendly" ways of re-using the bags and one lucky winner will win a brown-bag-riffic prize package made by me (I promise...it will rock).

xo,
Patti

another "keep it green" tip with Patti

There are so many great "scrap-able" materials around your house that you can use to create fun and unique embellishments on your pages and within your mini-books. I love the idea of using cereal boxes and other boxes as "chipboard" material to include fun colors and stories on your pages. Check out what Lisa did with a graham cracker box in her mini-book highlighting her family's adventures in S'more making:

Is that not the cutest thing you have ever seen? Cute AND earth-friendly....love it Lisa!

Challenge yourself to use some packaging around your house in your crafting today...other ideas might include: cereal boxes, plastic packaging of stickers/rub-ons, tags from clothing, post cards and/or other mailings, catalogs, or even those pretty brown bags from TOM work great as mini-book pages!

Thanks Lisa for your constant inspiration!
Happy earth-saving everyone,
Patti

remember this?

Love this little canvas...not only because it's so cute and tiny and full of Elsie yumminess but because it serves as a little reminder for me to do what I can to protect our planet. There are so many ways we can help out the cause (little, tiny, "take 2 seconds out of your day" ways) so I thought it might be good to start a conversation about this topic here on the blog. I need a good title....how about "Earth-friendly tips with Patti"? or "Be Green with Patti" or maybe "Green is the new black says Patti"? Any other suggestions?

Never thought you would hear scrapbooking and "being green" in the same sentence? Think again....

Tip #1: Keep a recycle bin AND a garbage can near your scrap space. That way you won't automatically throw all of your "recyclable" scraps away!
Tip #2: Devote a drawer to your scraps...you can use these scraps for embellishments or mini-book pages later! (Here's the secret....you actually have to OPEN the drawer and dig through those scraps).

P.S. Love the goodies you see on this mini canvas? All Love, Elsie products are 40% off right now...come in and stock up!

xo,
Patti