Tag: bash your scraps

Bash Your Scraps Resources

  • “I always have leftover stickers.”
  • “What can I do with all these mats in the mat pack?”
  • “I love this paper…I can’t just throw away the scraps!”

I love getting a new pack of paper, stickers, or embellishments. And I use the ones I think are SO pretty or that are part of a layout I’m copying from a great designer. But I end up with a LOT of “leftovers” that are too nice to pitch. 

Every year I run at least TWO free Zoom Crops to demonstrate great ways to use up those scraps to make 1–2-page layouts, borders, embellishments, etc. My goal is ALWAYS to teach METHODS that you can use over and over again to make your scrapbooking both fun and easy and to use all those great products you invested in.

On this page, I’ll share some great videos and resources for using up paper scraps, stickers, embellishments, etc. 

Left-over stickers video: This is an old idea made new! MY HINT: save the non-stick backing from a sticker sheet. Arrange your stickers on it…you can move them easily. When you like the arrangement, just transfer each sticker to the same spot on your page or paper strip. 

CM Variety Mat Pack Hack: I ALWAYS have left over mats from mat packs. This great strategy turns them into pages with four mats ready for pictures, a title block and a journaling block. Add pics and a few embellishments…DONE!

Finishing Off a Collection: Diane Gutierrez makes great use of left-over scraps! MY HINT: Noreen Smith’s 1-2-3 layouts (see Organized and Creative Mom) are great for using leftover paper scraps, too. A 1-2-3 layout uses one sheet of two-sided paper and three cuts to create 2-page layouts on cardstock. BUT the 1-2-3 layouts clearly show the exact size of pieces you need to make 2-page layouts so you can use the diagrams along with your scrap sizes to create great layouts while bashing your scraps!

I recently held one of my biannual Bash Your Scraps Zoom crops. We used all three of these videos. Check out a few of my samples below.

This Bash Your Scraps layout used left-over papers, mat pack, and embellishments from the Creative Memories Emerald Gemstone collection. The border on the left is layered designer paper strip + two laser cut border strips. The Bold and Beautiful mat pack title card is mirrored on the bottom with a large mat of similar paper cut down to 4×6. The leafy mat on the right-hand page (left column) is lined to serve as a journaling box. The two mats on the right are mat pack leftovers. The embellishments are from the sticker pack. This layout will hold 5 4×6 photos and two smaller photos.

This layout bashed my stickers! I had these CM stickers for a long time, but no paper to use with them. I used pink shimmer background paper. Before adding stickers to my paper, I arranged them on an old sticker backing paper. Worked great! I worked out the spacing both vertically and horizontally. The green border is a single strip of CM Ruffle Trim Border Maker punch and the green border on the right-hand page is a strip of the CM Garden Ruffle punch. I was so happy to be able to use all those great “word” stickers along with the flowers. I have just a few tiny accent flowers left…I’m keeping that strip with this layout. When I add photos, the last of the tiny flowers fill get added among the photos.

These were done using ONLY mats and embellishments added to a background sheet that is completely hidden by the mats. Note that the left page has a title, a journal box, and room for four horizontal photos. By trimming the 4×6 photos by 1/4 or 1/2 inch on the long and wide edges, my photos will be automatically matted by the great mats behind them. The right-hand page is similar but set up for vertical pics. Note that the words on the top left and bottom right mats will be covered up by photos. Again, this has room for four pics along with the title block and the journaling block. I was able to use up many of my left-over CM summertime mats! And each page took less than 15 minutes to make include embellishments!

I hope you will try some of these great methods for using your bits and pieces! It’s really satisfying to finish a paper or embellishment pack!

Know another good way to use up scraps? Please share it in the comments below! Thanks to all the artists online, on YouTube, and at my Zoom crops for sharing your creations! Please follow my Facebook page so you know when the next Zoom crop will be. They are always free and always fun! And, of course, if you need Creative Memories supplies, please support the Scrappin’ Circle by ordering through my page. Thanks!

Happy Scrappin’!

Marsha Matyas

Corner Rounder Roundup Part 2: Using the Rounded Square for Fabulous Layouts!

This is the second of a blog series on using the humble corner rounder to do more than trim the edges of your pictures. In March 2021, Scrappin’ Circle friends from the U.S. and Canada joined me for a Zoom crop where we focused on using a corner rounder punch (CRP) and paper scraps (bash your scraps!) to create layouts, borders, and embellishments. I received lots of requests to share what we did, so I’m writing several blogs with directions so you can make them, too!

First, I want to give credit where it is due. These ideas were not developed by me but were kindly and publicly shared by their creators/designers. See below for those credits AND links to original sources. I encourage you to “follow” these amazing designers at their websites or Facebook groups. My contribution was to gather these corner rounder ideas together as a group.

In the last blog, you learned how to make a Rounded Square (a square rounded on two corners). Today, I’ll share a wonderful layout that you can make using Rounded Squares.

Materials note:  For ALL the Corner Rounder Roundup projects, you can use:

  • Any corner rounder. You don’t have to have a two-way corner rounder that also cuts indents on corners.
  • Either two-sided or one-sided printed papers.

MEGGAN JACKS’ CORNER ROUNDER LAYOUT

  • Heather H.
  • Marsha M.
  • Terri P.

Meggan Jacks is a wonderful scrapbooking designer and trainer. She graciously shares some free designs through her Facebook page and website. If you love what you see, she offers a membership in her “insiders” group where you can get PDFs of weekly designs, etc. Click here for details.

She created a beautiful layout and shared her how-to’s on Facebook). Note that you need to scroll through the pictures to see the directions and they are in reverse order…but you will get the idea! If you are not on Facebook, I’ll share some directions below.

You will need the following:

  • 1 sheet of 12” x 12” background paper A
  • Twelve 2” x 2” squares of paper
    • Six with a distinct pattern (e.g., palm fronds on Jacks example above). Note that Jacks points out you can cut all six from a mat pack card, if desired.
    • Three with a more subtle pattern or plain (e.g., pink tone-on-tone on Jacks example above)
    • Two with a darker or different print or plain (e.g., navy print on Jacks example above)
  • Four 12” x ½” framing strips OR additional sheet of 12” x 12” background paper B (navy in Jacks example above)

STEPS

  1. Trim ½” off the side and top edges of your background paper A. Resulting page is 11.5” square.
  2. Create frame one of two ways. 1) Adhere background paper A to 12” x 12” sheet of background paper B OR 2) Adhere the four strips of background paper B to the back of background paper A so that ¼” shows on each side on the front. Your whole page should be 12” x 12” square.
  3. Layout your twelve 2” x 2” squares as shown in the samples above. Do not adhere to the paper. Make sure you like the direction of the patterns.
  4. Lift your squares one at a time and use the corner rounder on the TOP LEFT and BOTTOM RIGHT corners only (each resulting Rounded Square should have two round and two square corners).
  5. Put each Rounded Square back on the layout in the correct position after you punch them. Note that the rounded edges should be on the TOP LEFT and BOTTOM RIGHT corners of each Rounded Square when you put them in the layout.
  6. Adhere the Rounded Squares, starting in the corner and leaving a scant 1/8” between the Rounded Square and the side of background paper A. Pay attention to the pattern of colors so they are similar to the samples above.
  7. Time to embellish some of the Rounded Squares! You can use bits of border punches, layered embellishments, stickers, flowers, or other embellishments. Be sure to check out Meggan Jacks’ ideas on Facebook.
  8. If you like the three-photo layout on the examples, cut three 5″x4″ mats or three 4″x4″ mats.
  9. Add embellishments or title as desired.

Some ideas:

  • This would make a great title page for an engagement or anniversary (pics of the bride and groom on the bottom and top corners and a pretty title in the middle) or a vacation (great pics of the travelers on the corners and title in the middle).
  • Some of the Rounded Square can be photos! Consider face shots in some of the spots.
  • Trim your photos as Rounded Rectangles or Squares to add to the mats!
  • Want a two-page spread? Consider moving the bottom right cluster of Rounded Squares to the opposite page.

LAST NOTES AND INFO…

Be safe, be happy, and…be scrappy!

Marsha

Corner Rounder Roundup Part 1: Simple Border

The humble corner rounder. It was probably one of the first tools you purchased if you have been scrapbooking for many years. If you are a new scrapbooker, you may have wondered, “Should I get one of those?” It is most often used for rounding the corners of photos or mats, but it can be a great tool to make some easy borders and layouts!

Creative Memories Two-Way Corner Rounder

In March 2021, Scrappin’ Circle friends from the U.S. and Canada joined me for a Zoom crop where we focused on using a corner rounder punch (CRP) and paper scraps (bash your scraps!) to create layouts, borders, and embellishments. I received lots of requests to share what we did, so I’ll be writing several blogs with directions so you can make them, too!

First, I want to give credit where it is due. These ideas were not developed by me but were kindly and publicly shared by their creators/designers. See below for those credits AND links to original sources. I encourage you to “follow” these amazing designers at their websites or Facebook groups. My contribution was to gather these corner rounder ideas together as a group.

Materials note:  For ALL the Corner Rounder Roundup projects, you can use:

  • Any corner rounder. You don’t have to have a two-way corner rounder that also cuts indents on corners.
  • Either two-sided or one-sided printed papers.

Bash Your Scraps CRP Border

  • Creative Memories
  • Marsha Matyas
  • Terri Perper

This is a super-simple border from Creative Memories. Thanks to Betty McConnell for pinning this on her CM Corner Rounder Ideas Pinterest page. You can make with either 1.5” or 2” inch squares of paper. The first two examples above used 2″ squares but I like the third example using 1.5” squares because it leaves some space between your “flowers” along the edge of the page. The directions below are for 1.5” squares.  If you want to Bash Your Scraps, look in your scraps bin for 1.5” wide strips of paper OR with 3”x3” squares of paper. A 1.5” x 12” strip will make EIGHT 1.5” squares. A 3”x3” square of paper will make FOUR 1.5” squares.

You need to cut:

  • Eight 1.5” squares of one patterned paper
  • Four 1.5” squares of a second patterned paper (OR of the reverse side if you are using a two-sided paper)

Step 1: Using the corner rounder, trim (round) two opposite corners on each square. The resulting piece should have two rounded corners and two regular right-angle corners (see, for example, the leaf print in the bottom left corner of the picture below). IF your pattern is directional (stripes or one-way pattern), you may want to do Step 2 below BEFORE you trim the corners so the pattern looks the way you want. See the stripes on the Creative Memories example in the pictures above.

Step 2: Lay the first four pieces (see pink ones in the picture below). Note that all of the pointed (non-rounded) corners are on the outside or inside of the flower.

Step 3: What should you do with the middle? Here are some ideas!

  • Punch a small circle to serve as the center and glue in place with or without a foam square underneath to add dimension
  • Use a stick-on embellishment such as a pearl, rhinestone, flower, sticker, etc. Use foam square as desired.
  • Add a “stem” as T. Perper did in her example above.
  • Use the “indent” part of the corner rounder to punch a hole in the middle of your flower…note that we found these hard to align to create a perfect circle!
  • Add a title to your top flower.

Want a two-page spread? Consider making one more “flower” add put it in the outside top or bottom corner of the opposite page. Done!

Last notes and info…

Be safe, be happy, and…be scrappy!

Marsha