Wednesday, August 13, 2008

One Man's Trash....

They say that one man's trash is another man's treasure. Well, that's exactly what today's post is going to be about!

While I have always been 'Green' to an extent, I've come to see saving our environment as a priority in my life. I think having a child has made me so much more passionate about preserving our resources for the next generation. Well, my philosophy has started to extend into my paper crafting. Do you know that each of us produces 4.6 pounds of trash every single day? Now, I no longer look at my 'trash' in the same way. I hope that once you read this entry, you'll feel the same way.

One of the tenets of living a Green life is reusing things whenever possible. Making cards is a perfect way to use some of those things that you may normally throw away.
My first card began life as a pile of trash.



The first thing I did was cut a section of the corrugated cardboard. This became the front of my card. I peeled away some of the paper and dry brushed it with green paint.



Next, I made my own embellishments. I used some plastic packaging from stamps I recently received. I punched flowers from the plastic and dropped several drops of alcohol ink on them. I also added several drops of blending solution and swirled it around a bit.




Once the flowers were dry, I traced the edges with a Sharpie pen and added a button center. To complete the card, I used paper scraps, hemp and a rubon.




So, next time you go to throw something away, take a closer look. Could it make a fun embellishment? Might it be the basis for a great background? I'm sure you won't look at your trash the same way again once you get started!!

Have a great day,
Anabelle

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Now aren't you cute and clever!!! What is funny is my DH and I were unwrapping our new BBQ from it's ton of papers, etc last night and here I am SAVING some of the papers! They just looked like they needed to be used. LOVING the red flowers.

Anonymous said...

ekkk - my comment has the wrong link to it!!!

Miki said...

Well neither of those cards look "trashy" missy...they are amazing! I think my favorite is how you re-used the plastic packaging to make your own embellies. I have a hard time tossing the packages sometimes, so its great to think of a different way to reuse them, thanks!

Angie Tieman said...

Awesome cards and a great idea!!

Anonymous said...

Holy cow! That is so cool. I love the plastic flowers. totally awesome.

Unknown said...

Very neat projects!! Thanks for showing us all the parts! :)

Unknown said...

Bravo for "going green!" I'm trying to leave a smaller carbon footprint and it's harder to do in the stamping area of my life than in others. Your cards are lovely and I salute you!

Lisa T. said...

This is so inspiring. What a great way to reduce, reuse and recycle. You should teach a class on this!

I've nominated you for a "I Love Your Blog" award. Check out my blog for the details.

Bunny B said...

Wow! Great ideas! Bravo on going green! :) Lovely cards!

Sarah said...

I love these cards... especially the one with the cute red flowers.

Melanie said...

Girl! This is an awesome post. I love all your ideas and tips and of course, your projects are absolutely gorgeous! You go girl!

Sherry Wright said...

Wow girl, these SO rock.. you're the queen of green!!

DeeDee said...

These are GREAT...I love to recyle or is it upcycle?!?!??!! Anyhoo...your ideas are great...TFS!!!

Fiona Carter said...

I love your ideas of recycling! And your projects are beautiful. Well done.