SOMTHING FROM NOTHING - OR ALMOST

I was recently participating in a fun class about creative card folds. I love the extra dimension that you get from a sidefold card or many of the variations of folds. Well it was the end of the class and I was finished a few minutes early. I had the usual piles of scraps in front of me and was about to clean up. Then I began to play. Here is what I came up with.

This little card was so much fun. I used a piece of 3" x 6" card stock folded down the centre to make a 3" x 3" card. Then I took one half of that card and diagonal folded it to the outside.
Then I took a 3" x 3" piece of cardstock and covered it with a scrap of designer paper. This was then attached to the middle portion of the folded triangle . I cut a small triangular piece of the designer paper and glued it to the 'downturn' of the triangle at the back of the card.
With more leftover designer paper I cut a couple of shapes around the flowers and attached them to the inside bottom where the card opens. I found a pretty medallion-like scrap leftover from the centre of a die cut piece from the class. I turned this over and stamped a greeting. Two small pieces of scrap ribbon were attached to the back of the medallion and then the medallion was attached with pop-up foam.
And then I had a cute little easel card made entirely from leftovers.
I think a lot of us just ignore our leftovers. From now on I am going to look at leftovers differently and play around to see what I can create.
I really quite like my little card.

TOO MANY 'TOYS'?

What do you do when you have too many crafting toys? There is no more storage and you just absolutely have to buy some new stamps, paper, tools etc?
Well there is always Craig's List, or EBay. Or you can have a back yard sale or join a rummage sale at a local community centre.
I have found Craig's List and EBay a bit disappointing. Yes I have sold via both, but not without some stress. Firstly, I prefer face to face interactions with people - OK, I'm old fashioned. And then for Craig's List there are the numerous emails back and forth to solidify a price, answer questions, and arrange the exchange of goods for money. On EBay there are always bulk sellers who price things so low that my little stash just can't compete. And I have to figure out postage and then mail the package. So I basically gave up on these two.
And what about yard sales and rummage sales? Well these can be great places to unload all kinds of stuff, but sadly not very lucrative for selling craft items. Most people are looking for a rock bottom deal and usually not looking for that expensive stamp set that you have loved so much.

What I have found to be the best place to sell my excess stash is at garage or parking lot sales offered by scrapbooking stores. Now to get your sales there is work involved. You want your items to be neat and tidy. If they no longer have their own package you might have to find one. Having everything organized into groups really helps. Eg. Stamps, papers, inks, punches, Christmas stuff, etc. And you will absolutely do better if every item has a price on it. Yes, I know that's a heck of a lot of work but it will pay off for you. Choose one of two ways to price. Either price at a level at which you are prepared to bargain a little, or price to sell and maintain that price. Don't undersell your products though. Today I had a successful sale at Clipper Street Scrapbooking in Langley and was quite busy. I sold a lot of product and only two people walked away when they found out my prices were not negotiable. And I ALWAYS have a "make an offer" box, and an "everything 25c" box. Kids just love these.
And now that I have had a nicely successful day selling some of my excess, I can go home and finish my wish list for my next Stampin Up order. It never ends does it? And I don't want it to :)

Happy Canada Day

I made this cute little card at Making Memories make&take on Saturday. Happy Canada Day everyone.