Frugal Friday Tip by Elizabeth

Design Team Member Elizabeth submitted this Frugal Friday Tip.  She said:


I’m sure I’m not the only one of us who has lots of leftover snippets of design paper, cardstock, ribbon and trims tucked away in boxes and drawers, considered too lovely to throw away but too small to use on most projects. These little tree decorations are the perfect way of using up even the smallest snippet.

I just made them up as I went along. The only tools used are circle and label punches. The basis of three were some pretty die-cut shapes I already had tucked away but the base of the top one is just made from punched circles of packaging materials covered in circles of patterned paper, including one cut from the leftovers after poinsettias have been cut out of it. I just backed it on to another co-ordinating circle of paper. Even the gold ribbon bow was saved from the packaging of a 2010 Christmas gift. The backs have a little bit of decoration too so they look good from any direction.

They don't take much of anything ... a little bit of ribbon, twine and some interesting trim, a few flowers, glitter, brads, gems, card candy, peel-offs, various adhesives and a hot glue gun and they can be made in super quick time ... ready to go on the tree or hung on a wall. I’ve even taken the idea a step forward and made one for my little granddaughter, Shari-Ann, to hang in her newly decorated bedroom ... it’s pink, of course.

It’s a little bigger than the others allowing me to add her initials. I made the concertina flowers some time ago, just practicing, and I’m happy to have found a use for them at last.

The floral paper on the back is from a Prima paper stack, Romantique. I hope these have given you some inspiration to pull out your leftover bits and pieces to create these pretty little decorations.

Now it's your turn to go use those leftover snippets  - send a picture along with a description to Scrappinpsycho@live.com and we will post it here.


Do you have a frugal idea to share? Send your tip along with a picture to Scrappinpsycho@live.com . You could be featured as a future Frugal Friday Tip.