#thriftythursday10

My swap cards for Orlando Onstage need to be 5½ inches by 4¼ inches - that's 14cm instead of the Australian 15cm, so there's a nice strip left over. For Thrifty Thursday I designed a class card which uses that strip to carry the sentiment! 

No waste of those perfectly cut strips, class prep and swaps dealt with at the same time - now that's a thrifty use of time AND card!

You can shop in my online shop anytime of the day or night, you can email an order and let me know if you want to give me your credit card details, drop by with cash or direct debit into my bank account. When you make your online order and use the host code, I share the Host benefits with you by posting product to you in the following month.

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Thrifty Thursday #9 Saving a Reject

If you have read a few of my Thrifty Thursday pieces, you'll know that I have a tendency to not waste much, so you can imagine my reaction when a lady in my class goes to tear up something she has stamped and is not happy with.

The card standing at the rear is a sample for class a while back. I have a lady who doesn't cope very well when she smudges or speckles her work. She usually rips it in half before I get a chance to show her ways to save it. Unfortunately this has occurred more than once. I always feel obliged to provide her with fresh materials, but when she smudged a leaf on this card, I managed to grab it before she ripped it!!! Her hands were in position to do just that, but I passed her some more card (took this piece from her) and she started again. 

I told her I would show her what could be done with her rejected piece. I actually probably didn't need to give it the fancy-framed cut, as I stamped over her smudged leaf and it is still there on the card. See the pale blue leaf under the Blueberry Bushel one? That stem was the issue! However, it gave me a chance to show a different way of displaying that stamped example. Some of the rhinestones cover other imperfections.

No matter the problem, there is usually a way to save your project, and if it isn't suitable for you to use or sell, there are many outlets which would happily accept your rejects, such as a retirement village, someone who is doing a fundraiser or even just send it as a Random Act of Kindness.

Have a productive day, 

Thrifty Thursday #5

Happy Thrifty Thursday!

As I live in Australia, I use metric measurements and our A4 card is sized differently to the States too. I like to cut my card at 14.5 cm, which is a little less than half our sheet. The reason is that it makes it so much easier for working out the size to cut mats. It also leaves a narrow strip of card, and of course, to be thrifty, I need some ways to use it.

I sent a bunch off to our school after-care for the kids to weave with, but then I discovered so many ways to use it on my cards. You can see how effective it is here instead of the usual mat. The colours from the stamping were pulled and laid at even intervals behind the 'art' piece. That was purposely added a little skewed for a casual feel.

This hint is more of a time-saver than thrifty. 

I also pre-cut other pieces to have on hand for quick card-making sessions or classes. One of my favourite sizes is 12 cm by 8cm, and if you make a mat for it, that will be .5cm larger. When my friend was visiting from interstate, we had a stamping evening using the new stamp set, Rooted In Nature. This is not an inexpensive set, but it is large and it is very useable, much like the old favourite, Lovely As A Tree. I don't have any inside information, but I suspect that Rooted In Nature may replace Lovely As A Tree. Its strong enough for a masculine card, but has a number of feminine elements which make it suitable for the ladies too. There are words for thanks, and 'Thinking of You' suits a get well or sympathy, as does 'words are never enough.'

Kathryn didn't mention it, but I'm sure she was very impressed that I had all these pieces of white card already cut!  We stamped a number of different versions following this basic idea of the 2 sizes of leaves stamped in toning colours. If you want to take a look at Rooted In Nature in my shop, click on it's name. If you order and use the Host code, there'll be surprises in the mail from me in the following month.

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I'd love to hear from you if you find these Thrifty Thursday blogs useful.

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