Hi Ella readers, Aly Dosdall guest blogging here today. Repurposing items for use in paper crafting and scrapbooking is a big trend right now. Scrappers and paper crafters are using repurposed vintage items on projects, and more and more scrapbooking manufacturers are coming out with packaging designed to be repurposed as journaling spots, gift containers, or layout accents. I think this trend is fabulous, and to celebrate the wonderful direction the scrapbooking industry is going I decided to coin a phrase: eco-scrapping!

What is eco-scrapping? It is using any item in your scrapbooking that has been recycled or repurposed in some form. Most of us probably do it and don’t even realize it. Have you ever used a birthday or Christmas card on a page? How about a concert or amusement park ticket? Receipts from shopping? Airline tickets? Negative space from alphabet stickers or die cuts? Vintage book pages? Antique store finds? Then you’re an eco-scrapper! There now, don’t you feel proud of yourself? I thought so.

I’d like to share with you two recent eco-scrapping projects I created using the packaging from the most recent release by Jillibean Soup. The scalloped packaging from their adorable sugar picks and corrugated shapes is designed to be repurposed.

Can’t you just see those little cuties on a layout or card? The possibilities are endless! Here are my projects, and a few ways that this packaging can be repurposed:

On this layout I used the sugar picks packaging in two different ways. First, I covered it with a journaling spot where I wrote my daughter’s age, and used it as a corner accent for my photo collage. Second, I covered it with a patterned paper circle and used it as a background for my title.

For this bookmark, I used the sugar picks packaging as a frame for my photo. I measured the size of the circle I needed the photo to fit in ahead of time. Then I used Photoshop to make crop my photo to fit in the circle before printing. I cut the photo with my circle cutter, and then adhered it to the scalloped packaging.

You can also layer the sugar picks packaging with die cuts and buttons/brads to create flower accents, or create a shaker box using the plastic bubble on the packaging. To see both of these ideas on projects, click here.

The larger corrugated shape packaging is a great base for cards (click here to see a sample), or collect several of them to use as the base of a mini album. I’ve already got my collection going for a mini album about my 3 girls.

Just a few tips if you plan on using this great packaging on a project:

1. If you’d like to use the scalloped cardboard packaging, carefully remove the plastic bubble using a craft knife. There may be areas where the cardboard tears, so cover those up with an embellishment, journaling spot, or patterned paper.

2. If you’d like to use the plastic bubble for a shaker box, use a craft knife to make a slit large enough to empty the contents of the package. Add your beads, small punches, etc. and then re-adhere the plastic bubble to the cardboard packaging.

Thanks for letting me share some projects and tips with you today. If you have any eco-scrapping ideas or projects, be sure to leave a comment and link us up. Happy scrapping!

Angie asked me to share a super quick tutorial for how to make a mini flip calendar for 2010! The last day of 2009 is the perfect day to share, right? I created one for her featuring elephants of all shapes and sizes (see it below), and then she created one for a friend of hers featuring the romantic leading men of their favorite Jane Austen films (see it here).



This desk calendar is simple and easy to make. It makes a great gift. Here are some instructions:

1. Find a simple calendar template online. Here is the one I used, by Erica Hernandez. Gather some photos (I found mine on Etsy.com), and drag and drop them into the templates in Photoshop. Print them on matte or semi-gloss photo paper, or print the blank templates first and then add the photos. I printed three 3 x 6 calendar pages per 8.5 x 11 sheet of photo paper.

2. Cover the back of your calendar pages with cardstock or patterned papers. I adhered the calendar pages to some Basic Grey papers BEFORE trimming them. That saved time by combining the two steps of trimming both separately into one quick step of trimming both at the same time. (And it looks neater.)

3. Create front and back covers with chipboard covered in cardstock or patterned papers. My calendar pages are 3 x 6, so I used a 6 x 6 piece of chipboard and cut it in half.

4. Bind your calendar pages and covers with a Uni-bind or other binding machine. You can also use a hole-punch and binder rings, or a large binder clip.

5. Add some number stickers and embellishments to the front cover. Adhere some ribbon to the back cover and tie it in a knot around the front cover. This can also be used as a way to stand the calendar up on a desk. Just untie the knot in the front, flip the front cover over, and the tie the ribbon loosely backward around the front cover easel-style.