Using Your Stash

The key to free gifting is simple, use what you have. I know this is a foreign concept for a lot of people. There are so many cute things in the stores nowadays, new fabric designs, cute crafting papers, adorable embellishments, and don't get me started on the gadgets. There's a gadget for just about anything that would make your life so much better. DON'T FALL INTO THE TRAP! You have cute stuff at home, you can often do without the gadget, and seriously you'll respect yourself more in the morning if your project was free (or really cheap) rather than spending money unnecessarily.

I know you all have a "stash", you know what I mean even if you don't want to admit it. Any self respecting crafter has a stash of some kind, fabric, paper, stamps, ribbon, the list could go on and on. Heaven forbid you have several hobbies then the stash can be pretty extensive. Mine consists of LOTS and LOTS of fabric, some paper, stamps, embellishments, gadgets, paints etc. I try and use what I have before I hit the craft store. Usually I can find enough fabric for any crafting project, and enough paper for most paper projects in my craft room.

Well I did some "Stash Crafting" today and this is what I came up with:

You have to remember that my crafting skills far outweigh my photography skills! These are tiny little composition books that I found on clearance months ago for about 60 cents each. They are about 4" x 2 1/2" and are stinkin' adorable all on their own. Here's how I did it:

First cut a piece of cute paper just bigger than the outside cover of the book. I wanted the black spine to show so it worked best to use the already straight edge of the paper so it will look neat and tidy.

Apply glue (I used a glue stick) to both the paper and the book. Press the paper into place. Use scissors to cut the paper to the size of the book, after you glue the paper on. Add embellishments to your hearts desire! You have a great gift. I think all in all I only spent about 75 cents and that wasn't today, remember I used my stash.

So use your stash and your imagination and see where they take you.