FRUGAL SCRAPBOOKER

Plastic is ubiquitous in our lives. There are so many different kinds and some of the plastic lying around our household is potentially useful for scrapbooking and card making. Check out your cupboards and recycling bin and see if anything catches your eye.

Some plastics can be used as is, such as plastic straws, tablecloths, mesh bags, and bread tags, while other plastics can be transformed by heating or colouring. Some plastic is easily cut with dies and scissors to make stencils, masks, and other embellishments, or it can be dry embossed or foiled if it’s fairly thin and flexible. Clear plastic packaging often is well suited for dry embossing and die cutting. If you don’t have suitable plastic in your house, you can buy craft plastic and acetate at scrapbooking stores to try some of these techniques. Check out some of these ideas for using plastic in your paper-crafting projects.

SHARK BOY

Connie Nichol, Sherwood Park, Alberta

SUPPLIES: Carta Bella Paper Co. patterned paper and stickers, Ranger Dylusions paint, Stampers Anonymous stamps, StazOn ink, Pinkfresh Studio alphabet stickers, Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Drops, Zebra Pen Sarasa markers, EK Success punches, recycled bubble wrap, transparency and straws.

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Connie stamped the Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz octopus and some of the fish stamps onto a transparency with solvent ink, coloured the backside with Zebra Pen Sarasa markers and cut them out to make embellishments. She brushed paint onto a strip of bubble wrap to stamp the border on the bottom of the page and then adhered another strip of bubble wrap to the top to add more texture.

SUPPLIES: Simple Stories patterned paper and stickers, American Crafts cardstock, Zebra Pen Sarasa pens, Sizzix die, Dollar Store meltable beads, plastic drinking straws, Glue Dots Adhesives.

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Connie fused plastic drinking straws together and then used a thick die to cut out stars. To fuse the straws, just lay them close together between two pieces of parchment paper and iron. The paper will keep the plastic from sticking on the iron or the ironing board. Make sure your iron does not come in direct contact with the plastic and do your ironing in a well ventilated room.

SWEET & SASSY

Tracy McLennon, Sydney, Nova Scotia

SUPPLIES: Simple Stories patterned paper, chipboard stickers, cardstock stickers, foam stickers, journal bits, washi tape and enamel dots, Creative Scrapbooker Super Stock, Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L Adhesive Lines, E-Z Runner Ultra, 3D Foam Squares and E-Z Runner Fine, unknown cardstock and alphabet stickers.

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Tracy designed her layout using the Kate & Ash collection by Simple Stories.What a fabulous idea to add plastic straws to your layout!

ENJOY THE LITTLE

Connie Nichol, Sherwood Park, Alberta

SUPPLIES: Ranger Dylusions stencil, Glossy Accents, stamps and ink, Therm O Web Deco Foil Transfer Gel and Foil Transfer Sheets, unknown cardstock, recycled plastic onion bag and transparency.

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Connie stenciled Therm O Web Deco Foil Transfer Gel onto a heat resistant transparency she rescued from an old pile of office supplies. Then she added Foil Transfer Sheets by running the transparency through a laminating machine.

A plastic mesh onion bag makes great trim. Just cut strips with sharp scissors, and colour if desired by dabbing with alcohol ink.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Connie Nichol, Sherwood Park, Alberta

SUPPLIES: Tonic Studios cardstock, MultiCraft die cut, sequin trim and vellum sentiment, Creative Impressions embossing folder, Glue Dots Adhesives, recycled packaging.

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Connie used Glue Dots Glue Lines to adhere the sequin trim to her card.

THE SEA!

Kim Gowdy, Sherwood Park, Alberta

SUPPLIES: Tonic Studios Craft Perfect card blanks with envelopes, Haberdashery Tim Holtz scissors and Stamp Platform, Impression Obsession stamps and dies, Ranger Tim Holtz Alcohol inks, Distress ink and Embossing Glaze, Elizabeth Craft Designs double-sided tape, recycled plastic packaging.

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Kim applied alcohol ink to a recycled piece of plastic packaging. She then cut out the seaweed shapes using an Impression Obsession die.

SUPPLIES: Creative Scrapbooker Super Stock, Therm O Web Deco Foil Card Front Toner Sheets, Foil Transfer Sheets, Flock Transfer Sheets and Gina K. Designs Foil-Mates, Stampin’ Up! stamps, Ranger Liquid Pearls, Sizzix embossing folder, Tim Holtz Idea-ology metal embellishments, May Arts Ribbon, recycled plastic.

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That gorgeous circle background was created using a Deco Foil Unity Toner Card Front – Circles a Plenty and Foil Transfer Sheets.

Desiree stamped her images on a plastic pastry container and then heat set them in the oven.

BREAD CLIP CARDS

Connie Nichol, Sherwood Park, Alberta

SUPPLIES: Ranger Dylusions sentiment stamps, MultiCraft googly eyes, Sharpie pen, Tonic Studio Nuvo Crystal Drops, Glue Dots Adhesives, recycled bread bag clips.

HAPPY MEMORIES

Connie Nichol, Sherwood Park, Alberta

SUPPLIES: Elizabeth Craft Designs dies, Zebra Pen Sarasa pen, Picket Fences Studios sequins, Ranger Glossy Accents, Brother sewing machine, Tonic Studios Tim Holtz Haberdashery scissors, plastic tablecloth and snake.

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Connie cut out the happy faces from a dollar store plastic table cloth using a sharp pair of Tonic Studios Tim Holtz Haberdashery scissors.