Pals Blog Hop Celebrates Earth Day

Welcome to the Pals Blog Hop for April. To celebrate Earth Day,  this month we are showcasing projects that feature recycled, re-purposed, or earthy/recycling themed elements. You may just be starting the blog hop or may have come from Diane Roberts at Score at Four and a Quarter, #5 on the Pals Hop. If you get off track at any time, the full lineup below will help you move along from blog to blog so you see all of the amazing creations.

This month’s theme has been so intimidating! I am a huge recycler so I have a virtual endless supply from which to choose. I was determined to make something that I would truly want in my house or to give away. I found a beautiful upcycled project on Pinterest and decided I would use that as my inspiration. I wanted to use not only a aluminum can but also decorate it with some recycled or repurposed supplies. That is indeed a challenge! Here is the result of Project #1: This was originally a can of Chick Peas, but I cleaned it well and started the transformation by stamping on a scrap piece of Very Vanilla cardstock with the En Francais background stamp and antiqued it a bit with Sahara Sand, then gluing it down. I then covered that with a scrap piece of Baked Brown Sugar DSP, keeping the opening in the front, then glued the Ruffle Stretch Trim and Crochet Ribbon over it. I did sponge a little bit of Sahara Sand on the DSP as well. I am most happy with the flowers.The large flower in the middle was made with the Spiral Flower die from brown packing paper and Core’dinations cardstock! I cut them all out together (did you know that the Big Shot dies could cut multiple layers simultaneously?), then took a layer of each paper (after sanding the Core’dinations CS) and made the large flower. The other flowers are just one layer of each paper. They were all hot-glued down and a large pearl was added to the middle, which is the only tricky part of the entire process, in my opinion.  The little bow was repurposed from a fraying burlap table runner in my son’s apartment and the leaves were repurposed after making them for another project and didn’t use. The last detail for this project was using the pearls on the edges of the can and paper. Can’t you see using this in your craft room or office?

Project #2

This project started with an old Altoid Tin that I saved quite awhile ago. Again, I am using little scraps of the Brushed Gold cardstock for the top and bottom of the tin, then I decided to use the Gold Washi Tape for the bottom outside as well as the inside on the top and bottom. It lays down very well and allows you to adjust it. The top of the tin was decorated with another upcycled flower and the leaves were stamped onto brown packing paper and cut out. The little flowers flanking the sentiments on the outside and inside are made from the Simple Pressed Clay and molds that Stampin’ Up! sells. I had made these flowers when they first came out but didn’t use them. So, I colored the flowers with the Stampin’ Dazzle Gold Marker. Did you notice they were green? Yep, who knew that they would come out green?? It does come out gold on paper and after one layer of Crystal Effects, it came out gold on the flowers as well, so it must a “clay thing.” No problem though. I just went with it and used the Oval Framelit to cut a scrap piece of Always Artichoke, then ran it through the Big Shot in the Fancy Fan Emboss Folder. I ended this project with stamping the sentiments that are placed inside and outside. Of course, it’s not really finished till there are pearls (or other pretty detail), right? The third photo shows how the Altoid Tin is the perfect size for a gift card!

Project #3

  I am ending this post with the card that I made to go with the first two projects. I used the scraps that I had left from the first project. It is a very simple card using the Banner Framelits which almost never get put away anymore. I used the Ruffle Stretch Trim on the outer edges of the banners for a sweet touch. The Petite Petals flowers were punched out and then layered with one of the flowers from the Boho Blossoms punch and topped with a pearl. I love those two sentiments together!

It’s All in the Details

• Stamp Set: Feel Goods, Label Love, Peaceful Petals, Friendly Phrases, Lots of Thanks
• Paper: In Color Designer Series Paper Stack, Baked Brown Sugar, Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Brushed Gold, Neutral Core’dinations, Pear Pizzazz
• Ink: Always Artichoke, Baked Brown Sugar, Wild Wasabi
• SU Tools: Fancy Fan Emboss Folder, Oval Collections Framelits, Spiral Flower Big Shot Die, Secret Garden Framelits, Boho Blossoms Punch, Banner Framelits, Petite Petals Punch, Deco Labels Framelits, Decorative Label Punch, Artisan Label Punch, clay molds, sanding system
• Finishing Touch: Baked Brown Sugar Ruffle Stretch Trim, 5/8″ Crochet Ribbon, Pearls Basic Jewels, Large Pearls, Gold Washi Tape, Simple Pressed Clay, Stampin’ Dazzle Gold Marker, Crystal Effects

So, every time you use a piece of scrap paper on one of your cards, be proud of yourself for being environmentally friendly! I feel guilty for every little piece that ends up in my trash can, don’t you? But I do the best that I can and if we all do that then it will be okay, I think. I would love to hear from you if you have any questions about my projects. Take a moment to leave a comment, sign up for email notifications and “like” my Facebook page! The next stop is Rae Harper-Burnet at Wild West Paper Arts, #7 on the Pals Blog Hop! Thanks for visiting and I hope to see you soon.

Happy Stampin’!

1. Sue Becker at RnR Stamping
2. Debra Simonis at Deb’s Stampin’ Grounds
3. Nicole Watt at Pixel Maven’s Retreat
4. Colleen Mollema at Uncanny Crafting
5. Diane Roberts at Score at Four and a Quarter
6. Debbie Mageed at Secret Stamper  ← You are HERE
7. Rae Harper-Burnet at Wild West Paper Arts
8. Jackie Diediker at Stampin’ Jackie
9. Lisa Ann Bernard at Queen B Creations
10. Mary Fish at Stampin’ Pretty
11. Martie Pollard at Crafty Bandit
12. Shannon Hokanson at Paper Works by Shannon
13. Dawn Tidd at Tiddbits from Dawn
14. Patti MacLeith at Papercrafts by Patti
15. Goldie Shaul at Punch and Stamp with Goldie
16. Susan Itell at Simple Stampin
17. Christie Crosby at Stampin’ Creativity
18. Peggy Noe at prettypapercards.com
19. Katy McGloin at Just Fun Stamping
20. Natalie Bradley at Natalie Bradley Events
21. Amanda at Inkflair
22. Kerry Willard Bray at Peonies and Paper Chains
23. Brian King at Stamp with Brian