Recycling your packaging

Admit it, sometime in the past you have been suckered into buying something purely because the packaging was gorgeous and yet never felt as much love for the contents of the packet. And then there are other times you may have bought something out of necessity and simply thrown the packaging without realising its hidden potential; the fact that it can be used to prettify a layout or card.

I am a major recycling freak when it comes to scrap supplies. Cardboard inlays, price stickers, plastic film wrappers and sometimes even the small boxes (think Prima flower tins and bottles!). I thought of digging out layouts from the last year that I have made using my Studio Calico team kit to share those hidden packaging embellies and inspire you to pause before you toss your next packet in the bin. With so many goodies in a kit at Studio Calico, there is never an excuse to find something with good potential in those heavenly boxes.

Lest we forget those beautiful brown paper bags that swaddle our beloved kits in the first place. Ive used this kraft bag a number of times. Below I used it to first mat my photo and curled up the edges and second - see the swoosh and the flowers? I painted onto my hand cuts of the paper to make this simple layouts flourish a little (I also added the string from previous bag wrapping days too!)

Ive also made two books with the brown paper bags that I would never dream of throwing away. This was from last months kit cutting the bag intow quarters and eyeleting together.This was from the Confections kit and became a simple 6x12 mini albumThis simple layout centres around the string from an old kit packet too which I simply inked and stapled onto the layoutSee this layout below from the Fly a Kite kit? The spotty paper was the reverse of some prima packaging and far to yummy to throw away.The green book lable, tab and journal frame was from an Anna Griffin header pack.See the flower on the bottom right? That's nestled on an America Crafts thicker packet sticker - the little black one that generally outlines whether the thickers are foam/chipboard/fabric etcEven the pins from the clothes pin and ribbon ensembles don't get thrown away which I saved for this quick make card. See the very bottom of this layout? the kind of curved bracket? That was the logo strip on the fabulous new Rip Strips on this months kit! I just hid the Studio Calico wording with the graph rip strip.And you see the filligree kraft tabs on the photo? they are from the Prima packaging also in this months kit.

If you have any links to projects that you have recycled packaging with, do share them in the comments box of this post!