I guess it's time to announce what all this "frugal scrapping" is all about. I was cleaning my office before Christmas and I opened a drawer that had dozens of cards that I had created for various projects for BHG Scrapbooks, etc. and Pinecone Press. They were just sitting there in this drawer taking up space. I was tempted to just toss them, but that nagging "no wasting" training of my youth forced me to come up with a more creative solution. Use them? I'm not much for that volume of correspondence and sometimes the themes are a little "random". But who did I know that was always sending letters to family and friends? I didn't have to look far - my Mom! It was a bit of work, mostly because not all the cards I had created were a standard size, so finding envelopes was a bit of a trick. But just in time for Christmas, I had a darling little chartreuse suitcase full of all occasion cards, some new pens and stamps (both for standard and over-sized envelopes) in the mail to my Mom with two stipulations...use them, but don't return them to my house.

Then a few weeks ago, I was working on some projects for a new Pinecone Press book. When I was done and had mailed them off, I went back to my workspace and looked at all the leftover scraps...then at the giant bin on wheels next to my table (full of older leftover scraps)...then back to the fresh scraps, and I thought, "If I tuck those new scraps away, I'll never see them again. The pile is just too big. If I just sit down and use them up, I'll be happier and know that I'm not wasting any of this really pretty paper." Then my mind wandered and took me back to my childhood and memories of Grandma.

If my memory serves me correctly, Grandma Heath had been a young woman during the Great Depression and their family was hit hard. She didn't waste anything. An old wool blanket would get an extended life as the lining of coat when it could no longer serve as a blanket. I remember one occasion when a leftover morning bowl of shredded wheat ended up in a batch of cookies...which I remember as being quite tasty. I think this is part of her Scotch upbringing.

Which brings me back to being frugal. I don't currently need to be frugal with my scrapbooking supplies - I have enough to last me three lifetimes, even if I share generously with my children and friends. The only thing that I would ever have to buy again is probably adhesives. I am set with every imaginable shade of cardstock, patterned paper to rival any store (although not all of it is in the same quantities that a store might start off with), ribbon, buttons, flowers, felt, fabric, pens (well those black .005's and .01's MIGHT run out), paint, watercolors, stamps and inkpads(and I already have the re-inkers), paper punches, sandpaper, rhinestones, foam, brads, rickrack, lace, threads and floss, twine, wire...I know that I must be forgetting something because the list isn't long enough, but you get the idea. I even have an extra Tonic 12" paper cutter (guillotine-type) in case my main one gets dull. I don't need to buy anything new, I just love to. But here is my personal challenge - limit the saving of scraps...just use them. That can become a great mental and creative exercise.

The other day when I had this epiphany? I lost count at 50 cards made in a couple of days...all sorts of themes and colors. I did start digging into my big bin of scraps and I barely made a dent, but I started at least another 50 base cards before I stopped myself. I have these cute little cardboard suitcases in chartreuse, orange, blue, purple, pale pink and red that I bought at the New York Stationery show that have been sitting empty on my shelf and they house them nicely. Yesterday, I was cleaning my room again (dangerous, obviously!) and came across this kit of Martha Stewart Thank You cards (EK Success). There were 6 "thank you" cards included in the kit, but 4 sheets of stickers. I decorate the cards that were included right away, but was then faced with the dilemma of what to do with the leftover stickers...dozens of them! My current answer to all questions like that seems to be "Make cards!" At first this was relatively easy, but it got tougher the less I had to choose from, especially the sheet of dots. but I accomplished my goal and now those partially used sheet don't bother me any more...they have been emptied and sent to the trash can! So, what, you ask, am I going to do with all these cards? Not quite sure yet, but I'll think of something. Here are just a few samples!