Finished Board Book - R3

A little while ago I showed you some finds I found in the kids bedrooms that were due to throw out but I saved them to make mini books.

Well here is the finished project of the little fish board book. I have made it into an album of my daughter and the last year. Her journey through "3".

I saved money here by using old papers from my stash (I wasn't allowed to buy anything new). My chipboard pieces are all used cardboard (though using my opals embossing powders on them isn't the cheapest way to alter them it is WAY COOL!)

Next the flowers.... I did use ones straight from my K & Co Pad but am comforting myself with the knowledge that the cut outs have formed templates I can use to cut more or paint some..... lots of ways to reuse!

The rest of the embellishments and rub-ons all came from my stash and were left overs from other projects.

I could of saved alot of money on this book by making all the paper flowers from scraps of old papers and using stamps and stencils only instead of rub-ons and stickers (although my stamps did get a work out). But sometimes you have to do the project you want to do without scrimping or worrying about the cost. And if you only use products in your stash you won't notice the cost so much.

I know my stash isn't as big as some I've seen but it still needs to be used up. I get excited by the new ranges and papers available on the market and so don't use up all my old papers cause they just don't excite me anymore.

If you're looking for a way to use up old papers I'd suggest making a mini book of some type. First gather together all the papers you have in a particular colour or palette and get creative! This type of exercise is really good for beginners as it helps you build confidence. If you're having to create 10 pages using exactly the same ingredients but they've gotta look different.... you find your creativity pretty quickly. For these types of challenges I like to take the elements I have to work with and lay them out like a salad bar. Cut your papers into random shapes and sizes and then force yourself to work with those.

Plus if you make a rule that you're not allowed to buy anything new until you've used up a quater of your stash you'll be saving money in the long run. I find if you have too many of a certain embelishment you'll get bored of it before you use it all up and then you're left having to store a whole heap of something you'll never use again. Let's face it the manufacturers are now giving us endless choices (which we didn't have in the beginning) so don't get bogged down by too many supplies....... this of course has to be balanced with the advantages of buying in bulk which saves you considerably....... that's why it's handy to shop with a friend... share the cost.... share the supplies! LOL!

BTW: I'm feeling a bit better now for sure thanks to all those who have been enquiring... special thanks to Deb who is a regular poster!