Use up your stash!

Some time ago I took a good look at my accumulation of craft and art products. I realised that I had a huge amount of stuff and some of it was not even useful any more. I have never really felt that I needed the latest of everything but I found it hard to resist a bargain at craft fairs or art store sales. Then when I did have a big stash I kept wanting to save the good stuff for the big, important projects not the small everyday work I was doing in my studio. Art journaling and general scrapbooking were not important enough

I went to use one of my art products and found it had dried up when I had hardly used it at all. That was the light bulb moment for me. If I didn't use what I had it would be gone before I could use it. Even the scrapbooking supplies that are now seen as out of date would seem too dated if I didn't use them. I had to learn that everything I make or create is important and worthy of the best supplies. I decided to stop buying any more new things and use what I already have. This was hard at first, but now I can go to a craft fair and only buy things that I will use immediately. Sometimes I don't even buy anything at all! It is my goal to use up a lot of items I have been saving so I have more space in my studio.

 This weeks card for the 52 challenge has part of my stash in it. A while ago felt cut out borders were popular for scrapbooking and I bought a few colours. I had this green one that I decided to use.

 You can see it is pretty bright and also self adhesive. It was one length but I cut it into three pieces to fit onto the card front like a background rather than a border.

 I used the Lumiere paints on the tissue paper side of the card. I also did the same on the other side of the card that was plain. I ended up using the plain side for the front and put a quote on the back.

 I sprayed the felt with mica sprays. I was hoping they would become more colored and sparkly but most of the spray was absorbed by the felt. It did make the green color less vibrant.

 When the felt was dry I removed the backing paper and stuck it onto the card. I cut some of the lengths apart so they would fit onto the card better. I used my favorite Inca Gold metallic paints to add more color in random areas on the leaves. I used copper and gold colors.

 I glued on some butterfly cut outs and the card was finished. The quote on the back reads:
"Nothing makes me so happy as to observe nature and to paint what I see - Henri Rousseau."

 You can see how 3 dimensional the felt is. I like the way the altered felt looks so now I will start adding it to more of my scrapbook pages. I love when a small bit of fun, like these cards, inspires me to use products in a new way. Go ahead and look through your stash. Find something you have had for a while and think of a new way to use it. What are you saving it for?