My paper recycle bin sits next to my work table.  It’s a large, deep box, and I toss my paper scraps in there as I cut.  My recycle bin has colorful layers that tell the story of the projects I’ve been up to over the last few months, much like the soil of the earth.

Using a recycle bin makes me feel “better” that these paper scraps will be recycled, but also makes me very conscious of the waste scraps I create while working.  As a result, I really try to eke out every bit of usable paper as I print, cut, work.  Anything over a certain size, I keep in my “leftovers drawer,” with the idea that I might one day find a use for these scraps.

So anyway, in January, a project landed me with a stack of 200 sheets of 12.5” x 5” text-weight white scraps.  That’s a pretty big stack of scraps – way too big to just toss into my recycle bin without a second thought.  And also too big to fit into my brimming “leftovers drawer.”  So for a couple of weeks, I kind of shuffled this stack around my work tables; everyday it stared me in the face – a monkey on my back.  It seemed like I must be able to find a use for this stack of odd-sized text-weight paper.

My a-ha moment came one day as I walked into my studio and sighed at the stack sitting on the corner of my work table – these sheets would make great pages for mini-books, I thought…  A-ha!

So I created these mini scratchbooks (above) with the scrap sheets.  I think they’ll be a fun, interesting, and useful thing to give to new clients, new vendors, new friends I meet over the next few months.  And I definitely feel like they show people what I “do” – which is:  I take invitations and paper goods to a totally different level by stepping out of the realm of paper alone, and by incorporating dimensional elements that make things really pop.

The covers of the scratchbooks are made with cotton fabrics, in a variety of prints and colors.  Twelve blank, white pages are sewn into those covers, useful for jotting down addresses, phone numbers, inspiration, notes to yourself, or for doodling.  And best of all, I used the entire stack of paper scraps, so they’re no longer staring at me every morning when I come in.  Yay for that!

Dogwood Blossom Stationery is… Color.  Embellishment.  Dimension.