Using Up the Rejects

Hi everyone! Hope your Wednesday is turning out just fabulous. Today I'm sharing another little 10 minute card I made from rejects. Now, when I say "rejects", this isn't necessarily a bad connotation - it just mean things I stamped, cut, or attempted to use on a different project and maybe went another direction, or used a different color scheme. I've been collecting these rejects for quite some time. I keep them around because I liked them at one time, and they feel worthy of use on another project. Then they start piling up - just like that stash of scrap paper. As the pile grows, so does the guilt-o-meter. I eventually can't take it anymore and throw them in a box and start a new pile! LOL Well, today I decided to (gasp) actually USE my two most recent rejects. The first panel is the Urban Praire DP strip that was embossed with the flowers from the With Love Cuttlebug borders. This was my original plan for my OCC card on Saturday, but I just couldn't make the colors work and went with another designer paper.

The second reject is the stamped sentiment with hearts in the corners from the Hundred Hearts set. I originally planned this for use with the mojo sketch this week, but then realized it wouldn't work because the top square would cover part of the sentiment. I threw them both down in the pile and they landed on top of a scrap of chocolate chip cardstock that had missed the mark and found its way into the reject pile instead of the scrap pile two inches over. A glance down at the pile made the wheels in my head start a turnin'.

I told you that I found a few hidden treasures in my drawer this weekend, and the first are these aqua primas and aqua rhinestone brads. Now, I consider myself prima challenged. I continue to buy them because I think they looks so pretty in their jars - all lined up in a row. Or in a box all mixed together. Or strewn about around a photo, like the gals who take the artsy photos of their cards always do. However, I rarely find a way to add them to a card without it looking like an after thought. That is probably because that's what they are - an afterthought. Another guilt-driven use of an embellishment so I can justify the new package I just bought. LOL Anyway, when I found these aqua colored primas at the bottom of the drawer I just knew I had to use them, so I layered two sizes on top of each other, added the rhinestone brads to the center and arranged on the card. They still looked too boring and fake, so I added the fix all for everything - tons of Stardust Stickles. Now, they're super sparkly and I love the look. I finished off with some picot edge ribbon from American Crafts and a turquoise pearl in the center of my looped bow in the corner. Another quick and easy layout and another card done.

What's In It:
Stamps: Hundred Hearts, Sweet Valentine (for inside) - Verve Stamps
Paper: Chocolate Chip (SU!), Urban Prairie (BasicGrey)
Ink: Chocolate Chip Craft, Riding Hood Red (SU!), Copic markers
Accessories: Primas, Rhinestone Brads (Jo-Ann), ribbon (American Crafts), pearl (KaiserCraft, Clear embossing powder, With Love (Cuttlebug)