U is for UPCYCLING #AtoZChallenge

Hi and welcome to the final week of my A to Z Blog Challenge – Scrapbooking Edition!

This blog sprint has been a challenge in many ways. I’ve been drafting the posts sequentially, but there have been moments where I’ve wanted to cheat and go out of order. That happened last weekend. I was supposed to working on the T is for TEARING post (a technique that is new to me), but I kept working on pages for the following letter.

It is evidence that I’ve been subconsciously looking forward to today’s letter – U is for UPCYCLING.

Upcycling is the reuse of discarded objects or material in such a way as to create a product of a higher quality or value than the original.

Upcycling is great because there are materials and inspiration everywhere you turn.

Multi-media and marketing make pop culture images available at your local grocery store in the form of facial tissue and cereal boxes, which gives you a dual purpose for your money.

I’ve even seen new movies promoted on tea containers.

I used this BEAUTY AND THE BEAST image on my movie page.

I like to save the little spiritual messages that come as tags on my tea (as seen in the P is for PUNCHES post).

These beautiful Nutcracker Suite-esque ballerinas came off of a Godiva chocolate package. I’m looking forward to using them on a Holiday page in the future.

As an avid recycler and tree-hugger, I love saving objects from the trash bin and giving them a new home in my scrapbook pages.

One way I utilized upcycling recently is with a perfume page. I’d mentioned in my K is for KEEPSAKES post how I scrapbook the clippings from magazines for beauty products. Every decade or so I come across new make-up and fragrances.

Recently I’d come across an advertisement for a London based perfume company which offers a line of natural scents, and I made a plan to check them out.

(It’s funny, just when I don’t think I’m not that girly, my Libra-ness kicks in.)

I made a jaunt to mall and sampled the product line. A sales lady helped me peruse, and the marketing for the perfume included little square cards that listed the scent’s name on the front and the fragrance’s notes (the ingredients: i.e. lavender, mint etc.) on the back.

They gave me little paper promos to take home! You know I was tickled pink by this. This company knows how to sell to scrapbookers, to say the least. J

One technique that I hadn’t illustrated but I use frequently is the hinging of paper using packing tape. I do this to adhere dual-sided paper elements and to create pull-to-open areas. Any clear packing tape works, but I particularly like the kind they sell at the post office. It’s inexpensive, thick and durable, and stays clear when adhered.

I cut the tape to the width of the paper square and position it where it’s spaced properly (able to be opened in coordination with the other page pieces). Once in place, I add a clear corner to hold the square closed.

I then included parts of the magazine ad, and the company name from the paper test strip.

In addition to using the squares, I added a green bow that came off a bag of mini-scones from Panera. (Note: Neither the bow nor the pastries went to waste during the drafting of this post.)

After I got all of my elements in place, I added my upcycled bow to the corner.

I’m proud of how the page turned out. I even included a little pearl next the scent I liked best, although the Red Rose layered with Grapefruit (the saleslady’s suggestion) smelled heavenly, too.

Used gift cards and fancy boxes also make great upcycling materials. The cardstock is pretty and perfect for frames and die cuts.

Images from flyers and leftover tissue paper works well, too.

I warned you that I was going to go nuts with this letter, right? Lol. I thank you for hanging with me throughout my exploration of UPCYCLING.

We’ve posted on twenty-one letters so far, which leaves only five left to go. It’s been a challenging-exciting-educational blog sprint, and I can’t thank you enough for going on this journey with me. As always, if you’d like to leave a comment, please do so. I get a little busy mid-week, but I so appreciate you taking the time to comment, and I strive to reply each one.

I’ve met fellow AtoZ bloggers with fun, entertaining themes, so if you are so inclined, please check out their pages, you can find them with the search word “A to Z Blog Challenge.”

And if you are able to stop back by tomorrow I will have another letter waiting for you – V is for VELLUM.

See you soon!

-         SNG