9.16.2007

Messes to Muses

Very Mary admits that her creative processes are not tidy or neat or kempt. She sprawls out in very chaotic, messy, cluttered ways. Her piles give birth to piles. She loses the hole punch and scissors. She smears ink on her fingers and her face. When she's finally done with whatever project it is that she's been working on, when it's finally time to clean up the messy messes, and when she finally feels that her project is complete, she plays a fun little game called "Use Those Scraps." Instead of throwing the wee and unused pieces away, she grabs a few blank note cards. Then, as she tidies, she uses the bits and bobs and scraps to make note cards. She DOES NOT get new materials. She must simply use the leftovers and whatever supplies are within arm's reach. She doesn't spend a lot of time thinking about the design. She does it to keep moving, to keep the creative juices flowing, and to ease the boredom of cleaning up the mess. Usually, by the time she's done with all the little scraps and bits, Very Mary has a few cards, a manageable pile of supplies to stash away, and a happy feeling of completion. She encourages you to try it!


17 comments:

Vallen said...

You give new meaning to the word scrappy!! Love the cards.

Darla said...

Vallen sent me. She mentions you often so I had to come see what you are about.

I'd love to win the cards, I need some inspiration. I'm in month 9 of a Year of Using What I Have. It is getting difficult at this point.

Darla

Anonymous said...

Oooh, I like I like!!
I so hope I can draw some inspirations from here :)

Mary said...

I *love* the idea of "Use Those Scraps"! I'll have to give it a try the next time I have a "mess" laying around...

Lorrie said...

What a great idea! It's good for the creative side of my brain to think of how I can use what I have instead of buying new stuff. Love the cards!

Greta Adams said...

those cards rock...and your package i have for you goes out in the mail TOMORROW... WOOT WOOT!!

Sarah said...

Geez... those are your scrap cards?? They're gorgeous! You have like a black-belt in creativity...

And wow, Darla! A whole year of Using What You Have! I give you a black-belt in will power!

Mika said...

Those are just awesome. I'm always in awe of you paper/ephemera crafters. You really create some gorgeous stuff..and that? from scraps? the bomb! LOL!

Carrie said...

I love the cards, they are so cute! I'm going to have to try your cleaning method. Right now I just throw all the scraps into a basket, waiting to be used.

Anonymous said...

You are amazing. If those are your scraps...I want your trash.

Raesha D said...

What a great idea!!!

Heidi said...

Great idea! I'm more of a clean-up-as-I-go-along kind of gal, partly because my kitchen/dining room table is my own craft spot. But I do have bags of scraps I could use to make cards.

A said...

messy messy messy is fun fun fun!!!

woof nanny said...

You're being honored, my friend.
See my post here

Metallyptica said...

Me, me, me, me!! The cards are lovely!! Pick me please!

Roxanne said...

Okay, this is just pure genius! These cards are beautiful! If these were your scraps, what did your actual project look like? Must have been a masterpiece!

Tanya said...

Hope you're feeling better....T.