project use up my stash

9/13/2019

A few years ago, I made a goal to try to use up my stash of papers so I would have room to add new stuff to my collection. But it's REEEAAALLLYYYY hard to not buy new stuff when there are so many shiny new stamps, papers, and inks available. Needless to say, I didn't get very far before I eventually broke down and started buying new inks, papers, stamp sets, and dies.

As many of you know, I was an Independent Stampin' Up! demonstrator from 1998-2008. During those 10 years, I amassed a lot of supplies. I had complete sets of ink pads and markers and a healthy stash of cardstock and designer series paper.

I was a demonstrator when SU! first changed a significant number of their signature colors (2005). While you can't see it in this photo, I have another couple dozen of the old, old, old-style ink pads in original SU! colors. Luckily, I left not long after they began introducing In-Colors - their yearly sets of 5 colors that are available for only 2 years before being retired. Otherwise, this stack of ink pads would be even more unwieldy.

That wooden container is designed to hold 48-52 ink pads. Stampin' Up! has gone through a couple of color refreshes since I was last a demonstrator. As I have been adding the new colors to the box, I have been kicking out the old ones and am quickly running out of room in the area surrounding the box.

However, I still have all this cardstock and Designer Series Paper in retired colors. It seems a waste not to use it and I can't get rid of the ink pads while I still have the coordinating papers.

So, I took an inventory of all of my paper product. I was able to discard a few ink pads from my stash when I discovered I no longer had any paper to match.

But I still have a long, long way to go. These plastic bins are filled with Designer Series Paper. Do you know how long it takes to use up a single sheet of 12"x12" patterned paper when you are making cards? A long time. The half dozen cards I made used less than 1/2 of a sheet of Designer Series Paper. (*Side note: I should really get back on top of my scrapbooks. That might speed up this project.)

Since I became a demonstrator again in March, #ProjectUseUpMyStash has taken the back burner and my retired stash is starting to get dusty. So, in an effort to conquer this mound of paper, I am going to regularly share projects I make with retired paper.

No, you can no longer buy the paper. Although if you really fall in love with a piece, I might be willing to share. But maybe you have your own stash of papers fallen to the wayside while your head was turned by all the new pretties in the Holiday Catalog. Let's start using our stashes and sharing our creations with the world. Nobody's going to know, or care, that your paper is 5, 10, or 20 years old. They will be too excited by the beautiful handmade cards, pages, and projects you've shared with them.

This week, I paired the Cup of Christmas stamp set and the Cup of Cheer dies from the 2019 Holiday Catalog with the Holiday Thyme Designer Series Paper from the 2 006 Holiday mini catalog. This paper coordinates with the colors True Thyme and Cranberry Crisp from the very first class of In-Colors available during the 2006-2007 catalog year. (Yup, they were only available for one year.) It also uses Bravo Burgundy and Bashful Blue, which had been introduced in the 2005 color refresh. Finally, the Holiday Thyme Designer Series Paper incorporates Old Olive, the only color currently available from Stampin' Up! Luckily, I still have cardstock and ink in all of those colors.

This paper is gorgeous! Lots of stripes and patterns that don't distract from your focal images, plus this poinsettia paper. I quickly made 7 cards (a baker's half dozen?). These cards could easily be made using current Designer Series Papers like Wrapped in Plaid or Let It Snow, or any of the numerous Christmas themed prints you have in your own stash!