Laura Vegas

i have every intention of sharing all about my scraproom during the next few weeks. i moved my scrap stuff from the upstairs loft to the downstairs bedroom, exactly one year ago. and over the last year, it's been an on-going process to get certain things set up to my liking. and i think i'm just about there. i did some major, major cleaning and sorting over the weekend. and i thought i would share one of the things i did that felt really good.

i'm really big on taking things out of their original packaging. it can save you a ton of space. not everything, but a lot of things. one of those things is my chipboard alphabets and shapes. it's usually easier to get rid of the original packaging, which usually consists of a cardboard backing and a plastic piece holding them in. some of the packages, once you open them, you can't close them up again. so i put them into baggies. there are a few sizes that i use, and i get them at michaels or any craft store. if it's a larger group of items, i will use a ziplock bag of some sort.  

but you know how chipboard alphabets usually come with the letter within the negative piece? sure, you can use both the actual letter, and the negative piece, on your projects. in fact, those negative pieces can look really cute when you cover them with paint or pattern paper, and then tie little ribbons around the side. i've done it. on cards and layouts. BUT. you knew there would be a "but", right?

truth be told, i havn't used a negative piece in years. so, why am i keeping them all? they just take up space, and clutter up my scraproom. so i decided to punch out all my alphas from the negative pieces, and then toss them. does that sound crazy? maybe it was. there were even quite a few moments where i questioned what i was doing. "i could maybe use these on a layout". "these are still good pieces, someone can do something with them". "i could use them as masks, and use my misting sprays with them". "they could be used as stencils to make more alphas". laura, laura! face it, if you havn't used them in years and years, the chances of you using them are slim to none. so i kept going, ignoring that voice in my head. this pile here was huge. it may not look like a ton here, but it was. this was about 3 feet wide, by 4 feet. and it was piled high. 

hard to believe all of those extra pieces, came out of this basket. but they did. and this is what i have left. just the letters and numbers. actually, i do see a few negative pieces there. the colorful circles. that's only because those pieces were colored and patterned, and i do firmly believe that i'll do something with those. lol! this basket isn't jam packed anymore, and it feels clutter-free. which is good, since this is only a small part of my chipboard alphabet collection. lol! i also did this with all my chipboard shapes this weekend. i'll show more of all this over the next few weeks. but just wanted to share this one little idea for now. this idea may not be for everyone. but i know it felt really good to get rid of the pieces that i knew i wasn't likely to use. and if i ever change my mind, and decide that i want to do something with a negative piece??? then i'll just go buy more chipboard alphas 😉