"Green" Paper Crafts

I go through a lot of paper.  But I'm also passionate about conserving trees.  What's a green-minded paper artist to do?

 

Here's one small way for paper crafters to do their bit for the environment with beautiful results.  I needed to organize my paper alphabets so our summer intern, Roxanne,  trolled the Container Store and brought back this jewelry organizer, which I ended up using to house my "scraps with potential".  I hang it near my art desk and I hoard shapes that often become new patterns.  Its cheerful windows filled with colorful geometry inspire me when I'm feeling stale. 

Exhibit A:  these orange curved shapes were cutaways from my children's car pattern wall art, "Bumper to Bumper".  One morning while tinkering in the studio, I got the yen to glue them down in a nested composition and add the yellow shapes (that had been the wall art's windshield) on top.  The result was a bold, graphic geometric pattern.

 

Just goes to show that one woman's scraps can also be her treasure.  Before you toss those cutaways into the recycle bin, consider upcycling!