Clever Art with Paper Scraps

Use scrapbooking supplies to create do-it-yourself art.

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Quoteable Wall Art

Paper Pinwheel Art

Paper and Plaques

Paint Store Art

Easy-to-Make Clock

Framed Flowers

Heart Garland

Make It Picture Perfect

Pretty Wall Cubes

Display Your Papers

Alphabet Art

Enlarge Your Favorite Page

Patterned Paper Mat

Revamp a Window Frame

Framed Texture Art

Customize a Mirror

Paper and Fabric Collage

Decorative House

Romantic Flowers

From Scraps to Frame

Make a BIG frame

Personalized Letters

DIY Artwork

Boost a Memo Board

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Quoteable Wall Art

Display a favorite quote on your wall. Decoupage tissue paper onto foam-core board. Cut letters from paper or magazines and glue them to the foam-core board. Frame the board and display it on a mantel or hang on a wall.

Paper Pinwheel Art

Turn pretty scrapbooking paper into decorative wall art with this super-simple folding technique.

Get instructions here.

Paper and Plaques

Use those pretty bits and pieces of paper you can't bear to part with for this wall-art project. Local crafts stores carry inexpensive wood plaques in tons of shapes and sizes. Paint the plaques, cut the paper accordingly, and adhere. Finish with a coat of polyurethane if desired.

Paint Store Art

Gather paint chips in your favorite color palette from the home center or paint store. Trim them so just the paint colors show and arrange them in a pleasing display, placing lighter colors next to darker shades and rotating the chips to fit. Use double-stick tape to hold the paint chips in place on the cardboard backing piece from the frame. Place mat on top and frame

Easy-to-Make Clock

Pick out a piece of scrapbook paper that matches your home's decor and use it to back an easy-to-make wall clock.

Get instructions for Easy-to-Make Clock.

Framed Flowers

This project was adapted from patterns used for a folk art needle case. Download patterns below. Lovely flowers made of paper parts produce a summery feel. Cut flower shapes from scrapbooking paper. Adhere them to cardstock with brads and eyelets. Finish by framing the fresh creations.

Get flower patterns.

Heart Garland

String a heart garland on a headboard or mantel. To create the garland, cut similarly sized hearts from decorative paper. Cut another set slightly smaller than the first. Glue each small heart on top of a large heart. With a hole punch, punch a hole on either side of each heart. Thread string through the holes in the hearts.

Make It Picture Perfect

Use a piece of scrapbook paper as a creative mat to show off your picture. Embellish the frame using small buttons.

Pretty Wall Cubes

Decorate your wall with customized cubes. Select three same-size square sturdy cardboard boxes or use wood cubes. Trace a box side onto decorative paper; repeat the tracing five times for each box for a total of 15; cut out. Using a paintbrush, spread a thin layer of adhesive on five sides of each box. Adhere the paper to the box sides, using your hand and a brayer to smooth each side. Finish with a coat of polyurethane if desired.

Display Your Papers

Show off your favorite line of papers by decoupaging them to a canvas to create do-it-yourself art. Paint the edges of the canvas to complete the look.

Alphabet Art

Raid your scraps stash to create an inexpensive custom work of art. Paint a canvas and paint chipboard letters. Cover the canvas with patterned-paper blocks, the painted chipboard letters, embellishments, photos, artwork, and paper-pieced accents that correspond with the letters.

Enlarge Your Favorite Page

As the foundation, use a painted backside of a 4-x-4-foot sheet of fiberboard found at your local hardware store to mimic textured card stock. Create a patterned background with squares of patterned paper. Mount your photo (printed in sections) onto a stretched canvas. Use big and bigger chipboard letters to create a headline. To make the flowers shown, use pin-on button centers and ribbon stems.

Patterned Paper Mat

Let patterned paper replace once-boring mats. Cut paper to fill the frames. Center photo or artwork on top of the patterned paper and frame.

Revamp a Window Frame

Use an old window frame (found in antiques stores) as a frame to show off love ones. Gather pieces of chipboard the size of each pane to use as "pages." Cover the chipboard with patterned paper, then add pictures and embellishments. Attach your completed chipboard "pages" to the back of the window panes with a staple gun. For a finishing touch, add rub-on words or phrases to the glass panes.

Framed Texture Art

Need some texture? Coat sculptor's wire mesh, available at art supply stores or online, with spray paint. Weave strips of scrapbook paper and yarn through the openings. Place the embellished mesh on a mat and frame without glass.

Customize a Mirror

Make a custom-made mirror for someone special. Attach scraps of patterned paper to the top and bottom of your purchased find. Then add heartfelt journaling and meaningful mementos to remind the recipient, each time she looks into this personalized gift, how special she is.

Paper and Fabric Collage

Make a variety of layered paper and fabric collages from a just handful of elements. Let your imagination run wild!

Get instructions for Layered Paper Collage.

Decorative House

Construct and decorate a tiny house with family photos. Assemble the house using foam-core board and hot glue. Mount mini photos on chipboard rectangles and hang them from ribbon.

Get instructions for the Decorative House.

Romantic Flowers

Give a discount frame a makeover by accenting its features with pretty paper. Make a template using scrap paper, trace the template on floral-pattern paper, cut out, and attach using spray adhesive. Glue strips of red paper over the floral-paper edges.

From Scraps to Frame

Use project scraps to make a custom frame that matches your home decor. Start by stitching squares of paper together. Add photos to painted metal frames, then attach a frame to each square of patterned paper. Back it all with a thick piece of chipboard, foam core board, or particleboard. Miter the ends of painted metal strips to create the outer frame. Add accents that match and a ribbon to hang it.

Make a BIG frame

Take your picture frames up a notch by adhering a couple of them to a mat board or foam-core board covered in patterned paper. Treat your creation just like a really big scrapbook page and embellish it with large flowers, brads, and bits of fabric and paper. Finish it with wood letters painted to match your scheme.

Personalized Letters

Embellish wood letters with your scraps. Cut photos to fit the shape of the letter, then embellish using paper and ribbon and whatever else you please.

DIY Artwork

With a little paint and some foam-core board, nine fun cards form a spiffy piece of artwork. Choose a boldly patterned card then use spray adhesive to mount onto same-size pieces of foam-core board. Attach the squares to the painted square with double-sided carpet tape, and voila! For an extra touch paint a large square in a contrasting color to make your art work pop off your walls.

Boost a Memo Board

Scraps of card stock will dress up a memo board's unfinished wooden frame. Devise a color scheme for your decoupage, and be sure to wrap scraps around frame edges to give your creation a finished look. Swap the simple stock buttons that come with the board for one-of-a-kind vintage finds from flea markets.

Clever Art with Paper Scraps

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