Thirfty Thursday: Repurposing Post Office Boxes for Scrapbook Paper Storage

It's Van here with another Thrifty Thursday post on how I store my 12x12 scrapbook paper. 

Now I love my patterned paper as much as the next scrapper but it is a pain figuring out cheap and affordable ways to store it.  All the fancy paper storage solutions available at the crafting stores look fantastic.  But in all honesty, I'd rather spend my money buying more paper than boxes.  So after perusing the internet awhile back, I came up with a completely free solution - USPS Medium Sized Flat Rate Boxes.

They are large enough to hold 12x12 paper and you can customize the boxes to fit your needs.  I personally stack my boxes to store the paper flat and here is how I do it.

Step 1.  Get some flat rate boxes.  It's all actually amazingly simple because you can order the boxes from the US Postal Service website and have the boxes delivered right to your door!

Step 2.   Assemble the boxes.  It goes without saying that the boxes will arrive at your doorstep (or you can pick them up at the post office) flat.  So follow the instructions and assemble the boxes. 

Step 3.  Cut the box.  Here's a photo of where you should make your cuts for flat paper storage.

You'll end up with something like this...

Then just stack them up and fill them with paper!  We live in a pretty small apartment which is hurting for storage.  So my boxes sit stacked up in the closet like this.

Definitely not the prettiest thing in the world, but it works for me.  I've seen people cover these boxes with paper to pretty them up.  But I'm basically can't be bothered (especially they sit inside the closet.) 

If you're looking for a vertical paper storage solution, check out this blog post.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Thrifty Thursday: 6X6 Paper Pads

I am all for saving money when it comes to scrapbooking. I'll admit that I used to be intimidated by 6x6 pads of paper because I had no idea what I was supposed to do with them since I am not much of a cardmaker. But when I relaxed my standards of what products a perfect layout could be made with, I realized that 6x6 pads were a quite thrifty way to make layouts.

You can by 36 or so sheets of 6x6 papers for about $5. I challenged myself to make layouts using only 6x6 papers with the exception, of course, of the background paper. Here is what I came up with:

I made this layout with the Cosmo Cricket Social Club and Upcycle 6x6 pads, which I paid $4.50 each for. I used a total of 6 different sheets of paper.

I also made a layout for Authentique Paper recently using their 6x6 paper line, Free Bird.

As you can see, this layout was inspired by the last layout I created. This is the Authentique Free Bird Fair-Weather collection and I absolutely love it. It is the first textured 6x6 paper I've ever seen!

This is another Authentique layout I created using the Blissful and Uncommon 6x6 pads. I was inspired by an illustration I saw on Pinterest to create a solar-system-type layout.

I figure that 6x6 pads are perfect for making embellishments. I used my various flower punches to make layered flowers here. The small patterns of 6x6 papers work really well for small embellishments.

The last layout I have to share with you is based upon a sketch done by a guest sketcher, Lisa Zubritsky, for Scrapbook Steals. I used Crate Paper Emma's Shoppe and Portrait 6x6 pads and Sassafras Ellie's Tale 6x6 for this LO.

As you can see, it worked out perfectly to have smaller patterns for this LO since I was just cutting up smaller pieces of paper. I actually felt kind of relieved since most often, it kills me to have to cut into a full sized piece of paper for such a small piece.

I would love to see what you all create with 6x6 pads. If you feel so inclined, please put a link to your projects in the comments so we can all come and check out what you made.

Thanks for stopping by!