Scrapbooking Stash Buster!

Have you accumulated a ton of scrapbooking supplies?  Is your stash overflowing?  Or do you admire the scrapbooking section at the craft store, but don't feel inspired to actually create a scrapbook?  My answer to all three of those questions is, YES!  

In addition to paper beads 1 and paper beads 2, I have another idea here to put some of your paper to use.  

Supplies:
Scrapbook paper
Pencil
Adhesive
Gloss / Glaze
Scissors
Embellishments (yarn, raffia, buttons, stickers, ribbon, washi tape etc)

First, start with your favorite papers.  Pick out 3-5+ large sheets of paper, or a bunch of the smaller ones. 

Next, you will need a wooden or a cardboard letter in the initial of your choice.  I used large papier mache letters because that's all that was available in the size that I was hoping for. 

You can patchwork strips of paper onto your letter, or you can trace and apply like I've done below. 

Use your adhesive to attach paper, and try to join the seams as closely as you can.  Don't worry if it's not perfect, I will show you a crafty way to pull it all together!

Once you have your paper attached, take you letter to a well ventilated area and apply your gloss or glaze.  Allow to dry 24 hours.  

While your letter is drying, you can plan your use of embellishments! You can use these to help cover seams and make your initial look really chic.  I had a seam that ran along the edges of my letter because I chose to lay the paper flat on all sides, instead of wrapping strips around the letter.  Then I was facing the challenge of hiding those darn seams!  

Since I have a stash of yarn, I decided to braid some to glue along the edge of the letter.  To measure the yarn, I simply laid it along all of the edges that I wanted to cover, and added a few more inches.  I cut three equal strings and braided away!  

Now that your letter has time to dry, glue the embellishments on and again allow some drying time.  

Voila!  You have put your scrapbooking stash to use, and have a crafty gift that can easily be customized as you see fit!  These would look great in a baby nursery, or even in the middle of your living room wall with framed photos surrounding it!  How would you decorate your letter?