Conserving Cardstock

I learned a great trick recently for making efficient use of my cardstock.  When you are using cardstock as a "base layer" for a scrapbook page, cut out the inside of the paper and use it for other embellishments or on another project.

In this example, I used Chocolate cardstock as my background, but before I adhered the rest of the layout to the Chocolate, I cut out a 10 1/2 x 10 1/2 inch square from the middle of each paper. (which leaves 1/2" showing around the edge and 1" underneath)  I used those pieces to cut all the photo mats that you see on the rest of this layout. 

I also cut the Olive, Indian Corn Blue, and Colonial White cardstock into appropriate sizes and strips before I added them to the page rather than "layering".  This helped reduce the thickness of my finished layout and saved paper!

Here's what the back looks like (but nobody will see it once it's in the album).

I used 2 sheets of Chocolate, 1 Colonial White, 1 Olive and 1 Indian Corn Blue for this layout and had plenty of scraps left over for other projects.

 

Stamping Technique:

I found the Zipline sticker sheet while I was attending a scrapbooking convention.  (Stamping Station: Zip Line) I knew I wanted to use it for these pictures.  I decided to use the gorgeous Close To My Heart cardstock colors for this layout to match the colors in the stickers. While the colors matched perfectly, it still  looked a little bit plain to me so I used a background stamp (D1544 Distressed Backgrounds) to give the layout a little texture. I randomly stamped the design around the edges of the paper in a contrasting (but coordinating) color.