Inundated with scraps of cardstock but can't seem to part with them? Put all of the scraps from your American Crafts 12 x 12 Cardstock Packs and more to good use! Here's my tip to make colorful backgrounds. I toss my scrap strips in a bin (nothing fancy, just something from the dollar store) right in front of my paper trimmer.

I only keep strips that are longer than 4 inches and are cut relatively straight. And don't worry if they are all different widths, that's even better! As I'm diecutting other shapes, I often trim down the cardstock into strips if there isn't enough to save.

Once the bin is full, sort your strips by color.

Next, take a thin piece of cardstock or printer paper (A2 card front size 4 1/4 x 5 1/2) and apply adhesive all over.

Start laying strips diagonally, vertically or horizontally, in whatever order you choose: rainbow, rainbow separated with black or white, or a color family (pink, teal, purple) Once the card is full, trim off the excess around the edges.

You can even try a white only sheet. I like to burnish the strips down with a bone folder just to make sure they stick.

Now you have a colorful background for a happy card! Here I embossed a daisy stamp on the rainbow cardstock with white embossing powder.

Want to try this idea but don't have scraps? Grab one of our mystery scrap bags full of beautiful papers. 

SHOP MYSTERY SCRAP BAG HERE

-Kate

Here's another idea for how to use cardstock scraps!