Starting Point Pages from Scraps

I've always limited myself to one pizza box for my paper scraps, and when it's full I make kits from the pieces in an attempt to clear some space. However, there are some bits in the box that have been there for years because they never match enough other papers to form a kit. I'm changing strategy for this year, starting off a second box for new scraps and at the end of this year I plan to jettison anything that is left in the original box. 

I've been looking through my scraps box for papers for most non-cruise-album pages this year and have cut into hardly any new sheets but the box isn't going down very fast so I decided to make some 'starting point' pages; pages started from a coordinating set of scraps, layered up in a pleasing way without any major thought about the photos that will go with them.

The first page was based around an ancient blue spotty paper from Cherry Arte (labelled 2006 though I can't have had it that long since I didn't start scrapbooking until 2008). I picked out various blue and green papers to go with it and layered them on a white cardstock background. I punched the three circles which will hopefully form the start of some embellishment clusters in the future and binned the rest of that scrap.

The next page was based around a couple of scraps from Echo Park's Note to Self collection (2012), the numbers print and the diagonal stripes. I matched those with the checked and polka dot papers and used a paper with similar colours from Shimelle's first American Crafts collection for the background. 

I started this page from the half-sheet of floral patterned paper and trawled through my box for coordinating pieces. They were mostly quite small so I ended up layering a few strips alongside a circle. The background comes from the same paper pad as the floral and I added a discarded branding strip between the two. Finally, I punched a few stars to form part of the embellishments when I finish this page.

This is the simplest of the pages I started, made with three scraps and the month card from a Studio Calico kit. I really like the floral pieces, so hunted for reds and greens to go with them but didn't find much. Obviously I will have to position my photo(s) to cover the hole in the middle when I finish this page. The heart isn't stuck down yet, but it matches so well and has been in my scraps box for eight years (since it was discarded while making this page). 

So, my scraps box is a little lighter now, but still quite full. There are a few papers in there that I really don't want to bin so I shall continue to look through the box for every page and attempt to tuck in as many pieces as possible.

Links to Finished Pages:

Echo Park page - We Dare You!

Red & Green page - 40 Years