Every crafter knows that no piece of paper, card or any material should be thrown away. My scrap box is reaching the same size as my entire craft stock but you always know you will find that little piece you need to finish off your project and if you are anything like me you may find it hard to throw things away.

For card making ideas a scrap box is essential because you can create more than one card with your left over bits and bobs.

I remember once I had a piece of 12 x 12 piece of paper that I loved so much that I covered a card in the paper and proceeded to add embellishments, peel offs and other crafty bits to until the end result was just what I wanted.

I then sent the card to a relative which was so warmly received I decided to repeat the process only to find I did not have enough of the paper to do it again. This is where my imagination needed to kick in and my scrap box come in handy. Although I did not have enough of this beautiful paper left over to cover the complete card I was able to using my resources, design a new card but still keep the same theme.

If you have a scrap of paper that you love but do not have enough to cover a whole card consider using the paper as just the outline of the card or alternatively keep the card plain and use the paper to cover a tag just to keep the theme intact.

Your scrap box can also be used when you need a small piece of card for matting and layering and for those projects that need a small amount of paper. The paper you have in your scrap box can also come in handy when using your punches to create little embellishments that can be added to your cards or scrap book pages.

If you are like me and feel you have stared at your scrap box so many times you just do not know how to use what is in there consider swapping boxes with a fellow crafter and see what you both can come up with.

Using your scrap box could mean the difference between saving cutting out a stunning new piece of paper and using something you already have. I know this may sound ridiculous but I find because the papers that are available today are so beautiful I simply find it difficult to bring myself to cut them up.

Having a scrap box is something all crafters should have and it should be regarded as a cardinal sin to throw anything away. Keep your eyes open for household bits and bobs that could be popped into your increasingly bulging scrap box and used for an embellishment or accessory to a card or scrapbook page.