Crafters are fascinating people.  We can take something ordinary and make it extraordinary.  We can look at a piece of fabric and see a new color combination for a card or scrapbook. We take paper and create something 2-D, 3-D or just a flat masterpiece.  Objects all have multiple purposes to crafters and that's what makes us so...crafty.

Take this for example:

This is the packing paper that comes in every Stampin' Up! order.  It does a great job securing our orders during transport, but it is such a shame to throw it away or to just put it in the recycle bin.

So my packing paper goes from a crumbled mess to flat 8.5" x 15" sheets of brown crafting paper.

After a little ironing (yep, literally a hot iron!), the sheets smoothed out beautifully.  These sheets now have enormous potential to be a variety of things, but today I made mine into an envelope to match a card I made for a friend.

So, I folded my sheets in half, grabbed my sewing machine and stitched it closed along three sides.

For some envelopes I made I trimmed them to fit the card exactly.  For others I kept it a bit longer so I could fold the edge over.  Plain packing paper then morphed into a really pretty envelope:

After adding some designer series paper and a few embellishments, that packing paper had a brand new purpose in life!

So, the next time you come across packing paper try converting it into something else and giving it a new life!   Not only will you be crafty but saving the environment too!

Thanks for stopping by!