I love stationery and enjoy finding alternative ways in which to use it because I think that a card is so much more than a way to stay in touch with a dear friend and why should you use gift wrap only for gifts when you do things like line your dresser drawers with it? What do you usually do when you receive beautiful cards? Do you recycle your calendars? What about wrapping paper - any clever ideas?

Here are some things that I like to do with paper products to give you a few creative recycling ideas:

Lift a bad mood. After a card arrives in the mail that I want to keep, I file it away in a special container. When I have a "Poor Holly" day I walk over to the container and start flipping through all of the beautiful cards and pull out some of my favorites to read again. This cheers me up quickly and I suddenly feel a huge lift in my mood.

Frame it. Another thing I do with a pretty card after reading it is attach it to my mood board or trim it to size and frame it. I have a few cards framed in inexpensive IKEA wood frames and they look great. Letterpress especially looks nice framed.

Art. Now that I'm taking a summer mixed media art class I'm starting to use stationery in my paintings. The teacher tells us to look at everything as a potential art project, from letterhead to found items on the street.

Decorate. I frequently use gift wrap in alternative ways too. It can act almost as a wallpaper if you adhere it to walls properly or and you can paste it to the back (interior) of a bookcase just as you would do with wallpaper. You can even wrap boring cubicle tack boards with it, we use to do this all the time when I had a corporate job. Most of the fabric covered boards can be removed from the wall. Just lay it on it's belly and wrap it pretending you are covering a chair seat with fabric. Except no staple gun! Just use heavy duty tape. Instantly spruces up a big beige cubicle!

Make gift tags. I take old calendars and remove my favorite images to either frame them or I use a paper puncher shaped like a gift tag and transform the image into gift tags for presents.

Wrap soap. You can even wrap soaps with gift wrap or simple cut a 2" band using your favorite leftover papers, wrap it neatly around your soap, and seal with a pretty sticker or tie ribbon around it. Such a nice gift, or you can leave it around for guests or to simply add some pattern and color to a shelf in the bathroom.

Create an Inspiration Book. Using a blank journal, use adhesive to collect all of your favorite paper scraps in a way that makes sense to you inside. You can arrange them by color, theme, whatever suits your taste. I create inspiration books frequently and journal inside in addition to the images I find. It's a fun exercise for igniting a creative spark and journaling can be quite therapeutic as well.

Wrap a vase. Using a simple band of your favorite paper, you can cut it to fit the vase, wrap a strip around it, and fasten with a dot sticker in the back or a piece of clear tape. Perks up a vase in seconds. I like to match the paper to my fresh flowers.

Wrap napkins. Create a simple band using scissors to resemble a traditional napkin ring and neatly wrap it around a folded napkin. Great for adding some charm to outdoor parties on the patio - a fun way to embellish boring napkins.

If you are looking for more creative ideas for pretty papers, try taking a class at your local Paper Source store for inspiration. They have good classes featuring easy how-to projects like how to make a decoupage box. Often one class is enough to introduce you to new ideas and most importantly, materials that you can then use on an array of creative projects. For instance, the second I learned the power of PVA new doors opened to me and I find all sorts of great uses for paper now that I know what to use to properly adhere it to a variety of surfaces. Taking quick afternoon workshops at Paper Source or local art colleges is one of my favorite things to do when I'm in a creative rut. The teachers are filled with good ideas and so are the students!

If you do not have a Paper Source in your neighborhood, Google your neighborhood for art supply stores or check your local art college or community college to see if they offer any quick workshops that will give you some creative inspiration and ideas for using the papers you have in new and exciting ways. You can also refer to websites like Martha Stewart, she has the most amazing projects available for free online right here. In Boston, we have a store called Spark Craft Studio where regular classes are held for creative types looking to learn something new.

(images from paper source)

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