If you are an avid crafter, and especially if your into papercrafts like stamping and scrapbooking, a good scrap box is a must! My personal scrap box started out as a little pile I kept on my desk and eventually grew into something much more. A scrap box can be incredibly useful when looking for little bits of paper or ribbon that you just cant stand to throw away.

A scrap box is essentially what its name implies, a box full of scraps. These scraps are usually paper, but can also contain ribbons, buttons, or fabric as well. When you are finished using a piece of paper or ribbon, and have a decent amount left over, all you need to do is cut off any dangling edges or useless trim and add it to the box!

There are many times in my crafting adventures when a small piece of paper is the perfect thing. Whether its for a backing on a photo, a small part of a card, or just about anywhere really, you can find a ton of uses for your little leftover pieces. I have found that I can basically make entire sets of ATC's by just diving into my scrap box and pulling out some good sized pieces.

More Scrap Box Ideas

1. Only keep pieces that are about the size of a sticky note or larger. A piece that is at least that large can be used in many situations and you wont find yourself discovering alot of pieces that would be perfect, but are just too small. Its also easier to find pieces that are larger so they dont get lost in the clutter of your scrap box.

2. Keep your scrap box clean if possible. If you come across pieces that are just too small or that you surely know you could never use, then take a second to throw it away. Try and recycle it if possible!

3. Keep all your patterned paper going in one direction. Alot of paper such as gift wrap, scrapbook paper, and writing paper only has a pattern on one side. This type of paper usually is either white or a solid color on the backside. Keep all the patterns facing up so that you dont have to flip half of the paper over when you are searching.

4. I have actually moved my scrap box into one of those translucent plastic sets of drawers. You will find these everywhere nowadays and they are not too expensive. The one I have as my scrap box actually consists of 3 good sized drawers in one unit that can each easily hold 12x12 paper. Since my scrap box was getting so large, it wouldnt fit well or look as good in the two-shoebox system I had going before that.

5. If you are going to have multiple drawers or boxes as your scrap box, consider breaking each section up by color or style to make the sections more useful when searching.

6. After you have had your scrap box for awhile and built up a good collection. Consider having some friends bring over their scrap boxes as well and have a big scrap swap. You can give away alot of your duplicates or pieces that you just cant seem to find good uses for, and get alot of great scraps in return.