I’m a firm believer in making do…I have been told that I probably was born 80 years too late since I am the epitome of using what I have, in whatever shape it is in before breaking down and buying something new… “use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without” is a WWII motto that I can endorse.

I love these tin can art chairs…most of us would throw away (or hopefully recycle!) tin cans…imagine the ingenuity to use it as a base for a creative adventure. They sit on the windowsill in my studio space and remind me that making something out of nothing is an art.

Some of you may remember that I started making my Artist Tote Bags in 2021 to use up all of the fabric that I had held onto for too long. My newsletter from July 2021 talks about my process as well as the mountain of scraps that was accumulating. At that time I had sewn 25 totes…as of today, I’ve made 92 totes and hope to reach my goal of 100 totes soon. The mountain of scraps has grown proportionately…it was time to tackle the heap…

I am not afraid to try crazy ideas that pop into my head…a lot of “what if…” I thought of combining the scraps together to make a new piece of fabric…sort of like collages I make with ephemera, but this time swapping in fabric. Using fusible interfacing as a foundation, I layered scraps of fabric together, blending together color, tone and pattern. I don’t imagine that my process is original, there are certainly scrap quilts, but I thought it was a unique way to use my remnants in a productive way.

Once I had this “new piece of fabric”, I wanted to create something that would be useful, much in the same vein as the Artist Tote Bags. I hit upon the idea of Art Tool Pouches…a way to store and carry with you any of the tools and supplies you might need to create - whether it be brushes & pencils, needles & scissors, or gluesticks & rulers. There would be two designs -one would be a roll-up with a foldover flap and one would be a large flat envelope with a snap…I got to work…

As with any new idea, it took a little time to get all the kinks worked out…I liked all the scrappy frayed edges but had to make sure that nothing would unravel with use. I had to stitch the sides together by hand since it was too cumbersome to machine stitch. I played around with different dimensions since everyone has different types of tools.

The first batch sold out quickly in my Etsy shop…but I am busy sewing up new pouches and hope to have them listed soon.

Meanwhile…I now have scraps leftover from the scraps…even smaller remnants of fabric and textiles…I really don’t have an idea for those scraps that speaks to me. But I know that several of you slow-stitch, add fabric scraps to art journals or engage in intentional mending. So I’m sharing my scraps with you…for free…I want to know that they will be used and not tossed. (an aside…did you know that textile waste is one of the biggest contributors to landfills across the globe. Selvedge Magazine addresses this topic in their current issue…read about it here. I’m not a subscriber but I do get their online newsletter which is filled with information about the world of textiles.)

If you are interested in a small packet of scraps, send an email with your mailing address to me at amy@studiofourcorners.com. The packet you receive will be a random selection and I’ll send out packets until my supply is depleted.

And if you do create something with these scraps, I’d love to see it - post your creation on Instagram and tag me so I can cheer you on. I look forward to it…