How to Use an Entire Paper Pad Series: Part 1 Introduction

If you like papercrafts and have a Michaels store near you, you've likely been tempted by the $5-7 sales on the Hot Buy paper pads. They are responsible for getting me back into papercrafting after a 10-year or so hiatus. At 48 sheets for $5-7, you're only spending $0.10-0.15 per sheet. Even if there are a few sheets you know you won't use, you just can't argue with that price point!

Now, before I go any further, you need to know that these papers are not cardstock-weight, at least not the patterned pads that I've bought. They are a nice weight for patterned paper, but definitely not cardstock. I have yet to purchase a solid-colored one, so maybe someone else can chime in on those.

They are also not double-sided. It's easy enough to add another paper to the back of your project to make them double-sided. That still only comes out to $0.20-0.30 per page, and you can pick which design goes on the other side.

Don't mind the pink packaging in the foreground. This was for another post.

Another thing you might not have noticed is that some of these paper pads are from major names in the papercrafting industry. I've personally purchased pads from American Crafts and Craft Smith, in addition to the Recollections (Michaels) brand.

So you've been lured in by these great deals and gorgeous papers. Other than pulling them out to flip through and admire every few days (which is totally legitimate - I'm not judging), what can you make with them?

When I bought my first paper pad a few months ago, I thought surely someone would have made something with it and shared it online. And surely someone would have shown how to make the most of this gorgeousness by using it all up in the most efficient way possible.

Nope. Nothing.

So I'm here to remedy that. Here are my best ideas that are the most likely to use up all of the paper pad, when they're all combined.

First of all, let's start with the biggest projects. Look for the big prints, large sentiments, whole-page designs, that sort of thing.

Then pick your favorite big project. Mine is composition book journals, so I'll detail my personal process. I tend to be a bit on the minimalist side of things, so you may want to embellish and use more papers than I would. That's totally fine. It's your paper and your project, after all. These are just general guidelines.

For my average composition book, I use 8 papers - 1 front cover, 1 back cover, 1 inside front cover, 1 inside back cover, and 4 divider pages. (Sometimes I can get by with 5 sheets of patterned paper, plus the cardstock to back the divider pages, as shown here.) I usually line the back of my divider pages with regular white cardstock, to give them a bit more stability, but you could also add a print to the back of them. That would use an additional 4 papers.

If your paper pad comes with some smaller elements like journaling cards and such, you can add those as decorative elements. I usually add one of those to the inside of the composition notebooks as a bookplate of sorts.

Once you've exhausted your best ideas for the largest project, move on to the medium projects.

The first medium project that I personally use is a faux Traveler's Notebook set. Even if someone isn't a planner, they can carry it in their purse to make lists and jot down notes.

I've been making mine in the Personal size (3-3/4 x 6-3/4") with 2 notebooks, a dashboard and clear pocket combination, and a folder. It takes roughly 4 sheets of paper this way.

I was recently introduced to the B6 size, which correlates with the size of junior composition notebooks (5x7"). With this size, I add 2 notebooks and a dashboard/clear pocket combination. This method takes roughly 3 sheets of paper.

Either way, I use some of the smaller 3x4" elements (included in many of the paper pads), as well as the smaller embellishments, to decorate them.

The second medium project that I use is a 6x6" mini album. I specifically recommend this size because you can cut four 6x6" sheets out of one 12x12" paper, making your paper stretch a long way.

If you're new to making mini albums from scratch (like me), I recommend starting with a very basic one, like Wendy's one-hour mini album tutorial here on YouTube. I added an extra hinge to each of those pages for my first mini album, and it worked wonderfully. It was easy but still doubled the number of pages and pictures that would fit in the album.

These albums are a great way to use up 6x6" elements and embellishments from the paper pad. Not every pad has them, but a lot of them do. These smaller "whole-page" elements are great on the covers - both inside and outside. You can even sprinkle them throughout the book, if you'd like.

It's also a great way to use 12x12" border pages that you don't know what else to do with. When you cut them into fourths, you get four squares that have a border on two sides.

I tend to leave my mini albums mostly undecorated, other than pretty patterned paper backgrounds, since I am currently making them for my gift stash. This way, the recipient can add whatever photos and journaling they like. While I admire the heavily embellished ones (and would probably make them that way if I were going to sell them), I wonder if my recipients will know how to use all those tags, tabs and pull-outs. I don't personally know many papercrafters, so I don't want to have to stand over them or answer endless questions while they complete it.

The bottom line is: Know your recipient. Strike a balance between your need for embellishment and their need for simplicity, at whatever level each of those may be.

Once you've exhausted the possibilities and ideas for mini albums, move onto the first of my smaller project recommendations: cards. These are a great use for the small prints and pretty little embellishments that are usually included in the paper pads.

If you're not sure where to start with cards, I recommend One Sheet Wonders. Do a search for them and pick one you like. There are SO MANY of them out there! You'll end up with several cards from one sheet of patterned paper (plus the cardstock for the card base). These can be embellished further when inspiration strikes, or they make great notecard gift sets.

If there are papers in the pad that you truly don't care for, you can turn them into envelopes for these cards. Most paper pads coordinate, so they should look fine with the cards you create.

When you've exhausted all of your project ideas and are left with mostly scraps, you can use the second of my smaller project recommendations: gift tags. If you wonder how people are using the cute, heavily-embellished ones, you're not alone. I just recently discovered that they write the to/from details on the (blank) back of the tag.

I just acquired a new Hot Buy paper pad, so I'm going to go through this process and post the results as I go.

Would you care to join me? I'd love to hear or see what you come up with!

Want to see the rest of the series? Check them out at these links:


Part 1 - Introduction
Part 2 - Planning
Part 3 - Composition Notebook Journals
Part 4 - Traveler's Notebooks
Part 4 - Traveler's Notebook #2
Part 5A - Mini Album #1
Part 5B - Mini Album #2
Part 6 - Cards
Part 7 - Tags