Raise your hand if your scrap pile is a mountain of possibility that never quite realizes it's potential.

{waits for collective sigh, followed by hand-raising to commence}

Well, these three simple scrap busters are here to change all that, or at least some of that. Honestly, even after these three fun projects our mountain grows ever-higher and we've come to accept that.

Without further ado, or procrastinating because we all know that's already been going on too long, we present to you:

"Scrappy Ideas: 3 Ways"

#1: The Scrappy Tin
Start with your woven fabric scraps like quilting cotton, denim or linen and piece them together in any kind of basic quilted design you like. It doesn't have to be perfect but make sure you measure your metal tin to ensure the "scrappy quilt" you sew together is large enough to wrap all the way around it, leaving at least an inch extra around and well as an extra inch on top. Hem one of the vertical edges so you have a nice finish.

Now, paint some white glue or Mod Podge around the exterior of the tin and then carefully stick the scrappy quilt onto the tin. Overlap the hemmed edge when you come back around to the start by adding a little glue and pressing it down firmly.

Then, you can trim the fabric around the top of the tin and fold it over, gluing as you go. If you'd like to finish that edge nicely, simply glue a ribbon or some bias binding over the inside, raw edge of the scrappy quilt and... viola!

Once it's dry, fill it with sewing tools and goodies or use it to store whatever odds and ends need a cute corral.
#2: Scrappy Ribbon
Grab a pile of some similar fabrics - either all knit or all woven - and cut them into the longest strips that you can. Don't worry if they're pretty short. That's fine and add interest to your scrappy ribbon - anything 4" or longer is probably a good rule of thumb.

Mix them all up then sit down at your sewing machine and stitch one to the next, short end to short end using a straight stitch. This goes pretty quickly once you get into a rhythm.

Make the ribbon as long as you like. I like to use one of my empty serger cones the wrap my "Scrappy Ribbon" around. That keeps it neat and tidy and I can have it conveniently at hand whenever I need it for wrapping gifts, bundling fabric or a million other uses I might have for some cute ribbon.
#3: The Scrappy Mosaic
Start by cutting up an assortment of scraps that intrigue you, either because of color, texture or pattern. Give some thought as to how you'll arrange your scraps - maybe an ombre number or something rainbow-esque? Dig deep for an assortment of scraps that work well together and get your creative juices flowing.

Once you've decided on the overall color and texture and have accumulated enough scraps to create your design, I recommend cutting them up into similarly sized pieces. You don't have to do this step but I feel it makes a more "put-together" look.

Now, place your scraps down on a piece of woven fusible interfacing (like this #affiliate) that is cut to the size of your frame. Be sure you have the fusing side up so that your scraps will stick to it.

Place the scraps down. overlapping is fine (and encouraged) just make sure that every scrap is touching the fusible interfacing at least a little bit. Once you have the design the way you want it, using parchment paper (this is important as you don;t want to fuse the interfacing to a pressing cloth or your iron) press your scraps in place.

Take your mosaic over to your sewing machine and using a straight stitch freestyle any design you like. If you'd like the stitching to be more visible choose a contrasting color and use button or topstitching thread.

Place your creation in a frame and enjoy!

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