Just stuff it....

I'm a purger.  Even though my office desk is a bit messy, I generally don't like to keep things.  Once it's been used to its fullest potential, I donate, recycle or throw it out.

Even though I'm a purger, I still like to do things in a conservative or ecosmart way.  When I started my side business I realized just how expensive it is to start anything up.  In order to sell things you need to have things to sell.  That seems simple enough.  So, I had to buy supplies.  The more I got to know the industry, the better I was able to understand the demand and what people are looking for.  In handbags, people are usually looking for something extraordinary and that means, for me, using a lot of designer fabrics.

Designer fabrics are expensive.  They are typically about $5 more per yard than fabric you would pick up at a local craft/fabric store.  These fabrics are not carried at local fabric stores like JoAnn or Hancock Fabrics, you have to either order them online or go to a specialty quilt shop.  The first time I used one of these designer fabrics, I was very careful.  When I finished making whatever I was making I had scraps left over.  I felt a pang that a purger rarely feels.

I couldn't just throw the little scraps away but what would I ever use them for?  The same thing with thread.  I go through a lot of it and a lot ends up getting cut off the end of a seam.  At first I had to just resolve to throw it away and then I came up with an alternative, stuff it.

Now, when I sew, I keep a small bin next to my sewing machine and throw scraps into it.  I can always dig through it and grab a scrap for a covered button etc. but if it doesn't get used in a timely manner, I take the scraps and put it in the middle of things I make for the kids.  My example here is a little globe.  I made one for both of the kids and while the outer, cushy stuff is fiberfill, the core of the globe is made up of scraps I used.  

It's my way of saving some money and reducing what I put into the garbage.  Yeah, I used the globe as an example because I'm a bit amused that the directions called for the hole for the stuffing to be located in Antarctica.  Just in case that one flew by you, think ozone.