DIY Life

By Debra McDuffee

If you are cut from the same indecisive cloth as I am, then you acquire a multitude of paint sample strips when you are choosing a new color to paint a room or a piece of furniture. Then, because you are also a packrat, you can't bear to throw them away.

Sure, you can give them to the toddler to play with, but isn't there a better use for these colorful strips? They are made from sturdy paper and the colors are true and deep. I know there is an art project in there somewhere.

Jackie of Jackie's Space agrees with me, because she has created some beautiful cards using old paint sample strips. I love that she has used the coordinated colors of the paint sample strips with three dimensional elements, like ribbon, gems, and a silk flower.

She's got me thinking, that Jackie: what if the paint sample strips were paired with a watercolor design in complimentary colors? Or maybe some copper wire and beads woven through the strips?

The possibilities are endless, and wasting the paint sample strips as mere trash is a thing of the past. What do you do with your old paint sample strips?