It's amazing...

...what you find when rummaging through your stash.

A few years ago, any craft forum/magazine/blog that originated from the USA was going crazy for 'Paint cans'. The creations that folk came up with were fabulous and I so wanted to have a go.

At the time, paint cans were not readily available here in the UK and sources seemed to be rather expensive. It wasn't easy to find 'empty' ones either. Making Memories launched some card kits that came in a paint can storage container and a friend received a kit as a gift. She loved the kit but was going to bin the container...I rescued it, brought it home and put it safely away.

During my recent sorting & organising sessions I came across this...

...and as you can see...

 ...it is still looking the same as it did when I rescued it - oh dear! But never mind, I have found it again and I have some ideas that I want to try (hoping that the leaky elbow syndrome allows me to make what I have floating around in my head LOL).

In addition to paint cans - do you remember the craze for clothing labels?

Craft companies brought out loads of fabric embellishments that looked just like the labels you find in your clothes but they were themed and you could find labels to cover just about any occasion - I remember using lots of the Junkitz ones on my scrapbook pages.

Well, tucked inside the paint can I found these...

...a batch of seasonal tags - all created using clothing labels. I really can't remember whether these were done at a crop or whether it was an idea that I found in a magazine but they would have been made at around the time of the paint can rescue.
All the tags make use of scraps, distressing and staples - yep, if you look closely, there are plenty of staples...

 ...there is a general tag and one suitable for Valentine's Day...

 ...Thanksgiving and Halloween are covered...

...and then there is Christmas and New Year.

I think they were originally intended to be journal cards for scrapbook pages so that you could have a common look/style appearing through your album, however, I'm thinking these could be fun toppers for a set of cards.

I wonder what else I'll find of interest as I dig through that stash mountain.........................................