Over the years I have ended up accumulating a lot of paper and a lot of paper waste, a.k.a paper corners or straps from cutting up bigger sheets of paper into smaller sizes.
It annoys me to throw out things, so I have tried to re-use these paper wastes for other purposes. Here are some suggestions if like me you find yourself with a lot of paper in inconvenient sizes.
(1) Make some bookmarks, for you or for friends.
In the image below I used scraps of paper to make bookmarks, I have actually trade two of them in ATC (artist trading card) exchanges.
(2) Use these scraps of paper to test colors before applying them in your drawing.
I use this one all the time, specially for watercolors and more recently for markers. I make a color chart which time I buy a new product, but I usually end up loosing those, so having paper scraps where to test colors is great.
(3) Using paper waste in collages.
I have used this one before in some artist trading cards, specially using failed prints from my gelli plate, unfortunately I don't have any photos. But searching online you'll find plenty examples. One that I came accross and really likes is the one below, which is a collage by artist Ateeb Riaz from Pakistan.
(4) Using paper waste to make new paper.
I haven't actually tried this one, since I don't have equipment to make paper and it seems to me that I don't need another hobby ( I barely get time to draw/paint ). But youtuber Sea Lemon has a great video about it, that is both entertaining and informative.
(5) Use paper waste to make artist trading cards.
This one kind off belongs together with the bookmarks, since the principle is the same. But generally is not so frequent that the paper wastes I end up with actually have enough width to be used as artist trading cards. But when it happens that's definitely what I do with them. Below are some examples of recent atc(s) that I have done with paper waste from cutting down a bigger watercolor sheet.
So as you can see there are quite a few options to avoid wasting paper (specially if it's good watercolor paper!), hope you give them a try.
See you next time!
Joana