Folded Book Page Wreath

I was on a book page makin' wreath kick!  After making the first wreath similar to Miss Mustard Seed's, I came across this picture in Pottery Barn. 



Pottery Barn



I could use the same books from Grandma's house, but instead of rolling them I could slightly fold them with a dab of hot glue to keep them together.  So again I folded lots of paper and again I made a donut shape out of cardboard for the backing.  This one was a little tricker than the first.  I needed support on the glued pages to keep them from falling over.  I used a cup to keep them "standing".  Once I had all of the folded paper glued it still seemed a little flimsy.  I decided to glue some pages in the opposite direction for futher support.  I did this ramdomly.  You can see this in my side picture.

I like how this wreath is all kind of whilly-wonky (yeah I know that isn't a word)!  Some pages are placed evenly while others have the look of just randomly put in with a kind of up-turn fashion.  I added a brown wired ribbon behind the wreath and a glittered "G" is hung from one of the pages.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Silhouette Giveaway!

  I just wanted to share that you can have your chance to enter a giveaway for an awesome machine!



The DIY Show Off

Notice the pendent in the background.....you now can cut with fabric!  How cool is that!  I want this!  I have entered probably 4 of these giveaways, I think it's my time to win. 

The DIY Show Off is giving away a silhouette!  Click on the button for your chance to win - it ends on 2/27/11.



Book Page Wreath

I've been dying to make a music sheet wreath like Miss Mustard Seed. 



Miss Mustard Seed

I did not have any sheet music nor did I even remotely know where I could find some.  But a recent trip to Grandma's house got me thinking.  She loves to read and her storage room is overflowing with books.  Even so she has filled a working freezer full of books.

She let me take as much as I wanted....she didn't really understand what I was going to be doing with them at the time.  She even was excited that I was going to read them.  I told her that I was going to CUT them (my face cringed a little when I said cut).  She said it was alright and I started going through her stacks.  I took several that were different sizes and had different page colors.  I loved the ones that their pages were yellowed! 

I started this project by ripping out pages and rolling them up into a cone shape.  It took me awhile.  I didn't really know how many to roll.  I cut a donut shape out of cardboard and started hot gluing the rolls on.  I totally did not have enough!  Not to worry, I had more than plenty of books!

I made 3 rows in my wreath.  The 2 back rows are with pages that are of similar size.  The top row I used smaller books to roll with.  I even cut some pages to vary up the color of the row.

I even made some book bundles that you see everywhere now for my desk. 



I'll share another book wreath with you in a day or so.

Thanks for stopping!

My first blog entry!

Hi and welcome to my very first blog entry! 

I'm new to this whole follow/comment/create/write kind-of blog thing.  After following several awesome creative blogs, I felt inspired!  Inspired to create something of my own.  I have an interior design degree but have been out of the field for several years now.  

My design interest and drive will always be within me to create a beautiful space.  But recently that interest has been awakened after following such wonderful ideas and projects created by some very talented people.  I thought to myself.....I could do this!  I am a talented person!

Now that I have a family of five, I need to be creative in pursuing my thoughts and ideas.  The creative part is something new to me.  Yes I can draw, paint or create a pretty bedroom for my girls, but making something out of something is a new idea for me.  With a child that has diabetes and 3 out of the 5 members of our family with celiac disease, the budget is stretched thin.  I'm ready to begin my creative discovery in creating warm and inviting spaces on a budget.

So with that being said let's kick off my first blog entry with a party! 

My daughter's 9th birthday party!

My daughter is a very bubbly and colorful not-so-little-anymore maturing girl.  I wanted the decorations to capture her personality.  I found felt cupcake pinwheels on Etsy that started my thought process.  The colors this seller had were not what I had in mind.  So I picked up 6 different felt colors sheets at Micheal's and got to work. 



As I'm working I thought I could make bigger pinwheels for a center table decoration.  I wanted to be very cautious at my waste so I wouldn't have to go back out and buy more. 

Well, I had enough.  I even had enough left over to make a banner with her name and a banner for the front door wreath (Sorry same Etsy seller....I'm using your so super cute idea!)



I wanted to make a big number "9" for the center of my banner wall, but I didn't really have chipboard on hand.  Instead, I used a side of a cereal box, printed off a number 9, traced it, and cut it out.  Then I used my Martha Stewart glitter that is awesome!  It covers so well!  I absolutely love it! 

I'm sure this idea is nothing new and has been done before, but I was pretty proud that I recycled and reused something to make something else.



Next, I found a tutorial on Martha Stewart for making tissue pom-poms, you can find it here.  They were super easy to make.  They added so much color and made such a fun and whimsical atmosphere.  I always buy balloons whenever we have a birthday.  Well no more balloons!

These are now my go to decoration instead of balloons!

I bought several packages of tissue paper that had 8 sheets each at Walmart for a $1.00.  I did follow one of the comments that someone left and accordion folded 12 sheets of tissue paper instead of 8.  I would suggest doing this because it made them nice and fluffy.  I then decided to make smaller ones that I hot glued on painted green dowels.  All my pom-poms are kept in a trash bag in the basement.  Next party we have I can pull them out, re fluff, and hang (Sorry hubby more wholes in the ceiling.)

So there it is....my first blog entry is done!  Whew!  I feel nervous and a little bit relieved.  Maybe I am one tiny step closer in joining some super talented people out in blog land.  I believe these decorations could be used in any color for any celebration.  So just maybe I inspired someone. 

Thanks for stopping and come back soon!

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