Poster as Wrapping Paper

I work at Orchestra Hall, and occasionally the marketing department will do a poster purge to get rid of old advertisements that were in the windows of the box office. I grab a few each time, thinking if nothing else, the back side of that big sheet of heavy paper will come in handy someday. Incidentally, this kind of thinking, while a useful attribute for a DIYer, makes for a very full house. All of my shelves and drawers and corners are stuffed with things that might someday be a useful ingredient for a craft project.

Amanda's birthday is this week, and I found my use for this poster. I happened to order her gift online and have it shipped to work, so she wouldn't see it, and when it came, I set it on the floor in the corner of my cube, right next to said poster. Aha! Look how pretty!

Side note: These pictures are a good reminder about the rules of lighting and photography--the wrapped gift picture was taken in late afternoon, near a window. The unwrapped poster picture was taken further away from a window, in the morning. Hmmm.

Recycled Junk Mail Art Redux

I wasn't quite satisfied with my first attempt at junk mail art, so I recently did some editing. Rather than start over, I just pasted more, bluer strips of junk mail over the original, to darken the background a bit. And I cut a new tree, this time on cardstock to make it stand out more.

Before:

After:

Recycled Junk Mail Art

Inspired by my trip to the Saint Paul Craftstravaganza today, and a video I saw on the Craft Magazine blog, I tried my hand at some junk mail art. Mine doesn't look nearly as cool as Patricia's from A Little Hut, but it was a good first attempt.

I didn't have a nice cutting mat like hers, so I used my built-in breadboard. I've been a little hesitant to put food on it for some reason, but was more than happy to use it for crafting.

Using the box cutter on paper was easier than I expected.

The final product. Not sure where I want to hang them yet.

Homework: blinds and medicine cabinet

Yesterday was a productive day. Simon's Sarah offered to come over and help clean, so I put her to work on sweeping and mopping (which she did with immense talent and flair) while I finally got my roman blinds hung in the bedroom and dining room. Gotta head to IKEA today to buy one more $7 blind for the third window in the dining room. Oh, and I also ordered curtains for the big picture window in the dining room. I'll be anxiously awaiting their arrival all week!

Blinds are up in the bedroom!

And two out of four windows are now covered in the dining room.

I also spent some time yesterday getting a little crafty. I hadn't put anything in my medicine cabinet yet, because it looks so inhospitable.

So I went to Paper Source, one of those stores like Michael's that makes me feel like a kid in a candy store. Such a variety of pretty things and things that spark creativity. I believe the paper I bought was called "Winter Berries." It works well with my brown walls and pink countertop. Anyway, I used it to line the walls of the medicine cabinet, and used some rubber non-sticky shelf liner to line the shelves. Now my stuff can rest comfortably in the medicine cabinet, and I'm one step closer to feeling at home.

Postcard Wall Hanging

Haven't been devoting much time for crafting lately. What a shame. But luckily I have a bank of old projects to draw on to keep the blog interesting. Here's a wall hanging I made out of old postcards and garden wire.

This is one of my favorite projects, because the postcards have special meaning. I found the tomato postcard stuck inside the screen door at my apartment a couple years ago. My buddy Michelle had "Stopped by for a visit" and left the postcard to let me know so. The two on the sides are both postcards I got in college from the coordinator of Iowa Women Initiating Social Change, reminding me of upcoming meetings. That's Georgia O'Keeffe on the left.

The top postcard was given by my very special friend Abby. We actually did postcard and wire crafts together that night. She supplied the materials. The postcard says, "She was blissfully unaware of her peril."

Magazines + Scrap Wood

My latest project.

fancy paper makes good art

I needed something for my bedroom walls that didn't cost a lot. This series is made from scrapbook paper and cheap frames from Michael's.