Book page wreaths

Finished projects make me happy!

We finally tried to make a wreath from book pages. Our first attempt was with pages from an old hymnal and we really liked how it turned out. As luck would have it, we had a cold temperatures with a wintery mix of rain and ice most of the day. It was perfect weather for watching movies and crafting.

So, I tried out some different wreaths.

The first version we tried was two layers. So, we tried a more full version. I also did some research on how to make paper flowers and it was the perfect solution for the center of the full wreath.

 We tried the hymnal pages with the accordion fold and a button in the center.

 My husband saw the inspiration piece and knew we had the perfect old black frame in the basement.  The beautiful, heavy black frame made this wreath from dictionary pages look so cool! What I love most about this wreath is that in the "a's" of this dictionary, they include a picture of an alpaca. It worked out to have the alpaca showing, so if you are looking for it, you see the alpaca!

 We also have two chalkboards on hand. Their painted frames make the perfect outline for the wreaths! (Another idea taken from the inspiration piece!)

My husband also had a reclaimed wood base constructed for a sign. He thought it would make the perfect backdrop.

This wreath is make from pages from a book of poetry written by high school students. It has a button in the center and a large accordion folded medallion in the center.

Hymnal page wreath project

A project finished!

We have so many unfinished projects around the house, but today, we marked one off the list!

I had my eye on these book page wreaths for a long time. We found some really wonderful old hymnals at an estate sale over a year ago. As with most things, we let put the project on our list, stored the supplies, and moved on.

Today was Thanksgiving and in my pre-Thanksgiving shopping, I added a trip to the hobby store to pick up some bases.

After we cooked and cleaned up, this afternoon was the perfect time to work on the project. It was raining. Football was on the tv. My husband was busy hand painting signs. It was a good time to experiment. It took me several tries to get the rolling of the pages down, but in the end, I was moving pretty quickly.

My inspiration piece was from The Frugal Homemaker. What I love about the inspiration piece is how it was staged with the blackboard on a mantle. Beautiful!

Thank you cards with paper flowers

Over the winter break, I had the chance to work on some handmade cards.  You can tell how busy things have been if I am just now posting about something that happened in December.

I tried out some simple cards using Stampin' Up! paper and a 'Thank you so much!" stamp.  I made the paper flowers using pages from an old book.

The paper flowers were made in two ways.

Flower number one was super easy.  I used a circle punch with scalloped edges.  I roughed up the circles a little bit and smoothed them out to add some depth.  Then, I stacked a few together, punched a circle in the center with a mini hole punch and added a brad.

Flower number two was a little more detailed. I used the circle punch to create a cardstock base and then used the same punch to create circles that would eventually become petals.

This picture gives you an idea about how to fold the circles into the petals.  Double-sided tape is one of my favorite crafting staples and it works perfectly as an adhesive for the petals.  Once you have the petals created, just stick them on, six per base.  Then, I used a mini punch to make a hole in the center for the brad.  Finished!

I think the flowers would also be cute embellishments on a gift or on a picture frame.

Snowflake and flower paper projects

A couple of our vintage shopping trips netted some really awesome paper ornaments.  We found the snowflake and the intricately folded star at two different stores in Asheville - ScreenDoor and Foundry.  ScreenDoor was a huge store that was loaded with booth spaces.  There was such great variety in items.  You could find rustic and refined.  We also loved Foundry - a cute little store that featured repurposed items. 

When we returned home, we ran to one of our local vintage stores because they were having a great sale.  I loved the accordion folded ornament with the sheet music as the base.

 On a cold, cold night while we watched football, I messed around with some pages from an old book to try my hand at some of the snowflakes with vintage buttons.  I did ok, but I still need some practice.

 While I was cruising Pinterest, I ran across these coffee filter flowers.  Super cute!  I thought they looked kind of spring-like and as cold as it is in Kansas, we could use a little spring.  I made a few to use at the studio. This mini garland is on the old screen door we have on the east wall.

My favorite is the paper flower made from strips of book pages with a vintage button in the center.  I was a little unprepared - I didn't have any floral wire handy and used a paper clip instead.  It worked!

Paper artist - Ursula Dunnewind

Ursula Dunnewind's work was on display on our campus during the fall semester. Like so many things on my list, buying her work before the end of the exhibit was not accomplished. I asked my friend how to contact the artist and was successful in reaching her at her home.

She graciously invited my husband and I to stop by and view her work. We were rewarded with great conversation and the chance to learn about her craft. Ursula is a delightful person and we enjoyed sharing ideas about education and learning about her life.

We purchased some her pieces to give as gifts and one series of four delicate plant silhouettes. Can you believe that she uses only small scissors and a needle to do this intricate work?

Friday, we got a beautiful card from Ursula. The photo was so appealing because of the spring flowers and her words were so sweet. What a wonderful, talented woman artist.