AUTUMN: Book Page Leaf Wreath + Bonus!

It does seem like Deb's got a THEME going this fall, does it not? 😉 Yep, I'm letting my bookish obsession off the shelf as I make seasonal decor using BOOKS!

This wreath is a new iteration of an idea I have played around with for years: making replicas of leaves out of paper. I pulled out my box of old tattered damaged books again, and worked some autumn magic with them... 

Continue reading for my tutorial on making the leaves and then attaching them to a foam wreath form... plus an additional way to use paper leaves in your fall decor!

AUTUMN: More Book Pumpkins!

Before I continue into this project's tutorial, I have a question for my fellow creatives: Have you ever been 100% certain that you did something, and that there is photographic evidence of that something, and you can actually SEE it in your mind - but can not find ANY of the photos, or the blog post you swear you published, to prove it???? 

As I was posting my last project, a previous one came to mind and I intended to link it as 'Related Content'... but I can't find it. I am absolutely certain that I created this before, and posted it here on my blog and on Pinterest and my facebook page, while I was in my 'Yellow Era'.

I can't find ANY evidence of it. I've searched my computer files, my facebook files, my Pinterest boards, my blog posts (even drafts that never published). ZipZeroNadaNuthin'.

Guys, I have a photographic memory. It is stunning even to me how my brain works visually, and this conundrum has me spinning in circles because I know what I know. I made this same exact project using yellow books, and photographed it on my faux mantel. And yet I can find no tangible evidence of that... 

So I am doing what any somewhat sane but confused creative person would do: I'm making the thing that I thought I had already made. I'm taking photos of the thing, and I'm sharing them here on the blog. (And what do you want to bet that at some point in the not too distant future, those 'lost' photos and blog post are gonna' show up out of nowhere?? I'd bet money on it.*)

Continue reading for one of the easiest tutorials you'll ever see from me....

AUTUMN: 'Bookish' Pumpkins

SO, a funny thing happened as September began...
I had NO IDEAS for new pumpkins. Not a one. Which is entirely unlike me, because y'all KNOW about my love of pumpkins. My muses were still on vacation, I guess. AND THEN... on our delightfully rainy Labor Day Weekend, I stumbled across an idea!

I was re-sorting several boxes of books by size in our garage, and one stack of books suddenly slid sideways onto the floor and formed a half circle. As I bent to pick them up, I saw something... a shape, a whisper of an idea. I sat some similarly hued books aside, kept working on my task, and then brought those books into my studio to try out the idea growing in my head.

Here's a sketch of my idea for a 'bookish' pumpkin:

I had to play around with the books awhile to get it right - after two different iterations, I was finally happy with the result. 

Don't worry, this project is 'temporary decor' - nothing is attached permanently, it's all removable, and no books were harmed in the making of this bookish pumpkin! 😉

Continue reading for my tutorial...