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Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts

5.07.2020

painting books... again!

art, art class, color, crafting, DIY, garden, gift wrapping, books, painting, spring, trash to treasure, #MAYkeovers, painted flowers, flowers, gift giving, gift books, book covers
this post wasn't planned and i am not on a book-painting bender.
(just in case you are concerned about where my creativity is taking me these days!)
but when the muse strikes, i try to comply...

i'm sending this book to my little sister (it's ok, she doesn't read my blog ;) )
and while the content of the book is encouraging, uplifting, and faith-building,
i didn't like the look of the dust jacket cover. so i took it off.
the plain white cover and dark burgundy binding weren't pretty, either.
not the mood i was going for.

so i decided to send my sister flowers... painted flowers... painted ON the book! 

continue reading for more of this creative MAYkeover... 

5.04.2020

painted books?!

art, art class, #MAYkeovers, color, color palettes, creative spaces, creativity, diy decorating, DIY, books, junk makeover, painting, spring, thrifted, up-cycling, trash to treasure, my studio, makeover, spring decorating, colorful decor, roygbiv
oh, yeah, you read that post title right... PAINTED books!
now, before the book-loving librarians, historians, and antiquarians
start ranting at me - lemme' 'splain:

i bought these six large encyclopedias from a thrift store
for ten cents each. three years ago.
miscellaneous volumes circa 1950, with covers that were yellowed, aged, cracked leather.
perfect for the store display i was using them as props in!

but since then, they've languished in a box in the garage. just gettin' older.
my decision was to either recycle them - seriously, the library does NOT want them donated - 
or do something creative with them to make them useful again.

so i turned to my trusty friend, Paint.
turns out a MAYkeover was exactly what they needed! 

continue reading to see where they live now...

2.02.2018

Have a Heart!

happy february, everyone!
five years ago, i shared a project here on the homewardFOUND blog
that began with a simple wood moss-filled garden planter.
 click here to see the planter-turned-door wreath post

i found another way to use that wood planter:
i decided to re-create the look of a floral heart using PAPER!
it was simple enough to cut petals and leaves and spirals out of old sheet music + school paper,
to fold and bend and twist them into shape, gluing them along the way,
and then to tuck them into the chicken-wire of the planter.

these flowers are so simple to make... just remember your kindergarten 'cut & paste' skills,
maybe even enlist some kids to help!

continue reading for more details...

1.25.2018

Tutorial: Make New Books Look Old!

 here's a trick i've been using for four decades as a visual display stylist:
i shared a photo on Instagram the other day because i loved the display:
i snapped that at Roger's Gardens in Corona del Mar, California, 
where i have found visual and decor inspiration galore over many years.
this photo is of a cabinet filled with old books - 
only, they aren't old. they just LOOK old. 
and because of my 40+ year background in retail visual merchandising & display,
i know a secret to getting the same look!

so i shared the trick in my IG post... and a few people suggested that i create an actual tutorial.
sure, i can do that! ;) 
here's the quick tutorial in one easy image:
now THAT's what i call 'fast, cheap & easy'TM ;) 
(ps: i posted a quick VIDEO tutorial on the hwF facebook page, too!)

shared online:

funky junk interiors diy salvaged junk projects #412

yesterday on tuesday  project inspired #258 

oh my gracious! i'd like to offer a big thank you to Donna at Funky Junk Interiors
for featuring my project in her recap of junk party #412 - i am honored!



12.22.2016

Folded Book Christmas Angels & Trees

My Mom and I have been crafting and making things all of my life...
long ago, she and I created angels, choir boys, Santas, and snowmen
out of Readers Digest books with folded pages.
Back then, we painted ours gold and white and red, 

and the heads were round styrofoam balls.

Well, this year, Mom got the idea to make some of those again!

Continue Reading for more about our creations... 

12.15.2016

Vintage Paper Poinsettias

My love for old book pages and vintage paper shows itself in many ways,
and I love finding new ways to use this material all year long...
so this Holiday season, I used paper as a major theme for our Christmas decor.
I created tree ornaments, garland embellishments, and other elements
that are in use all over the house.

While I created the flowers you see here to go on the tree,
they worked out much better forming a wreath on the wall in our entryway!
Tucked into a simple garland of greens and a strand of mini lights that surround a round mirror,
the paper poinsettias add the perfect touch of texture and style:
The centers of the flowers are made from vintage jewelry -  
old earrings, shoe clips, and lapel pins.
They add more texture and some sparkle, along with a touch of nostalgia.

Continue Reading to see more details...


6.26.2014

My Creative Source

Many (many) years ago, there was a little redheaded girl who loved to read.
LOVED. TO. READ.
Loved it SO much that she hid in her room reading all the time,
and her mom & grandma would literally kick her outside and close the door,
entreating her to 'Go Play!'.
Most of the time, I DID go play - bikes, barbies, kiddles, house, swimming, skating -
with my neighborhood friends, 
until dusk fell and the streetlights came on and Moms called their kids in to dinner.

Other times, I sneaked a book out of the house - under my tee shirt - 
 and climbed the tree in the yard to read hidden among the branches, undisturbed.

And there was this one book.....
the 'Make and Do' volume of the Childcraft 'How and Why' Library from World Book.
ah, the wonders it held inside!
Every page revealed creative ideas GALORE.
Pages dog-eared from being folded over for 'things I want to make'.
Cover sticky with remnants of paste and glitter and paint.

I made things for Christmas and holidays and birthdays and every days.

Oh, how I loved that book.
In later years, my mom gave me the whole World Book set for MY kids, 
and they loved it just as much as I did.

A week ago, I went into a thrift store and there was the whole set of the books. 
[ not MY actual set, mind you ]

I rifled through them in a split second, looking for the familiar cover...

and breathed a huge sigh of relief when I found it!
I bought it for the grand sum of FIFTY CENTS and brought it home.
I sat on the twin bed in my office, which is covered with a white matlasse spread - 
reminding me of my own childhood bed all those years ago.
On hot summer days back then, I lived for 'rest time' -
 I was too old for naps, but it helped my mom get my little brother to nap if I laid down, too -
but I never argued about it,
because THAT was when I could curl up on my bed with this book, 
and just devour its enticing and inspiring contents - page by page:
 So, when I came home the other day,
I did exactly that... devoured it from cover to cover.

And on one particular page,
I spied something that I realized had been embedded in my mind all of my life.
It brought a smile to my face as I read it,
because the formation of my homewardFOUND philosophy
of using what you have to make beautiful things
started right in this very book when I was a child:
Tin Cans? yep. Buttons? yep. Balloons? yep.
I've shared posts for craft and decor ideas using all of those elements - and many more.
(Sweaters aren't specifically mentioned here, but let's just go with the 'cloth' reference, shall we?!)

What a thrill to see something that inspired me so much as a child
and formed one of my most definitive design qualities: re-purposing everyday items into decor.

I didn't just find a treasured book last week...
I found another part of ME!