Vintage Saturdays: Book Pages

I'm a modern girl in virtually every way.  But there are a few things I need to hold on to.  Things like old books.  While I appreciate the ease and simplicity of new e-readers, I will take a book anytime.  Nothing can replace the look, feel and smell of a nice big book and if it a bit older, smellier and yellowed? Even better.

So to me nothing is more tragic than seeing an old book ruined and in the trash.  Certainly they can't all survive time, but what can be done with some of those older books that are in a state of disrepair and beyond the point of being able to be fixed?  These artists have found some ingenious ways to reuse books pages.  Even old paper can seem fresh and new when reused.

EmeraldCut runs these pages into mini envelopes.  These are perfect for sending small notes or adding to your wedding decor:

TheTurningofaPage turns them into the cutest stickers ever.  She creates many different shapes, including flying birds:

BookCraft creates super cute roses from book pages.  I think these will look gorgeous as a big bouquet:

More into jewelry?  ThePaperWord uses small strips of book pages to make these really awesome earrings:

Or how about a super cool necklace?  This one is from SimplyPrettyStyle:

Tamragerber uses several book pages to create the ultimate in beautiful wreaths.  I adore these!  They will look great in so many different rooms and fit in nicely with many different home decor styles:

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Feeling inspired to make something of your own?  These etsy sellers always have tons of vintage books and/or book pages on hand:

PaperAeroplanes:

PugcentricPursuits:

KatieBlue:

CherryCorners:

jtjujubees:

Vintage Saturdays are the best!  Find previous posts here.

Natalie

xo

Vintage Saturdays: Mason Jars.

I don't cook, bake or do much of anything in between.  Yet I inexplicably find myself with an obscene amount of mason jars.  I am drawn to all the different brands, colors, sizes, and styles.  So what does someone like me, a non-sauce maker (or maker of anything food-related) do with these jars?  There are some really fun and interesting ideas out there and I have come across some really creative uses for these jars.

Industrial Rewind turns them into awesome soap dispensers that make me want to get dirty just so I have an excuse to wash my hands:

Does looking at mason jars make you feel...thirsty?  ScissorsNPaste turn them into Redneck wine glasses complete with screw on lids:

Prefer a shabby chic, rustic look?  SunburstOutdoorDecor attaches them to distressed wood and turns them into a unique double vase that also has a peg for hanging small items:

One of my longtime favorites is designed by BootsNGus who create ultra cool lights from mason jars.  Incredibly gorgeous:

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Feeling inspired?  Looking for some mason jars of your own?  Here are a few etsy sellers that always seem to have many jars available:

APKVintage

Hindsvik

oneredhen

Vintage Saturdays are the best!!  Find previous posts here.

Natalie

xo

P.S. Have an idea?  I would love to have guest bloggers!  Contact me directly for more info...

365 Days of Giving January 12th and 13th.

As usual, I bite off more than I can check and suddenly fall waaaaay behind in everything. The good news? I have been keeping up with my donations. The bad news is that sitting down for a few minutes to write about it seems to elude me. This week, I will attempt to catch up!

Today is about January 12th and 13th. Both are going out together along with a few others items over to the Salvation Army to find a new home.

January 12th: I have done a few breast cancer walks and every time they give you one of their hats as a thank you. I would love to see them use that money instead toward more research, but I digress. And I accept the hat. A hat which I will never wear.

total donation count: 40
total days: 12

January 13th: Most people who know me know that I don't like the typical products or items, especially when it comes to items designed for girls. Someone thoughtfully gave me this purse, but I have never gotten around to using it and since I usually use purses that go over my head, this purse will probably continue to just sit in my closet. I would rather see it go to a new home instead.

total donation count: 41

total days: 13

365 Days of Giving January 10th.

full confession: I buy things because they're cute whether or not I need it. Sound familiar to anyone? This is reason #1 why I own things like giant paper clip/clothespin/magnet/whatever. Cute, yes. Useful for me, not a chance. I plan on finding some cute kid in my school to pass this on to. Perhaps this will help inspire more homework-doing in some way :)

total donation count: 38
total days: 10

Have you entered my giveaway yet?

http://funretro.blogspot.com/2011/01/365-days-of-giving-giveaway.html

365 Days of Giving January 8th and 9th.

OK, so technically I cheated on this one. I knew the next things I wanted to give away were school related so I gave them away today but am counting them as January 8th and 9th, which were weekend days.



The three packs of markers above were given to a relatively new teacher in my school. Crayola makes multicultural markers for children to sue to represent a wide variety of people. Once I stopped working as a classroom teacher and became mobile a lot of my supplies just sat and sat in storage. I thought this would be a better use of them

total donation count: 34
total days: 8


Three American Girls Smart Girl's Planners have also been lying around for ages. I picked these up at a teacher supply site but never ended up giving them away. I passed them on to the same teacher to share with girls she think could really benefit from them.

total donation count: 37
total days: 9

365 Days of Giving January 7th.

Why are those of us who are teachers such hoarders? I keep raiding my desk at school as well and came across bookmarks. Lots and lots of bookmarks. And all are still sitting in their original packs. Each pack you see here contains 36 bookmarks. That means I have 360 just in this photo alone. Today I will give away 3 packs of bookmarks to teachers, kids in the halls, and to anyone who will say yes. That's 108 giveaways, but I think I will just count it as 3 (one for each pack).

total donation count: 31

total days: 7

365 Days of Giving January 6th

Most of you don't know that my "day" job is teaching. I am in my tenth year and if you know any teachers you won't be surprised to learn that I am as much of a hoarder at work as I am at home. Ugh. As I raid my desk drawers.....well, let's just say it ain't pretty. And incredibly overwhelming. So although I am technically not "lightening the load" at home, I believe that giving these away from any aspect of your life has a cleansing effect.

The papers below....I bought these at least five years ago. Seriously. I don't have a clue what the project was supposed to be or if I just thought it was pretty, but I bought a pack of this rather expensive foil paper. And in my desk it has sat. Make that desks. In the past five years I have sat in at least three desks. Which means I have painstakingly packed these and taken the from school to school and even town to town. But never actually used it. Today, I picked a super nice kid to give this pack to. She is one of those kids who is soooo nice that she tends to get passed over. So Jessica, today, received this pack of paper and was super excited to receive it. She has laryngitis and has barely been able to speak for a few days, yet she kept forcing out several "thank yous". I was incredibly touched by her reaction. It was a good day.

total donation count: 28

total days: 6

365 Days of Giving January 5th

Continuing on my freecycle journey (although no one has emailed me about the other items I posted..I have hope!), today I am listing a large clear glass ribbed vase. This is the kind you get form the florist when flowers are delivered. I guess somewhere along the way I got flowers from someone and decided to hold on to this vase, even though I never get flowers or, when I do, they come in yet another vase.

I am sure if I dig deep enough I will find a week's worth of these vases. Ridiculous.

total donation count: 27

total days: 5

365 Days of Giving January 4th.

I am still raiding drawers, closets, and everything in between looking for new things to give away. I can see how this can quickly become an obsession. I thought I would stick with freecycle again today and give away these two serving spoons. I bought them YEARS ago when I got my first apartment and thought I would be one of those people who cooks. I don't know if you can tell by the photo, but no, these were never used. What's even funnier? I actually have a SECOND set of them! Seriously, what's my problem?

So on to freecycle they go and hopefully to a new home soon.

total donation count: 26

total days: 4

365 Days of Giving January 3rd

Ever heard of freecycle? If not, you have got to check it out. What a great way to give and get things for free rather than throwing the away or visiting the local big box stores. I have been using it off and on for several years and this past year got really serious about it. For the next three days, I will be giving one item away a day.

Today's item? A white Cuisinart Handheld mixer. Not in perfect working condition, but for anyone even slightly handy, this will be a great find. And since we have a second one already (why? why?), we did not have to go to a store to buy another one.

total donation count: 24

total days: 3