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 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 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

365 Days of Giving. Jan 1 and 2

A couple of years ago I heard from a friend about a personal challenge he was planning on taking. It involved giving away one personal item a day for 365 days. As an avid believer in the motto of"reuse, reduce, recycle", I thought this would be perfect for me. I have to say, I followed it perfectly for all of 2009. Last year, it seems, I took a little vacation from this although informally (i.e. not keeping track) I did give away tons of things. I thought this year, as a personal challenge to myself, I would do it again, this time formally and will track myself here.

I certainly cannot promise to write every day. For those of you who know me personally you can understand why (teaching, etsy, and graduate school). But I will chronicle as best I can.

For the first couple of days, January 1st and 2nd, I raided my drawers and came up with 23 different shirts to get things started. All of them will be donated to one of my favorite places, the Salvation Army in Newark. NJ. I guess technically I am making my first 23 donations, but I am just going to count it for days 1 and 2.

Total donation count: 23

Total days: 2