Remember I showed you a sneak peak of Nana’s tiny guest room upstairs? 

Well this WAS the OTHER side of the room. 

Once VERY junky and a total catch-all…I finally got it organized! Here it is in progress…

You can read all about the process here on hgtv.com BUT as we all know, it basically take sorting and purging to organize. 

And then the fun part, buying the organization goodies (mine came from Wal-Mart) and making labels (my stripey paper is a download from www.jonesdesigncompany.com of course;;)

Now if i can just keep it this way right?!

{Note the back of shelves are a sample pot of Martha’s Sea Glass from Home Depot diluted with leftover PURE WHITE paint from Sherwin Willaims!}

Tolix chair is from Industry West in Beaufort, SC!

First step you simply draw out a spiral with a tail on one end.

then start rolling at the outside end of your spiral (opposite the end  i am holding with my thumb on the left)

once you release the rolled up strip it will loosen into this and voila!

Attach to your package with dabs of hot glue..it will be fragile, I havent put my gifts with these flowers under the tree because of Henry but they are fun to put on a special package you are going to hand deliver. 

Thanks to my friend Christi for figuring out this little projects and for sharing with me…and yes I am begging her to start a blog and soon! She is good!

{Some of you asked…the baker’s twine is from Anthropologie, several sources online have it and Paper Source as well but the Anthro has a huge spool for $16 and it is larger than most..i love it..as you can see i am putting it around everything!}

One last note, “real books” were not harmed in the making of this project.  I only use books i really am not a fan of like Happiest baby on the block  ha! or books that are damaged and I am upcycling…I would never tear into any treasured or “quality” books.  I love books too which is why i love this project!

Enjoy!

A friend and I made some book page goodies this week and it was so much fun (we realize the ideas arent original to us but this is our version)..just little fun extras to attach to packages or use for ornaments or gifts.  I have to confess to y’all, I am not very crafty, in fact i purchased this book page wreath off of etsy from this seller…

that’s right, i wanted a large one and didnt even make my own, so that sort of tells you i am no crafting superwoman but these projects below are EASY i promise…perfect if you feel a little creative but dont have a lot of time or skill like me!  Enjoy!

STEPS FOR THE ACCORDIAN ORNAMENT:

fold a medium size book page in an accordian style, back and forth

down to a strip, then fold in half

glue outer edges together

 then fan out

glue two or three pages together

you will have to glue between folds and squish together a bit for it to hold and top with a round glittery monogram tag made from your printer or purchased or gift tag like i had on hand for gifts…or you can use a little piece of the book page to cover center.

I love this accordian ornament for gift packages . . . you could even get fancy and do star tree topper…

the possibilities are endless..i kept it very simple, because i must warn you, these creations are not toddler proof!

check back later in the weekend and i will share the easy way to make these little bookish flowers…

and remember, you dont have to do everything, i havent baked a thing but it was fun to spend a few minutes today doing something i wanted to do, something joyful..Just do what you have to do, want to do and what the Lord would have you do…

image download available here . . . we should all print it off asap!

Yes, I immediately ripped into the box and then took their picture!

Thank you so much Emily, you totally captured my boys. 

{Henry Brooks, age 9 months}

{Andrew Payne, age 5}

I have a silhouette of Drew at age 3 from Karl Johnson and planned on getting one of Henry at the same age but I am thrilled to have these capturing my boys at this stage!  And the size is so cute..12″ square.  Oh and the background. . . french book pages! Of course I love  anything with old book pages..so add in my kids and silhouettes..its a lovefest for sure! And made by the hands of another mama no less. Very special. I found the perfect spot for them in our master bedroom. . . I’d never had anything in this spot before but they fit and look great in this little space.

Introducing the black from the silhouettes is making me love the black armoire in my master bedroom even more…it is directly across from the bed and I was ready to paint it grey after recently painting the marcia brady dresser blue.  BUT adding the silhouettes has made me like the black paint again..also I changed out the items on top..I had old suitcases up top and I love vintage suitcases but this arrangement is slowly taking shape. 

I think I want to collect more loving cups and loving the brownie camera, would like to add another 2 or 3 of those  although maybe not all in this one area..its getting crazy. But I am sort of loving it too!

Thanks again Emily for the lovely silhouettes of my boys..Y’all be sure and check out the Jones Design blog..her kitchen is so cute and you won’t believe what she is doing in her new home office..you do NOT want to miss!

And the discussion below the photo.  Such passion about how to arrange books! How do you display your books??  Do you have a system?

Oh and I just have to share this before it gets too far past Valentine’s Day…definitely file this one away for next year… Hearts punched out of book pages, I love anything made using book print..Like this wreath that made the rounds on blogs..so wanted to do this but when did I have time to do this?? I didnt!  So I was so excited when my sweet friend Christi made this adorable Valentine’s Day version..

Appears she covered a green foam wreath with book pages and then glued a gazillion hearts all over…Hopefully she will comment and let us know how long this took. I am going to leave it hanging in my kitchen window ALL month and then carefully store it for next year…I love it so much.  I did not leave it on the front door..too damp outside but it sure looks fun on the red door.  Just had to share.

My husband likes to read books, i like to tear them up. Seriously, i would never hurt a real book..just one already damaged..you know, one that needs recycling. I love the way book print looks with, well anything. Last year i attempted to decoupage a pumpkin with book pages..CRAZY..i am sure some of you could do it but it was not my craft. NO wonder the one i saw HERE was $49!

BUT my bookpage placecards shown above were obviously much easier..much more my speed..just a gift tag punch from Michaels, hole punch, twine and little pumpkin (write the name on or use stickers) and it was cute..especially atop a brown transferware plate.

check out this fab wreath featured on Apartment therapy last week..brown or orange ribbon to hang it with this week and next and then red satin til Christmas..easy baby..that is the way to go! she used a $1 store romance novel to tear up for her pages.not sure how i feel about that..i sort of feel like it should be a good book if i am going to go to that much work to make a wreath out of it and have it as a centerpiece in my home..but then again it would just be wrong to tear up a good book…oh the tension!

or you could use your bookpages to make flowers like my friends at Leftovers did..

bottom line..We dont have to get consumed with Christmas “stuff” yet (unless you enjoy it and then go for it of course..i have been listening to my Wintersong cd for a long time i must admit), but the next week i am really going to try to relax and enjoy thanksgiving..and Be thankful.

{note: rather funny..as i am typing this, my 5 year old is sitting on the front step watching the city workers “install” a Christmas wreath decoration on “our” streetlight}