Before and After

This week I decided to try a new project: a book page wreath. I'm getting a booth together for a craft fair in October. I thought these wreaths would be a perfect addition to my booth, not to mention a great use of all the book pages I have left over.

I got the tutorial from a blog called Living with Lindsay (thanks for the link, Hannah!). It's a really great tutorial . . . which I didn't read. I was cocky and thought I could do it on my own AND add something to it. I'm really excited for fall's arrival, so I thought I'd ink and paint the edges in harvest colors. Halfway through, my wreath looked like this (Warning: this image may be disturbing to viewers with taste):

AHHHHH! It looks like a salami platter that would've been served at a 1983 Super Bowl party. Ew. Ew, ew, ew. No more watching cake decorating shows while I do projects! What's really hilarious is that several times in the execution of the project I thought, "I really don't like this. This doesn't look right." But I just kept on a-going. There is something to be said about tenacity . . . it stinks!

So I started over. Or, started for the first time since I actually read the directions this time. Here's the finished product:

Yay! Much better. I used the pages left over from my "Little Women" purse. The pages were thicker and included lots of illustrations. I decided to tear the pages and glue it so the torn edges showed. I also skipped the paint part because I didn't want to paint each individual torn edge. I'm really happy with it. I have yet to decide, though . . . should I add a bow? (For a really excellent execution of the book wreath, check out Heidi's.)

Now a wrap-up on my puff paint discussion. I had previously labeled puff paint as one of the reasons I don't like being called "crafty." Then, I had an idea for my mom's birthday card. Instead of a card, I decided to make her a mini felt Ghiradelli hot chocolate can (she drinks the stuff constantly). Cutting out tiny felt letters sounded agonizing so I turned to puff paint. I started the project only to find it was too hard to work with. I showed my mom the little logo I had made and she thought it was so cute I couldn't give up. So, after trial and error, here's the finished product:

Not perfect, but recognizable at least. Everyone in my family loved it because they knew what it was supposed to be as soon as they saw it. I added a loop so my mom could use it as a Christmas ornament (I love felt food, but seriously, what do you do with it?). My mom was impressed with my tiny writing skills . . . she has handmade all of our stockings (and our children's stockings) out of felt and . . . what else? Puff paint. I had totally forgotten my mom uses it every year. Maybe puff paint isn't so bad after all . . .


Oh, wait. Yes it is. (Long story short . . . I took this photo at a thrift store a decade ago. My brother and I still talk about these shoes. 10 years later and these shoes are still hilarious! "Slim Shady" and "Limp Bizkit" puff painted on Keds . . . classic.)