March 29, 2020 by Born To Organize

The Elephant in the Room

I’ll start with a bit of levity from a Facebook post shared by a friend:

I’m either coming out of this quarantine 20 pounds lighter, chakras balanced and a house full of completed craft projects or 20 pounds heavier with a drinking problem.” – Spiritual Thug

I’m signing up for the former. I’ve lost six of the ten pounds I gained during my couch-bound, post-surgery recovery, simply by moving again. No doubt my metabolism slowed to a crawl. The first time I put my fitness watch back on, it celebrated 1,000 steps. It’s all relative.

Now that I can sit with my feet on the floor, I’m also enjoying crafts. I’ve started by playing with some new watercolor markers, then on to a Washi tape card. I love playing with that tape. It’s oddly therapeutic.

Tail ends of Washi tape

Front of Washi tape card

Finished Washi tape card

Sometime last year I found vintage French seed packet labels, intending to make them into cards for a friend. I came up with corny quotes to match and that was as far as I got. This week I followed through to completion, not only making the cards but getting them packaged and mailed.

Seed packet labels

Even the paper scrap has a French name

Cards made with vintage French seed packet labels

Seed packet cards

Inside cards: Cover-inspired puns printed on tracing paper

A trio of seed packet cards

Close-up of vintage seed packet label

My friend’s trip to her beloved Paris is canceled, so this is a little pick-me-up and a surprise.

After finishing the cards, I repurposed a page from an old gardening calendar. I save and reuse wall calendars for crafts. I had to piece it in a few places to get the size I needed. It’s such a gorgeous photograph of a flower and bee. I wish I could give the photographer a proper credit.

Pieced edges of calendar used to complete envelope

Finished cards tucked into garden calendar page envelope

The exterior of the completed envelope

Sealed with a paper key

There’s nothing new I can share here about the ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM except to say that I’m working hard to tamp down my anxiety on a daily basis. I’m stretching in the morning before I even get out of bed. I’m touching my toes, just because I can. I’m also pulling weeds in the garden until my foot screams at me to stop.

That’s my signal to retreat to the couch with an ice pack and Mouse the Cat pressed to my hip.

Mouse loves his couch time

I’m a hugger by nature, so if I could, and only if appropriate, I would gather you in a warm embrace and say that it’s all going to be okay. For now, (((((you)))))

Be well.

March 14, 2019 by Born To Organize

Scrap-Happy March: Paper Greens

I’m joining Kate, of Tall Tales from Chiconia, for her monthly scrap-happy blog post. The challenge is to use scraps from other projects to make something useful, beautiful, or both. Several bloggers post once a month showcasing a project made entirely from scraps.

This month I’m using green paper scraps and pages from an old wall calendar.

I started with this pile of paper scraps…

Green just happens to be my favorite color

Assorted pages from an old gardening calendar…

The Old Farmer’s Almanac Gardening Calendar

And a green Christmas tin.

Swiss Miss chocolate tin

I made three greeting cards…

Card made from scraps of green paper and a calendar cut-out

Calendar page card with vintage ribbon rests near deep purple hyacinth

Tri-fold card

…and about 30 bookmarks. Here’s one made from the center of a calendar page.

Calendar page bookmark with vintage seam binding

I also made a sign for our Little Free Library in honor of St. Patrick’s Day this coming Monday, and I covered a hot chocolate tin to hold the bookmarks.

A bit of four-leaf clover lore in our LFL

Books with green spines and a covered Christmas tin full of bookmarks

All three cards incorporated bits of the calendar and paper scraps. I like creating like this, with a small pile of bits and bobs and no real plan.

I used a small bird drawing from the calendar for the first card

Scraps of green paper

Lovely bird drawing on side of calendar

Bird drawing from calendar

Completed card

The trifold card incorporates the center panel from one of the calendar pages on the cover and on the inside of the card.

Finished trifold card

Inside panel uses calendar cut out of bird

I cut the third flap at an angle and secured at the bottom so you can insert a note or a gift card

Tied closed with a bow

The third card is simply a photograph from a Nature Conservancy calendar, tied with vintage seam binding. I used a die to cut a note of thanks from a green paper scrap.

Photograph from a Nature Conservancy calendar

Into the woods

Completed card

The bookmarks are an eclectic bunch. I used several scraps of green paper, bits of vintage seam binding, Washi tape, and again, parts of my Old Farmer’s Almanac calendar. Lexi, my artistic friend, designed her own Washi tape. You can see it here along with several of her other creations.

I cut the center of the upper left calendar page

…folding it into thirds…

…notched the top and added vintage seam binding.

Here’s another bookmark made from a calendar page

I layered rows of Washi tape across this scrap of green floral

I cut the strips, then rounded off the top

Red Riding Hood Washi tape from a friend, Lexi’s Washi tape on the left

When you’re really tired…just cut strips of pretty paper into 2 x 6 strips

My friend Lexi designed this Washi tape. She sells it on her Etsy site

Tin of green bookmarks with the LFL in the background

The green theme won’t last long in the Little Free Library as books come and go, but it has been fun playing with paper and ideas. Thanks for inspiring me to slow down, Kate, and to take some time to play.

Do you like crafting from scraps? Why not join us for the next round.

Little Free Library with green books and bookmarks

Little Free Library filled with green books, bookmarks and a note about four-leaf clover lore.

It *is* easy being green! (Sorry, Kermit).

From Kate’s blog:

“ScrapHappy is open to anyone using up scraps of anything – no new materials. It can be a quilt block, pincushion, bag or hat, socks or a sculpture. Anything made of scraps is eligible. If your scrap collection is out of control and you’d like to turn them into something beautiful instead of leaving them to collect dust in the cupboard, why not join us on the 15th of each month? You can email Kate at the address on her Contact Me page. You can also contact Gun, via her blog, to join. We welcome new members. You don’t have to worry about making a long-term commitment or even join in every month, just let either of us know a day or so in advance if you’re new and you’ll have something to show, so we can add your link. Regular contributors will receive an email reminder three days before the event.”

January 9, 2013 by Born To Organize

Garden Calendar Lives Another Day

Have you hung up your 2013 wall calendar? Do you love a new calendar as much as I do?

My sister gave me The Old Farmer’s Almanac Gardening Calendar this year. It’s always been one of my favorites. The pages are beautifully illustrated with helpful notations and interesting quotes. Here’s one:

Benjamin Franklin introduced kohlrabi to colonial America.The vegetable’s German name originated from the Italian words cavolo rapa, meaning “cabbage turnip.”

You learn something new every day! 😉

It’s fun turning over a new page to a new month and a fresh beginning. Conversely, I removed my 2012 gardening calendar with great anticipation. In the past few years I’ve been re-purposing the beautifully designed pages into envelopes and stickers, tags and the odd bookmark.

This year I’ve challenged myself to use all of last year’s garden calendar in new and different ways. Here’s what I’ve been up to:

Gift Card Holder

This design simply evolved based on the pattern of the flower. The gift card holder folds into thirds and is held in place by a sleeve. When the sleeve is in place, the butterfly keeps the top flap from opening.

Gift Card Holder (cutaway with sleeve)

Gift Card Holder (closed)

Desk Top Organizer

I’ve always loved little boxes, and this one is no exception. It arrived with some unexpected treasures from a dear friend. Rather than pack it away with the Christmas gear, I covered the box with four different calendar pages. I used the stiffer cardstock from the front of the calendar to make a pair of dividers. Now I can easily get my hands on what I need.

Christmas gift box from a dear friend

Desk Top Organizer

Dividers

Box Lining

Napkin Rings

Once folded in half and glued together, the pages are quite sturdy. I cut them into strips, formed a ring, and stitched them together with a scrap of raffia. Now I’m all set for Thanksgiving.

Napkin Rings (8 for next fall)

Envelopes, gift tags and stickers

Assorted gift tags and stickers

Envelope

Wine Tag

Postcards from the Edge

I used the only bit of white from the calendar to create a writing space. The reverse side of the postcard has a quote.

Two-sided postcard (back side has quotation)

Bunting

For the Fairy Garden…of course. 🙂

Drawer Liners and a Poster

Drawer Liners (My husband swears we need all these remotes)

Poster (back of guest bath door)

Check this out:

Katherine at Pillows a-la-Mode likes to re-fashion or re-purpose clothing in a similar fashion. She held a contest a few months back. The lucky winner mailed her a beautiful embroidered jacket (that not longer fit), and Katherine turned it into a tote bag, a tissue holder, a pillow and more. You can check out the contest winner and lots of other fun ideas at Pillows a-la-Mode.