Recycled Catalog and Scrap Paper Greeting Card

Here's a look at the finished project:

I started with one of my old drawings but you could use a page from a kids color book or some clip art. Anything that's big enough to glue bits of catalog pages to.

I found it easiest to glue things is the right places and then cut my finished design out making any changes along the way that I needed to. I ended up changing the shape a bit in order to get the petals from the garden catalog pictures to fit.

Next, I looked for card stock and paper pieces big enough to make a card out of.

Today's garden photos

That wicker chair wasn't repairable so I'm using it as a trellis for some of the climbing roses here. it should be really pretty next year with pink roses wrapped all around it and shooting up through it in places. It will be a solid support for the plants too.

  

Not too many flowers left these days but I thought this was the best one out there.

This is much nicer when I put all of the cushions out but I think it's great anytime. We call it "the summer living room"

Yes, there are a few of the mini sunflowers left so there's still time to do a bit of drawing and painting with them.

Recycling Denim

Once I'd cleared some space on my work table I figured that I might as well sort through the pile of old jeans a friend brought in and see what I could do with them.
Most of the time because they're so hard on my scissors and sewing machine I stick to tote bags and small throws that can be used as rugs or quilts.
Today I'm not quite sure so I'll be thinking about that as I cut out the best parts of the fabric and get some of the rest of it out of my way.
What's your favorite thing to do with them?

Saving money on ferns

I had just been over to Home Depot and noticed that ferns were 8.99. Just the inspiration to send me back home and for a like in the back yard where I had a few  in the far corner.

 We dug up a few and brought them up to the front yard where everyone can enjoy them.

 Yes, this is the planter we built last year with scrap lumber and siding. How's it look now?

An easy container garden with stawberries

 A few strawberries rounded up from the mess that is my backyard.

 Sorted, cleaned and trimmed they're ready for a new home.

So far this container has raspberries at the center surrounded by strawberries and then it has radishes planted around the outside edge. I may add a few more things to it but I feel this little garden is off to a good start and am on my out to get a few more strawberries for it. As you can imagine, salvaging what I've got saves quite a bit of money and helps get things cleaned up and organized around here.

Making something out of the mess

 This first design was made from bits of photos on my worktable along with some colored paper and marker. Yes, I plan to use it to write letters on but I'm sure there are lots of other possibilities as well.

This page was more fun. I cut up my colored pencil horse designs and added them to a picture of a chair I'd painted over a decade ago that also had horses on it. Of course at that point I couldn't resist adding more colored pencil to pull the whole thing together and finish it off with a bit or marker to outline some areas.

Blast from the past

While sorting through a bin of papers I "found" this photocopy of an old sketchbook I used to put some of my pictures in.

This project was from the late 1980's or early 1990's and used a lot of favorite things in a way that really made me happy. I wore this vest for many years until the lace became too fragile from repeated launderings but i sure enjoyed it while it lasted.