Lazy Sunday Afternoon Creativity

Yey! For the first time in absolutely flipping ages, I've managed to have a Sunday off that actually feels like a Sunday. That is, I've already had the Saturday off work rather than Sunday being my Saturday (if that makes sense) - in fact I've had the whole week off, which is probably why I felt so relaxed and inspired to be creative.

First of all I finally got around to making myself a new scribbling journal from an old French book I bought in a withdrawn from stock sale in the local library months ago. I just liked the cover as it was unusual and thought it would make a great notebook. Also I don't speak French and I'm not really that fussed about Columbus (Shackleton on the other hand would have been a different matter).

I needed to make a photo album for a friend a couple of summers ago and so another friend gave up an afternoon of his summer holidays from teaching to teach me simple book binding. Apart from the photo album, I've made a couple of small notebooks where I made the whole book including the cover and spine. This is the first one I've made to actually fit a pre-made cover.

Of course, obviously, I'm left with all the original pages from inside the book needing a new life.

I found several sites on the tinternet with instructions to make paper flowers, so that was a few pages used up and the flowers used to decorate my ever growing display / pile of driftwood in the front room.

So a few more pages used, but there were a lot of pages in the book), plus a rather ugly picture of C.C. himself).

What else could I make?

Last weekend, when not watching starlings, a group of us explored the mystic streets and magical ley lines of Glastonbury and spied in the window of one of the few shops not filled with rune, dream catchers and scary horned black wooly things, some rather pretty paper bird and butterfly mobiles. So here are my versions using, yep, you've guessed it, some pages from that French book.

 

These are really easy to make but quite effective (despite my photo's). Simply draw out the shape you would like on several pieces of paper and cut out. Using some of the scraps of paper left over, line up the scraps and cut out shapes as such. (the scraps of paper give you something to sew onto to create to stitched effect in the thread between the shapes).

Using a sewing machine and matching coloured thread,sew along the centre of all the paper in a continuous line. There is no need to secure the beginning of the sewing by reverse stitching as you will tie off the end afterwards. At the end, of all the paper, cut the thread and tie in an overhand knot to secure. Repeat this at the other end.

Carefully remove the unwanted scraps of paper by ripping away from each side of the stitches.

Hey Presto! You have a garland or mobile.