Brought to you by the letter R.

I have to confess that today's post makes my heart beat just a little faster.

If I could have peered into the future when I started scrapbooking, I would have been surprised to see how often I would use my stash on all sorts of things other than layouts.  The more innovative the scrapbooking industry has grown, the more I’ve done just that.  It’s like having an overlapping supply for multiple creative pursuits, and it sure does come in handy.

R is for Re-purposing: Making the Most of All Those Pretties

For several years, we've had a 3-opening frame on the wall showcasing our wedding invitation and two photos.  I wanted to put it in our bedroom in our new house, but the cherry-colored wood just didn't work.  I painted the frame dark brown, but then I needed to deal with the wood around each opening and really didn't want to risk getting paint on the mat.  Patterned paper to the rescue!

With the help of my trusty ATG gun, the mat went from this

to this.

And now it matches our room.  All because of a little paint and paper.

(If you'd like to hop over to my blog when you're finished here, I've posted a tutorial on how to miter the corners of paper for a frame so that they fit together perfectly.)

I love to shop thrift stores and garage sales to find cast-off items with potential.  This was one such piece from a recent trip.  Doesn't it scream 70's?  (Not that I have anything against the 70's.  They and their cousins the 80's are the setting for all my childhood memories.)

After removing the mirror & glass, I painted and distressed the frame.  The rest of the transformation was accomplished with my computer and scrapbooking supplies.  I used digital paper and a favorite script font (Lainie Day) to print a quote, leaving space for some chipboard letters to be substituted for one of the words.  Then I distressed the letters, covered a chipboard house & heart with patterned paper, and assembled.

(all chipboard by Scenic Route)

It hangs next to our coat closet--a perfect spot for words that ring so true for me.

In case you'd like to try something similar (even with a simple picture frame), I've created two PDF's of the quote as pictured.  This one has no background, and this one is on the grunge background that I used. (My frame size was a little odd, so I re-sized the images to 5x7 to make them more usable.)

The lampshade in the bedroom of our two youngest certainly didn't clash with the decor, but I yawned every time I looked at it.

So I pulled out a sheet of Dollar Tree wall stickers, scraps of some favorite old (*smile*) BasicGrey paper, a circle punch, a few buttons and some rick-rack, and in a very short amount of time, they had a new, much cuter lamp shade.

For your added viewing pleasure and inspiration, here are a few more examples from other Write.Click.Scrapbook gals.  I was giddy each time one of these arrived in my Inbox.

Celeste:

bookends made of bricks covered in kraft wrap & patterned paper strips that were sewn together

pushpins made of clear glass pebbles, patterned paper & thumbtacks

cork board decorated with patterned paper, die cut letters & ribbon, pushpins made with chipboard shapes glued to thumbtacks

paper piecing done on corrugated cardboard and attached to a piece of wood so that cup hooks could be screwed in to hold keys

Emily:

a paper piecing of tree, leaves & ground with Proverbs 13:12 written on the mat in Emily's cool handwriting

I wish I had asked Emily her technique here, but it appears that she used a stamp on a watercolor square.  (Emily, can you give more specifics in the comments section?)  The quote is printed in an old-fashioned typewriter font. 

Francine:

project/idea journals for various areas of her creative life,

punched and gathered with binder rings,

with front & back covers to tie them all together

Cheryl:

digital scrapbook paper with a free tree brush and a quote, sanded edges, adhered to a piece of chipboard, with a little Tim Holtz metal piece of chain to the side

favorite starfish photos from a recent trip, title added before printing, edges sanded and distressed, slipped inside a jar of trip mementos

Full details from Cheryl: I recently bought a roll of canvas from the art supply store that is made for printers.  I have an Epson wide format printer which can do prints up to 13x19.  I had my husband cut me a piece of wood to 11.5x17.5, made this print digitally (digital kit from Libby Weifenbach) and then used spray adhesive to wrap the piece of wood.  This was my first attempt and it's a wee bit crooked, I would make sure to mark with a pencil where the wood should go on the back of the print next time.  (quote from the Beatles)

(Note: I have an Epson wide format printer.  You can bet I'll be looking for some of that-there canvas on a roll!)

I not only find it fun and fulfilling to use my stash to create home decor, gifts, etc., but it often provides some fresh inspiration when I'm stuck in a scrapbooking (or lack-of-scrapbooking!) rut.  The more creative I am with my supplies, the more ideas start flowing through my brain and fingers.

Give it a try and see if you agree!

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for an awesome give.away.day.  Then I'll return on Friday to unfold what the letter T has up its sleeve.

 

40 re-purposed?