Spring Pinterest Challenge: Book Page & Paint Chip Art

It's Spring Pinterest Challenge Time! The bloggers behind Young House Love and Bower Power dreamed this challenge up, and I was thrilled to participate again. I played along last summer when I created Repurposed Book Page art and this past winter when I created Personalized Bookmarks.

This time, I was inspired by paint chip art a la this pin and this pin, but of course I had to put my own bookish spin on it. I accomplished this by adding some book pages into the mix.

Take a gander at this beauty:

It was super easy to accomplish. Allow me to break it down for ya:

1. Go to your local home improvement store and scour the paint chip aisle for your desired colors. Don't let the judgmental  looks from the salespeople get to you-- so what you are snatching up colors for a good 20 minutes. Last time I checked, it's a free country and paint chips are free.
2. Cut out triangles from the chips and the book pages. I opted to take the pages out of the same book carcass I used for a previous craft project. As any true book lover should, I will use all parts of a book until there is no more.
3. Arrange and rearrange and rearrange your cut-outs some more until you are ready to pull your hair out. Then, take a break-- reading break, tea break, Doctor Who break, what have you. Finally, settle on a design already, you're taking forever.
4. Glue your pieces down, slap it in a frame, take a few pictures for bragging rights, and call it a day.

Here's some shots of my work-in-progress:

 As you can see, half the fun of the creative process is making a nice big ol' mess on the kitchen table.

My book page and paint chip art has yet to take up permanent residence anywhere, but I envision it as a part of my future frame gallery in the living room. I'll keep you updated :)

 

I am linking this project up here, here, here, and here if you are curious about other bloggers' Spring Pinterest Challenge projects.

Winter Pinterest Challenge: Personalized Bookmarks

It's Winter Pinterest Challenge Time! The bloggers behind Young House Love and Bower Power dreamed this challenge up, and I was thrilled to participate again-- I also played along this past summer when I created repurposed book page art.

This time, I was very much inspired by handmade bookmarks, as can be found on Pinterest here, here, and here.

Like my bookmark project of yore, I wanted to create something simple, modern, and of course, personalized. Bonus points for something quick to whip up without costing me a dime. So, I only used supplies I already had hidden deep within my crafting hoard: glue stick, craft paper, and card stock.

All I did was find quotes and fonts that I love, married the two together, and printed 'em out. Easy as pie.

 In case you were dying of curiosity or want to replicate what I've done, here are the quotes I used. Copy and paste these quotes to your hearts content.

“When I think of all the books still left for me to read, I am certain of further happiness.”
-Jules Renard

“I only read what I am hungry for at the moment when I have an appetite for it, and then I do not read, I eat.”
-Simone Weil

“I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound and stab us.”
- Franz Kafka

“Woke up this morning with a terrific urge to lie in bed all day and read.”
-Raymond Carver

As usual, I had a ton of fun letting my creative juices flow. The project required little thought or concentration, which made for a nice stress reliever. I highly recommend this activity to all of my fellow bookworms out there!

I am linking this post up over at YHL, Bower Power,  Remodeled Life, and Decor and the Dog.

Summer Pinterest Challenge: Repurposed Book Pages

Since I still seem to be on a bookish crafting roll, I thought I would embrace it and participate in YHL's Summer Pinterest Challenge this season. I've been following John and Sherry Petersik's blog for well over a year now, drooling over their DIY projects and house renovations, and now that I have a blog to display my own creative endeavors, I thought I'd jump in on this challenge.

I was very inspired by Crafty Texas Girls' Bookpage Monogram, Arrow & Apple's Bookpage Jars, and the Vintage Votives at Annaboo's House. Unable to settle on just one of these projects, I did one of each.

Each one took about 10 minutes or less. I have to say the most fun to do was my Bookpage Monogram. I loved picking out the font for the R & J. I might have even loved picking out the page to print on more [I chose a romantic scene, to keep the sentiment consistent, of course, haha.]

I'll be linking this project with the Summer Pinterest Challenge link-up over at Young House Love, Bower Power, Centsational Girl, and Ten June!