Homemade Recycled Paper

We all have it, piles of used paper (newspaper, filled note pads, used printer paper, even bank statements or bills) we want to recycle but why just put it in a box by the road when you can recycle and reuse it yourself...And it is Soooo easy and fun...
Oh and FYI by the time you are done with it
NO-ONE will be able to get your personal information from those old bills and bank statements...


So first things first, we need to make our old paper into pulp...All you need is old paper of course, a bucket, warm water and a blender...

Tear your paper into rough square inch pieces and drop them in your bucket half filled with the warm water, let soak for about an hour...mix with your hand or a wooden spoon occasionally to make sure the paper is thoroughly wet through and begin the process of the paper breaking down...

Now we half fill the blender with the wet paper
(You can also add some flower petals at this point)
and then top off the blender with more hot water, blend for about 30seconds, now we have "pulp...Empty the pulp into a tub large enough to fit your screen into (see below)...repeat this step until your wet paper is all made into pulp...

If you are without a blender you could continue to simply mix the paper in the bucket by hand (or wooden spoon) until it completely breaks down and looks like watered down instant potatoes ....

Once all your pulp is in your tub you want to add more water, like pictured above...you can also add food coloring to create colored paper...you will need to experiment to see how much coloring you need for your tub and water level...

These are the screens I made using old photo frames with bug screen stapled to them...

Stir up the water so it is cloudy with the paper particles, then dip the frame in at an angle into the tub and hold flat at the bottom of tub for 1 to 5 minutes depending on how thick you wish your paper to be...

Being careful to hold it flat as you lift out of the water, then allow to drip dry for about 15 to 30 minutes (on a hot day)...You can use a sponge to gently soak up the excess water from beneath the frame...

When the edges of the paper begin to lift from the frame invert onto a drying rack and allow to dry until the paper completely separates from the frame without tearing...leave on drying rack until complete dried out...

You have now made your very own recycled paper....

All that is left to do is put it to use...

Water Color and Ink Rooster on Homemade Recycled Paper

Blessings Kelsie

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Quick Pumpkin Make-Over

The count down has definitely begun for T-Day...I did a dash to Dollar General this morning hoping they had a pilgrim or 2 left for me to make a center piece for the table...I know leaving it a little late most places have already sold out of all things Thanksgiving...

Fortunately for me DG still had a few things and yay already on the clearance rake...I did find my pilgrims but will share those another time...I want to show you the super quick make-over I gave these little fellows I found on the clearance rake for just 80 cents each...You can believe I grabbed the last 6 in a hurry...I have been coveting all the lovely white pumpkins I have been seeing the last few weeks and finally I have a chance to make my own...yay

Here is a before paint but with flowers, berries and leaves removed...and then with the first layer of paint added and rubbed back...I used Vintage White craft paint...

The finished pumpkins have 2 coats of paint rubbed back for a lovely shabby chic look...The berries were part of the original "garland" the pumpkins had on them, I simply used my hot glue gun to reattach them after the paint was dry.

I can't show you the rest of the table yet as I want it to be a surprise, but I am super happy with the results..Another thing on my Thankful list :)

Blessings Kelsie

Easy to Make Paper Dolls - Updated

With the weather turning colder the need for new interesting indoor activities for the kiddies is now at hand...And lets face it, the more we can do that is FREE is the better...Lil Sara is too young to make her own, so I made these ones for her, but this is such a quick easy project that kids as young as 5 or 6 could easily do it themselves with just a little guidance.

Now go turn off the TV, gather the kids around the kitchen table and grab these few supplies.

Scissors

Spray Adhesive works best but a stick of glue would work in a pinch.
Cardboard for backing - I used black cardstock I had on hand, but you could use the cardboard from cereal boxes too.
And lastly...A magazine, Doll catalog (you can sign up for these online free I will list a couple of links at the bottom this post) or even photos printed from your computer...For the boys you could do farm animals or even machinary, trucks and cars, maybe if you have not thrown out those halloween costum catalogs yet you could find them some pirates or superheros.


Simply cut out the "dolls" spray the back of the images with adhesive (please use old newspaper under them to prevent making a big mess) then gently smooth them on to your cardboard backing...This will make them nice and stiff for hours of play...Make sure you get all the bubbles out...Then Carefully cut around figures leaving a 1/8th boarder and VIOLA paper dolls.

Paper Dolls

But where will these lovely dollies live I hear you ask??..Well that is easy.
Got an old decor magazine laying around??

Instant Doll House

You could take it one step father and cut out some of the funiture and repeat the glue/cutting step and make the dolls their own paper furnishings too.

But for now Sara is happy to just use my old magazines.

Sara's Dolls are all from the Ellowyne Wilde Collection...

You can visit the website and request a catalog here http://www.wildeimagination.com

I also love the Tonner Doll Company catalog but you do have to purchase those if not ordering a doll from them http://www.tonnerdirect.com/c-175-catalogs.aspx

And of course there is always Barbie...This site is for the Collector Dolls rather than your playline Barbies, but you can order a free catalog to enjoy these high end dolls too
http://www.barbiecollector.com

I made these smaller versions to fit into an envelope so that it will be easy to mail for a very special little girl in Australia..Shhhhh Don't tell her.

Kelsie...

PS: Please share pix of your dolls with me if you do make some. *grin*

More Homemade Fall Decor

The cooler weather has finally reached our patch of Florida and the leaves are now changing colors, though not as impressive as the states farther north, it is quite magical to watch it through the eyes of a 2 year old...


Her pure delight at chasing the leaves when they rain down from above as a gust of wind knocks them from trees...Her exploring the piles on the ground to see how many different colors and shapes she can find....So what do we do with all these lovely treasures she collected earlier in the week.

We glued some to a pieces of black card stock to make a lovely fall piece of artwork for Nanna and Poppa....

Alas she insisted on gluing some of the "sticky berries" to it so we could not easily mail it...But rest assured it will be here waiting for them when they arrive for the holidays...In the mean time I get to enjoy it on my fridge.

We also filled the little heart shaped birdcage with pretty yellow and red leaves...It was the finishing touch needed to complete our kitchen bar decorations.

I hope everyone else is having a wonderful Sunday...I am off to look for more indoor activities to keep lil Sara occupied during our first cold snap of the season...Too cold for her outdoors today.

Kelsie

Fall Decor - Homemade and Free

I am running a little behind this week for Show and Tell Friday, I had planned to share some great thrift store finds but they will just have to wait *wink* instead I am sharing what me and the girls put together this morning...


How pretty do these jars full of "prickly berries" look?...I was inspired yesterday by Olivia's Romantic Home blog (see my side bar for her link)...I do still intend to paint some pine cones...But Lil Sara and I got a little side tracked during our hunt for pine cones by these lovely spiky things (am sure someone will tell me what they are actually called lol) and came home with a red wagon full of both these and the pine cones.

If you look very closely they are different colors depending on how long since they fell from the tree...At first I thought we would be painting them also, but then once I noticed how pretty they are naturally.


I found some fall inspired fabric scraps in my sewing room add some green and brown ribbon, then suddenly 3 empty canning jars and some "prickly berries" are a fun start to my fall decor ...I grouped them all together on my kitchen bar with a birdhouse hand painted by lil Sara and a gorgeous black rooster I was supposed to send to my mum and recently found tucked away in a box...Oops sorry mum *grin*


A wider view of the kitchen bar...Notice I added some pine cones to my fruit basket that nests nicely under the heart shaped birdcage I found a few weeks back.


Close up of the pine cones and bird cage...On suggestion from Kari I am thinking I will be painting the birdcage hand rubbed bronze, which will match both my light fixtures and the kitchen hardware...I also want to add some wooden eggs to the cage....But that is a whole other project lol.


I balanced the other end of the kitchen bar with a wicker basket to "catch crap"... A dark wooden box for change and keys and hidden behind is the candle that is for now still decorated for spring lol...The candle is a must stay because of the frequency of power outages we have.

SO that's it, my fall decor...Oh I guess I should mention since I don't have a mantle the kitchen bar is my substitute.

Kelsie

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What do you see?...It is all about the *RE*

It started 7yrs ago when hubby and his brother were doing a clean out and fixing to do a scrap metal run...(this is what car guys do when they are nagged enough about the "crap" around the yard...if you are lucky)

So BIL arrives with his contribution to the load, lo & behold he has a big ole Weber BBQ grill lid...Much to my hubbies horror I claim this and one of his many spare car rims.

I was like, look hunny a divine planter...
He was like, umm really??
I was like, yer YOU just got to paint it...

Fast Forward 7yrs later....Because yesterday it finally got painted lol

Not only is it really cute, add instant height and much needed eclectic cottage feel to the front garden....

But also much needed protection to the corner of the bed from the garden hose during watering.

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Some Dolly Time with Friends.

Yesterday we had so much fun. A friend and her lovely children come to play in the afternoon and we created "No Sew" tutu's for the girls, American Girl Dolls, while her sons sat quietly at my dinning room table creating amazing pieces of art with card stock and assortment of pastels, pencils and crayons...It was wonderful to have so much creativity happening at once...Sadly we forgot to take pictures of the children working because, we were just having to much fun playing and visiting *grin*


Lil Sara does not have an AG girl, but an 18inch Madame Alexander girl doll the same size, who is modeling a "No Sew" tutu...The leotard I made last night after lil Sara finally went to bed...Far removed from the dolls I am used to sewing for...It was fun not having to worry about darts etc because of bumps and curves...I will have to watch I do not get addicted to sewing for these little girl dollies lol.

I am already addicted to making these tutu's, and my head is swimming with color and fabric combo possibilities.

Hope yall are having a wonderful weekend so far.

Kelsie