DIY Inspiration: Recycled Book & Print Projets

Help us decide what to do with books we are looking to upcycle! We will post a DIY depending on what DIY you want to see on the blog! 

 

As literature-loving, generally bookish folk we frown upon ruining a perfectly good book. We hoard books in our home libraries like the Kardashian sisters hoard Louboutins. It’s  a wonderful obsession to have (both books and shoes, really). When we did our book clutch tutorial we saved the inside pages of the books we re-purposed and popped them on our bookshelves for later enjoyment. We put pretty paper over the books we re-purposed then but you may not even have to go to that extreme! Luckily for us, exposed spines are super chic right now à la Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware:

Books with Exposed Spines For Sale on Etsy

Do you remember the Lauren Conrad/Lemony Snicket fiasco? She “re-purposed” his books into a storage container which she coined the “Bookshelf Box” and he was not pleased. Snicket, in typical Snicket fashion, commented: "it has always been my belief that people who spend too much time with my work end up as lost souls, drained of reason, who lead lives of raving emptiness and occasional lunatic violence. What a relief it is to see this documented" (Oh No They Didnt). The video tutorial was deleted by Conrad without comment. It's unfortunate because Conrad is actually a literature lover herself who runs an online book club, has written her own fiction and posts other fun bookshelf DIYs like this one: "Operation Organize: Get Colour Coded".

Photo from Gawker

Mandatory Book Loving Disclaimer: I would never destroy a book that could still be read. Books are my most cherished possessions. I respect the written word and I respect the process that goes into writing a book. Destroying any book is not something to take lightly. However, if a book is falling apart, un-readable or headed for the trash I think it then becomes okay to use the pages for DIY purposes. Instead of being thrown out, shredded or recycled the book continues to live on and remind us of it's former glory. Here at WTD were recently given a set of books that were destined for the recycling bin. The subject matter is now obsolete and they can’t really be donated anywhere because of it. In this case, we feel that it’s okay to re-use the books for a DIY project. 

 

What books should you use for your upcoming DIY project? Text books are a great example; in any field where information is constantly changing and quickly becomes outdated a 500 page textbook (that cost you hundreds at the campus bookstore) quickly become worthless and inaccurate and therefore no longer valid. One of my friends once moved into a house at University that had a closet FULL of outdated text books from previous tenants that the used book store had no interest in purchasing. The cycle is shamefully wasteful and creates a heck of a lot of book garbage. So why not re-purpose them into something for the home? As literature lovers what is better than being surrounded by books? Another great source of print for DIYs is magazines and newspapers which are truly only meant to be read once and get recycled every day. The pages can LOOK like book pages without forcing you to ruin a book.

Here are JEM's favourite book DIYS from Pinterest. Help us decide which one to try by telling us your favourite in the comments below!

Mason Jar 

JEM's Pinterest

 The mason jar heart book candle has been floating around Pinterest since I first started pinning. The project does raise some questions though: how to get the page to reach around the jar horizontally...how not to light the page on fire... details I'm sure we could figure out if you chose this DIY as "THE ONE".

The Book Monograph

JEM's Pinterest

So this DIY makes it pretty obvious that you destoyed a book but it also looks pretty awesome! You might spend a lot of time with your scissors on this DIY project... that's a lot of pages to cut through!

The Book Planter

 

Source: http://petiteplanet.blogspot.ca/2011/02/book-planters.html

JEM's Pinterest

I like books & I like plants so why not combine the two? The logistics of this one seem like they could get tricky... questions arise like how to conquer drainage and avoid mustiness? If you check out the second picture on our Pinterest (click-through link) there is a HGTV how-to which we would consult.

The Other Book Planter

JEM's Pinterest

This one is my favourite so far. I love the different coloured pages. You could recycle a book AND an ugly plastic planter... upcyling rocks!

The Book Headboard

JEM'S Pinterrst

DIY headboards are all the rage on Pinterest right now and I especially like this bookish one. If you can't sleep the book is already open for you ;)

Painted Books

JEM's Pinterest

Who knew painted books could be so chic? I love that they preserve the book but hide ugly or tattered covers.

Framed Books

JEM's Pinterest

 If you're like us you're proud of your books! Why not show them off in style? Create a book gallery wall OR simply incorporate a few of your favourite titles into your already existing picture gallery.

So what do you think? What DIY would you like us to do? Comment or tweet us @jemcolborne.

A Kate Middleton Easter DIY

Dear friends,
sorry it's been so long. Chalk it up to winter, unemployment, laziness, lack of laziness, whatever you will. It's hard to get on and blog! Props to the many fantastic blogs out there who never let us down.
Anyway, perhaps it was a reunion of the JEM girls or the extra hour of sunshine in the afternoons, but I was just ITCHING for a DIY. Turns out, I had the perfect excuse to crack out the glue gun AND to purchase tacky, dusty silk flowers. Ladies and gentleman, I give you: The Easter Hat.
When my boyfriend's grandmother saw our Ugly Xmas sweaters on December 24th, she flipped. She couldn't get over the creativity, the hilarity of it all (clearly, she's not online). Only two of us had made ugly sweaters for the occasion, opting to surprise my in-laws rather than get them in on the fun, but everyone was eyeing our warm, cozy sweaters with eggnog-fueled jealousy. And then, Mrs. P came up with a brilliant idea: Easter hats.
The Easter hat is the ugly Christmas sweater of spring. Go for bows, bunny ears, grass/moss, flowers, flowers and MORE FLOWERS. You cannot lose.

from roaylwedding.hellomagazine.com

My original sketch was for a very dramatic bonnet inspired by Kate Middleton and the royal family's elaborate fascinators, but considering I got the flowers for $2 and the hat for free, I couldn't justify spending $4 on the tulle or lace for the veil I envisioned. Yes, I am poor. And YES, I am cheap. (Since being unemployed, I've even taken to cutting my own hair. And it doesn't even look bad!)

from lifeloveandlouis.blogspot.com

So if you want to surprise (or full-on stun) your relatives this re-birthday (death-day?) of Mr. (?) Christ, follow this step-by-step guide to a DIY Easter bonnet.
1. Assemble cheap materials. Get a free sunhat, strawhat, bowler hat or whatever you can scrounge up for free. I got extra lucky in that my free hat is light green, perfect for my springtime theme. You'll also need fake flowers (see Value Village), bunny ears, yellow chicks, plaster eggs and whatever other dollar store crap you want to throw on there. Also, hot glue. Loads and loads of hot glue.

 2. If necessary, cut back the flowers so that they are a workable size. Whatever you do, don't get cocky with the scissors and slice your left index as I did. I almost not blood on my hat!
3. Play around with the design; place things randomly until they look good. I tried my hat on once or twice during the process to see where I needed to add stuff.

4. Mostly, just cover up unsightly stems and go for fullness and depth. A lot of the leaves came in convenient branches of three, but I cut some of these into individual pieces to get a more unique, garden-like look.

5. Use every bit. I had some smaller buds leftover which I glue to bobby pins. Now when I'm feeling spring-ish I can wear those!

6. Go hog wild. Like Ugly Christmas Sweaters, I imagine Easter hats should be vivacious and loud, not subdued or stylish. I was going for a girly, garden theme, but I encourage you to make, salvage or up-cycle bunny ears, faux-chocolate rabbits, birds' nests, robins' eggs, straw, butterflies, book pages, bows, ribbons, burlap... the sky's the limit. I feel like my hat could use something more, but for now, this is my finished product:

All in all, it took about 20 minutes and half a pint of blood (haha). Definitely will add some fun to our holiday weekend. And now, I'm back to my mug of mint tea and Brian Jacques' Redwall. 

Gotta book it!

xoxo

JEM

The Least Lame List of Affordable Valentines Day Ideas Ever Written

You can tell how romantic I am based on the title of this blog. I’m sick of all the articles about “rekindling the romance” and the ideas are like rent a tandem bicycle or eat strawberries dipped in chocolate. No one does that shit. Plus, it's like -40 in Canada so no one really wants to do anything let alone fall off a two person bicycle into a snowbank. Like many recently graduated twenty-somethings we're on a bit of a budget this valentines day but refuse to miss out on any of the spontaneity or romance of the day.

If you can afford this you're in the wrong place
Source: We Heart It

Although we don't stand for this bullshit either
Source: We Heart It

Here at WTD we've decided to find the perfect combination of thoughtful and affordable, cute and creative: we decided to have a date night on a dime brainstorming session for our own benefit as much as yours this Valentines Day. I’m sure some of these ideas will be lame but in my opinion it’s almost impossible to write about Valentine’s Day without being lame. The consensus here at WTD is that Valentine’s Day isn’t about buying marked up chocolate and Hallmark cards however if you have someone you love you should probably do something this v-day because NOT making an effort says a lot more than making one does… if you catch my drift. Ladies and gents take note: we all agree  a simple love letter would have us swooning this Friday. So remember, cute trumps corny and a little gesture can go a long way. Feel free to weigh in on our free and low budget V-Day ideas in the comments or on twitter @jemcolborne.

Sentimental Gifts 

• a framed photo of the two of you
• print the photos from a trip - no one makes photo albums anymore
• a scrapbook
• a love letter
• a poem/song/short story
• a copy of their favourite book with an inscription from you inside

DIY & Crafty Gifts 

•  make a set of homemade mugs with quotes from his/her favourite book/movie/song 
•  make a cookbook (paper in a simple binder works) with all of your fave recipes
• a jar full of pieces of paper, each with a reason why you love them or a memory and they can pick one out of the jar every day or whenever they need it
• a jar full of popsicle sticks, each one with a different date idea on them for future dates:
  i. white popsicle sticks = inexpensive date nights (i.e. rom-com night, hot chocolate date night, dance to our fave album in the kitchen date night)
  ii. pink popsicle sticks = moderately expensive date nights (go out for dessert, go to a local hockey game etc)
  iii. red sticks = expensive dates (go to fancy restaurant, river cruise, museum etc) 
• buy that movie they've been dying to see that isn't on netflix yet and watch it at home!     

Food Gifts

• a jar of his/her favourite candy corn or homemade chex mex
• can you say Valentines Day baking: cookies, cupcakes, cake, squares…. mmmm
• a "spluge" food item from a gourmet shop
• despite the fact that I made a dig at it, you can never go wrong with chocolate (good chocolate, that is) try to pick out your s/o's favourite kind

 Out & About Gifts

• if you can't afford to go out for dinner this year go out for a drink before heading home for dinner; you'll get the enjoyment of going "out" without the bill at the end of the night
•  go for a nighttime walk (if you can - I know, the snowbanks are high) there's nothing more romantic than unfiltered conversation under a starry winter sky
• find a public skating rink. I realize this verges into "tandem bike" territory but skating is fun and wintry and oftentimes free!
• go into a store of your choice together and set a price limit. Buy each other the best gift you can "under pressure": it might end up perfectly or hilariously but either way no one overspends.
• go for coffee at a nice coffee shop (skip Timmies on v-day)

Oh and if you don't get what you want, or you're single? We have absolutely nothing against:

Source: We Heart It

Blue Monday, Grey Tuesday: What to do when you're stuck indoors in January

According to the news, yesterday was the “most depressing day of the year”. The first Monday of January is apparently so depressing it is actually called Blue Monday… and I have to say I believe it! The holiday season is over, credit card bills are coming, the weather sucks, family is gone and the house feels empty. I too felt down and out all day; I didn’t feel ready to be back at work, I found out my yoga studio doesn’t start up for another week, it was too cold to do anything and the temperatures were (and still are) dropping rapidly towards a “flash freeze”. December brought some pretty crazy weather to Canada and the US… blizzards, freezing rain, hail, snow, snow and more snow. Luckily, I was able to escape the deep freeze for seven blissful days in the sand and sun in Cuba (if you still have an up-coming trip check out my packing list for some helpful suggestions!). This past weekend I was at an “after-holiday party” showing off my tan and sharing stories when one particularly surly woman said would never go South in December; according to her it makes the winter feel that much longer. And hey, I can see her point, but while going from +30 to -30 in a matter of hours was quite shocking and the thought of several more months cold and dreary weather is not appealing I don’t think I’d ever say no to a vacation.  And, we do live in Canada. We kind of agree to being cold by living here…. November through March is always going to be total shit so I think I’d rather it be fluffy and white outside my window that that awful brownish grey slush colour.

Source: weheartit

When I’m feeling blue, or any other depressing shade (maybe I’ll call today Grey Tuesday), I like to have things to look forward to. In that spirit I am going to list some lovely things we can all enjoy this winter when its just too cold to go outside! There’s nothing I like better than accomplishing things and crossing them off a list. Have any ideas? Comment or tweet us @jemcolborne!

1.) Re-read the Harry Potter series and then re-watch the movies. I’m working my way through them now and I have to say it’s very satisfying!

2.) Read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and watch the movies. I have read The Hobbit but never LOTR... its a travesty, trust me, I know. 

3.) Re-watch LOST. Seriously, it just keeps getting better.

Who's your constant?
Source: weheartit

4.) Re-watch Downton Abbey 1, 2 & 3 in preparation for Season 4 which premiered in Canada January 5!

5.) Find a new blog to follow. There are some amazingly resourceful blogs out there from raising chickens to make-up application I swear you kind find a great blog on any topic.

6.) Make a memory jar. Found this online and its an adorable idea!

Source: wehearit

7.) Complete some of the DIYs you’ve pinned to your boards. Seriously, how many have you actually completed?

8.) Buy yourself some fancy hot chocolate. I bought myself some peppermint Silly Cow… I love that its all natural, made in Canada AND is in an eco-friendly glass bottle!

Source: Silly Cow

9.) Learn to knit. Its trending now and is a valuable skill to have. I received a scarf and hat from my boyfriends grandmother for xmas and its my most treasured gift!

10.) Bake something new. Enough chocolate chip cookies and banana muffins already! Search Pinterest for a new recipe this winter and make yourself an expert at it. Personally, I want to learn to whip up biscuits apparently they're easy!

Okay, that's a little extreme.
Source: weheartit

11.) Organize your closet. I have the beginnings of a great system in my closet with all the baskets, hooks and shoe racks a person could want but for some reason it's still a complete mess!

12.) Play hide and seek with your pup. Hide treats around the room and let your dog "forage" for food. Its supposed to play into their natural instincts and gives them something to focus on instead of being bored and stuck inside!

13.) Indulge in some high end loose leaf tea. Ditch the Tetley for the three long months of tea sipping that are still ahead of us.

Perfection.
Source: weheartit

14.) Journal. It's supposed to be great for your creativity and mental health. If you're more of a tech wizard start a blog!

15.) Read non-fiction. I am going to read a yoga book first and I'm also interested in looking into some nutrition books.

16.) Read a classic. Preferably an Austen or Bronte. They just suit winter.

17.) Print your photos. How long have you been meaning to get your vacation photos into an album?

18.) Paint. Its relaxing and lets you get a little messy whether you like impressionism or splatter paint its definitely an excellent way to spend time indoors.

There is an endless list of things to do inside this winter and this is just a start. Bundle up and drink tea everyone!