Wallpaper crafts

People tell me I am “crafty”. As in, I like to indulge in creating things . . . not that I am sly or sneaky!. Yes, I do like to “build” things, perhaps even more, I like to re-purpose things. Drop me off at a junk yard and life gets really interesting. Not if you are my husband, because I can fill up his garage with “stuff” in short order.

How do you see art? I used to have a very narrow view of what constituted art. But since I have opened a consignment store, the world has become my palate. It is amazing! Some people pursue the traditional “arts” but always with their own particular “spin”. Others take something that the rest of us would toss and create beautiful, unique art from it.

Now me, I never had an original idea in my life. But I can copy what someone else does. And with a few twists and turns, I can make it my own. I don’t know that there is anything wrong with “borrowing” ideas and personalizing them to make them your own.

The wall opposite my kitchen.

I have a couple of things that I do reasonably well and have worked at consistently over the years. The first being wall paper. I began like most normal people by applying it to walls. I soon ran out of walls. So then I turned to furniture. I have used all sorts of materials to create some unusual pieces over the years.  Everything from sheets of music to vintage magazines. I suppose what I do is more closely aligned to decoupage, except that I use wallpaper. I create scenes, themes, designs…...whatever comes to mind when I see a particular piece of furniture.

Sometimes I can see the finished product immediately, other times I wait for months or even years to find that “one” thing that fits a particular piece of furniture.

The other thing that I enjoy doing is recycling bed sheets into rag rugs. It has been a learning process for many years but feel I am finally getting it down pat. Bed sheets make wonderful rugs! You can’t kill them no matter how hard you try. I have had several outside on the porch for years and, like the energizer bunny, they just keep going. Bed sheets are soft, easily washed, and will last forever! So never throw out your worn sheets, they haven’t completed their life yet!

I acquired a loom several years ago. I am still working on making that “work”. It is definitely a learning process. And right at the moment my kitten is doing her best to undo everything I have done so far. I need to get motivated. Is it just me, or do other people put off things that they don’t know

Itsy Bitsy "helping" me.

how to do? I generally find that if I jump in with both feet, it isn’t nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. But it is hard to take that first step for some reason.

As we move on, I will share other things that I work on when the “creative bent” hits me. And I would love to hear about your unique ideas and abilities. Careful….I might borrow them.

Just writin’ on the River Road