Book Page Wreath

So remember these beautiful old books?

Well, due to a secret project Jake is working on, we have a bunch of left over book pages.  And they are lovely.  So I've been hunting on the internet for great crafts for old book pages and found a few.  This one struck my fancy, though.  Seemed simple, inexpensive and the right balance beween crafty and chic.  Done. 

I made a few adaptations from the original tutorial, so I'll give you a quick run-down of my process. 

I bought a foam wreath form (with a flat, not fully rounded back) at Michaels, pulled out my trusty glue gun and got to folding.  I decided to use the pages from an old dictionary because of the graphic feel of the page layout.  One or two pages at a time I fanned the page (accordion style) and then folded up about 3/4 in of the bottom. 

 Then, hot glue that fold to the wreath form like so.  I started on the outside edge of the wreath with the pages fanning out.  And I added about three or four layers, or rows, of fans moving inward. The fold is less important at the outer edges (where you want the page to stick straight out) and more important as you move inward; the fold will create the volume you want.

Since you want the page fans to stay in place, you might have to glue other parts of the folded pages together (especially the inner, main fold like below). 

Once you reach the final row, you change tactics.  Instead of gluing the folded edge to the main part of the wreath, you fold it under, gluing it to the back as well as the foam border on the inner circle. Again, make sure you glue all the right folds and creases so that the pages stay where you want them. 

The back will look like this.

Then, tie a pretty ribbon on it and it's ready to hang!  I went with the simple look, but you could add some embellishments if you wanted. 

What a Difference a Rug Makes

I recently received an early (and remarkably generous) Christmas present from my mother-in-law.  It was big. It was floppy. It was...A NEW LIVING ROOM RUG!  I was (and still am) ecstatic.  I've been wanting to move from browns/tans to whites/greys in the front room for a while, but had to work around a nice, but very tan rug.  It was getting a little annoying.  Here's a picture to remind you of the "before".

And now the exciting "after": 

I'm really in love with the clean modern lines and the quatrafoil shape pattern. I've loved this moroccan style for a long time.  I even considered it for the backsplash tile shape in the kitchen renovation; we ended up going with a grey marble subway tile instead.  So I was delighted to have the chance to include the shape elsewhere in our home.   Now if only we could replace that weird colored sofa with something creamy and bright...