Book'em

Weight loss seems to be a constant theme in my life.  This year, I accepted a challenge from my sister called the 20/20 plan.  The major premise was that I would work out  and eat right then enjoy a 20 pound weight loss in 20 weeks. 

Well, it didn't work.  I did lose ten pounds but that's it. So, I started another program called 2/wk.  My goal is to lose two pounds each week by working out at least three times each week and avoiding the food products that would hinder my weight loss. 

So far, I haven't been consistent.  The beauty of th eprogram is the short time frame for measuring results.  Each week, I am reminded of my goal and the efforts that I have put forth to reach it.



Because I am a tactile person, I like to write down what I've eaten and the exercise I've done on a piece of paper instead of on a computer or a PDA.  I make small booklets from old calendars, paper headed for the recycle bin and other art items.  This helps me depelte my stash of art supplies and recyclable items.

This Marks the Spot

In August 2010, my husband and I hosted a book signing party for his first published novel, Honest Faces.   We thought it would be nice to give a small gift to those who purchased a book.  Keeping the gift focused on reading, I remembered the tutorial Lisa Vollrath provided for making bookmarks from unused business reply envelopes. 

I started saving the business reply envelopes and had enough for Steve and I to make 50 bookmarks in one evening.

I enjoyed making the bookmarks and our guests seemed to enjoy selecting a unique bookmark from the available assortment.  

Lunch Left Overs

In August 2010, I participated in a meeting that included box lunches.  The lunches arrived in sturdy boxes that were untouched by food due to the packaging used for the individual items. 

Hating to see these perfectly good cardboard boxes being dumped in the regular trash (we were in South Carolina where I failed to see recycling of anything).  I asked several meeting participants to give me their box if they had no other use for it.  I received four boxes which I unfolded and took back to Maryland with me. 









These boxes were cut into 4X6 inch rectangles.  They will be transformed into postcards before this year ends. The Postcrossing website is devoted to the exchange of postcards.  I exchange cards with a yahoo group, the Postcard Xchange, which focuses on members making and sending out postcards.

The smaller pieces were cut into 3.5X  2.5 rectangles.  They will be used to make Artist Trading Cards (ATCs)  that I will send to others or keep for myself.  Lisa Vollrath has a great "how-to" for making ATCs. 

Torn Pages

Several friends and two wonderful ladies that I have not met yet who live in Colorado swap cards a few months each year. The cards are designed to meet challenge criteria established by our leader and card creator extraordinaire, Bev.

For the month of October, I used pages torn from a book that had been discarded because it was falling apart at the spine.  To make ten cards, I used  15 pages that were cut into strips then layered onto a mat.  The mat was placed on a larger mat that had been randomly stamped with a floral image.

As I made each card, I found a different way to improve the card.  So, the ten cards all came out differently yet each had a page from the book and the same message "Sending You A Smile".

I encourage you to re-purpose printed text by using it as a patterned paper in your next project.