Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Gettin' Creative - Magazine Style

Whenever I get a shiny, new magazine full to the brim of wonderful ideas and inspiration I get super excited and motivated, I rip out all my favorites little ideas and tab big idea pages. My clever little sis-in-law calls these "rippy bits". Cute eh? :) I do not organize my "rippy bits". I also almost never follow through with my initial big plans for all these projects. Can anyone relate? 
Well today I decided I'm going to change that. Obviously I wasn't going to run out and make my own headboard or reupholster a piece of furniture... I had to start with something small to get my juices flowing. I flipped through my bits and found the perfect, quick project! In the March issue of my decorating Bible, Country Living they had a little how-to article on making a little grocery list booklet out of recycled paper grocery bags. Such a fun idea, right!? I just happened to have the exact same Trader Joe's bags that they used so I took half and hour out of my day and did it! Yep, pat me on the back;) 
Super easy! All you do is carefully open the seams on the side and bottom. Then you remove the handles and iron on high to flatten it. Use a ruler and utility knife to measure out six 12-by 8-inch sheets. Lay each sheet on top of one another plain side up and fold the stack in half. Then mark dots with a pencil in half-inch increments along the edge. I used a tapestry needle and red embroidery thread to stitch a running stitch up and then down the spine and voila! Adorableness completed!

I'm really going to start getting my act together and do all those little things I find that I love. I'll keep you updated as I go! My next project is this awesome coffee can wine rack that is in the latest issue of Real Simple! This looks soooo easy to do. I think it's one of the coolest wine racks I've seen and definitely the cheapest!! Well, if you have as many coffee cans as we do that is:)

Also, off the subject, have any of you read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larrson? 
I just started it today. Matt has read it and loved it, but we don't always have the same taste in books. It's a little slow in the beginning, so far. If you've read it I'd love to hear your thoughts:) Thanks!

4 comments:

  1. HA! I do rip out "my bits" and organize them in a HUGE binder. That's as far as I get on most of them!! Love the booklet!! Haven't read the book sorry!

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  2. Oh my stack of magazines are waiting for me to go and rip through! I have them all in separate binders and labeled...bedroom, bath, kitchen, recipes, halloween, christmas, etc. I actually go through them and sometimes take things out thinking, "why did I put that in there".
    I just put this book on my kindle wish list for after I finish 3 others I've started. I've heard great things about it, let me know!

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  3. I actually liked Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, well the first time I tried to read it I got bored and gave up but then I came back for it :)

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  4. Sweet grocery list booklet! Just like the other reader who commented, I've got The Girl w/the Dragon Tattoo on my Kindle wish list! I heard if you can just get through the 1st 100 pages, then you can't put it down! Have a good evening, Patti

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