Making Magnets with Eco Glue

While waiting for baby to arrive (due in less than 2 weeks now!), I've been keeping pretty busy making lots and lots of junk mail magnets over the past week (also wallets & beads) to stock up for upcoming orders, as you can see here...



I also just found this Eco Glue online that I've been trying out...seems to be really strong, and nice & clear, which is a must for magnet making! Check it out if you're looking for an eco friendly and strong glue!

Book page wreath

Sometimes I even get ideas for recycling projects from the actual mail I am recycling! Pottery Barn catalogs are one thing I like to use for making my wallets as they have a lot of nice full-photo pages without a lot of text.

Anyway, I think this came from one of those catalogs, and I caught myself just before folding it into a strip for a wallet. (which is why it is cropped funny) Check out the wreath-like decoration here that appears to be made out of old book pages. Pretty cool idea...looks like you could make one pretty simply by poking a wire through a bunch of loosely folded book pages, bent into a circle. I just might have to try making a junk mail wreath one of these days...

Productive Hibernation

Well, yesterday we finally got our first decent snowstorm which is pretty late in the year for Minnesota. We got maybe 6" or so...nothing huge but enough to stick now for a while! Today I've been up in my studio most of the day working away on Junk Mail Gems products...weaving wallets, rolling paper beads, etc...staying warm and dry. Here are a few photos out my studio window for those of you living in warmer climates who find snow to be a novelty...







More developments in the Junk Mail Gems world...while my list of fantastic retailers around the country has continued to grow, this week I am happy to welcome the Eco Gender Corporation as our first exclusive distributor to the territory of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean! Hopefully Junk Mail Gems will be a profitable addition for them in the coming year!

I'm also excited to have recently mailed in my application to hopefully be chosen to be a part of next year's St. Paul Craftstravaganza! You may remember that I posted on this event last summer. It was jam packed with really cool stuff and TONS of people. So, keep your fingers crossed that I make it in...I think it would be a great chance to meet some more like minds in the Twin Cities!

Another Thrift Store Re-Make

Well, I have one last thrift store furniture re-make project I've just finished for my bug themed nursery in my last few weeks before baby arrives! I've been visiting thrift stores watching for a small end table or side table to put next to the rocking chair. I found this perfect wicker drawer unit for just $6.99 at Saver's a couple days ago. Of course, the brown & green paint with pictures of mushrooms & acorns don't quite fit with the nursery decor...but that's the fun part!

I spent last night painting the whole thing white, which is pretty time consuming when you're talking about wicker. Today I added the colored trim areas and then painted a bug on each drawer, to match the bug illustrations in the rug I have in the room.

As you can see below, with just a few bucks, some paint and a little tlc, you can turn a homeless, out-of-date piece of furniture into a custom piece for your home!

Recycle your old Christmas & Greeting Cards!

With Christmas less than 6 weeks away, there's no doubt you will soon be receiving holiday cards and advertising in your mailbox. This got me thinking I should post some ways to recycle your holiday cards.



The first thing that came to mind for me was these cool ornaments. My mom made some of these when I was little, and you may have seen them around the web as well. Since I had already re-purposed my cards from last year, I made this ornament today out of some of the holiday catalogs I've received in the mail recently. Greeting card fronts work best since they are thicker stock, but catalog covers work as well. Check out the Junk Mail Gems DIY page for complete instructions to make your own ornament!

Looking for something less time-consuming? You can also use your cards as gift tags. Simply cut around the image you like with scissors, and use a hole punch in one corner. I like to use craft scissors with a decorative edge...pinking shears also work for a zig-zag. Use the hole to tie ribbon through, and on the back you can write who the gift is for and from!



Another thing I like to do with attractive gift cards is to cut out the images and use them as embellishments in my Christmas photo scrapbook. They cost 100% less than buying expensive scrapbook stickers, and I add to the memory preservation by noting in small writing next to it who sent that particular card. You can even dress the images up further by adding a little glitter, or adding dimension by gluing cardboard squares underneath it to lift it off the page.

Junk Mail Gems on Fox News

Last night Junk Mail Gems was featured as part of a Fox 9 news story about stopping junk mail! Watch the video on their website!

Cardboard Sculpture

My brother sent me this link to some really awesome cardboard sculpture by Chris Gilmour. Pretty cool stuff. Sure, cardboard boxes can be recycled back into more cardboard boxes, but then why not give a box a loftier second life as a work of art?!

Chris creates replicas of everyday objects out of nothing more than cardboard and glue. Seeing these brought back many memories of my college days in Industrial Design. One assignment I had my freshman year was to create a cardboard chair that could support my weight, only we couldn't use any glue. I also still use cardboard as an inexpensive way to create full size models of my product designs to test. Of course, being rough models, these ae not meant to be as beautiful and detailed as Gilmour's work, but it does make me want to go back and explore cardboard more as an end-product medium!

The link is to Reuben and Yael Miller's blog, which is worth exploring if you have a chance! I think I'll add this one to my list of regular places to visit...nice stuff!