Map Ornament

While visiting San Antonio with my parents, I bought a Texas Christmas ornament, and it occurred to me when I got home that I didn't have a North Dakota ornament. I was cleaning up my maps after our trip when I realized that a map ornament would be the perfect way to recycle a map I didn't need anymore. Fortunately, Bismarck is small enough that it fit nicely on this star! It is very similar to my rainbow ornament - just a wooden shape mod podged with paper and a grommet to finish the hole I drilled.

Unicorn Stamp Ornament

I started using a canva.com at work this year, and it includes this stamp image. When I saw it, I immediately decided to make a unicorn stamp for Amanda, which I set in this pendant to turn it into a Christmas ornament. I glued it in using Mod Podge. There's a bit of glitter glue around the edge and on the unicorn's horn. I then applied Mod Podge Dimensional Magic to fill in the pendant. The ribbons are glued to the back of the pendant with a little snowflake decoration.

Hungary Postage Stamp Tree

 

One year in high school I became friends with a foreign exchange student from Hungary. After she went home, we became pen pals. I recently liberated these stamps from their envelopes, and this seemed like a good way to repurpose them. I only had enough for one side of this tree. There isn't a wide range of colors, but at least they all match thematically. While the other two stamp trees are going to Amanda, I am keeping this one for myself.

Finished size: 3.5" x 4"

US Postage Stamp Tree

After making an ornament with fake stamp stickers, I decided to try decoupaging some real stamps. I didn't have a huge selection of old stamps, so this one isn't as nicely color coordinated, as the focus was mostly on trying to cover the entire tree without leaving gaps. I collected stamps for a while as a kid, and that's where these stamps came from.

Finished size: 3.5" x 4"

Rainbow Ornament

This adorable ornament is made from stationery I've had since childhood. I decided to create an ornament out of it by mod podging it to a 3" wooden disc. I was going to paint the disc, but I decided to use the lined stationery to create the background instead, and I am very pleased with that choice! I used a grommet to give the hole a more finished look.

Stationery circa 1985

Recycled Spools

I had 2 old empty spools that I wanted to save simply because they were old, but what to do with them to make them useful? They were just sitting in a box of random parts. Enter my new rotary tool obsession! I cut off one end of each spool, since there was one end of each that was in better shape than the other.

The pin.

This was definitely the most challenging of my rotary tool cutting, since I had to cut through the outer layer, six spokes, and the inner layer. I filled the holes that were created with hot glue to protect the label from getting a hole poked through it. I coated the labels with a layer of Mod Podge for additional protection.

The back of the pin.

The magnet.

They are about 1" in diameter.

Map Bunting

I keep seeing bunting tutorials all over the place. It seems a bit excessive for something so simple, and I never thought I'd have a use for bunting. However, there is a lot of empty wall space in my office and it occurred to me that bunting would be a good space filler. Most tutorials are for fabric bunting, but I decided that I didn't want to bother with fabric for work. So I pulled out my Mod Podge and my abundant stack of maps, raided the recycling bin for cereal boxes, and got to work.

I needed to cover a 10' wall so it's too long to get a picture of the whole thing. I used 5 flags for every 2'.

I put buttons on the ends:

My favorite:

I'm glad Traverse City didn't end up upside down. You can even see Glen Arbor and Leelanau! The eyelet covered up the Homestead. However, the eyelets make a huge difference. They look so much more polished.

Each flag is 3" across the top and 3.75" high. I got 12 flags from the front and back of each cereal box. I used maps of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Virginia, but I didn't need that many so Virginia got dropped because it did not quite match the other two. Since I Mod Podged the maps and then cut the flags apart to save time instead of doing them individually, some of the maps ended up upside down, but the writing is pretty small on most of them so you can't really tell from a distance.

Butterfly Wall Art

Another decoration for my office. I decided I needed something more colorful to complement the owls. This one also has a bit of sparkle. I added some gold glitter glue to coordinate with the butterfly. It's only 9.5" square, so I still have quite a bit of wall space to fill.

Mod Podge Book Art

Our new library director created a new department, so we've been moving offices at work. I am part of the new department, and as it turns out, the new department is going to be located in my current office. My old department is moving down a floor, and they took all the decorations with them! The walls were completely bare. Based on their current offices, I didn't think my new office mates would have much to contribute in the way of wall decorations. Fortunately, while recently decluttering the apartment, I had come across two 8.5 x 16" metal posters I had stashed in the back of a bookshelf. I was going to donate them but decided they would be recycled into office decorations. Conveniently, we are also weeding quite a few books to make room for the relocation of my old department, so I grabbed one from the recycling pile.

I decided an owl would be a cute and appropriately bookish graphic to complement the book pages. I had never used Mod Podge before except for the small bottle of Puzzle Saver I used for my scissor holder because I happened to have it on hand. I ended up using half an 8 oz. jar. First I watched the tutorial videos at Mod Podge Rocks, which were very helpful. I used matte Mod Podge and am very pleased with the results.

Sewing Accessories

Whenever I am quilting, my scissors always end up on the floor, so I've been wanting to make a holder for my scissors for the side of my sewing machine table for a while now. When Amanda sent my birthday present wrapped in a little metal candy tin, I immediately knew it would be my repurposed scissor holder. I used Mod Podge Puzzler Saver, which I conveniently had on hand though I've never used it, to cover it in a scrap of fabric and then glued on the ribbon to finish the edges. It then occurred to me that I could avoid the same problem with my pin cushion by making a flatter one to attach to the side of the sewing machine table. Fortunately I had a conveniently shaped tin on hand for such a project, along with coordinating ribbon and fabric!

They don't stick out very far: