Paper Bunting....

Will the digital age bring about the demise of the printed word?

I hope not

Yet a visit to any thrift store will tell you that books are being given up by the boot-loads.

Not just any books either.

New, old, rare, torn, frayed (my favourite), foreign, written in, fictional, referential....

Literally thousands of books that can be purchased at bargain prices.

For me this represents sheer hedonistic delight

and...

... the opportunity to "bunt" 

Not so sure this is the correct terminology used 

when referring to the act of "making bunting" (??)

Anyhoo... moving along.

My favourite - children's story books.

So here's how I make bunting by recycling old books

First I remove all the pages 

(as seen above)

Then I trim the pages so the type and the illustrations are centred

(for accuracy I use a line trimmer - you can purchase these from any good craft store)

I like to keep the pages in order so that when the bunting is complete it still 

makes sense to follow the written word and the art work

Then I take each page and fold in the outer edges...

 (equally & one side only)

.... in order for the paper to form an equidistant triangular point

(I like this shape for paper bunting more so than that of an isosceles triangle)

By bringing the edges of one side in and meeting them in the middle

you help to eliminate unequal sides and you have a straight line to cut on.

Once all the pages are trimmed to this shape 

I turn them upside down 

so that I can apply double sided tape to the wider end.

(I used quarter inch d/s/tape but it would depend on your page size)

Use string (or twine/wool) and allow for an extra metre on each end so that 

it can be easily fastened to a post or hook etc 

Note - do NOT pre-cut your string just lay it down as you go.

(Nothing worse than running out before you're done) Alternatively though, 

you could measure the width of each page and multiply that by the total pages.

This would give you a rough guide as to how much string you'd need.

Remove the back of the double sided tape

 (one page at a time)

and lay the string down on the edge of the glue line (as above)

This gives you the "fold line" for the edge.

Allow a small gap between each page - it hangs better this way.

Voila! I made this lot for Christmas so the littlies have something sweet to look at when they visit.

You can even make "advent bunting" and attach a lolly (or stickers) to each page.

I also plan on making some bunting for my deck area and I'm thinking

I'll laminate the paper for longevity

 What I love most about doing this is knowing that I've recylcled

a beautiful item and given it a new life simply by changing it's function.

Why on earth should these priceless treasures collect dust in a thrift bin when 

all they need is to be "read" a little differently.

*******

PS

Bloomin busy weekend so far - and ahead!

(not even enough time to sit and read all my favourite blogs....

no cup o tea in bed... no cake ... sigh)

I have things to make and people to entertain.

Since we are away from family for Christmas this year 

we are hosting a (very) early festive celebration tomorrow.

'Twas my suggestion so I cannot exactly complain about lack of time 

(or organisation) instead I shall knuckle down and make haste.

Hope your weekend is swimming along blissfully peoples?