I'm always on the lookout for new materials to use, especially papers with interesting patterns and textures and I've come across a couple recently!
I was pottering around and found a pile of cut up (and essentially useless) old maps, which I thought would be lovely turned into cut-outs for cards or some origami house/tree decorations, and they turned out really nicely! My BSc is in Geography and so I have many geographically-minded friends who I'm sure would appreciate these as gifts!
Trust
Martha Stewart to go one better and make tote bags out of them...if I come across any waterproof maps at the end of their former life, this will be my next project!
Another unexpected inspiration was the decorations on takeaway cups at the moment - I very rarely buy hot drinks to take away because of the rather silly amount of waste, however finding a way to recycle the cups would justify the feeling on those long chilly train journeys when nothing but a Chai Tea Latte (I'm such a child, I still don't like coffee...) will warm your toes! Better still, these pretty designs won't go to waste - including this little fellow:
First these needed rinsing and flattening out, which I'm currently doing after cutting down the seam and tearing the base off - I've placed them under a massive pile of heavy books! I'm going to cut the nicest pictures out and use them as card motifs. The cup holders that stop you burning your hands also have festive designs at this time of year, and will be even easier to use because they're not as moulded - just pull them apart and chop up to your heart's content! I'm going to use the patterned fronts as raised detailing and the corrugated backs as textured card. I'll post photos when I've done them!
...now I'm off to rummage for more things to chop up and create!
