From old to new...recycling and art

I absolutely love finding a new way to use an old item.  Recycling ~ Going Green is the direction our planet is taking and for good reason, so I'm always trying to do my part.  Though I have been known to toss a soup can in the regular garbage now and then.  I'm wracked with guilt afterwards and usually lay awake at night waiting for the recycling police to make an example of me.  I figure I make up for the occasional slip with my creativity and by teaching my girls not to litter and to "recycle and reuse".  At least that's what I tell myself in order to get some much needed sleep. :)

When my grandfather passed away, I was given all his old college and engineering text books.  Several trips down two flights of stairs and I had four large piles of obsolete, dust covered books dating back to the early 1900s.  Ideas were swirling around in my head immediately, but I refer you back to my last post explaining how Time and I aren't exactly on the same page most days.  It only took a year before I tore apart that first book.  I almost felt bad, but when it was all said and done, it was worth the tiny droplets of sweat. 

Lately, I can't get them done fast enough.

This book was a 1926 Modern Plane Geometry text by Wells & Hart.  I turned it into a travel journal.  A place to paste it, paint it, journal it and stash it.  Full of embellished pages and lots of pockets to stash mementos.      

                                     

The left page shows the reverse side of the pocket insert.



The right page was created using standard envelopes to create three pockets.



The left page shows the reverse of the bingo card insert.



                               

I had so much fun creating this and used quite a bit of my stash.  Tim Holtz, 7 Gypsies, Making Memories, K&Company, and EK Success were a few of the designer items used, but I also used quite a few recycled and everyday items:  masking tape, envelopes, paper clips, coin envelopes, glassine bags, vintage maps, buttons and scraps of leftover paper.  I even recycled the spine of the book into a bookmark!  The finishing touch was to insert 30 pages of handtorn paper.  The entire book was bound together using 7Gypsies cable rings so that it could be added to and rearranged. 

Voila...something old into something new.

What recycled products have you used on your creations?  I'd love to see them, so send me a link.

Have a great day!

M.