Well, ladies, it’s official… we are having fun around here! My sister from Pennsylvania arrived so you know what that means… creative juices are flowing and she has some great ideas in store for my sewing room studio… Not necessarily to change it from the way I had it, but to “decorate” it with a few things I would never have thought of…I’m game for all the help I can get!
This morning we hit an Estate Sale and while their furnishings weren’t exactly our style, we did find some sheet music and today’s post will feature it! Cindy has made several of these Sheet Music Wreaths before and thought one in my sewing room would look nice… So we grabbed my glue gun and a piece of cardboard and that’s all we needed to get started.
Here is a picture tutorial of how my sister, Cindy, makes the wreaths. They can be big or small, but mine is BIG….
My sister sat in my mom’s floor and made the wreath in not very much time at all… I just love it…
It was raining when I left my mom’s house so I’ll pick up my wreath tomorrow… (My mom said something like, “well, if you leave it here, it might become mine…”) I don’t think so momma!
Cindy likes the more yellowed (vintage looking) pages of sheet music, (me too) so she tore out the pages from a book of sheet music and made them into cones… think of those waffle cones… that’s about what they look like. Try to get them all even in size and use a hot glue gun to seal the last little bit of edge down. (Make sure you have the finished edge of the paper for all your points and not any torn edges showing.)
It takes quite a few, so keep making them…
She then took the piece of cardboard and cut it into a large circle, I’d say about the size of a round pizza pan. Laying out the “cones” she makes sure she has enough to go around with them touching each other all the way around.
When she had the cones the way she wanted them, she began hot gluing them onto the cardboard by just making a sort of stripe down the cardboard where that piece was supposed to go. She wasn’t so worried about the centers touching but made sure the outside parts of the cones were the same distance from the outside edge of the cardboard and making sure the cones were all facing the same way…up!
When she finished the first layer of the cones, she took the music sheets and cut them in half… they don’t have to be meticulously cut… just tear the pages out, fold them in half and with your fingers score them on one side then fold them back and score them again… then tear them. These smaller sized cones will make the second row of the wreath.
When she got the second set of cones all done and made sure she had enough, she positioned them on top of the cones she already had glued on the cardboard…
She took one of the pages and cut it into a narrow 1″ or so strip and accordion pleated it. It took 2 of these strips but she added it to the center of the wreath to cover up the edges of the cones… and when I bring it home tomorrow, I’ll add a button in the very center.
…and this is how it turned out! Isn’t it pretty? She hung it on my mom’s mirror so it wouldn’t get damaged or crushed. They are kind of fragile and you do have to take care not to smash the edges.
The wreaths can be made any size you like… using any kind of books you like… Readers Digests, Full size sheet music, old books, anything you like that has pages. Cindy made some small sized ones and sold them as Christmas ornaments…
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial… I enjoyed taking the pictures…
So who’s going to go searching for sheet music at their local thrift store this week?
No telling what we’ll get into tomorrow… I can’t wait!
See you then,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a wonderful way to reuse old sheet music, or any other magazine or book, Jeanne! Those pictures of Cindy sitting on the floor like that, well——ouch! That’s something I could NEVER do, thanks to arthritis! I do have some wonderful old sheet music books due to the fact that my mother’s family was very musical, and my mother was the church organist for many, many years. I’m not sure I want to take apart those books though, but getting something I wasn’t attached to might work. The finished wreath is just beautiful though, and the black and white of the music could work well in any colored rooms.
Well, I missed writing yesterday! I loved that first sewing studio, and would love to have that one! Not sure I would want to mess it up though!!
We went to the AG store yesterday to see Melody and the new release and had a really nice time. Melody is darling, for one thing. Her outfits are pretty cute, but since they are from the 60’s, most of them are A line and easy to make. It’s the fabrics that make them stand out. I did get the Fancy Dress, with the fabric that some say is kind of waxy feeling, but the dress is darling and so different than most others. I swear I remember that fabric from somewhere in my past, and think it might be from a swimming suit, when they looked more like little sun suits. Melody herself is a cute doll, but I won’t be getting her, because I have Cecile, and I have no room for more dolls, unless I get rid of one, which I could never do! The only thing I didn’t like about Melody was that hair piece, which makes her head look enormous! Oh well, little girls will find this fun. Her coat is adorable and very detailed, and goes perfectly with her Christmas dress. Her bingo set is really cute, but a bit pricey, as a lot of things can be at AG. All in all she has a very nice collection. I wish you could have been there with me to see it, but maybe sometime in the future?
Enjoy your time with Cindy, and thank you so much for taking the time to post your adventures!
Well, that’s fun. Inexpensive, not terribly time consuming, and very attractive. It actually goes really well with the exposed brick — I definitely think your mom needs one. Or three.
Jeanne, the links yesterday were so interesting. I grant that they took a little longer to look at because they were so full of ideas, but I think they are a great resource and inspiration. You didn’t get a lot of comments, but you got some good ones.
I noticed a lot of white shelves used for fabric storage. I wonder, has anyone on the list used another color to unify shelves and storage?
Someone mentioned that storing fabric so that you can see it and enjoy the colors could also give you a problem with fading or discoloring. What do you do to prevent that?
So much for practical questions. I’m wondering what you’ll do today. I’d hope you’ll have a wonderful time, but I don’t have to hope, I know you will.
Great job, Cindy, in your wreath making. You make it look very easy.
Great job in detailing the wreath tutorial for us, Jeanne. It will look fun in your studio. I know I wouldn’t have any trouble in making one following your directions. It was kind of you to share it with us.
What a lovely time you two must have together. I so enjoy all of your times of sharing about your family and home life.
Blessings.
Oh my, that Cindy girl has such talent! Love the wreath. Will look lovely in your home.
Didn’t read your comments from yesterday until this morning. Estate sale. Fun. I have a bunch of vintage suitcases including one leather one from the early 50’s. Guess those could be used to hold something other than air! Have to think about that. Still sorting dolly things.
Jeanne, I have a piano bench full of my old piano lesson books, John Thompson to be exact, and my recital pieces. No one will ever want these. What a great way to use them, I am really thinking of doing this. Thank your sis for me.
What a lovely wreath, Jeanne! It will make a very nice addition to your new sewing studio. A music wreath like that would be pretty at Christmas time using Christmas carols, a red button center, and a big red ribbon for hanging. It might also be fun to try one using an old sewing pattern catalogue or fashion magazine. Kudos to Cindy for her wonderful wreath-making skills, and kudos to you for your excellent picture tutorial! You always inform and entertain. Enjoy the rest of your visit with your sister. Wishing you all the happiness you can wish!
It’s really a lovely wreath, Jeanne….BUT the idea of tearing apart any book just makes me shudder!! Yes, my minor Was library science, as a matter of fact, and I Do play the piano!! LOL I guess that explains it!! (I have my dad’s old music book from college, Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, and even thought the poor thing is falling apart and the pages are getting quite fragile, I still enjoy playing from it!)
As a musician – I would have the ‘urge’ to unwrap it to see what the music was! LOL!! I bought a T-shirt, once that had a ‘background’ of music – and I even had to see if I could play *that*! LOL!! (I’m reading late because I was at a MUSIC festival for 5 days!) 🙂
MaryC, I do the same thing! I try to read/play the music that is the background of other things, or on the face of a puzzle, etc. Nice to know I’m not alone! LOL