Off the Wall

It was probably last week's talk about furniture that got us thinking about home improvements, so in a burst of enthusiasm we set to and wallpapered the smallest room in the house. That's not a euphemism for the downstairs loo, this really is the smallest room the in the house, so it was reasonably quick and easy to transform.

But even though we are delighted with our new walls, it was just as exciting wondering what we would do with all the left over bits of wallpaper. Buying a patterned paper with a 75cm repeat meant that there was a fair bit of wastage.

Except, of course, it will not be wasted.

Oh no, we will use these offcuts in different ways. We may

• paper the inside of a cupboard

• line our drawers

• or be really clever and line the sides of the drawers

• paper the back of our bookcase

• pop some into a favourite frame for a new piece of artwork

• smarten up our rather old pinboard by covering up the felt

• or maybe we will put the paper in an old frame to make a new noticeboard

• cover a shoebox to make an attractive storage box

• cover a lampshade

• cover tin cans since we use them for storing all kinds of things

• cover a shelf

We will definitely make our all-time favourite gift boxes and bags. We have already made lovely envelopes (well, we like them anyway!) and we will use some as wrapping paper for sure.

Gosh, we have a list of possibilities almost as long as the roll itself.

We held a lovely workshop around this time last year making gift bags and envelopes in those faraway days when we could all get together in one room. Since that is now obviously impossible, here's a link to making a box

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEv998mXG_8

Anyone who was at our workshop will know that one of our favourite possessions is our envelope-maker that has been in near constant use for over 20 years. But, as always, you don't need to think about buying anything new. Just take an existing envelope and carefully unpeel the glued edges and you will have your template.

So, there you have it, wallpaper is not just for the wall. Even if you have no intention of ever papering a wall, why not pick up a roll if you see one in a charity shop, or a box of odd rolls in a hardware shop and let your imagination run wild.