What to Do with Old Books

Did I miss something? Did we all celebrate a Library Appreciation Day and I was not in the know? It seems like something of the sort happened last week, when several blogs and Etsy all seemed to have book paraphernalia on their pages. I have a small collection of books here at my home, as well as a few books that I can't remember why we have them at all. If you're in the same boat, here are some inspiring projects you can do with books.

• 10 DIY Projects with Books including clocks, a sconce, and a secret hiding space
• Cheeky Magpie's Ingenious/Beautiful Book Sculpture
• With This Ring's Antique Book Planter Centerpieces
• Instructable's Book Headboard

Identifying a Font

It's easy to fall in love with a font on an old book, in a magazine, or printed on someone else's wedding invitations. What's a girl to do when she has no idea what font it is? Just take a look at these top font identification sites, that's what!

Identifont works by searching for a font by name or identifying a font by asking you questions about how the letters look. Does the letter "O" have curved or straight sides? Does the letter "G" have a tail or not? You can even include only the letters you have, so it won't ask questions about the whole alphabet. At the end of the questioning, Identifont will provide you with an exhaustive list of possible fonts.

WhatTheFont! seeks to identify your font from a picture. The site suggests including letters that have specific characteristics like loops and tails in the letters "A", "K", and "R." You can also get a WhatTheFont! app (as well as dozens of other font related tools and games) on your smartphone for font identification on the go. Just search "fonts" in the iTunes app store.

Freezer Paper Stencil

Have we not talked about this before? That's what I'm thinking right now. I could have sworn I had already posted a post about using freeze paper as a stencil, but alas, I cannot find evidence of such in my post history. Maybe I'm thinking of the dozens of people I've told how to use freezer paper to make awesome crafts. Well, you're now a member of that list. See how How About Orange uses freezer paper to make a sweet tote bag and a very cool scarf. I use this method all the time to make precise and sharp looking graphics on tea towels, baby onsies, and on my TOMS. Hmm, is that where I've discussed freezer paper before? Anywho, you can pick up a huge roll of freezer paper at large grocery stores in the area around the aluminum foil. I've found I can usually only purchase it at Wal-Mart in Springfield. It costs about $6 for a roll that you will probably never use up.

Free Valentine Designs

As Valentine's Day draws near, I'm excited to print a few notes to send to my family and close friends. Here are four designs you can print out and send to your Valentines! The pictures are large so you are able to size them to fit whatever size card you need.

• Happy Valentines Day Text
• I Love You Alot
• I Love You/Happy Valentines Day
• Have a Happy Valentines Day Print

Valentine Ideas for your Sweet-tea!

An an avid tea drinker (hot and sweet, that's how I like it), I would love to be surprised with any of these lovely Valentine treats.

1. A little way to say you love your tea drinking Valentine courtesy of Martha Stewart.
2. A cozy for your tea (or coffee) lover to enjoy far beyond Valentine's Day from KnittyVet.
3. I love my set of mis-matched spoons. Set your Valentine up with some vintage spoons from an estate sale or get a special set like this from BeachHouseLiving.
4. Add a touch of tradition with a beautiful card. This one is from EdenCreativeStudio.

New Look for Nightstands

The nightstands in our bedroom were looking a little tired. Rightly so, since they are the same nightstands my sister-in-law had when she was a little girl. Wes brought them with him to college and now they sit on either side of our bed. As part of my bedroom redo, I wanted to change the nightstands. Without a budget for new ones (or a desire really, because they function very well), I opted to paint them out. I kept the inside and top the natural wood because I quite like how the finish has worn away to create sort of a zebra effect. The grey is the same color I used in the bathroom "wallpaper" finish. It's also going to be used on a few more cabinets in the house, making it well worth the purchase. Instead of using a handle for my dresser, I recycled some of the knobs we replaced in the kitchen. I used two instead of one to keep myself from filling old holes and drilling a new one. The stacked books keep our lamps a little taller: a request from Wes.