The Mountains were Calling

Hello there! It's been a while, I know. Perhaps you thought I forgot about this whole thing. But I'm back! Last weekend, my fabulous mom and Aunt Tara hired me to help with organization at their retreat entitled Remembering Your Sacred Nature. They and seven women from all over gathered in the mountains to hike and reflect and a bunch of other stuff I couldn't possibly give justice to in words. And I was there to organize with the caterer and, you know, make tea and stuff. I had so much fun in my favorite place with Tara and my mom and these truly amazing women. The weather was perfect and it was the absolute peak of the season!

Who could do anything but relax in a place this beautiful?

I hiked mountains and drank tea and lit fires and listened to my mom and aunt live out their dreams. It was quite the adventure, indeed.

And I spent the whole weekend wearing this headband! Which I made. They're now listed in my Etsy Shop! Check them out.

This week I was feeling the need for an appropriate bowl to put Halloween candy in... so I made one! This bowl is made from a magazine I was finished reading, and makes a nice display. Scroll down for the tutorial!

Recycled Paper Bowl

Materials

Paper (from magazine, newspaper, what have you.) 

Skewer or thin rod 

Glue

Mod Podge

1. Collect Materials. 

Collect your magazine, newspaper, or annoying coupon mailer. I used an old copy of Wine Spectator, which has GIANT pages. I cut each page down the center, "hot dog" length. I found that using the whole page ended up creating pieces that were too thick to roll. 

2. Make the Rolls. 

Take your first piece of paper and place your skewer at an angle at the corner, then roll!

When you get to that final corner, add a bit of glue and finish rolling. 

You may have to hold it for a few seconds while the glue gets tacky. Then voila! You have your first one. Now you have to make a bunch more... I didn't count how many I made in total, but I made them in shifts of about a dozen. 

3. Spiral. 

Once you have your first set of rolls, start spiraling. 

When you get to the end of each rod, put a dab of glue on the end and add the next one. I liked to fit them into each other, like a tubular puzzle. 

You will also notice I used a paper clip to keep the spiral together. When my paperclip got bent out of shape, I started using a binder clip.

Don't fret if your spiral gets slightly loose on the outside while you're working, but make sure the inner part is good a spirally. That part's harder to re-do once your piece gets bigger.

Keep going with your spiral until you have a desirable size. Make a few rods, add them to the spiral. Make a few, add.

4. Prep for Shaping.

Once you have your size, clip the end and lay the spiral on a covered surface-- important, as this might get messy. Coat the top liberally with glue (Mod Podge might work well too, but I was low and saving mine for Step 5), using a paintbrush to spread it out. I didn't get a picture of this part because I got too excited for Step 4, but here's a picture from Hometalk, one of the many sites I referenced while creating my own bowl:

5. Shape!

Use lots of patience here! Start shaping the bowl by pressing the center out and moving slowly around. It WILL come apart if you press too hard, so be careful. Let this sit for a while so the glue can do its job. I had to go to the theater for just over an hour, and when I came back it was ready for this step! You can take your binder clip off at this point too. 

5. Finish

When your glue is pretty dry and your bowl seems to have at least some stability to it, cover the outside in Mod Podge. Mod Podge is fantastic for all crafting, and comes in Matte or Gloss. I used Matte for this job.

Once the outside is covered in Mod Podge and sufficiently dry, coat the inside as well, just for extra support and coverage. You don't want your glue to give out on you and suddenly have an unspiraling bowl. 

Let it sit for several hours, and voila! Fabulous bowl! 

Just a reminder, I'm still selling wreaths in the t & wine shop!