A Paper Series Post
No wonder Bulletin Board Inspiration No. 2 has moody blue flowers. Blue flowers have been my favorites for years which means my collected clippings include dozens of articles about blue flowers.
If you are new to the blog, you may have missed the previous articles in this series of bulletin board inspiration on a rejuvenated old bulletin board painted ink blue. Links to the previous posts are at the end.
Recommended varieties with botanical names, how to prepare beds, information about bulbs and seeds, and show-stopping photographs of gardens and flower arrangements are all part of my magazine clippings of blue flowers. The bulletin board inspiration for April is only a small part of my clipped collection of blue flowers.
B U L L E T I N B O A R D I N S P I R A T I O N
moody blue flowers
I promise there will be other color schemes in some future bulletin board inspirations, but be forewarned most of my collections are all about blue. THE color of the year from designers changes from year to year and for most of my life, my favorite blue... pale periwinkle blue ... has been hard to find.
So what does a person do when what she loves is hard to find?
- Researches sources
- Collects inspiring images
- Creates handmade items in the beloved color for each season/holiday
- Shares information and images with others
Useful Tools for Paper Crafts
- Exacto Knife
- Metal Ruler
- Cutting Mat
Special tools for working with paper are useful, but not required. The math teacher in me loves working with graph grids and rulers. The compulsive perfectionist in me loves straight edges, not ragged torn edges. The love of blue in me inspires tools in blues and its near color wheel companions, purples.
Part of the joie de vivre (joy of living) of a job is
how the task is completed.
Why not use beautiful tools that cost only a little,
but give so much joy?
Scissors... oh, how I love them.
Fabric scissors, blunt-tip school scissors (but in stainless steel from Switzerland), swan-handled embroidery scissors, quality pinking shears, decorative-edged craft scissors, ...
But, I fail cutting a straight edge on paper with scissors. It wiggles, waggles, and at the very end does a wavy dip.
Exacto knife to the rescue! This beautiful blue one was in my Christmas stocking several years ago from my sister. Does she know me? Yes, because we are truly kindred spirits, not just blood sisters.
Sometimes I cut the pages straight from a magazine or old book using the Exacto knife instead of tearing out the pages. Scissors do not work for this.
Cutting with an Exacto knife means using some kind of mat as a protection from cutting surfaces below also. And, for not cutting yourself!
Thick cardboard works well, but a cutting mat has useful grids with numbers as guides.
Plus, how could I resist a cutting mat in the color magenta? Anyone else influenced by the color of a tool? Merchandising marketers have my number... if it is a beautiful color, I will pay more.
To get a truly straight sharp edge, use a metal ruler as a cutting guide for the Exacto knife.
My favorite old metal ruler is blue! Of course. Found at a local office supply store, the ruler was not expensive.
Place the metal ruler along the place to cut the clipping, and run the Exacto knife next to the ruler to cut the paper.
Moody Blues
a title for a bulletin board
from a magazine
Photographs are visual inspiration, but text is also inspiring. Well-written articles with lyrical phrases and practical information are worthy of clipping and displaying along with beautiful images.
A spectacular allée (path bordered with tall trees, fences, or hedges) leads the eyes to a focal point in the distance. "my bulb basics" gives all the details for how to create the beautiful garden.
English bluebells blanket naturalized woodlands and are the English harbinger of Spring. The plants are protected by British law under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act. Even landowners are prohibited from digging plants from their land to sell. The owners of this bluebell woods had to apply for a special license to harvest bluebell seeds to sell.
update
A gold colored metal bluebell ornament is true-to-life and a perfect 3-D addition to the Moody Blue Flowers bulletin board. The ornament is an example of why gathering objects into one spot before composing a bulletin board is a good idea. I forgot to add the ornament until after all the photos were taken and the article was first posted. So, the ornament is missing in all the other photos.
Camassia leichtlinii (Maybelle) is commonly known as a wild hyacinth and comes from North America. English gardeners grow them in naturalized settings because the plants love moist conditions, a common feature for English countrysides.
Would any blue flower inspiration board in Texas be complete without images of Texas Bluebonnets, the state flower?
Seeds are available from Texas garden centers in small packets and from Wildseed Farms for bulk orders in addition to small seed packets. Buy seeds as early as possible each year before sources sell out for the year. Plant in late September or October in Texas for annual flowers the next March - April.
My latest bulletin board inspiration sits in the kitchen sunspace. I decided I like having the board mobile to move to different locations at different times of the year. Changing the clippings is also easier with the board not attached to the wall. Sitting on this chair, the top of the board is easy to reach without any struggles.
Clipping Sources
Sources for clippings/items on my bulletin board are below.
① ④ ⑤ Martha Stewart Living - magazine
② Country Gardens - magazine (not sure)
③ ⑥ Country Living, British Edition - magazine, different issues
⑦ Flower Seed Packet - 1993
⑧ Texas Bluebonnet Seeds - Botanical Interests
⑨ Texas Bluebonnet Seeds - Wildseed Farms, Fredericksburg, Texas
Gold Metal Bluebell Ornament - Ballard Designs, Christmas last year
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