Do-it-yourself project

Christmas and the New Year have flitted past. The party season is over. The decorated area has to be cleared to make way for a regular routine.

A few ornaments or trinkets could break off while putting away the decorations and lights. The lovely cakes must have been polished off and the cake bases been wiped clean. Satin ribbons and artificial frost may no longer appear appealing. Wait a moment, do not discard them. With a little resourcefulness and imagination you could turn them into works of art or utility. The hardboard bases of the cakes can translate into your canvas of creativity. They come in a variety of shapes and are quite strong. If you exercise your creativity, you can recycle them into objects of aesthetics and utility.

Before trying out any of the given ideas, clean the hardboard base thoroughly with soap and water, and dry it. Bring out your water colours and paint the entire board in black or in any other dark colour of your choice. Cut out four inches of a strong satin ribbon; stick it as a loop in such a way that most of the ribbon holds the board comfortably. This board can serve as a base for your handiwork. Sort out the Christmas trinkets; make little rosettes out of the satin ribbons, cut out the cute pictures from gift wrapper sheets. You could also use quaint shells, buttons, beads, broken bangles and mirrors that you might have put away to embellish the board in any of the ways suggested here.

Wall hangings

Transfer or sketch a design of your choice on the board lightly with a chalk and glue the said materials tastefully. If there is enough space around the design you could stick a border consisting of shells or buttons. Display the wall hanging at a strategic point.

Notepad

Decorate the edges in the form of an elaborate border using the motley exotic material so that there is enough space in the centre. Glue on at least three wads of post-it papers of different sizes in the blank area. Rosettes or little bows that must have come with the flowers can be pasted along side these mini booklets.

You could also make your own calendar by working on the lines of the notepad. Buy a refill of daily sheet calendar and paste it in the blank area.

Hang these notepads or calendars in your kitchen, porch, near the refrigerator, telephone or any other place where you think you would like to leave notes or reminders. If the board is large enough it could be worked on the said lines and used to display the school or college timetable, inspirational sayings or even a collage of photographs. The possibilities are endless, it only need a little of your time and mind!