tiny happy

27 responses to “fair isle wallpaper”

1. 

   Mary

   February 4, 2011

   I found several rolls of mega-discounted Laura Ashley wallpaper years ago and still find uses for it ;^) Coincidentally some of it was a match for a discounted LA shower curtain I’d found somewhere else (and still use, 25 years on) so that stuff covered cardboard boxes that I put on top of some mirrored wall cabinets in the bathroom to store toilet cleaner etc. I just don’t want down low. (they still look great after 15 years.) Other uses: being taped onto linen cupboard shelves that were just very nasty but that I couldn’t face painting, and glued onto a similarly nasty former freestanding shelf I repurposed as a monitor stand back when I still had one of those. Now that I think of it, I’d love to use some to cover the pressboard ‘woodgrain’ backing on some of my tall bookshelves, too. I think your idea to cover journals is especially brilliant!

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2. 

   Holly C.

   February 4, 2011

   I found a sweet strawberry printed wallpaper at Goodwill one time and I’ve used it to wrap gifts and to line the inside of some cookbooks that I made. I just love the fair-isle design too!

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3. 

   Jo

   February 4, 2011

   Before the days of duraseal and fancy wrap….I remember wallpaper covered school books 🙂 now thats vintage!

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4. 

   Stephanie

   February 4, 2011

   My mum used to cover my school books in wallpaper and wrap presents in it.
   BTW I’m pretty sure one of the places I flatted in had that purple wallpaper in the master bedroom! :o)

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5. 

   anissa ljanta

   February 4, 2011

   Ha! My school exercise books were covered in that paper when i was at primary. Oh the shame at the time, it was the newly dawning age of plastic adhesive covers but now i can look back and be proud! Sometimes i wrap peoples purchases in wallpaper when i do markets…folks seem to like it.

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6. 

   Mary

   February 4, 2011

   to recover cork placemats – might need sealing with varnish – got the idea from World Sweet World

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7. 

   Sharon

   February 4, 2011

   Yeah- Wallpaper must of been a popular choice to cover school exercise books back in the day, (1986) I had it too.

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8. 

   Carol

   February 5, 2011

   Love the fair isle design wallpaper.
   I’ve only used it for wrapping gifts and covering books. Will be interested to read other people’s ideas.
   Hope you have a lovely weekend too.

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9. 

   dee

   February 5, 2011

   Im sure I remember instructions online for making paper bags for gifts or customers’ purchases. Could also see the ‘fair isle’ one looking great in a dolls house.

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10. 

    Andrea

    February 5, 2011

    I used vintage wall paper on the back of a bookshelf. looks great that way plus it is less permanent than on a wall

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11. 

    caireen

    February 5, 2011

    gosh… just reading thru the comments reminded me of covering our ‘jotters’ with wallpaper, I had some groovy grey and yellow diamond (my bedroom wallpaper!) – also we made these http://thepatchworkdress.typepad.com/the_patchwork_dress/2010/05/magazine-pinwheels.html
    last year from magazine and wallpaper. I like the red flower one too. Cx

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12. 

    Marty

    February 5, 2011

    My friend’s mom makes cute little boxes out of wallpaper samples. She gave me the pattern but made me swear I wouldn’t share it, too bad. Now with wallpaper so scare, we use scrapbook paper.

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13. 

    Steph Hamilton

    February 5, 2011

    This is brilliant! Have been keen on getting to the recycle centre to see what they have on offer, I love your suggestion of using this gorgeous paper as wrapping paper!! Love your blog!

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14. 

    Emily

    February 5, 2011

    Pretty! I have some great 60s wallpaper which I have no idea what to do with…

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15. 

    geraldine

    February 6, 2011

    When I was little I had as friend called Helen Oldfield. Her father worked in a decorating shop and we used the backs of wallpaper in the sample books to write and draw on to make huge story books. My sister had amazingly psychedelic orange and green donkey wallpaper in her room – how she slept I don’t know! I was the insomniac, and my walls were calm blue and white!

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16. 

    tinyhappy

    February 6, 2011

    wow- psychedelic donkey wallpaper?! thats awesome.

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17. 

    Hadley

    February 6, 2011

    When I was a girl, my grandmother had these wall paper sample books that I loved pillaging to make my collages and journals. What a fun memory! Thanks for that.
    I love your new/old wall paper, too. Good find. Gosh, remember what a big deal Laura Ashley was in the 1980s? I bet that wall paper was so expensive twenty some odd years ago…

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18. 

    aupres de mon arbre

    February 6, 2011

    I bought some weeks ago in a little danish shop in Paris, some envelopes made in an old pink wallpaper with little black mickey and small white stars. I keep them like a treasure. They are so cute.

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19. 

    Mona

    February 7, 2011

    I’ve used vintage wall paper for covering shoe boxes – great for storage. Match boxes with wall paper makes good gift wrapping for small gifts. Covering tins for pencil storing. Gluing bits on furniture (esp. children’s furniture). And quite cute in old wooden type cases too. I also make origami boxes from viintage wall paper.

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20. 

    Ingrid

    February 7, 2011

    oh..thsi is really adorable!

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21. 

    Bronwyn Lloyd

    February 7, 2011

    The memory of wallpaper covered books in my primary school library inspired me to use wallpaper as book covers for a number of small press publications. You should invest in a bone scorer from an art supply shop so that you get nice crisp folds. It’s a wondrous material and very addictive once you get going with it. Wallpaper envelopes are really lovely too and it’s great for recovering table-tops and cupboard doors.
    ps: I only discovered your blog recently and I love it!

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22. 

    irena

    February 8, 2011

    great idea! i also found some old wallpapers at my grandma’s attic, but they are plain white with gray roses, so beautiful! but they are a little to thick to be used as a wrapping paper, so i decided to make paper table coasters…
    yours look like they’re straight from ikea store, or so..

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23. 

    Jenn

    February 8, 2011

    That fairisle stuff would just look so fantastic as shelf/drawer lining.
    I remember seeing a Martha Stewart thing recently where she covered a fireplace screen with wallpaper.

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24. 

    elmtree

    February 9, 2011

    I love old wallpaper, I use it for covering A4 photocopy-paper boxes to store my vintage fabrics in. Also to make gift bags and shelf lining, gift wrap , envelopes (especially the bright 70’s stuff) and recently I learned to print with it. A piece of wallpaper with a raised pattern was glued and sealed onto a bit of card. Then rolled with printing ink, and printed onto a suitable surface; good absorbent paper or fabric.
    I think a soft coloured vintage flowered piece would look nice behind shelves in a display cabinet. Especially with beautiful plates or cups in front of it.
    When I put my head around the top corner inside my linen cupboard I can see a scrap of original wallpaper(30’s) left on scrim on the wall . My hands always itch to tear it off, but I can’t reach!

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25. 

    Shannon

    February 13, 2011

    We used wallpaper to upcycle our airline trollies. Mod Podge makes a hard coat which makes it totally durable… won’t even scratch.
    You can also check out knack studios she uses wall paper to redo surfaces on furniture and it comes out amazing.

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26. 

    tinyhappy

    February 14, 2011

    thanks, shannon!

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27. 

    Karina

    February 15, 2011

    I was wondering where the beautiful wrapping paper came from Melissa. I still have it because I totally LOVE it. I just can’t decide what to do with it xx

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