If this blog were reality television show…..it would be Project Runway…..and today would be the unconventional challenge.
You know what I’m talking about.
The episode where they take trash or candy or flowers or pet store items and create an outfit.
At this point you are probably asking yourself:
(1) I thought this blog was a reality show. What with all the talk of Ripley’s Believe It or Not Toes and Captain Crunch and piles of muddy clothes on the floor.
(2) Did she add some new pillows and yellow mums on that back porch?
(3) Did she and the porch ever elope to Vegas?
And
(4) What in the world could someone create with trash or candy or flowers or piles of puppy pads?
It is possible to create something wonderful from something unconventional.
It’s even more than possible.
It’s incredible.
You should see the dress made completely from bird seed that looks like something from the Paris runway.
Or the skirt ensemble made from puppy pads.
Or my favorite the candy dress made from gumballs and jelly beans and almonds with a collar made of gummy sharks.
Seriously.
Gummy sharks?
Does it get any better than that?
So if this were Project Runway and I hadn’t eloped with my porch and I was decorating for fall…..
……here’s my birdseed dress.
Can you tell what it is?
Can you tell what I reused and recycled?
My birdseed dress is the cardboard packing that came in my order.
That I used as a table runner.
Destined for the recycle bin.
Really.
I saw it and I loved it.
And it was free.
If it’s not your thing…..I completely understand.
Birdseed dresses and cardboard table runners are not for everyone 🙂
But I did want to be ready.
I wanted to be prepared.
Just in case Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn stopped by and told me to…..
……make it work 🙂
PS Have you ever reused anything unconventional? What’s your bird seed dress?
PPS Today is National Smile Day…..make someone’s day with one of yours 🙂
Awesome re-use!! I love it. You know I'm always looking for fun ways to re-use something! And I have to say, in honor of national smile day, your posts always make me smile. Have a great weekend!
Smiling at you now~
This is amazing! Where do you shop- I want my cardboard packaging to look like that! It's really beautiful. I just came over from Pam's blog, Simple Details. I'm so happy I did! I love the pattern and fabric in your porch. :) Have a great weekend.
Darn it. If I hadn't popped all that bubble wrap last night...
You certainly did "make it work", it adds so much texture and interest. I am in love with that rug too!
You are brilliant Karianne! And...I am in love with this room!!
I have never, in all my life,seen card-board like this. It's actually very cool! It looks great in your sun-room! Oh your sun-room, it is gorgeous! The pop of yellow mums, so cheerful! I'm in love! I guess our bird-seed dress would be the wall art my daughter created, reusing cardboard toilette paper rolls. Maybe someday I'll share a pic of them, they really are beautiful. It is amazing what one can do w/ those rolls if they have time and patience, and spray paint!!! :D
I love the texture. You just might be starting a trend! I'm off to check my trash barrel. :D
Looks like it was made just for your table. It works so well! Mary Alice
You smart cookie you!! I have a sister with superpowers like you. She too can look at something that I would throw away without thinking twice and say " hey that would make a beautiful...". Sadly, I do not possess this wondrous gift. Being a nurse, my cape takes me to other heights. As always, brilliant job!!
I want to elope with your porch, too. Does that mean we will be family? Or does that mean your porch will be a bigamist? Wait, yikes! You and I are both married, too. Maybe I should just be in love with your porch. Ah, heck. I love you, too, KariAnne.♥ You and your porch are way beyond stunning.
I love it. I have never repurposed like this, but I guarantee you after seeing this I just might. It's beautiful as is this gorgeous room. And the pops of yellow, fantastic. Carol
YOU are the most creative thing ever ! Too cute- what a wonderful use of old packing that would have been just thrown away.. imagine that. It adds a wonderful texture to the room, which by the way is so pretty and inviting. Diana
I love this! When I first saw it, I thought it looked like an ancient fishing net! :) I've been smiling all morning!
Sign me up for a birdseed dress! Our whole house is up cycled or recycled
Love, love, triple love? What did you order to get that marvelous packing? I don't care, I just want some! You are the queen of repurpose.
Love the texture of the piece...it would have been a keeper for me, too! The room is beautiful!
you're cracking me up this morning!
You have such a sense of style, I think I would be overcome no matter what you chose to do. Have I done something like this? I'm sure I have, but I just had my first cup of coffee. Let me get my brain back before I have to think... Brenda
BRAVO!!!! I'm so proud of you. Type A is the mother of originality ..........what I've been doing since the 70s.
Oh KariAnne... a quick question first. Did you have to rescue your cardboard packing material from one of your precious children? Because I know that is exactly what would have happened in our house! Yes you would have seen it hanging down the back of a child or wrapped around the waist like a grass skirt... and yes you remember correctly, I do have three boys! three insanely silly boys! and I love them for every minute of their silliness. in fact they are part of the reason i look at things differently... like seeing wall art from the packing materials of a box of apples or wearing a cereal box as a hat (don't ask... ha ha!) Love, love, love your sunroom! It is truly inviting and the cardboard really does add a great textural vibe to the room! take care now!
Love, Love and freat repurpose. I always try to reuse. I am in live with this room. Great touches. Cynthia
I spied it immediately!! Fun & Creative!! But, today Karianne, I am far more impressed with your writing....seriously....you have a gift. You are one talented gal. Look at your fabulous creations, your photography....and your lovely presentation on the blog... and then there's writing which makes it all sing. Thanks for putting a smile on my face. (But, now I need to go wash the green off too....just bein' honest.) {hugs}
You beat me too this!! I got some of this recently too in a packaging and I thought, there has to be a creative way to use this stuff, it was so cool looking! When I get it again, I will slap it down on farm planked table. It will look like it belongs there! I haven't seen the birdseed dress, must go google this.
All I have to say is, I'm with Pam---what did you order, from where, and is it guaranteed to come packed in that marvelous stuff?
I love the reuse of the package packing. But I really love the black and white chic...and the overall punch of style, color and smarts you used in this look....I think you win this years show, and Tim would say You Made it Work!
Wow--your backporch is gorgeous, karianne. I love the fabric, and I love the texture and color of your packing table runner--very cool idea.
it is so gorgeous....you are talented, my friend.
What a great idea! Keep smiling! ;)
Every time I read one of your " amazing" posts, I smile. I know "amazing" is one word used way too often, but it takes one to know one, and you my dear are AMAZING!
Love the B?W with the yellow..Even Tim Gunn would approve..
Kari---This has to be THE.MOST.CLEVER repurpose ever....AND the cutest!!! Absolute <3!! Blessings!
Now THAT is truly the craziest and coolest repurpose I have EVER seen. SO COOL! Now...for the peanuts and bubblewrap that usually accompanies my purchases...
Oh my gosh! I am so in love with that room to begin with, even before I hit the runway! Fantastic!
you simply amaze me!!! all i can say i WOW!!!! sending you tons of hugs and stunned by your brilliance! i LOVE those chairs ...can you hear my heart thumbing!!! : )
You are a GENIUS!
You are so funny! Love reading your posts! I recycle fabric into new things - but I'm just not sure I'm into bird seed! LOL! One of my new camera straps was made out of a pair of Gap pants - can you guess which one?!! And your bathroom redo is AMAZING!
I love the simplicity of your Fall decor. It's refreshing and absent all the Halloween clutter. Very nice! Warmest wishes, Carolynn
i don't know about anyone else but wearing a dress made out of birdseed could be a bit scary...especially if worn outside. it could be right out of an alfred hitchcock movie, "the birds". gives me chills just thinking about it! lol. however, i love the cardboard table runner. anything repurposed and free works for me! and it gives it a nautical or rustic vibe. have a great weekend, judi
I think it's great! so interesting. And Free! You make me smile. But also the sunshine outside my window, my little granddaughter's chubby cheeks, and the prospect of Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday with the family (we're in Canada). Have a weekend filled with loveliness.
My thinking is too linear to do this sort of thing. For the most part, to my mind, candy is candy and trash is trash, and toilet paper will never be a ball gown, though I did see a PR toilet paper dress! I love the things you do, but my mind simply doesn't work that way. Keep doing it, though. Even an old dog may learn new tricks ... if there are enough of them shown!
Smiling about how you made cardboard packing "work" so well ... :) me
LOL! I had the same cardboard packing in one of my boxes and thought it was so cute! I wondered what could be done with it, and now I know! Thanks for the idea!
You definitely made it work! Reminds me of the landscape netting I used on my fall table! You definitely thought outside of the packing box on this one! Kelly
Ok I read the title birdseed dress and my first thought who would wear a dress made of birdseed wouldn't birds attack you..........who would want to be a wallking bird feeder...............of course I then read the post......................lol
I am having a tough week ... I don't understand the birdseed part - why is it birdseed??? Sigh, I should just go back to bed. For a week. lol Lovely decor KariAnne. Your home is the most beautifully decorated home I've ever seen. Have a lovely weekend, it's our Thanksgiving so I have a 3 day weekend - yay :) xox
Hi! Saw your photo wreath(Gorgeous) on IC so I had to come visit your blog too. So glad I did! This post made me smile - "Make it work." I love the unconventional challenges on PR too. Seriously why didn't Sonji win with that candy dress? (Really sad to see her go this week).
There have been days when I wanted to take a black plastic trash bag and stick it over my head, but I was reminded I might suffocate. I love your table runner, Do you think I can pretend that the big cardboard box that has been sitting in the middle of my living room for two days is really a cool new piece of furniture. :) Hugs, Laura
Thank you as always KariAnne for making me look at things in a different way!! Love the table runner… and I want that porch!!
So I love the table runner stuffing stuff. I have never seen that before. I admire the discipline you have to your color pallet(s). I have/find so many things I like and want to be able to use them no matter what color they are so I have trouble sticking with a two color pallet - oh well, I guess that's just me.
Awesome awesome awesome KariAnn! And I'm going out to get one of those little solariums right now. Seriously.
Now that was a pretty clever reuse and recycle ...and I really like it! :)
I don't know what I enjoy more! Your writing or your projects!! I'm glad you're there to brighten up my blogging world. I'm thinking that packing material might even look good spray painted. Something to make it look like old metal. Will have to experiment.
"Make it work". Totally heard him saying that as I read. Have to say my birdseed dress would be my fence board counter tops. I think. I can change my mind later, right? Loving the room dressed for Fall :) Enjoy the weekend. Shannon
You think right outside the "box"! I thought it was an old volleyball net or something-I really like it!
This post popped up in my reader and I thought that you had finally lost it! lol Cool re-use of the packing materials, why doesn't my stuff ever look like that??
I always love seeing your gorgeous porch....I love the table runner...and to think how much of that I threw away!!!
I'll never look at packing material the same way again, you brilliant think-outside-the-box girl!
Oh wow your so clever and pretty funny.
How does your mind think of such things? crazy girl and the funny thing is it is amazing...love it in fact..target has some kind of a wooden twig table runner in their Christmas'y' section it reminded me of that.. great minds think alike. Thistlewood merges with Target...I can see it now:) xoxo
OMGosh! You definitely made it work and made me laugh. I love it! Thank you for sharing. Visiting from WUW. Would love it if you would share this at my Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/2012/10/make-it-pretty-monday-week-18.html Hope to see you at the bash! Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse