Speaking of pianos-as-sideboards, several years ago, I rented a basement apartment that came with a piano sans keys or innards (the wires). The piano became a sort of bar/buffet/breakfast table/sideboard. It was next to my kitchen, and guests loved sitting at it to eat or serving themselves from dishes lined up on it. Though I never put anything inside the keyless piano, I got plenty of use from the bare keyboard. What a conversation piece! ... View related article.
When I was little, one Christmas season I cut out bits from colored photos in magazines and glued the bits onto good-sized matchboxes. Then my mother gave the matchboxes as gifts and used some in our house too. During the holidays in the States, lots of people like to use candles or light fireplaces during the holiday season and having festive matchboxes on a coffee table or mantel can be nice.
When I visit orphanages in Tijuana, Mexico, nowadays, kids and adults often tell me about how they cut up magazines to create posters and cards.
Certainly I've used lots of photos from magazines when creating flashcards or Bingo cards to use while teaching English or French - to kids and adults. ... View related article.
About 10 years ago, I saw a darling holiday "candies" decoration. The woman who made it used clear plastic food containers - small and of differing sizes and shapes. She then wrapped each in colored cellophane and tied the tufted ends so the brightly covered containers looked like candies. As I recall the garland of "candies" was hung up with a string of lights intertwined. The containers each had a top and bottom; the effect was of a 3D candy.
You know the type of small container; it abounds (and often sadly isn't a #1 or #2 plastic which could be more easily recycled). Every supermarket offers sandwiches, cookies, cake slices and so on in this type of container. Delis use them a lot.
The candy garland I saw was absolutely marvelous and enjoyed a healthy shelf life. Its maker told me it had lasted for several years. Hope this helps! ... View related article.
