UPCYCLE! Old Frame Organizer

I'm embracing Tax Time this year...I know it sounds CA-RAZ-EE!!! But, I'm looking at it from a different perspective. Instead of fully dreading it, I'm choosing to see it as a time to re-inforce some resolutions that I made just a couple of months ago.  The ones about getting organized FINALLY, about staying on top of the finances, and growing my business. A couple of weeks ago, I had an epiphany in the Winn Dixie parking lot, as I discovered my $5 off of $55 coupon swimming in the bottom of my handbag...after I already checked out.
 Sad face.

The epiphany was this...
BEING UNORGANIZED COSTS YOU MONEY.
Plain and simple.

So as I search for the receipt for my $300 printer purchased last January, I'm am fueling my resolve to be more organized.

Which brings me to an upcycling project that I recently completed, that I love and makes me happy. Any time you can combine happiness with organizing you know that you are onto something that will actually work for you. If you don't like it, you won't use it. If the shoe doesn't fit, it will sit in the closet. No matter how cute it is.

I recently inherited a beautiful old frame from my dear friend, Lillian, as she and her fiance packed up a moving van and found that several bulky items just didn't fit.
BONUS!

This old wormwood frame actually came out of her grandmother's brownstone in New York. I love old things...they hold history and character and stories in their very being.

For this project, I started out by adding rows of D-rings up and down the sides of the frame (above).

Then I strung picture wire across to form about 5 rows across.  Next, I picked through my paper scraps for any pieces that coordinated, anything that jumped out. I listened to my Inklings here!

Now, let the glue-slopping begin!  You can use Mod Podge or matte medium or varnish or whatever you like to use for paper collage.  I used a heavy gel medium and applied my torn papers in a Pleasing-To-Me manner all around. Notice that gold fillet in the frame...love that. I'm going for a rustic, worn, torn, aged-look here, so I did a little light whitewashing after the collage had fully dried. Just apply a little watered-down white or beige acrylic paint, and then lightly wipe off with paper towel or cloth.

VOILA!
A handy-dandy paper mail organizer!

I used some mini-clothespins to hold the mail in place. I have tried an on-desk IN file, a clear plastic file velcroed to my file cabinet, and many other ideas for organizing incoming mail. None of them really worked for me.  A build-up would soon result, and I would end up forgetting to mail my physical therapy bill, or worse, my Cloth, Paper, Scissors subscription!!

Although I do quite a bit of this stuff online, there is still paper mail that needs to be dealt with, and this upcycling project is so simple and happy and most importantly makes me WANT to look at it to see what's there!
Maybe something like this might work for you. If you feel like it floats your boat, give it a try!  If you have any questions about it, please ask. I'm here to help!

Until next time, go out and BE KIND.