More Shredding Words with Sofie

By Sofie Couch

Yes, I’m defiling more books this month. But it’s okay, because it’s actually the same book that I defiled for another craft project, which is sort of like being a cannibal and justifying it with the phrase, “yes, but I already started eating him. It would be wrong of me to waste the tasty bits.”

So today, being the day of Independence et al, I thought I should stick with a theme – a book theme and a patriotic theme with something near and dear to every writer, a little tribute to free speech and freedom of the press.

First, you’ll need some little flags. (Easier said than done. I finally found them at the local box store for $2.50 for four of them, three of which I use in this project.) You’ll also need a wreath frame – straw, grapevine, whatever you have in the attic that’s looking a little worse for wear. And finally, a few pages from an old dictionary. I’ve chosen a dated and crumbling Spanish-English dictionary.

From the internet, you can do an advanced Google search for copyright free images. Here, I’ve chosen an American bald eagle. Print it out on one of the old dictionary pages. (You may want to / have to tape the page to an 8-1/2 X 11 inch piece of printer paper to avoid getting it jammed.) This may take several tries to get the image positioned correctly on your dictionary page. Once it’s printed, pull out your color pencils. (Oh yeah. Did I mention those as one of the necessary items? Yeah. You’ll need color pencils.) Color the image. It’s best if your copyright free image is an old engraving, so it has white space and transparency .

Curl the edges of your picture and hot glue it to the wreath. (Behind the scenes note. I’ve just moved, so couldn’t find my hot glue gun. I know it’s here somewhere. So instead, I placed all of the items and with the help of gravity and camera magic, they look as if they’re all glued in place. I’ll probably use a couple of straight pins to keep them in place and hang it on the door.) In my example wreath, I’ve used some of that straw stuff, (there’s a name for it - Raffia?), to create a bow. Well, actually, the bow was on the wreath that I liberated from the attic.

And “ta-da”! A patriotic Fourth of July wreath, perfect for celebrating freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and all things literary and fourth of July-y.

OH! Don’t forget to grab a favorite Classic and Cozy novel to take with you to your fourth of July celebration. You’ll need a good book to hold you over until the fireworks start. Only question is, will you be able to put it down?