Zerolandfill '12: More From the Second Harvest

In my last post I wrote about what went on at the August 10th harvest and a little bit about what to expect at the third harvest of the season on the 17th, but I didn't tell you about my own treasures from this Friday.  Between this summer and last I've attended a total of  four ZL pollinations.  During that time  I've processed a lot of materials, many of which look very similar.  This Friday reminded me that variety and surprise can come when I least expect it.

Now that Little Tiger and I are both growing out our bangs, Casa de Costello is in serious need of some headbands.  During one of my late nights trolling Etsy and Pinterest I was smitten by some headbands with stars on them.  I've been wondering how I could make my own.  On Friday I found the perfect star material when this fell into my hands:

The cards, especially the gold-colored ones, sparkle more in real life than they do in this picture.  The material is not quite as thick as I would like so, to prevent the star points from curling up after more than one wearing, I think I'll need to layer the glittery stuff on top of something slightly more sturdy.  

At this point in the season I feel like I've seen almost every fabric and wallpaper pattern in existence, but when I found this in the wallcovering section of the harvest area, I couldn't resist.

I've never seen anything like these before.  I can't figure out what they're samples of--wallcovering for the changing room near the swimming pool on a cruise ship?  I took these two pieces because I could make books with them, but Laura thought they were interesting so I gave them to her.  Laura has the best work ethic of anyone I know.  I like to think I'm a hard worker, but I've been known to be distracted by shiny things.  Laura works so hard when we're at ZL she rarely gives herself time to browse.  When she does, it's always to find materials for her students--never herself.   I'm sure she'll use these samples to create something amazing. 

This was another sample that interested me.  I can't help wondering how popular this was when it was being sold as wallpaper.  How lucrative can it be (no pun in---no...wait...I'm intending it) to sell wall covering that triggers a phobia for a significant portion of the population?  I'm a little leery of bees, but I have something in mind for this.

I'm not usually interested in carpet samples, but yesterday ZL received a whole bag full of these:

  

The bag was full of six or eight beautifully woven rug samples that were the size of table runners.  I  really loved the blues and purples in this piece, but I didn't know what to do with it.  It is awfully small for a rug and it only has fringe on one side.  While me and some fellow volunteers were puzzling over what we could do with something like this, Laura had a brilliant idea.  Folded into an envelope with a strap it will make the perfect "hippie bag."  It will be like the fabric envelopes I make with the kids at BAYarts, only bigger.  

All I need to do now is decide what to use for the strap.  Any suggestions?

While organizing the tile section of the harvest area, I found more of the small leaves I've been collecting from ZL throughout the summer.  This definitely needs some work, but here is my first baby step toward designing my table:

Then I found a small box of vinyl tile and tried this out too: 

They are two very different looks and both would need something to help with spacing and filling in the gaps.  Any suggestions?

Comments

[Haley]

Love your creativity and all your finds. I say go with the first look for your table. I love it's delicious eclectic-ness. Just find a grout you like and you are set to go. If you decide to go with the square tiles, you might be able to frame them with a simple molding to fill in the extra space.

[Sara]

I love all of this. HONEYBEES!!! :D

Strap=canvas. Durable. Would match, texture-wise, to the woven bag. Maybe.

And I have a few tile table ideas. Depends on which one you want to go with- the tiles or the vinyl.

[Audra]

Thanks for your thoughts! I actually came into some other tile yesterday that I may want to use now instead. It is crazy small (just this side of goldfish aquarium gravel) but very pretty.