One man's trash is another man's treasure!

Or in this case--one art teacher's discarded encyclopedia set is another crafter's treasure! I am a high school English teacher by day, and just recently I discovered an amazing ritual that takes place in the halls of the school. At the end of every school year the teachers all go through their books and materials and discard the things they don't want/need anymore. These items go into the hall with brightly colored sticky notes prominently displaying "DISCARD" on them. Most of these items I didn't give a second glance to, but then I spied these beauties:

A complete encyclopedia set, still in good condition! The art teacher of all people was discarding these, and so I pounced on them. After lugging several boxfuls of these books into my car and then into my new craft room I have them proudly displayed on my shelves. Just think of the crafting possibilities! I am giddy with excitement and anticipation! I also scored about a dozen dictionaries that were really in bad shape:

Even though they may look a little rough around the edges, the insides are still in great shape for crafting! I seriously cannot believe how many books I got for free! And they were just going to sit in a landfill anyways, so I feel like I am giving them a much better home and a possible beautiful reincarnation!

Today my friend Lindsey and I went on a few adventures in Portland, where I bought some fun fabrics to make a skirt with. I am going to attempt to make the skirt this week--wish me luck! This is the biggest sewing project I have attempted, and I am a little intimidated by it. I will post updates as soon as I am finished!