By: Lauren Gray, Head of Reference
Share the gift of history this holiday season.
Day 11: Decorative Collages (for any space)
(Part of the 12 Days of Archives DIY Series)
If our Netflix guru Marie Kondo has taught us anything, it’s that if something “sparks joy,” you should make a special place for it in your life. And right now, we could all use a little extra joy.
That’s why we kept this penultimate post simple. Sometimes, you don’t want to glue, cut, trim, and layer. Sometimes, simple is best. In a year that has been anything but, here is a project you can do on a quiet afternoon while you wait for your dough to rise or your pie to bake.
For these decorative collages, we encourage you to find images that speak to you. Explore our website. Get cozy. We have a little something for everybody. Some will be drawn to schoolhouses or soft, scenic views of our Kansas landscape. For others, it may be flowers, birds in flight, or the clean-cut lines of our Capitol building. The best gifts are those that linger in our thoughts.
Once you find images that spark your fancy, we encourage you to save them digitally or print them out and display them in a way that is meaningful to you. If you need a new background on your computer, or your closet has some extra wall-space, consider sparking joy in areas that are often overlooked. (We agree with Marie Kondo that any space can be special.)
We’ve included images below that bring us joy and remind us that beauty is what we make it.
Birger Sandzen, a Swedish immigrant to KS, belonged to the Prairie Print Makers group. This particular print was done from woodblock.
Another woodblock print, this reimagined Prairie Castle would have been a familiar site to pioneers heading west.
Is it just us, or does this print make you want to slip off your shoes, relax under a shade tree, and read a good book?
This could be a scene from a crossover episode of “Alice in Oz.”
Yes…yes, we do give ourselves pep talks in the mirror while brandishing a hairbrush. Corsets may be out, but self-respect is always in.
On the tenth Day of Archives, my archivists gave to me: Playing Cards
On the ninth Day of Archives, my archivists gave to me: Calendars
On the eighth Day of Archives, my archivists gave to me: Wall Clocks
On the seventh Day of Archives, my archivists gave to me: Stationery
On the sixth Day of Archives, my archivists gave to me: Bookmarks
On the fifth Day of Archives, my archivists gave to me: Coasters
On the fourth Day of Archives, my archivists gave to me: The Memory Game
On the third Day of Archives, my archivists gave to me: Greeting Cards
On the second Day of Archives, my archivists gave to me: Magnets
On the first Day of Archives, my archivists gave to me: Puzzles
Happy Holidays!