Cardboard Art

In an effort to get better sleep (and more energy - more on this in another post), we have been trying to sleep in complete darkness, which means no lights from alarm clocks, windows, etc.  I closed the blinds on our bedroom windows, but the neighbors behind us bright outside light still would go on and off all night long, coming in through the cracks in the blind. Night after night I would be drifting off, and a rabbit hopping by or too much wind would set off that darned light, and I would be wide awake again. Finally one night we decided to actually do something about it. I asked Pete to put this piece of cardboard in the window.

We were no longer tortured by that evil light, but the cardboard looked, well, just plain ugly. I thought about putting in some drapes, but my minimalist soul balked at the thought of extra dusting, and I would rather put any money we would spend on drapes towards paying down the ole' student loans. Everytime I looked at that cardboard, however, its ugliest jarred me so I didn't want to leave it as it was. Looking around the house for ideas, I saw this book that our friends the Moodys had given us when they moved and which I planned on using for some art project or other. Being a country girl at heart, I love barns and pictures of nature:  

Decoupage! That was the answer! This is the final result:

 I was so pleased with the result that I decided to cover the cardboard which was above the AC unit in our living room. Here are before and after pictures: