Do certain lines from movies and TV dig like earwigs into your brain and become part of your vocabulary? (Please tell me I’m not alone in this). Whether it’s John Cleese in Monty Python and The Holy Grail:
Or Gina Davis in The Fly”
Or most anything from Firefly:
A truly horrible movie came out in 1981—John Belushi, Blair Brown, Continental Divide. This was Belushi’s attempt at being a romantic lead. Yeesh. When Brown tries to make him tell the truth, he weasels out of it with a great line that stuck in my head. “Look, a baby wolf!”
Sort of like the dog in Up!:
So, that’s my shorthand for Let’s not talk about how crazy I feel. Let’s look at something shiny instead (Another Firefly reference, thank you very much).
Look! A Baby Wolf!
I learned how to rehydrate old paper. I found a set of German books so old they didn’t have copyrights. Best guess is that they’re from the 1830s. The acidic paper in books this old falls apart with a touch and soaks up anything moist. So, as background paper for my cards, I can’t really do anything but use them as is—which is gorgeous. I love the beautiful type and the design element of foreign text. But I wanted the option of dressing them up if I wanted to. After a little Googling and found a ridiculously simple rehydrating process. To my amazement, it worked. I feel so science-y!
Get a container with an air-tight lid. Set a smaller container of water in the center. Carefully tuck the ancient paper around the smaller container (that’s the tricky part—curling the paper without it crumbling to bits). Seal the container and let it sit for a day.
That’s the whole process.
The book pages came out a little more supple, a little better able to hold color. They still sucked up the moisture of inks and sprays, but I’m sorta digging the subtle results.
Another day of rehydration, yielded bolder colors.
Awesome Sauce!
SandySue Altered
A Mind Divided 
Feb 15, 2016 @ 09:37:30
Most definitely! You captured 2 of my favorites there. “I fart in your general direction” and “Squirrel!” Looks like I’ll have to watch Firefly again, not remembering any of those. I’ll leave you with another favorite… “I’ll stuff you all in the crust!” — Despicable Me. Love the paper!
Feb 15, 2016 @ 14:27:55
For all my love of movies, I don’t see a lot of animation. My bad. This looks darn cute.
And I couldn’t find my favoritest Fireflyism— Shiny!
Feb 15, 2016 @ 09:39:39
Feb 15, 2016 @ 09:48:06
Rehydration is always a good thing. Except for mummies. I have a zillion movie lines in my head, but the only one I can think of right now is “one ping only” from The Hunt for Red October. Really, that’s all I have in my head right now. Ping.
Feb 15, 2016 @ 14:25:40
Ah, ping works, Vasili.
Feb 15, 2016 @ 10:54:17
OMG: Monty Python and The Holy Grail – that scene is tattooed in my mind…LOVE it.
Feb 15, 2016 @ 14:24:51
Just a flesh wound, David.
Feb 15, 2016 @ 12:18:27
Everytime I think of Monty Python all I can think of is “A Path! A Path!” I say it alllllll the time.
Feb 15, 2016 @ 14:24:33
If it says anything, my first date with my ex was to Life of Brian. A warped sense of humor is so sexy.
Feb 15, 2016 @ 14:32:52
agreed!
Feb 15, 2016 @ 13:24:36
Brilliant idea for restoring brittle paper. I have VERY old books, falling apart, and now I can make use of the pages. My husband and my son know every line from Blazing Saddles. The lines frequently become appropriate excerpts in every day conversation!!
Feb 15, 2016 @ 14:23:11
YES! I knew I wasn’t the only one!
Feb 15, 2016 @ 14:40:37
What is the best thing you did with your restored paper, and does it retain its integrity? Virginia
Feb 15, 2016 @ 15:08:27
So far, this card.
http://wp.me/a1l2uj-30v
The colors are holding. I did brush matte gel on the back, just to give the paper a little more strength.
Feb 15, 2016 @ 13:48:55
LOL LOL LOL LOL Awesome sauce!! YOU are so amazing… that MIND of yours holds ‘pearls’ of wisdom and joy. I love you. me
Feb 15, 2016 @ 14:22:05
I love you, too, Laney
Feb 06, 2022 @ 01:24:14
think baby wolf was from 1941
Feb 07, 2022 @ 10:34:27
Almost! John Belushi ion Continental Divide!
Jul 16, 2022 @ 03:13:56
Belushi uses the same line “look, a baby wolf”before he sucker punches someone in the earlier movie 1941. Continental Divide was a horrible film for believe ability, but the Belishi character was great, gritty Chicago newspaper columnist. I liked that, and if you were a Belushi fan who knew it wasn’t a slapstick comedy, it wasn’t hard to watch.
Jul 17, 2022 @ 16:44:55
Thanks so much for reading.