CHeck with your local wallpaper stores. THey will often give away free sample books.

When I was 13 (42 years ago) a girlfriend was absolutely broke (her dad had just experienced a layoff), but she was very creative which also proved her strong character and resolve under stress.

She wanted to give all her friends a Christmas card, but didn't have any money to purchase them. She found a partial roll of old wallpaper and tore "cards" from the paper (torn ragged edges). She penned a poem on them that was very touching and I wish I could remember all of it, but there was a phrase that went something like this... "so I tore the paper off the wall so I could share a Christmas Card with you".

It was one of the best cards I've every received.

~Grainlady

adellabedella ... Message recieved .
Grainlady -- I take your story with a grain of salt.

I have a friend who make beautiful envelopes from wallpaper sampler books. It is always a treat getting mail from her.

Grainlady,I loved your story. I once had a book of samples of wallpaper. Couldn't figure out what to do with them. Veryt pretty, glad someone had a use. Too late for me. I threw it out years ago.

I take your story with a grain of salt.

Huh? Doesn't this mean that you're skeptical of her story? Why? What isn't believable about it?

My grandfather was a paper hanger. Which means my crafty grandmother had a constant source of supply of wallpaper. It was a given that any gift you got from her would be wrapped in wallpaper samples. She used WP for shelf liners, and all kinds of other things, too. It's just paper, after all (at least at that time it was--no 'pre-paste' on it to attract little nasties to live in the drawer with your undies--LOL)

When I was about 13, my mother received a card from my aunt. It had that line "so I tore the paper off the wall..." I googled that line to try to find the poem and saw your post. I really didn't think my aunt wrote the poem, just copied it. That's what I want to do. Who knows the rest of the poem???

Janie-

I'll have to send a note to my friend, who is a school teacher these days and still lives in Kansas, and see if she remembers what she wrote on those wallpaper cards. I really should write it on some wallpaper I suppose (LOL). I assumed it was original to her, but it may not have been. Interesting!

-Grainlady

To the lady that posted about the poem, this is a site that shows one of the cards.
http://images.wisconsinhistory.org/700010150005/1015000081-m.jpg

Back in the '70's I bought a roll of gold metallic and red flocking striped wallcovering on clearance. Not paper but something heavier. It made wonderful big Christmas present paper, and it stayed in the family being saved and going back and forth for quite a few years.

I have gone to the Home Depot and Lowes in my area to ask for discontinued wall paper books. They are very happy to dispose of them.
The art teacher at my school uses them for all sorts of projects. When I taught kindergarten my students used the paper to make cards and wrap gifts for their parents.

One of my very creative parent volunteers made covers for books. She had a lot of time on her hands.