Vigil for Paris

Hello, here is a small piece I made following the tragic events that occured last Friday evening in Paris.  Today I have a post over at the Arnold Grummer Blog, where I share this project and the how to.  Please click here to go to that link.

I made this using one sheet of my own handmade paper, some Pitt pens, a stamp, wash tape, and my label maker.  It is a vigil for now and will soon be moved into one of my art journals.

Thank you for stopping by.

How to Make a Paper Poppy for Veteran's Day

Hello, How about remembering our combat veterans and showing our gratitude for their service and sacrifices?  November 11 is next week and I wanted to show my appreciation by making the following project which I share and explain all of the steps involved over at the Arnold Grummer Blog Design Team page.

I am also sharing this project with the viewers of the Designers Craft s Connection.

Supplies:

 5 x 7 canvas

Acrylic Craft Paint in Buttermilk (DecoArt)

Handmade paper in Red, Green, and Black

Stamping ink in Tea Dye (Ranger)

Glue (Aleene's)

Clear Acrylic Stamp of Poppies (stash)

Printer paper

I love to make handmade gifts and I also really enjoy making my very own paper.  I recycle junk mail, and gift wrap and turn them into art making paper.  My preferred method of making paper is to use an old blender and mix my own pulp by shredding papers and mixing with some water.  I then pour the pulp mixture into a wooden mold. (as per the Arnold Grummer Paper Making Method).  There is a video for this here.

The handmade paper can be used for just about any paper crafting project, such as this one.

For the above project I painted a canvas and decorated it with a handmade paper poppy, some stamped on poppies, and glued on a print out of the poem: "In Flander's Field", which I got from the internet.

I hope that you are inspired to make your own handmade papers, and your own gifts.  Please take a moment on November 11 to remember our veterans.

Thank you for stopping by.

Happy Birthday to My Son

Hello, here is the card i made for a very special young man, my son.  I am sharing it with you today as I know that examples of cards for men and boys are less common than those for women and girls.  I decided to also share my project over at the Arnold Grummer Paper Making blog where I am on the Design Team.  By following the link here you can see more details of how I made this card.

I hope that you are inspired to make some masculine type cards too.  

Thank you for visiting today.

Supplies:
Clear Stamp "A Real Boy" from Technique Tuesday
Ranger Archival "Jet Black" Ink
Ranger Distress Ink "Broken China"
Aleene's Tacky Glue
Red Line Tape
Scraps of trim from my stash
Label holder and brads from my stash
Handmade papers (by myself and the watercolour handmade paper was bought- no brand)
Luminarte Twinkling H2O's in    Blue "Carribean Mist"

How to Make Page Corner Bookmarks

Here is how I make some easy and cute Bookmarks for page corners with some recycled papers.  Today over at the Arnold Grummer blog I have a post on how I make a template that can be used over several times to make these handy dandy page markers.  Check it out here!

So all you need is some papers from the recycling bin and a piece of cardboard!  For this project I also used the following:

Deco Art Decoupage in Gloss
Micro=-Fleur (Arnold Grummer)
Flower from my garden

Easy peasy project for you to make, enjoy!

How to Press and Dry Flowers

Pressing and drying beautiful flowers from my gardens used to be somewhat of a tedious and long process for me.  Although it is a relatively simple technique, I just lack the patience to wait for the beautiful blooms to be completely dry before I can use them in a project.  Often I would collect some flowers in order to create some craft project,  I would pick them and press them in a handmade press (an old telephone directory topped with a brick!) and then forget about the project as it took several days, sometimes weeks for the flowers to be completely dry. Not anymore because I am the proud owner of the Microfleur®.

As a Designer for the Arnold Grummer Paper Making blog I get to work and play with some really fun tools and products, including the Microfleur® (which can be purchased through the AG store here).  The Regular Microfleur® is a Microwave Flower Press which enables you to press and dry flowers in minutes in your microwave oven.  In my case it takes merely seconds!  What a bonus for this impatient crafter.  Note that there is a larger model available.

The kit consists of 2 platens (tough microwave resistant plastic type plates with perforations), 2 clips or 4 clips for the Max size model, 2 pads, and 2 sheets.  To load the Microfleur® you just place one platen ribbed side down on a surface, place one pad on top and then one piece of fabric on top of the pad.  Next, place the flowers and leaves to be pressed on top of the fabric, making sure they sit as flat as possible and do not overlap each other. Carefully place the second sheet of fabric over the layer of plants, and then place the pad over the top.  Cover this with the second platen making sure the ribbed side is facing outwards.  Apply some pressure while adding the clips to hold this "sandwich" together.
Be careful not to overfill and apply too much pressure when installing the clips, so as not to cause any damage.

Next, use the microwave oven to press and dry.  Now, note that each microwave oven has different powers and will require different amounts of time.  Also, the pressing and drying time is affected by what type of flower you are pressing and the amount of liquid that is retained in each plant.  This will have to be done in trials.  It is best to use the microwave oven in short bursts.  In my case as my oven is quite powerful it took very little time, between 10 and 30 seconds.  Also, be careful when handling the press as there can be a surprising amount of heat generated by such a small device!

I truly enjoy using my new Regular Microfleur® Microwave Flower Press and hope to invest in the larger model soon.  It will be the best way that I know how to preserve a little bit of our very short Summers here by drying some flowers and admiring them during those long Winter months.

Thank you for stopping by, enjoy the rest of Summer and keep Crafting!

How To do Paper Casting

Hello, Paper Casting is a form of handmade paper making that is dimensional.  Today I am sharing some examples of mould castings I recently made with Cotton Linter.  As a Designer for the Arnold Grummer Design Team Blog (here) I get to play with all sorts of interesting materials to make paper.  I recently played with some new to me moulds from AG and some Cotton Linter squares.  That's right: Cotton!   What I used is actually a by product of the Cotton making industry that is pure natural fibre and when mixed in a blender with some water creates the finest and whitest of pulps that is excellent for using in moulds.  The strength of the cotton fibres make the resulting projects very strong,  The finesse of the fibres when mixed into a pul make this a wonderful medium that moulds almost perfectly and takes on all the fine details of the moulds.  The end result is also a very white finish which is great for leaving as is or altering with any colour desired.

Here I have taken just a few squares of Cotton Linter, about 3 cups of water and used my trusty old blender to create a cloud like pulp.  Which I drain of water by using a sieve and pressing the pulp firmly into a mould.  I let these moulds dry over night.  It is possible to dry these in a low temperature oven as well.

Once the shapes are completely dry I just prop them out of the moulds with my finger nail.  Or you can also use a pin.  The pieces are then ready to be used as is or altered.  Mind you, this is made of 100% natural cotton fibre and will soak up any wet medium quickly.  I choose to work with mostly dry mediums such as pencils and pastels, and limiting my use of wet mediums to one choice.

Thank you for stopping by.  If you would like to stay informed of when I post new projects just subscribe to my blog by clicking in the left hand side bar.  Also, I make videos on YouTube where you can subscribe to my channel.  You can get there from here by clicking on the link in the top left hand corner of the left hand sidebar.



Keep staying crafty

How To make A Zig-Zag Book

Zig-Zag books are quite easy and fun to make, and today I am sharing how I recently made two of these.   The first book I made is a Travel Size Art Journal that I made a video of the process over at my Youtube Channel as one of the projects I included for the Collaborative #lovesummerart Event.  Here is the link to that video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWNBx-7XySw

The list of supplies used in making the Travel size Art Journal are in the description below the video at my YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDaAEUJ4B8DRoSLSWdbvOKQ


For today's post over at the Arnold Grummer's Paper Making Design Team Blog I am sharing how I made a second Zig-Zag book in a different style.  Here is the link to my project over at the Arnold Grummer Blog.

Supplies used in making The Square Zig-Zag Book
Arnold Grummer's Square Zig-Zag Book™ Group Pack
Arnold Grummer's Garden Press
Plaid Folkart Crackle Medium
Elmer's clear Gel glue
Allen's Original Tacky glue
DecoArt® Crafter's Acrylic Paint in Antique White, and White.
DecoArt® Media Antiquing Cream in Medium Grey
DecoArt®  Americana Decou-Page sealer-glue-finish
Tsukineko StazOn Jet Black solvent ink pad
Rubber stamps (vintage and from my stash)
Pansy flower from my garden (Costco flowers)
Handmade paper strips (from my stash)

Thank you so very much for stopping by today, come back to see what other How -To I have to share. For video tutorials go check out my YouTube Channel by clicking on the box near the top of the right hand column side bar.  Subscribing to my channel ensures that you don't miss any of my new videos, just like becoming a Follower on my blog gives you the heads up whenever I post new content.

Keep on Crafting!   :)

How To Collage with Handmade Paper

Collaging with handmade papers is challenging yet simple when you know what to do.
Hi, thanks for coming over today to see the project I made for the Arnold
Grummer Blog where I am one of the Designers.  I want to share with you on my blog how I made this Mixed Media collage so you too can go and make one of your own.

As you may already know I make a lot of my own sheets of paper to use in my art work.  My secret to making these nice flat shots is that I use a cool pour mould method that I learned when I joined the Arnold Grummer family.  You too can learn the classic method by checking out Mr. Grummer's original video.

Ok, so I took four of the sheets of paper I made and stamped the doll image (Prima Stamps by Ranger) once onto three different sheets using Black Archival Ink (Ranger).

I Let the images dry and cut out the dolls entirely and two of them into pieces.

By using some matte gel medium and a brush I applied a coating to the back of each piece and onto the lightest doll cutout.  Working with this medium kept the fragile paper from tearing and buckling. Hence the challenging part.

I coloured the blue sheet with some water colour splatters made with a brush.  Once dry I used a black Micron ink pen to doodle some flowers.

Note I used a peach coloured Prismacolor colouring pencil to highlight the doll's face and limbs.

Finally using more of the gel medium I adhered the doll to the background.

That's it!  Easy Peasy, right?  :)  Please let me know in the comments what you thought.

Thanks again for coming over, see you next time.

Supplies:

Flower Collage

Flower time again!  Handmade by myself with some recycled papers.

Hello, by now you may have figured out that I am a flower lover.  I am not ashamed , it could be worse.  The other thing I love is making things and sharing how I make these things with whomever cares.

So today I have this post over at the Arnold Grummer blog where I am one of the designers and I am sharing that link with you here.  I basically took all the left over bits and scraps of handmade papers I had from making other projects for AG in the past and put them together in this super simple and easy collage.  It is definitely the type of project you can make with children.  While teaching about shapes, art , and recycling. Please enjoy and check out the AG blog.

If you have any questions or comments leave them below I promise to eventually get back to you.


*************************June coupon code:  HotDis***********************************************

Thank you for stopping by.

Pocket Size Handmade Notebook

Pocket size notebooks and crafts is what I am  into these days.

Hi, and welcome to today's post about these little pocket size handmade paper notebooks I am making.  I have been interested in making small pieces of crafty goodies that fit inside  those pockets of pocket page protectors, lately.  I am participating and creating in this new trend of Pocket Letter Pals.  So, as I was pondering what project I could make for the Arnold Grummer Design Team and blog this week, and I came up with this:

Here is my handmade paper and sewn pocket size note booklet!


Over at the AG blog I explain the steps and give the links to make your own handmade paper from recycled junk mail.  I also explain how I made this particular note book.

To make something similar to fit into the one or all the nine pockets of a pocket protector page and exchange with one of your pals here are the directions for what you need to do.

1. Select a paper and cut it to measure 5 1/4" by 3 3/4" for the cover.

2.  Select and cut two pieces of paper to measure 5" x 3 1/2" each.

3. Score each of the papers down the centre.

4. Stack the three papers and stitch by machine or hand down the scored centre line.  This will create the spine of the notebook.

Other methods of attaching the pages and cover together include stapling and gluing.

If you are interested in learning how to make handmade paper and recycle some junk mail, visit the AG blog and watch the tutorial videos.

Here is a coupon code for you to use at the AG shop:

Spring20

Handmade Paper Victorian Style Cone

Hello, as a Designer over at the Arnold Grummer Paper Making Blog I made this cone:

These are intended to be used as home decor items or as party favours in our time.  You can make something similar very easily by turning any sheet of paper into a cone.  The idea is that you can fill the cone with small gifts and treats for its recipient.

I made this cone with a sheet of my very own handmade paper and some recycled vintage trims and doodads.  I stuffed the cone with filler made from shredding vintage music sheets and some left over basket stuffing cellophane shreds.

For a coupon code and links to the Arnold Grummer store click here.  Thank you for stopping by.

Handmade Paper Tags

Tags are so useful and easy to make.  As a Designer for the Arnold Grummer Papermaking Design Team I can make my very own paper and paper products.  I use the method developed by Arnold Grummer himself and I am always pleased with the results.

Here are some tags I made and used on some Easter Gift baskets yesterday.  These can easily be adapted to suit any occasion.

I explain in detail how I made these tags over at the Arnold Grummer blog.

If you would like to purchase some great paper making tools and get a 20 percent discount, then here is this month's exclusive code: 20Four. (to be used at the AG store)

Thank you for stopping by and please leave a comment.  You may also subscribe to my channels and more in the side bars.

Handmade Paper Card

A Recycled and Up cycled project for you today,  I make my own paper from recycling used papers and it is fun to see the process of turning trash into treasure.  I went even further in this project by up cycling a used dryer sheet.

  

I made this as my project for the Arnold Grummer Paper Making Design Team.

Supplies:  

Up cycled misfit card base

Used dryer sheet

Old coffee

Damaged, clean napkins

Raffia

Twine

Pastels (Prismacolor, and Generals)

Tacky glue: Aleene's

Embossing folder (Provo Craft)

Arnold Grummer paper making kit

You can see more pictures of this project over at the Arnold Grummer blog.  If you are interested in purchasing anything from the Arnold Grummer store you may use this discount for the month of March:  Mar20.

Thank you for stopping by.  Please subscribe to my youtube channel at the top of the page and join the blog gang in the sidebar.

Handmade Paper Gift Box for St. Patrick's Day

     I have this gift box project that I made and will be giving some young men in my life for St.Patrick's Day. The project was also made for the Arnold Grummer Paper Making blog.   Even though we are not of Irish descent it is just a day that we like to make an excuse to be somewhat festive!  So here is the box that I stuffed with Gold!  Ok, not real gold but even better, the edible chocolate kind, yum!

To make this I simply recycled some green flyers that were in the mail with a green used envelope  from Christmas.

Supplies:
2 pieces of green junk mail or used envelopes
2 cups of water
1 blender
Arnold Grummer Paper Making Kit
Arnold Grummer  Silver  Dust
Gift box making tool and template from Martha Stewart Crafts
Stickers (Dollar Tree)
Glitter glue in silver and green (Elmers)
Gold foil wrapped chocolat coins(Dollarama)

I hope that you have fun this coming St. Patrick's day.  Thanks for stopping by.  

Paper that Grows

Ever wanted to make you own paper? Today I have a paper making project to share with you that is so easy, a child can do it.  Seriously, there is a kit from Arnold Grummer's® Paper Making that sells this really nifty kit geared to children that adults can have fun with too.  It is a great way to teach the process of paper making to school aged children  as well as to discuss environmental issues and study science.

This project is on the Arnold Grummer Paper Making Design Team Blog, here.
In addition to the Arnold Grummer kit you need an empty jar with a lid, some water, a few sponges or towels and a tub or container to catch the extra water.

The directions are included in the kit, and mainly consist of:
1.  adding some paper pulp to some water in a jar.
2.  To which tiny tiny pieces of coloured tissue papers are added.
3.  Finally some seeds that you would plant in a garden are added.
4.  Shake the jar.
5.  Pour the mixture over the mesh screen (over a container).  Pressing down on the pulp slightly.
6.  Flip the screen and smashed pulp mixture onto a hard surface and sponge off as much water as        
     possible and leave to dry.
7.  Once the circles are dry these can be glued with regular white school glue, to flower bases.  In the
     kit there is a flower template (that is also a holder for the screen) to use to trace a flower shape
     onto some colourful card  (also in the kit).
8.  In the kit there are wooden dowels, leaves and tags.  Which were used in this example to create
      the planter.  (The metal buckets, tray, cord, florist foam and tissue paper are not included in the
      kit and may be found in Dollar, Craft, and Department stores).

Here is a video of the project making process:

I hope that you enjoyed this tutorial.  Thank you for stopping by.  Please leave some comment love below where the pencil icon is.  You can also subscribe to my Youtube channel in the upper portion of the left hand side bar.

use coupon code: Two20

Keep on Craftin'!

A Lovely Little Note

Hi, as you may already know...I am part of the Arnold Grummer Paper Making Design Team.   Which means that I get to play with pulp and make hand made papers and more!  Working on this team means I get to make pulp and squish it, it is therapeutic.  You should try it.  Making your own paper is fun for everyone, young and old.  It's easy too!  you can learn by checking out this  video.

Ok, so today I have a picture of this cute note book that I made for the Arnold Grummer Blog.  I love those sticky notes, I can never have enough and now I have a way to keep a pad safely in my purse.  Arnold Grummer Paper Making company has these kits to make and assemble your own little pads just like this one.  The decorating is all up to you.

I chose to use scraps of left over scrapbook papers to make the cover and inside cover of this book.  I also used the same scraps to make a pulp that I poured into an Arnold Grummer mold.  The hardest part about making this project is waiting for the pulp to dry.  And you can actually speed up the process by using the heat of an iron.

So here is what I used:

Arnold Grummer's Paper Making Kit available here
Arnold Grummer's Heart and Flower  Mold #705 
Arnold Grummer's Books a la carte! #1603
Scraps of red, white, and pink scrapbook papers.
Double sided 3M adhesive tape
Aleene's Tacky Glue by Duncan Enterprise
Ribbon recycled from a gift
Pastel color pencils by  Generals

A more detailed set of instructions is on the Arnold Grummer blog, here.

Please leave some commenting love, subscribe to my blog, and check out my youtube here.

Thanks for stopping by.

Recycling Holiday Cards

As a new year begins so do new opportunities.  I am pleased to announce that I will have more crafty goodness and how to's to share.  I am on several new Design Teams for 2015 and I have some new partnerships that will enable me to offer even more FREE content to my readers/viewers.  Let's go...

 This is my first post  as a Designer on the Arnold Grummer Design Team.  I have always loved playing with paper and today I am sharing my  interest in recycling old envelopes from the cards I received over the Holidays.  I have always been a saver of stuff, finding new uses for old things is a habit that I am proud of.  In a way it is how I make a small contribution to living a greener life.

So from Christmas to Valentine's Day cards, here is my Love card:

Supplies:
Arnold Grummer Paper Making Kit
Arnold Grummer Folding Heart Template
Arnold Grummer Composition Silver Dust
Red coloured used envelopes
White coloured used envelopes
Scraps of red card
Gelato crayon in red from Faber Castell
Heart shape maker from Creative Memories
"Love" stamp from Sunshine Stamps Hugs, love and Misses ovals BMC0011
Black solvent ink StazOn by Tsukineko
Small scrap of black card stock to make arrow
Tacky glue Aleene's by Duncan
Link to video on how to make your own paper is here.

Directions:
Full directions are here as of tomorrow.

I enjoyed finding a second use for those envelopes and making this card as well as a few more.  I hope this inspires  you to look at how else to recycle all those papers we get every day.

Thank you for checking out my post.  You can leave a comment below, subscribe to my blog on the side, and check out my Youtube channel here.