Friday, June 26, 2015

Pheasant Fathers Day Card

 ©Michele Emerson-Roberts  2015


I have the best “dad” in the world!  I wanted to make a special card for him for father’s day to remind him how special he is to me. He and mom have always liked to go for walks and watch the birds they would see along the way. I remembered a story of them seeing a beautiful pheasant many years ago and knew this mold would be perfect.


Supplies:

  • Any of the Arnold Grummer’s paper making kits
  • Pheasant acrylic paper weight (look around….you might be surprised at how many “molds” you already have!)
  • A sunny window, heat gun or microwave oven
  • Blender, small strainer, cello sponges and soft towels
  • Scraps of white paper (think junk mail, etc.)
  • Dies: Happy Father’s Day from CheeryLynn
  • Spellbinders Grand Calibur™ Machine
  • Westcott™ paper trimmer
  • Scor-Pal™ (LOVE the new 1/8th version!)
  • Scor-Tape™
  • Envelope to fit card
  • Beacon QuickGrip™ and ZipDry™ adhesive
  • 6 x 5 ½” medium blue precut matt and backing

Instructions

  1. Follow the direction for paper making and casting found in any of the Arnold Grummer paper making kits or books to make slurry from the white scraps.
  2. Cast one (or more) of the pheasant molds, dry the castings in a microwave oven, with a heat gun or place it in a sunny window.
  3. Create a sheet of heavy weight handmade paper.
  4. When the paper is dry, cut, score and fold to make a 5 ½ x 6 ¼” card.
    Remember to always save the scraps.
  5. Die cut the words from the scraps of handmade paper.
  6. Attach the pheasant casting to the matt backing with QuickGrip™ adhesive.
  7. Attach the matt to the backing with Scor-Tape™.
  8. Attach the words to the bottom of the matt with ZipDry™ adhesive.
  9. Attach the matt to the front of the card with Scor-Tape™.

Dragonflies Kaleidoscope

©Michele Emerson-Roberts 2015


As you may know I love dragonflies! I use dragonfly images in a lot of my creative endeavors.
I also love kaleidoscopes and wanted to combine the two things to create this project. It will have a special place in my art room, and will serve as a reminder to me to slow down, savor and enjoy a few peaceful minutes. 

Supplies:

  • Any of the Arnold Grummer™ paper making kits
  • A sunny window
  • Blender, cello sponges and soft towels
  • Scraps of white (think junk mail, etc.)
  • Iridescent paper scrap
  • Westcott™ personal paper cutter, scissors
  • Scor-Tape™, foam tape or foam dots, Beacon QuickGrip™ adhesive
  • 12”  each of narrow picot & ½” sheer white ribbon
  • Several dragonfly stamps
  • Beige ink pad
  • Clear embossing powder
  • Heat gun
  • Iron
  • Purchased (child’s) paper kaleidoscope
  • 6” of gold colored thin wire, round tooth pick
  • BowEasy™

Instructions:

  1. Follow the directions found in any of the Arnold Grummer™ paper making kits to make white slurry.
  2. Create a sheet of handmade paper.
  3. Iron the paper to make it smooth.
  4. Randomly stamp the dragonfly images onto the paper.
  5. Emboss the images with clear embossing powder and the heat gun.
  6. Stamp at least one dragonfly onto scrap paper.
  7. Layer it with the iridescent paper on the wings and hand cut both.
  8. Wrap the wire around the tooth pick.
  9. Remove the wire from the pick and stretch it out.
  10. Fold the wire in half and attach the antenna to the head of the cut out dragonfly with QuickGrip™ adhesive.
  11. Measure and cut the stamped paper. You will want a bit of overlap.
  12. Wrap the stamped and cut paper around the kaleidoscope and attach it with Scor-Tape™.
  13. Use the Bow-Easy™ to tie both ribbons into a small bow.
  14. Attach the bow and the cut out dragonfly to the turn area of the kaleidoscope with QuickGrip™ adhesive.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Rustic Card Trio

©Michele Emerson-Roberts  2015


I have never been a “glitzy” person…. no “BLING” for me! I am understated with what I create, what I wear and how I decorate. I needed cards for two friends who are moving into retirement centers and another friend who is getting married. Follow along to see how I created the three cards for them.

­

Supplies:

  • Any of the Arnold Grummer paper making kits
  • A sunny window or traditional oven
  • Blender, small strainer, cello sponges and soft towels
  • Scraps of ivory & brown paper (think junk mail, etc.)
  • Dies:  3 different types of “label dies” to layer
  • Spellbinders Grand Calibur™ Machine
  • Westcott™ paper trimmer & scissors
  • Scor-Pal™ (LOVE the new 1/8th version!)
  • Envelopes to fit cards
  • Beacon QuickGrip™ and ZipDry™ adhesive, double sided foam tape or dots
  • Verbiage stamps (or computer generate the message)
  • ColorBox chalk to correspond with the paper colors
  • 1/2” sheer Ivory ribbon, picot edged ribbon
  • Short “nubby” twigs, flower centers
  • Iron

Instructions

  1. Follow the direction for paper making and casting found in any of the Arnold Grummer paper making kits or books to make slurry from the ivory scraps.
  2. Create one or more sheets of heavy weight ivory handmade paper. Save the left over slurry.
  3. Iron the paper to make it smooth. 
  4. Cut, score and fold half of the sheet to make one 4 ¼ x 5 ½” card.
  5. Die cut the other half of the paper with the label dies (refer to photo). Remember to always save the scraps.
  6. Create brown slurry and make several sheets of heavy weight brown paper. Save the left over slurry.
  7. Iron the paper to make it smooth. Cut, score and fold two cards.
  8. Die cut some labels from the brown paper in different sizes to layer with the ivory labels.
  9. Combine the left over paper slurry (do not over mix it….you want it to be mottled) and create a sheet of paper.
  10. Iron it to make it smooth.
  11. Cut it to 4” x5 ¼”.
  12. Attach it to the front of the ivory card front with ZipDry™ adhesive.
  13. Stamp the verbiage onto the smallest label die cut piece.
  14. Layer the labels die cuts with foam tape between each layer.
  15.  Add the ribbon bows to the fronts of the cards.
  16. Attach the flower center or twigs with QuickGrip™ adhesive before tying the bows.

I think my friends will enjoy receiving  the cards as much as I did creating them.

Friday, June 5, 2015

Raining Cats & Dogs Fan Book

©Michele Emerson-Roberts 2015


This is another in the series of the AG “52 Card Fan” books. This will make the perfect gift for a girlfriend who will someday be known as the "Crazy Cat Lady". This little book will be filled with "kitty/cat" quotes and cartoons. I know, only those of us who love cats will understand..... smile. I will be using scraps of handmade paper saved from previous projects, whoever you follow along with the instructions below on how to make your own paper in the event you don't have scraps.


Supplies:
  • Any of the Arnold Grummer™ paper making kits
  • A sunny window
  • Blender, cello sponges and soft towels
  • Westcott™ Personal paper cutter, scissors
  • Beacon QuickGrip™ Adhesive
  • Scor-Tape™
  • Scraps of ivory and rust colored paper (think junk mail, left over cardstock scrap, etc.)
  • One  AG 3 1/2" square Mini Fan Book
  • Verbiage stamps, and rusty orange ink pad or computer generated quotes or sayings, cartoons
  • Dies: Cats- Poppy/Memory Box™, "Grace" Frantic Stamper Inc.
  •  Spellbinders’ Grand Calibur™ die cutting & embossing machine
  •  Cat & dog footprints embossing folder
  •  G 45 "Raining Cats & Dogs' card stock
  • Rusty orange acrylic paint
  • 1/4" round hole punch

   Instructions:

  1. Follow the directions found in any of the Arnold Grummer™ paper making kits to create ivory slurry.
  2. Create a sheet of thick ivory paper (think card stock weight)
  3. Create rusty orange slurry.
  4. Create a sheet of thick rusty orange paper.
  5. When the papers are dry, die cut the word "Grace" and several of the cats from the thick ivory paper.
  6. Die cut several of the cats from the rusty orange paper.
  7. Cut one piece of the rusty orange paper 3 1/2" square for the back cover.
  8. Emboss the back cover paper with the cats/dogs foot prints folder.
  9. Cut a piece of the G45 "Raining Cats & Dogs" card stock 3 1/2" square for the front cover.
  10. Remove the screw hinge and pages from the book.
  11. Use the Scor-Tape™ to attach the front and back cover papers..
  12. Stamp the saying onto the pages (or print out verbiage using your computer and printer, then cut and glue the printed sayings to the pages.) NOTE: make sure the verbiage is all oriented the same. (My book is landscape oriented and has the hinge on the top left.)
  13. Punch the 1/4 hole in the cover papers.
  14. Dab a tiny bit of the paint onto the screw post. Allow it to dry.
Note - to save time, if you are making several of these books, die cut and stamp or print all of the sayings at once. You can always assemble them later when you need a quick gift.

For those who are "dog people" just change the word and animal dies.


Reassemble the fan book:
 
  1. Reassemble the fan book arranging the quotes, sayings and cartoons as desired.
  2. Attach the “Grace” die cut to the upper right corner of the cover with QuickGrip™ adhesive.
  3. Layer and attach the cats to the bottom of the cover.