Gratitude

©Michele Emerson-Roberts 2015

I practice four “Rs”: Recycle, Restyle, Revamp and Repurpose every chance I can. Making handmade paper the Arnold Grummer way is one of the best ways to do it. Most people throw away a ton of paper every year - not this gal! Look what can be created in a few minutes!

As always, with “gratitude” to Arnold and his family.

Supplies:

• Any of the Arnold Grummer™ paper making kits
• A sunny window
• Blender, strainer, cello sponges and soft towels
• Scraps of off white, tan & brown paper (think junk mail, etc.)
• Beacon ZipDry^TM Adhesive, double sided foam tape or dots
• Envelopes to fit cards (or make your own with the AG envelope template)
• Scor-pal^TM
• Scraps of ivory, light & dark olive green handmade paper, junk mail or cardstock
• 4 x 5” scrap of tissue paper
• Dies: CheeryLynn^TM # B118 Pair of Ferns
• Spellbinders^TM Grand Calibur die cutting machine
• Stamp: Impression Obsession^TM 14440E
• ColorBox^TM Chalk Charcoal Ink pad

Instructions:

1. Follow the instructions found in any of the Arnold Grummer™ paper making kits to create one or more sheets of heavy weight cream colored speckled paper. (Create more sheets if you are going to make numerous cards; one sheet will make 2 cards.)  
2. When the paper is dry, fold and tear it (you want the deckle edges) to make two pieces 5 ½ x 8 ½”.
3. Score and fold to create a 4 ¼ x 5 ½” cards.
4. Die cut one each of the ferns from the ivory, light & dark olive scrap. I used the set that curved right for the card and saved the other set for another project.
5. Stamp the “gratitude” sentiment on the piece of tissue paper with the Chalk ink.
6. When the ink is dry attach the stamped tissue paper to the lower right front of the card.
7. Add tiny pieces of foam tape to the back of the ferns, layer light over dark and attach to the top of the card.

Note: The stamp quote is from Melody Beattie and is one of my favorites. It reads: Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion into clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.