Roses for Ethel

© Michele Emerson-Robert 2016

My elderly friend Ethel makes the most fabulous paper flowers and adds them to her cards. They are kind of tropical/fantasy type flowers in gorgeous colors and are absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I thought she would get a kick out of my card with the roses made from scraps of handmade paper.

Supplies

·        Any of the Arnold Grummer® paper making kits

·        Blender, strainer, cello sponges and soft towels

·        A sunny window

·        Scraps of white paper (think junk mail, etc.)

·        Dies: Tonic Studios™ #165E Wild Brier, #172E “Believe/Love”, and Spellbinders^TM #S5-086 “Bitty Blossoms”

·        Spellbinders^TM  5 x 7” embossing folder SEL-007 “Blistered”

·        Tonic Studios™ Tangerine die cutting and embossing machine

·        Tonic Studios™ paper trimmer, scissors

·        Scor-Pal™

·        Beacon ZipDry^TM adhesive, double sided foam tape

·        Shiny green magazine/catalog cover page or junk mail

·        White 5 x 7” folded card and envelope (the card would have been even better if I had heavy weight handmade paper! Just one more reason to make extra sheets every time.)

·        Iron

Instructions:

1.      Follow the instructions found in any of the Arnold Grummer™ paper making kits to create white slurry and create one or more sheets of white medium weight handmade paper. (I always make extra sheets to have on hand)

2.      Allow the paper to dry.

3.      Iron the paper to make it smooth.

4.      Die cut the Wild Brier background plus extra leaves from the shiny green paper.

5.      Die cut one large and one small rose and the word “Believe” from the medium weigh handmade paper. (Save all the extra scraps for another project.)  

6.      Roll the roses.

7.      Emboss the front of the card.

8.      Center and attach the green background and extra leaves to the front of the card with tiny pieces of foam tape.

9.      Attach the word to the center of the green background.

10.   Attach the large rose at the top left and the small rose at the bottom right of the green background.

11.   Add your personal message inside the card. Mail in a padded envelope.

Mischief

© Michele Emerson-Robert 2016

My friend Donna is a cat lover. She takes in strays and keeps them safe from harm. Currently she has 7 four legged friends who share her home. Donna is also loves to knit, crochet and tat. It is a hoot to watch the battle of wills between her and the cats when she wants to create something with fibers and they want to play! Donna’s birthday is coming up and I just had to create this little tatting/crochet thread holder for her.

Supplies

·       Any of the Arnold Grummer® paper making kits

·       Blender, strainer, cello sponges and soft towels

·       A sunny window

·       Scraps of tan/brown paper (think junk mail, etc.)

·       Die: Tonic Studios™  #1186E Tangled Mischief die    

·       Tonic Studios™ Tangerine die cutting and embossing machine

·       Tonic Studios™ paper trimmer

·       Tonic Studios™ Craft Tacky glue 

·       Small balls of crochet or tatting thread, crochet hook or tatting needle or shuttle, small pair of scissors.

·       Metal container 5 ½ x 4 x 3” high

·       Iron “reactive” paint, off white acrylic paint, foam brush

·       8 x 3” clear semi ridged plastic, foam to fit bottom of container

Instructions:

1.     Follow the instructions found in any of the Arnold Grummer™ paper making kits to create tan slurry and create a sheet of heavy weight tan handmade paper. 

2.     Allow the paper to dry.

3.     Die cut two of the cat with yarn dies.

4.     While one of the die cut is still in the die, dab on a tiny bit of off white acrylic paint to highlight the cat’s stripes and the thread.

5.     When the paint is dry attach the cats back to back onto the clear plastic sheet.

6.     Follow the instruction on the bottle of “reactive” paint to color the container.

7.     Allow the paint to dry.

8.     Score and fold the plastic to fit inside the container.

9.     Place the foam block into the bottom of the container.

10.  Fill the container with the small balls of thread, hook/needle/shuttle and small pair of scissors.

Tide Pool Tags

© Michele Emerson-Robert 2016

Some of my fondest memories are of being at the beach in Baja Mexico with my kids when they were young. We could spend countless hours searching for tiny sea creatures in the tide pools that remained when the tide went out. It always reminded me of the excitement when my sister and I used to do the same thing as kids on the coast of Southern California. These two tags will be perfect to my sister and a dear friend who both have July birthdays.

Supplies

·       Any of the Arnold Grummer® paper making kits

·       Blender, strainer, cello sponges and soft towels

·       A sunny window

·       Scraps of white paper (think junk mail, etc.)

·       Scraps of white, lavender, purple and burgundy heavy weight handmade paper or card stock to die cut

·       Dies: CheeryLynn^TM:: # B267 Sea Horse Family, B 279 Sand Dollar & Star Fish

·       Stencils: The Crafters’ Workshop™  #TCW357s Mini Cell Theory, and Memory Box Inc. #88557 Garden Leafy Branches

·       Tonic Studios™ Tangerine die cutting and embossing machine

·       Tonic Studios™ paper trimmer, scissors, ¼” round hole punch

·       8” – 10” various ribbons, cords and fibers

·       Beacon ZipDry^TM adhesive, double sided foam tape

·       ColorBox™ Dye based inks in purples, pinks and burgundies, Stylus™ handle and tip 

·       JustRite® stamps

·       Mister bottle and water

Instructions:

1.     Follow the instructions found in any of the Arnold Grummer™ paper making kits to create white slurry and create one or more sheets of heavy weight handmade paper.

2.     Allow the paper to dry.

3.     Iron the paper to make it smooth.

4.     Apply various shades of inks through the stencils creating seascape backgrounds. Spritz with a tiny bit of water if needed. Allow the tags to dry.

5.     Stamp the sayings onto the dry tags in the top left corner.

6.     Die cute the sea horses, coral, sand dollars and star fish from scraps of heavy weight handmade paper or card stock.

7.     Arrange and attach the die cuts to the lower right of the tags with either glue or tiny pieces of foam tape.

8.     Insert and tie the fibers into the hole at the top of the tag.

9.     Add a “Happy Birthday” or other note to the back of the tags.

Jukebox Jive Journal

© Michele Emerson-Robert 2016

My favorite niece is graduating this month with a Master’s degree in several “MUSIC’ fields. This little journal is sure to put a smile on her face. She can use it to keep track of the many appointments, music scores or all things musical in her life.

Even though I am not using any handmade paper or casting, Arnold would still love this project because I am repurposing something that would have gone into the trash!

Supplies:

·       Scraps of silver metallic card stock weight paper (lid from a disposable aluminum pan)

·       Dies:  Tonic Studios™ #1177E Jukebox Jive, #1180E Musical Notes

·       Tonic Studios™ Tangerine die cutting and embossing machine

·       Tonic Studios™ paper trimmer & scissors

·       Tonic Studios™ Craft Tacky Glue

·       Black blank journal (4 ¾ x 6 ¾”)

·       Black Pen

·       Black heavy thread or thin cord, silver metallic cord

·       Various sizes and shapes of large hole black and silver beads

Instructions:

1.     Die cut one Jukebox from the metallic silver card stock lid.

2.     Attach the die cut Jukebox to the front of the book cover with the Tonic Craft Tacky glue.

3.     Die cut multiples of the music notes. Cut equal amounts backwards. You will be gluing them back to back.

4.     Measure the circumference of the pen. Cut the metallic silver “card stock” scrap long enough to hold the pen and glue the piece to the back inside cover of the book. Place the pen in the holder.

5.     Thread one piece of the cord/thread through the spine of the book. Tie and leave tales at the top.

6.     Cut random length pieces of the cord/thread.

7.     Insert the pieces of cord/thread into various sizes and shapes of black and silver beads and music notes tying in between each bead and/or note. Vary the type of bead and distance between each bead.

8.     Repeat this for as many “dangles as you want. (I used 5 strings, folded in almost-half)

9.     Attach the beaded cords/threads at the top of the book spine.

Grateful for My Blessings

© Michele Emerson-Robert 2016

Do you ever stop and think how much you have to be grateful for? Think about all the blessings that you have in your life? Ever want to let someone know that you are grateful for them or that they are a blessing to you? Here are two really quick cards made especially for those times… You could also change the “words” to Thank You, Hello, Congrats, or whatever, and all would be beautiful! Remember that I always make extra handmade paper to have on hand when needed so these actually went together in about 10 minutes per card.

 

                                    

Supplies

·       Any of the Arnold Grummer® paper making kits

·       Blender, strainer, cello sponges and soft towels

·       A sunny window

·       Scraps of white paper (think junk mail, etc.)

·       Burgundy and turquoise card stock for card base and to die cut from THE PAPER CUT™

·       Dies: Tonic Studios™ #183E Verso Art Deco Collectable set, #1197E Toby’s Sill Pet Window set, #185E Patchwork Perfection Everyday Squares, #1198E Harvey’s Ledge Pet Window, CheeryLynn^TM B615 “Blessings”, B347 “Grateful”

·       Tonic Studios™ Tangerine die cutting and embossing machine

·       Tonic Studios™ paper trimmer

·       Scor-Pal™

·       Tonic Studios™ Craft Tacky Glue

·       Iron

Instructions:

1.     Follow the instructions found in any of the Arnold Grummer™ paper making kits to create white slurry and create several sheets of heavy weight paper. 

2.     Allow the sheets of handmade paper to dry.

3.     Iron the sheets of handmade paper to make them smooth.

4.     Cut and fold the burgundy and turquoise card stock to create 4 ¼ x 5 ½” cards.

5.     Die cut the word “Blessings” from a scrap of burgundy card stock and the word “Grateful” from a scrap of turquoise card stock.

6.     Die cut one each of the “window frames” from the white handmade paper.

7.     Die cut the PP leafy quilt square toward the top of the Toby’s Sill window frame.

8.     Die cut the square shape from the Verso Art Deco Collectable die set toward the bottom of the Harvey’s Ledge window frame.

9.     Attach the die cut words to the blank spaces of the window frames.

10.  Attach the window frames to the front of the cards.

11.   Add a personal note inside.

Celtic Quilt Square

© Michele Emerson-Robert 2016

This is the second in the series (so far) of the Quilt Squares for my quilter friend. I know she will love them and they will be perfect to hang on her quilt studio wall. Staying with the neutral color palette of medium blue and golden tan harmonizes with the first project (Art Deco Quilt Squares from April 22), and since I will once again be using some items that would normally be tossed, I am doing my part to follow Arnold’s  “R’s”: recycle, restyle, repurpose, revamp, restore, renew!

Supplies

• Arnold Grummer® paper making kits
• Tan &gold scrap paper (think junk mail etc.
• Large empty frozen Pizza box
• Sponges, soft towels
• A sunny window
• Medium blue text weight paper
• Die: Tonic Studios™ #184E Verso Celtic Dream Collectable Die Set
• Tonic Studios™#159 Advantage V Blade paper trimmer
• Scor-Pal™
• Tonic Studios™Tangerine die cutting and embossing machine
• Pencil, ruler
• Tonic Craft Tacky™ Glue
• Punch: Notched corner

  

Instructions:

1. Follow the directions found in any of the Arnold Grummer papermaking kits or books to create golden tan slurry.
2. Create one or more (I needed three sheets since I was making three matching projects sheets of handmade paper).
3. Allow the paper to dry.
4. Create a 8 ½ x 8 ½ x 8 ½” ½” (deep) box top and bottom (remember to make the bottom of the box an 1/8” smaller than the top).
5. Place the box lid on the box bottom creating a closed box.
6. When the golden tan paper is dry, cut it to the size of the box top.
7. Use the punch to notch the corners of the paper. Set it aside.
8. Cut the medium blue paper to 8 ¼” square.
9. Measure and lightly mark the center of the blue paper. Repeat marking the middle of all 4 side of the paper.
10. Place the die at one of the marked places, tape it so it will not shift when cutting, run it through the machine. Repeat this step 5 more times, lining up the pencil marks each time.
11. Layer and glue the blue die cut paper into the notched golden tan handmade paper.
12. Attach the layered paper to the box lid.
13. When you decide which direction to hang the quilt square (Star of David or regular star quilt block) add a hanger to the back of the box.