Arnold Grummer's Papermaking - Red, White & Blue Banner

Banners can be a simple decoration to be used around the house for any occasion. Celebrate the beginning of the summer season on this Memorial Day, with this red, white and blue banner.  It can remain up as a decoration all summer long or all year long as a simple All-American sign.

To make this decoration, I made three sheets of paper for the base of each of the three pennants.  Using sheets of red, blue and white papers, I cut them into thin strips before processing in the blender.  The red and blue strips were pre-soaked.  I created a thicker sheet of each color using the pour method.  NOTE: I started with the white sheet. Use the water in the blender from the red and blue soaked paper shreds. Continued with the red and blue, cleaning all items used and changing water between the colors in the container.

Once the sheets are formed and dried, trim them each to measure 5 1/4" x 8".  I scanned and printed images from a "flag" book to be used on each of the pennants.  NOTE: Any images can be used, such as photos, drawings or other patriotic images.  The images were layered onto glittered card stock in coordinating colors before being attached to the handmade sheets.

Rosettes, in two sizes, were die-cut from vellum.  Discs and stars, as added embellishments are also die-cut from coordinating papers.  NOTE: Any embellishments of your choice can be used to decorate each pennant.

The three pennants are attached with tiny wooden clips onto a thin length of red, white and blue ribbon for hanging.

Go the Arnold Grummer website to place an order.  Use the code SPRING20 for a 20% discount.

Arnold Grummer's Papermaking - Remembering Mom

With Mother's Day just a couple weeks away, this special day became the inspiration for my latest project, using handmade paper and some casted elements to create a keepsake for a mother or grandmother or any special lady.

A variety of previously formed sheets of handmade paper were used to construct a mini album.  Three dimensional flowers are die-cut and colored from plain sheets of handmade paper and leaves are caste in a mold used for clay.

The base of the album was die-cut from tan chipboard. NOTE: I used Sizzix Scoreboard XL - Album Photo die, (#657122). The front cover uses a sheet of paper made from a mix of a brown paper lunch bag and white copy paper.  This mixture of paper creates a nice mottled look to the paper.  NOTE: This sheet is also die-cut to match the chipboard cover.  Glue this sheet to the chipboard cover.  Paint the back cover and binding piece with Vintage Photo Distress Paint.  Use Distress Inks to shade the edges of all pieces.  Use a strong double faced tape like "red tape" to put the album together, by attaching the front and back covers to the binding strip.  Create a page anchor by accordion folding a piece of paper 4" tall paper every 1/2".  NOTE: My piece was 4 1/2" wide, this will hold four pages.  Add one inch more for each additional page wanted.  Apply double sided adhesive to both ends of the accordion folded piece.  Adhere the ends flaps of this piece to the front and back covers.

For the insert pages I used other handmade sheets.  The pages are random widths.  I ran these through the Big Shot using the same album die, only trimming away the edge that will be attached to the binding.  The right edge is left with the deckle as formed when making the sheet of paper.  Glue each page onto a binding fold.

Flowers are formed from die-cuts. NOTE: I used Sizzix Bigz - Flowers, 3-D die.  Each flower is lightly inked with Distress Inks.  NOTE: I used Tattered Rose and Festive Berries.  Twist the flowers using tweezers to form and glue with hot glue to hold in place.

Leaves were caste in a Makin's Clay Leaves mold.  Trim away any excess paper and color each leaf with green Distress Inks.  With a small fine brush, paint the stem and veins with a green paint.

Form a bow for the edge binding with ribbon.  Glue the leaves and flowers in place in any pattern on the cover.  Die-cut letters to spell M-O-M and glue onto cover if desired.

Add photos or personal messages onto the pages.

Arnold Grummer's Papermaking - Papers With Texture

All handmade papers have something special about them.  Any piece can be distinct by what is blended together to create the papers.  This time around I was inspired to play with textures for the sheets I created.

Looking through the various crafting tools I have available in my workroom I found several forms of "texture" plates that can have a variety of uses.

To create this little booklet, a sheet of paper was made from a pile of scraps saved from several prior papermaking projects.

Once they were blended together with some cotton linter squares and a torn sheet of copy paper it was poured into the deckle and then formed into a sheet following the usually instructions.  Before the drying process, the sheet was placed onto the plastic texture sheet, covered with a couching sheet and pressed with pressing block, applying as much pressure as possible to add the texture from the plastic sheet to the paper.  The textured piece was then left to dry on its own without ironing.

The sheet was folded in half and torn into two pieces for the booklet covers.  Add pages using any papers of choice.  A length of ribbon is threaded through holes to hold covers and pages together.  Decorative leaf ribbon is place on the front cover.  Letters are die-cut from a handmade piece of paper that has been coated with epoxy resin.

This same idea could create booklets for wedding programs, memory books or any type of keepsake books for any purpose and theme.
NOTE: Thin applications of decoupage finish was brushed lightly onto the surface of the cover pieces to strengthen the paper.  Apply finish in a few thin coats as not to lose the texture in the paper.

Another example of a textured piece is here:

To make the texture stand out, rub the surface with chalk or mica powders.

For savings on your order go to the website  and use coupon code - EARTH20 for 20% off.

Arnold Grummer's Papermaking - Creating with Handmade Papers

This is my first post for the Arnold Grummer's Papermaking Blog.  I will be posting a project the second and fourth Monday of the month from now through June.  Just a little information before discribing the project I have to share.  I would consider myself very fortunate to have had a little history with the Grummer Family.  Several years ago I was very happy to work at a CHA show with the Grummer Family in their booth demonstrating paper casting along side Arnold himself showing the wonders of making your own paper.  It was a delightful experience to work for them and with them. Learning how to cast paper and make sheets was fun and I used both forms in design work and personal projects through the years.
I am so very happy to have reconnected with Kim and Greg and to help share ideas for paper making and paper casting.  My hope is that the projects I create will give you the desire to try your hand with this medium or help you think "out side the box" with what you can do when making handmade sheets and casting of paper.

While considering an idea to share, I went through my stash of handmade paper supplies.  There I found several samples, that I made a while back, just playing around with different inclusions and seeing what results I would get.  That is where I started this little project.  Handmade papers are unique and beautiful on their own, but, I have this tendency to play around and experiment with other things I love to work with and see what happens.

Starting with three different papers, I then used inks, paints and cutting dies and embossing folders to cover a plain paper mache box to make a one of a kind container.  Using two of the plain sheets of paper I used embossing folders by Sizzix to make the impressions.  Then I lightly applied Ranger Distress Inks in different colors to the flowered sheet to make the design stand out.  The handmade papers made nice embossed designs.

I then took another sample and brushed it with green inks and spritzed it lightly with water to made the inks bleed together. (NOTE: I used a small mister to spritz on water and then dryed the paper by pressing with a craft iron. It is important to use water sparingly in this process so not to make the papers fall apart.)  Leaves were die-cut.  The edges of the leaves were highlighted by applying a darker shape of green to the leaf shapes.

To create the flowers, I used the lavender tinted papers.  Again two colors of Distress Inks were applied with a foam applicator randomly to the papers.  Here I took some Distress Paints and spritzed them with water to thin them out.  Using a foam applicator and a tapping motion, the paints were applied randomly also.  The water thinned paints caused the inks and paints to mix together, giving the paper a mottled affect.  (NOTE: The dampened papers with need to be dryed using the same method as mentioned above.)  Flowers are die-cut from these papers and the edges are also highlighted with ink.

Strips were cut from the "dot" embossed papers for the bottom of the container and applied with glue. A circle for the top was cut from the "flowery" embossed paper and glued to the top cover.  A length of decorative trim was glued around the edge of the lid.  Put the flowers together with paper brads.  Glue the flowers to the lid in any desired arrangement, add a button or other embellishment to the center of each and finish by glueing the leaves into place around the flowers.

I feel that the embossing, inking and painting added some nice affects to the paper, while still allowing the textures and inclusions and base color of each paper to show through.

What better way to give a gift to someone you care about then by creating a special container!

NOTE:  I saved all the small leftover pieces for another time of mixing up some pulp for more sheets of paper.  You never know what it could create!

This month you can use the COUPON CODE: LOVE20 and save 20% on your entire order, so head over to the website and place an order today so you can create some wonderful handmade papers for yourself or for gifts.