Arnold Grummer's Design Team Blog

©Michele Emerson-Roberts 2014 I love creating journals and handmade books both for myself and to give as gifts. The books are always a big hit with the recipients.  I had several males in mind when creating these very rustic small books. Each book is one of a kind and is made with handmade paper with dried leaf and grass inclusions. The books go together quickly so it is easy to make them in batches of 10 or more at a time. I can’t wait to see the smiles on their faces when they open their gifts. Maybe I can find some of those “stick” pencils to go with the books! These make the perfect gift for the hunter, fisherman, hiker, bird watcher or gardener in your life! Supplies: Any of the Arnold Grummer™ paper making kits A sunny window Blender, cello sponges and soft towels Scissors Scraps of white, ivory or off white paper (think junk mail, etc.) Dried leaves and grasses, small pieces of bark Chip board (I used pieces of cereal box) ...

  Tomorrow is the day!  The day this entire month has been leading up to and here is a final scare just for you!  The kick off for the holidays is about to begin.  I have really been enjoying playing with and mixing paper pulps lately to create variegated colors of paper.  For this one, I mixed a black pulp into a sheet of orange.  It was created using one of the Papermill Pro Kits using the basic instructions , but before pulling the deckle out of the water I added small scoops of black and lightly mixed the two by hand.  As I pulled the deckle out of the water the two pulps settled to form the sheet creating this gorgeous orange and black sheet.  The white paper was created using the kit and once it was dry I used it in my embossing machine and stamped onto it.  Isn't fun that you can use your craft tools with handmade paper?  It creates a totally amazing and different look for everything. Now onto creating for Novembe...

This card was inspired by a trip to the pumpkin patch with my daughter and 2 of her friends.  It was a lovely fall day and I got to share the day with 3 teenagers who were literally skipping through the pumpkin patch!  I took along my Arnold Grummer's Garden Press ( http://arnoldgrummer.com/garden-press.html ) and filled it with treasures during the day: leaves, flowers, a lucky 4-leaf clover!  Once home, I waited patiently (with the occasional peek) for the pieces to dry.  Instructions with the press say 3-7 days....I left them for the max time before taking them out.  I discovered that a pumpkin flower is not a very good choice for the press.  The flower itself flattened beautifully.  Sadly, it was way too fragile to peel off the blotter...it sadly was lost :-(   The big "reveal" was eye opening as far as what happens to the colors.  Pieces that I thought would stay bright and bold (some Coleus leaves), darkened so much that ...

nspiration came from my favorite season and from the abundance of colorful leaves all around. This card was made using several different layers of papers, with the main background piece being a handmade piece. From the other sheet of handmade paper, I die-cut three maple leaf shapes to decorate a recycled candle glass. Easy place setting decorations were made by using a die-cut leaf shape with a pinecone glued to the surface.  Names were computer generated and glued to a colored paper background and placed in a small holder and set on the paper leaves. Using the pour method, I formed two sheets of paper embedded with colorful shards of fallen leaves.  After making the paper mix in a blender, add several torn leaves to the blender and pulse.   NOTE:  Remove the middle stems from the leaves before adding to blender. Try your hand at paper making - visit the  Arnold Grummer Papermaking website  for kits and other accessories. ...

©Michele Emerson-Roberts 2014 Autumn has arrived in Southeast Arizona! Cooler temperatures and the beautiful colors of changing leaves - yes, there are trees here, at the base of the Huachuca Mountains, anyway. I love making fall cards to cheer up friends and family. I hope you will enjoy this card as much as I did creating it. Supplies: Any of the Arnold Grummer™ paper making kits AG Large 4 Petal Fold Envelope (card) template #553 A sunny window Blender, cello sponges and soft towels Personal paper cutter, scissors Scor-Pal™ Beacon ZipDry™ Adhesive, double sided tape Scraps of light green paper (think junk mail, etc.) Tiny dried flower petals and/or spices and iridescent sprinkles Verbiage stamp and black ink pad or computer generated saying One half sheet of ivory vellum 18” of ½” sheer ivory ribbon Oak leaf punch or die and Spellbinders ’ Grand Calibur machine Envelope to fit the card Instructions: ...

      The holidays are coming quickly and Halloween is just around the corner so it's time to start doing the decorating.  I especially love hanging wreaths on our doors to welcome guests.  This wreath started out to be a sale find at my local craft store and ended up being a favorite of everyone with the handmade paper roses, the bow and the pumpkin add to finish it off.    I created 8 sheets of paper using one of the Papermill Kits .  For the black and orange sheets, I made a black paper pulp using left over scraps of cardstock from other projects.  Once I poured the pulp into the deckle and lifted it partially out of the water to create the full sheet, I used the orange pulp which I had created first and then poured into a bowl, to add large dots or patches of orange.  I then finished the sheet off according to the instructions.  The leaves are from a green handmade sheet.  The pieces were all created using ...

      This year I became the art teacher at a local Catholic School.  My first "job" was to clear our cabinets and cupboards and shelves and...you get the idea.  I literally went section by section in the room pulling everything out, cleaning the shelves, and then reorganizing like materials (that I found in multiple areas) in labeled plastic bins.  Now I know what I have in the room and the students can easily find materials. During that cleaning spree I discovered tucked away on a far shelf, 2 (yes 2!) Arnold Grummer's Papermaking kits AND an Arnold Grummer's Field/Flower/Paper Press.  I was so excited!  It was like finding gold hidden away.  I brought the press home with me to experiment, after all I needed to know what I was doing before showing it to my students ("Gosh Mrs. Hess, you have such cool things for us to use!")   The Purple Asters in my front yard called to be my first experiment with the flower press ( htt...

©Michele Emerson-Roberts 2014 I love dragonflies. They are one of the most beautiful of insects. They predate the dinosaurs with fossils showing wing spans of over 2 ½ feet, and today there are approximately 450 species in the US alone. In mythology the dragonfly symbolizes lost loved ones and rebirth.   Supplies: ·         Any of the Arnold Grummer ™ paper making kits ·         Mold:  Arnold Grummer Dragonfly, # 703 ·         Microwave, heat gun or a sunny window ·         Blender, small strainer, cello sponges and soft towels ·         Beacon Quick Grab™ and ZipDry™ Adhesives, double sided foam tape or dots ·         Scraps of off white and yellow paper (think colored junk mail, etc.) ·        ...

October is here and signs of Autumn are all around.  With October comes thoughts of "all hallows eve".    That brings visions of witch's and spiders and ghosts ... Oh my! ... bu how about throwing in some flying bats too. The flying bat's will hang above the doorway of the den and will be visable as people enter the house. They actually move and spin slightly while hanging and add a fun look! I had a large amount of black card stock remnants from a previous project.  The pieces were too irregular to keep for future projects.  Instead of tossing them I chose to recycle into black paper pulp. First, the scraps were shredded and then soaked in water before processing in a blender.  At first the plan was to make as many sheets of black paper from the pulp.  While going through my stash of cookie cutters, I came across one in the shape of a bat and had what is called an ... "Ah Hah" moment. The pulp was placed in a squeeze bottle, a bastin...

©Michele Emerson-Roberts   2014 I love October! Fall colors, cooler weather and one of my favorite holidays, Halloween. I’m not into witches and goblins but black cats are great. We have a wonderful black kitty named “Bitty”, who we rescued from under our porch 13 years ago. She is precious and rules the roost, keeping the two dogs in line at all times. My card today honors Bitty and all the kitties in our lives. Supplies: Any of the Arnold Grummer™ paper making kits Molds:  R320 Cat With Heart (available from AG) Microwave, heat gun or a sunny window Blender, small strainer, cello sponges and soft towels, paper cutter, scissors, bone folder Beacon Quick Grab™ and ZipDry™ Adhesives, double sided foam tape or dots Scraps of yellow paper (think colored junk mail, etc.) 1 sheets of black 8 ½ x 5 1/2” cardstock Envelope for a 4 ¼ x 5 ½” card (or use the AG template to create a matching envelope) Dies: Stamp Doctor Cente...

Fall is really in the air here in Ohio!! So sad to see our brief summer go, but hoping for a spectacularly colored autumn. Even my projects are taking on an autumn feel—like these two table favors that I've made from handmade papers. I made the paper following these basic instructions . I used tinted tissue to achieve the lovely autumn gold color. Then, using the templates that I've included, I traced the pattern onto the handmade paper and cut them out.  Here is a pyramid lantern that would be perfect to decorate any autumn or Halloween tablescape. I love this little pumpkin bubble box !! It is self-closing and requires no glue. I cut the leaves from an old silk flower I found in my stash. The golden vines were made by coiling the wire around a chopstick. Hope that you enjoy autumn and continue to made projects using hand made papers. Carole