Arnold Grummer's Design Team Blog

Have you ever needed a quick, last minute gift? And since you're a creator of beautiful things, you know that the recipient expects something handmade. Recently, I was in this very situation. Here's what I made. I used  Arnold Grummer's 52 Card Fan Deck . The fan deck comes with chipboard covers, pages, and a post to secure the pages. I decoupaged the outside of the covers with coleus leaves that I dried using Arnold Grummer's Garden Press . By the way, drying leaves and blossoms is so easy with the garden press, and I have lovely dried elements to include in projects even when the snow is flying. I used USArtQuest's Matte PPA as my decoupage medium, because, unlike other decoupage mediums, when PPA dries it forms a permanent acrylic seal over my project. Other mediums can reconstitute and become tacky or sticky when exposed to humidity or moisture—not PPA. You can see that as I was adhere the leaves, they extended beyond the edges of the cove...

We're had several 80° days here, so I think it's safe to say that spring is leaving us and summer is here!! Our flowers are just beginning to bloom, and so is the greeting card that I made using my own handmade papers and dried botanicals. The paper was made following the basic instructions for making handmade papers. I used tissue tints  and red angel wing dried botanicals  to achieve the coloring in the pink mat. Before adding the angel wings to the pulp, I crumbled two petals into very fine pieces—almost dust. I dry embossed the paper for added texture. Next, I used a die to cut white blossoms and green stems from scraps of handmade paper that I had left from other projects. I never toss even the tiniest scrap of handmade paper. Even if the piece is too small to use in a project, it can always be recycled into paper pulp. Then, I die cut a flower from a dried leaf to layer on top of paper die cut flower. This is the darker flower. The lighter flowers are dried blosso...

Our days are slowing getting warmer, and there is the promise of spring and summer in the air. I'm eager for the flowers to bloom!! But, while I wait for them, I created this spring tag. I included fern fronds and flower buds that I dried last summer using Arnold Grummer's Garden Press.  (Can't wait to press flowers and leaves again this summer!!) I started with a wooden tag that I painted white. The next step was to napkin collage the flower motifs at the bottom and upper right corner. the fern fronds and flower buds were decoupaged in place using PPA.  When the tag was dry I added ribbons and the little bird in the upper left corner, which I die cut from my own handmade paper.  Carole

I love sharing pictures of family, and decided to make these special by presenting them in frames covered with handmade paper. I used the Arnold Grummer's photo frame set . Everything you need to construct the frames comes in the kit, except the paper you use for covering. I followed the easy directions that are included in the kit. I selected handmade paper to cover the frames. I used a liquid glue to adhere the paper to the frame. I used small binder clips to hold the glued edges in place while the glue dried. Since handmade paper tends to be a bit softer that regular paper or cardstock, I protected the front of the frame with waste paper where I clipped the glued edges in place so the clips wouldn't dent the paper. I embellished one frame with rolled roses made from the scraps of the paper I used to cover the frame. For the other frame I embellished with leaves that I dried using the Arnold Grummer's garden press . Here are the finished frames, ready to...

If you follow my projects, then you know that I gravitate to jewelry items. Today, I've combined mica, handmade paper and dried botanicals to make this gorgeous OOAK piece. One of a kind because each leaf, each piece of mica and each piece of handmade paper has its own characteristics. I dried the leaves using Arnold Grummer's Garden Press . The paper I made by adding tissue tints and dried rosebuds to the paper pulp. I started with mica tiles from USArtQuest. Mica is a rock that is composed of several layers. After selecting a piece for my necklace, I easily delaminated the layers by gently slipping a fingernail between the layers. Next, I arranged the leaves and paper on top of the bottom piece of mica. I tore the paper so it would have feathered, irregular edges. You can see that the leaves extend beyond the edges of the mica. I used small pieces of Cut-Bond-Create , a double sided adhesive, to bond the two pieces of mica. You can see the blue grid backing on th...