Arnold Grummer's Design Team Blog

Hey people!!  First of all, it is so great to back with the design team for Arnold Grummer!!  I am looking forward to working with the new team and making more paper projects!  Let's get started!! Today's project is a mixed media canvas.  If you have ever been to the Arnold Grummer website, and I hope that you have.  The site is full of information in regards to lessons, projects and products. On the site is an awesome collection of paper casting molds.  I found this mold, called the Angel with Lute that I had to cast! I have truly being hoarding this one thing, cotton linter squares . So guess who used them for the first time! ((cheesey smile))  Anywho, I think the linters require a lil more soaking then I allowed. While they do break down, they actually bonded faster then I personally like.  Maybe my opinion will change when I am sure I am using them correctly. I didn't reference my book this time, but the AG site has a great book called ...

I find that I have a few favorite paper making accessories that I am repeatedly turning to. This Maple Leaf Casting Mold is one of them. I've used it for jewelry  and  framed art  projects as well as a greeting card embellishment. Maple Leaf Casting Mold I followed these basic instructions to make my paper casting. When it was dry, I painted the leaf with a mixture of clear acrylic glaze and mica powders thinned with a bit of water. I painted the veins first, using a coppery mica powder. Then, I painted the entire leaf, even going over the just-painted veins with a blend of green shades. When that was dry, I painted the entire piece—leaf and background—with a glaze and wheat colored acrylic paint mixture. I just wanted to take the edge off the stark white of the paper casting. The last step before mounting was to ink the edges of the casting with walnut stain distress ink. I mounted the finished casting onto a wax encaustic. I did this by gently heating...

I'm getting ready for Christmas gift and card giving. I always like to give a handmade card and gift tag. And what better example of handmade than using my own handmade papers and castings. I made the paper for this card and tag using these basic instructions . For the embellishments I used Arnold Grummer's paper casting molds and UTEE (ultra thick embossing enamel). The first mold I used was the Noel mold ; the other was the Snowflake mold . By the way, molds are on sale now— 15% off holiday molds !! The first step when using UTEE is to generously coat the mold with a release agent. I brushed on embossing ink. Mold coated with release agent For the Noel casting I also colored the clear UTEE with alcohol inks to get the beautiful green shading. The best way to color the UTTE is to add alcohol ink, drops at a time, to the dry UTEE. Next, I heated the colored UTEE in my melt pot. When the UTEE was melted, I added  Gold Mica D'Lights  for a hint of sparkle. I ...

One thing I love about summer is sitting on my deck—flowers all around—curled up with a great book. And, every good read needs a bookmark!! I made this bookmark using handmade paper and a paper casting. I embossed the paper using an embossing folder. Handmade paper embosses beautifully!! I made the paper casting using Arnold Grummer's Scottish Thistle mold . I used these basic paper making and casting instructions. To assemble the bookmark: Start with a piece of handmade paper approximately 6 1/2" x 2 1/2". Score a line 3/4" from the top of the bookmark. Fold and crease on this line. Mark the center of the width, about 1/4" from the top of the fold. With the newly folded tab facing you, position the paper casting so that it is even with the fold. Pierce a hole through all the layers—paper casting, tab, and bookmark back. Set a rivet in the hole, capturing all three layers. If desired, add embellishments of your choice. Grab a good book, and ...

Besides making the paper, one of my favorite things has become molding the paper.  It another great way to use handmade pieces in your projects.  It's also fun to use all the different molds that Arnold Grummer's carries.  The card base for this card was created using a sheet of handmade white paper.  I used the basic instructions for making paper and one of the Papermill Kits   for it.  The orange sheet was made for the mat using the same method, but this time a piece of orange Tissue Tints was added for the color.  It was, then, cut down to size to fit the card.  Be sure to save the rest of the sheet for other projects.  The molded pieces were created using the Garden Bouquet mold and the Mini Assortment Mold  and cotton linter .  The Mini Assortment mold has 4 different images so I only used enough of the cotton linter to fill the butterfly section and repeated it to make 3 of them.  I used s...

Do you enjoy making and sending handmade greeting cards as much as I do? I never miss an occasion to create a special greeting. With St. Patrick's Day just around the corner, I knew that I wanted to make paper castings using molds from Arnold Grummer's. Here are the molds that I selected and the castings that I made: Shamrock Mold Thistle Mold Lotus Mold I followed these basic instructions for making paper castings. But, I experimented a bit. I achieved the mottled green coloring in the top shamrock casting by adding a drop of food coloring to the partially strained paper pulp, and gently kneading the color through the pulp just before plopping the pulp into the mold. I also discovered that if I didn't like the coloration, I could hold the strainer containing the paper pulp under a gentle flow of tap water and the color would, for the most part, wash away!! For the thistle casting, I sprinkled the casting with clear ultra...

I have to admit that I have never really created or done anything for St. Patrick's Day. As I created this card, I thought about the traditions of St. Patrick's Day and the Celtic cross.  After doing a little research I learned that the cross was thought to be introduced by Saint Patrick.  The article I read said it may have been 2 other symbols combined into this one design.  Isn't fun that you learn something new every day? This card was made using one of the Papermill kits and the basic instructions to create 3 sheets of paper which became the card base and the circles for the card. When making the sheet for the card base I wanted to add a little gold color to it so I added some of the Gold Sprinkles to it.   I, also, used the Celtic Cross mold to make the focal point of the card...the cross.  I love using the molds from Arnold Grummer.  All you have to do is put some of the cotton linters in a blender and add some water an...

I am really excited to be on the Arnold Grummer's Paper Making Design Team.  I love working with hand made papers! I must confess, I have never made handmade paper before! So we are going to start at the very beginning. I highly recommend watching the video on the BASIC PAPER MAKING tab at the top of this page!  I thought paper making would be difficult... I think that is what put the fear of paper making in me.  You will not believe how easy paper making is using the ARNOLD GRUMMER'S COMPLETE PAPER MAKING KIT . The design of the "hand mold" makes paper making so easy!!! With the kit you will receive a DVD with more information on how to create cast paper molds.  Today I am sharing paper cast molds. To make my paper pulp I used papers out of the paper shredder. Added enough water to make pulp. A loose handful of paper and about 2-3- cups of water! A little pulp goes a long way! Then I filled the Arnold Grummer's Paper Casting Strainer  about half...