Arnold Grummer's Design Team Blog

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

It's definitely holiday season, and I'm thinking about all the great family dinners that we'll be having. I wanted to create something special for our Thanksgiving table, and handmade paper is always special. Here's what I created. I embossed a sheet of paper that I made using Arnold Grummer's Papermaking Kit and the basic directions shown in the top navigation of this blog. I embossed this with a leaves and branches embossing folder. I was amazed how well the handmade paper embossed!! I scored the sheet into thirds to make a pocket.  Next, I cut the bird and bird cage from other pieces of handmade paper using Sissix Caged Bird die. I assembled these pieces and used a liquid quick drying adhesive to glue them to the pocket. For the napkin holder, I cut two slits in the bird's body, threaded a piece of ribbon through the slits, and glued the wing on top to hide the slits. I tied the ribbon with a bow on the under side of the napkin. ...