Arnold Grummer's Design Team Blog

Today I am excited to share with you just how simple it is to create a watermark  in your handmade paper.  I have to admit, I haven't made paper in a while and I needed a fun project to jumpstart me back in action. Nothing inspires me more than watching the man himself, Arnold Grummer demonstrate how it's done by watching his  video s . You can also get his book Trash to Treasure with great photos and clear instructions! He has a way of making everything look so easy so I thought I'd give it a whirl.  WOW! I am hooked on this decorative technique!  InstaGram Begin by assembling your materials for basic papermaking: torn paper water plus a blender plastic tub  papermaking screen, screen support grid, cover screen Pour or Dip handmold -  (I'll be using the large pour Handmold ) 2-Up or Deckle Divider Large Template plastic letters A2 Envelope Large Template (Watch this  video  for how to make a basic s...

Hi everyone! I must say that there is nothing more relaxing than shredding some paper and making your own recycled paper using the  Arnold Grummer Medium Pour Handmold . I love it, I admit it. AND it's just a flat out bonus using the Folding Heart Card Medium Template .  Combine all that goodness with the perfect sentiment ( A Number of Things ) and you have a delightful heartfelt card to send to someone for any occasion. Look at those delicious deckled edges! I like to stamp on scraps of handmade paper and then fussy cut them out and use as embellishments too. This little flower looks so pretty layered over this heart shaped doily. ( Journal Doodles with a Heart stamp set ) Finished cards fit in 4" square or standard A2 envelopes. Inspired to make some paper projects this year? Or maybe looking for the perfect gift for the paper crafter in your life? Then you really need to buy this calendar!  And, if they have been a...

With the holiday season upon us, A Thanksgiving piece called to me.  My brother is in Montana for the holidays and I want to send him a little treat.  What better way to send it than in a handmade envelope using my Arnold Grummer Papermill Pro! I pulled out the Large Envelope Template that I have been itching to try and added it to the normal paper set-up.  I mixed shredded paper with wax paper to create the pulp.  I wanted a bit of color, so I added a little bit of LuminArte' Pure Color in Key Lime. WRRRRRRRRRR...the color was gorgeous!  Honestly it took me a couple of tries to get the pulp poured properly into the template, but once I did the envelope quickly came together.  I began to press out the moisture, but left it quite damp so I could add a design to the face of it. I found a thanksgiving napkin and thought the design would work well.  Perfect size to stretch from one side to the other without noticeable lines showing.  I tor...

This easy to make lampshade using products from Arnold Grummer's will add a little shine to any holiday.  A green one would be perfect for a Thanksgiving table.  How about one in each window of your house for Christmas?  The shade was created using one of the  Papermill Kits and the basic paper making method .  Since Halloween is coming up quickly, I chose to use the grey cotton rag & wool pulp  which I mixed in with white paper to give it a greyish tone.  Once the pulp made according to the instructions, I poured it into one of the fabulous templates creating each section of shade.  The shade finished  according to the directions for making a piece of paper.  I used one of my favorite dies and die cut machine to cut the pumpkin into each section and then assembled the shade.  The matching ribbon was added to finish off the edges.  I hadn't decided yet, what I would place the shade o...

This mini matchbook album is the perfect project to use small pieces and scraps of your handmade paper. I started with this lightweight chipboard matchbook. Next, I covered each page and the matchbook cover with a different piece of handmade paper and inked the edges of each page. After some experimentation I discovered that the best adhesive to adhere the paper to the chipboard is  USArtQuest's Great Tape . I dug into my stash to find stamps and embellishments to decorate each page. The pink heart on the cover was made using Arnold Grummer's Three Hearts Template. Here's the finished matchbook mini album. Visit my Create & Craft blog to see more of my projects.

Handmade papermaking is so much fun!! And Arnold Grummer make is easy, too. When I started my paper factory one nice sunny morning, everyone got involved—my son Seth, daughter-in-law Joanna, and my two year old grand-daughter Chloe. Even my husband Steve, who generally shuns my projects couldn't resist. We made lots of paper—all from recycled junk mail. How cool is that to take something worthless and transform it into a beautiful handmade piece of paper. We tried lots of different types of inclusions, too. We even used torn pieces from a dictionary page as inclusions. Here are the pieces that I selected for this project. The plain one is for the inside cover of the booklet.  Here's a close-up of all those beautiful inclusions. I used the Arnold Grummer 3"x3" Book Cover Template to trace the outline on the reverse side of my cover sheet so I could cut it out. I cut the cover liner 3"x 6 3/4". I glued the book boards in place using USArtQuest...