Archive for the ‘possibilities’ Category

  • Easy Easter Paper Craft Project

    by a Guest Author You don’t have to go to a lot of trouble to make Easter craft projects with your kids or to decorate your home, if you know this simple trick: free vintage Easter clip art or vintage Easter cards can make the basis for great crafts! By using these classic images, even [...]

  • Paper Lace

    Paper lace could be considered the big brother of the lace edges of paper doilies. Available at craft stores, this is fairly strong paper. You will find it rolled on a cardboard spool or in a flattened roll in a cellophane bag. It is usually available in white and pastel colors: blue, pink, yellow, maybe [...]

  • Paper Doilies

    Paper doilies, made to place between desert plate and sherbet cup or under pastries are great for paper crafts. They are usually white, but can also be found in metallic red (Valentine’s Day), green (St. Patrick’s Day), gold and silver. Usually round, they are also found in heart and shamrock shapes.  There may well be black [...]

  • Candy Wrappers

    I am a candy hound. Always have been, always will be. And occasionally I run across a candy with a beautiful wrapper or one with nice color and texture. One that should be saved and reused to make something else beautiful. So I save it, or them: quite often this a bag or box of individually wrapped candies, [...]

  • Playing Cards

    Playing cards, especially decks that have lost a member or two, are possibilities for decorating home items. Image a room screen with hundreds of cards glued to it, some face up and some showing the back. Or a trash can with a special winning hand on it. Or you could decorate a fiber board box [...]

  • Colored Envelopes

    The colored envelopes that some greeting cards come is can be a good source of “found” color paper. With a finer grain than construction paper, they have the same matte finish and come in some of the same strong colors. There are also medium tints and pastels in the mail. If you do not want any writing on [...]

  • Ream Wrappers

    The paper used to wrap reams of plain white paper can be used in paper crafts. Sometimes colorful, usually matte, it can counterbalance the glossy effects of magazine pages or wrapping paper. Use a light hand when applying water-based glue to prevent water spots and ripples. If the paper in the ream is acid-free, the wrapper may [...]

  • Catalog Pages

    Like magazine pages, this is a “found” craft paper. The glossy variety can be used like magazine pages: slick colorful pieces to use as needed. The catalog pages like newsprint should be used as such. Some very pricey catalogs are printed on thicker paper. All are subject to water ripples and spots if too much water-based glue is used. [...]

  • Magazine Pages

    The pages of a magazine are “found” paper for crafts. The pictures can by used for school projects. I keep images of interesting products or interiors for reference. Photo, ad or print pages can be used to make beads: cut into thin strips, roll around bar straws (small, available at liquor stores) cut to the width of [...]

  • Business Envelopes

    Ever notice the inside of the envelopes bills come in? Sometimes these have interesting blue or black patterns to prevent reading through the envelope.  These same patterns can be incorporated into your paper craft. Remove the flap and anywhere the glue original is placed, and the cellophane window, before using this paper. If you are doing [...]

  • Teabag Folding Paper

    Teabag folding is a kind of origami. Originally developed using actual teabags, special craft papers are now printed that have small squares with patterns, usually in sets of eight. Using these squares, folded in specific ways, stars and circles are formed. The small patterns on the papers make the resulting form kaleidoscopic, hence the alternative name “miniature [...]

  • Papier Mache

    Papier mache is strips of paper soaked in a water/glue solution and formed into the shape desired. For example, paper wads or a inflated balloon can provide round shapes on which papier mache is laid. When enough layers are applied and the object has dried, the papier mache becomes rigid. Allow to air dry. Once the figure [...]

  • Paper Plates

    Paper plates are useful as paint palettes and brush rests during your crafting sessions. But they can also form the body of your project. Use them to create masks or sun visors for children or stuffed animals. Add a stick and you have a fan. Use one as the back and frame for a small collage. Make a (thankfully) [...]

  • Quilling Paper

    Quilling paper is usually a nice-bodied, matte-finish, smooth craft paper sold in 12 inch strips. It is available in white and maybe 20 strong colors. It can be 1/8 inch or 1/4 inch wide, and there may be other widths available from specialty suppliers. You can cut your own from sheets of paper, but the strips must be [...]

  • Kraft Paper

    Kraft paper is brown paper bag paper. It would seem to be relatively useless in paper crafts, but it has a good body and interesting texture. It is not acid-free and is therefore subject to deterioration with time. But, paper bags can become some interesting things. For some ideas, look up a book titled “What Can You Do [...]

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