Paper Zone inspire.design.create

A letter from Paper Zone

2011-12-29T17:34:00.000-08:00

Dear Valued Paper Zone Customers:

As you may have heard, we will be closing all of our Paper Zone locations. After receiving an overwhelming outpour of concern, we felt compelled to further explain our unfortunate situation. Paper Zone is a company with 20 year roots in the Northwest. We are based in Seattle, operating eight retail locations throughout Oregon and Washington. However, due to the current economic downturn, we have experienced three years of sales declines between 6%-8% annually. As a small local retailer we were unable to sustain these losses.

We have appreciated being a part of so many significant life moments. We have had the privilege of helping brides create their wedding invitations, parents announce the birth of their children, restaurants displaying their menus, artists presenting their work and so much more. On behalf of our 67 employees, we want to thank you for your years of loyalty and support during our final days. Please continue to shop local and support other small businesses!

Sincerely,

The Paper Zone Management Team

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T10:19:00.000-08:00

Thank you for following along with us as we have celebrated the season by sharing a post a day with you for the last 25 days. We have enjoyed creating this season and hope we have inspired you along the way.

photo via balzerdesigns.typepad.com

Merry Christmas!

Paper Zone

Day 24: Tissue Puff Balls

2011-12-24T09:30:00.001-08:00

This is a great project from last years 12 Day's of Christmas blog series. These are perfect to use as present toppers or decorations for your holiday - we couldn't leave this project out!

Here is a simple video tutorial showing you how to make the puffs:

Step One:
Take 3 sheets of tissue, crease and cut it in half at the crease to create 6 smaller sheet. Stack the 6 sheets and accoridan fold them.
Step Two:
Fold the piece in half to create a crease so you know where the center is. Using scissors, cut the edges off in a rounded shape. Tie ribbon, string or fishing wire around the center where you made the crease.
Step Three:Peel away each layer of tissue one sheet at a time to finish your puff ball ornament!These have a fun, whimsical look to them and the adorable candy cane striped tissue and blue snowflake pattern make them even more festive for the holidays!

Day 23: Vest & Mitten Card

2011-12-23T09:30:00.000-08:00

Materials:
- Mitten Template
- Vest Template
- Twine
- One sheet of solid paper
- One sheet of patterned paper.
- Scissors/Paper Trimmer
- Adhesive

Step #1:
You will want to cut the solid paper to 5"x7" and you will also want to cut a 5"x7" patterned piece.

Step#2:
Use the vest template to cut out the arm holes from your patterned paper.

Step #3:
And once the arm holes and neck are cut out from the patterned piece glue the two 5x7 pieces on top of each other sandwiching the twine between them.

Step #4
You will then want to cutout your mittens from the patterned paper. I used scraps of the solid paper to back the mittens and hold the twine against them.

Now you have your sweater vest card all set. As always use glimmer mist or liquid pearls to make your finished product extra delightful.

Many thanks,
~Bellingham

Day 22: Fork Ribbon

2011-12-22T09:30:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone

I came across this amazing little tutorial on Pinterest on how to make the perfect little bow using a for. This is perfect for last minute cards or to put on gift cards.

Happy Crafting

Sandra

Day 21: Ribbon Tree

2011-12-21T09:30:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone

Closer and closer to Christmas we come! I found this cute little tree made out of ribbon. It is easy to make and I thought would be cute as a little ornament or as a decoration on a present.

Step One:

Cut 3 strips of green ribbon to 7 inches in length, 1 strip of glitter ribbon to 7 inches in length, and 1 strip of brown at 5 inches in length.

Step Two:

Place two adhesive dots at the mid point on the ribbon.

Step Three:

Fold over the ends of the ribbon to attach them to the glue dots. Add another glue dot near the center of the ribbon.

Step Four:

Fold the ribbon over again and arrange in a "V" shape. Repeat steps 2-4 with the two remaining green ribbon strips.

Step Five:

Fold the brown ribbon in half and secure the pieces together with a glue dot. Attach the green "V"s to the brown ribbon.

Step Six:

Tie the glitter ribbon in a bow and attach to the top of the tree.

Wishing you all a Happy Holidays.

Happy Crafting

Sandra

Day 20: Christmas Tags

2011-12-20T09:30:00.000-08:00

Step 1:
Start with the EK Success Flourish Square punch. I like my base for these tags to be the French Paper Company's Kraft but some of the members of the store prefer metallic paper for their own festive tags. The beauty of this design is you can combine whatever your little heart desires. So go crazy! That being said; we used Kraft paper and a lovely 12x12 from the Nordic Holiday line.

Step 2:
Punch out 4 squares from your base paper (the Kraft) and 2 from your top paper (the Nordic Holiday). Cut the top papers in half. The great thing about the flourish square is it has a small point in the middle of each side of the square to help you line up the cut and then line up the half square with it's base square, which is the next step.

Step 3:
Tack the two squares, one half and one whole, together with a bit of glue.

That is the fundamental of your tag. From there you have complete license to decorate them however you would like. However I think they look more finished if they're wrapped with a bit of baker's twine. I am a little crazy for all things Martha and she's come out with a lovely holiday baker's twine set. That is what I used to wrap our cards.
You start with the back of the tag putting a small dab of glue to anchor.

Day 19: Sparkle Tree Card

2011-12-19T09:30:00.000-08:00

Materials:
Cardstock, dark color
Rhinestones, 3mm
Gem Tac glue or other adhesive
Fine tip embossing tool
Silver thread
Sewing Needle

Step #1:
Free draw a ‘loopy’ Christmas tree (similar to this template).

Step #2:
Place on top of cardstock and with your embossing tool, lightly trace around the drawing – making an impression of your design into the cardstock.

Step#3:
Using a white pencil, draw dots on your design to indicate where to place rhinestones.

Step#4:
With glue, affix rhinestones to the card. Draw a star on top of the tree. With silver thread and needle, poke holes in the cardstock & sew the ‘rays’ of the star. Place a rhinestone in the middle of the star.

Day 18: Snowflake Orb Ornament

2011-12-18T09:30:00.000-08:00

Materials:
Assorted colorful text-weight papers, and a scrap of white cardstock
1/8 Hole Punch (and 1/16, if you have it) Fishing line or string Small Brads Snowflake stamp

Step 1:
Trim your colored papers to 1/2" wide by 5 1/2" long. You'll only need about 6-8 strips per ornament. Punch a hole through the strips at each end, about a half inch in. I like the Big Bite for this, since you can punch through all 6 strips at once!

Step 2:
Stamp a snowflake on both sides of your scrap of cardstock. Use a circle punch to trim it, or trim with scissors. Tip: put it against a window to line up the two stamps perfectly!

Step 3:
Punch a little hole though your stamped snowflake and thread a piece of fishing line though (about 8-10"). Tie the ends of the line together to make a loop (I like to put a little dab of clear nail polish on the knot to make sure it won't come undone).

Step 4:
Thread the loop through the hole at the other end of your strips. Make sure to thread it through the "wrong" side of the strips, so the good side of the brad faces out and the flake hangs in the center. Adjust the loop so there's enough room for the flake to hang, but not touch the bottom of the ornament.

Step 5:
Put the other brad through the top hole. This should hold the fishing line in place. Spread the strips out evenly so it forms an orb. Now it's ready to hang! The cool thing about this ornament is that you can keep the strips flat and send it in a card, or flatten them back out after the holidays and store it for next year.

Happy holidays and happy crafting!
-Portland Paper Zone

Day 17: Photobooth Props

2011-12-17T09:30:00.000-08:00

This is a really easy and fun craft project for all ages. It can be a simple as print and cut, or more advanced depending on your craft skill level. Simply print out the following templates onto white or colored card-stock. Use felt, copic markers, stickles, ribbon, or any other craft items to decorate your "props." These props were printed on white card-stock, then felt was applied, and they were finished with a little edging of liquid pearls.

Templates:
Antlers
Santa Hat
Beard
Elf Hat
Mustaches

Happy holidays!
-Seattle Paper Zone

Day 16: Cupcake Cards

2011-12-16T09:30:00.000-08:00

Step 1: Start with your cupcake template. There should the complete cupcake as well as just the cupcake top. You will want to cut this out of some festive paper. I used some of our lovely holiday 12x12s but have also had success with the so-silk paper as a solid color.

Step 2: Once the top and the cupcake are cut out you will want to punch a hole on the side of both of them. This will be the place for your brad and will function as a hinge.

Step 3: Once the hole is punched set a brad in it. Now you have the basics of your card. Decorate as you please. I used liquid pearls and stickles.

Get creative and enjoy!
-Bellingham Paper Zone

Day 15: Winter Berry Lantern

2011-12-15T09:11:00.000-08:00

TO CREATE YOULL NEED:

- 3 pack of Paper lanterns

- 5 sheets Text weight Curious Metallics – Jupiter

- 2.5” Uchida Circle Paper Punch

- Hot Glue Gun

1. Punch about 40 circles.

2. Expand your lantern and begin gluing one side of the cut outs around the bottom opening (make sure the side of the circle your gluing is towards the topside creating a hanging effect). Once completed there should be a single row all the way around the bottom opening of the lantern.

3. Move to the next row; glue the row of circles about a third of the way over the previous row, still creating the ‘hanging effect’. Repeat until you reach the top of the lantern. You are finished!

Have fun!

- Seattle Paper Zone

Day 14: Felt Treat Bags

2011-12-14T13:40:00.000-08:00

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

- Roll of American Crafts Rick Rack Ribbon, Pool Blue

- Packet of Basic Grey Buttons

- 3 sheets of felt: 2 Red, 1 White,

- Mitten Template & Cuff Template

1: Trace your template on both red felt pieces, also trace to cuffs on the white felt piece, and cut out - (make sure you remember that the all these peices are going to be mirrored to one another).

2: Run hot glue along the edge of the glove (except for the top opening for the treats) and place the matching glove piece on top.

3. Tack glue to each end of the cuff and bottom edges and place at the top opening of glove, keeping in mind the opening for treats.

4. Tack Ribbon across the cuff and a button at the end.

* Tip try using another holiday themed design such as a Stocking Template or Heart Template. You could also stitch your design together instead of using hot glue.

Day 13: Holiday Party Picks

2011-12-13T10:30:00.000-08:00

Materials you'll need:
- Dress Template
- Cardstock/Assorted Papers
- Ruler
- Colored pens
- Scissors
- Adhesive or Paper Tape
- Dowel or plastic pick

Optional Materials:
- Shimmer Spray
- Flocking

Step 1:
Start with your template. Cut out some red cardstock in the shape of your template. I've used a lovely astro bright but there are also some great options from American Crafts.

Step 2:
Once you have the shape. Use a straight edge to create the black belt at the waist.

Step 3:
Then use a white pen (I've gone with the Uniball gel pen but there are, again, lots of options) to create the white edging on the dress. For fun I added white flocking to the dress.

Step 4:
The final touch on the dress detailing is a gold buckle (again with a Uniball gel pen).

Step 5:
The next step is adding the pick. Use shimmer spritz to color a trimmed down dowel/pick. I have tried to hold the dowel in between two of the dress forms but it never really looked right to me so I use a little bit of Hambly paper tape to hold the dowel in place.

Enjoy!
~Bellingham

Day 12: Paper Lanterns

2011-12-12T13:21:00.000-08:00

Materials you'll need:
8x8 sheet of cardstock
1x8 strip of cardstock
double sided tape
scissors
pencil
ruler
rhinestones
children

These lanterns have been a popular craft for a long time with children and I was reintroduced to them when I read a great book called Christmas Crafting with Kids (available at the Paper Zone). So I gathered up some supplies, my beautiful niece Dyanna, and my wonderful nephew Cody to make some!

Step 1:
Cut from any cardstock that you want one 8x8 inch square (for the base) and a 1x8 inch strip (for the handle). Set the strip off to the side.

Step 2:
Fold the square in half.

Step 3:
Using a ruler, mark every one inch on the folded edge that you just made. Draw lines going straight up from where you marked to roughly 1 1/2 inches from the top.

Step 4:
Cut the lines, being sure not to cut all the way through to the top.

Step 5:
Using double sided tape, glue one of the newly formed slats on top of another, turning it into a tube.

Step 6:
Gently push on the top of the tube to push out the slats. This was Cody's favorite part as they are quite springy!

Step 7:
Tape the handle inside the top of the tube.

Step 8:
Decorate using a strip of rhinestones (or you can use something like ribbon, sequins, etc.)

These easy, kid-friendly decorations are beautiful and versatile. Try hanging them as a garland, put a tall hurricane vase with a candle inside, or they can just stand alone as is!

Have lots of fun with this craft and have a wonderful holiday season!

- Ally and the Salem Paper Zone family

Day 11: Holiday Magnets

2011-12-11T09:30:00.000-08:00

This is a simple and fun way to use your left over holiday brads. Simply cut of the shank of the brad, glue to your magnet and you are done!

Happy Crafting!
- Beaverton Paper Zone

Day 10: A Scalloped Christmas Tree

2011-12-10T09:30:00.000-08:00

We saw this cute die-cut tree on the Life Style Crafts blog and couldn't resist making it here for our store. Our letterpress combo kit has become something like a store mascot here in Bellingham, we use it for everything and love any excuse to play with it. So with that in mind here's how we make the tree:

Step 1:
Stand facing the combo kit. You will want to gather up the Life Style Crafts nesting scalloped dies, your die cutting machine (we of course used the combo kit but you can use your cuddle bug or manual cutting machine of choice), a dowel, ink for edging and coloring your dowel, white craft glue (we used tacky glue but Elmers works just as well), a small cardboard square which will be your base, a 6x6 paper pad of your choice (we used Basic Gray's Nordic Holiday), a small amount of gold foil paper and a star shaped punch.

Step 2:
You will want to place your cutting die edge side up in the arm and place the paper over it. If you're being really clever about the layout you can fit several dies on one piece of paper.

Step 3:
Cut out 4 of each size of scallop.

Step 4:
Once all of your scallops are cut you may want to edge them with ink. I find that this creates a more finished look.

Step 5:
Now place the dowel in your cardboard base and cover the base with glue.

Step 6:
You will want to start putting the cut out scallops on the dowel starting with the largest and working to the smallest. I pre-punched a hole with an awl to make this step easier. I also found that putting the smallest dab of glue on the pre-punched hole before placing the scallop on the dowel kept the pieces spaced out nicely once they were on the dowel. The spacing of the pieces on the dowel is a matter of personal choice. I like them spaced out and kind of askew. Kelly prefers them one-on-top of the other and totally in line. I suppose it's all a matter of how you want your tree to look in the end.

Step 7:
Once all of the scalloped pieces are on the dowel you will want to top your tree. We used a foil star but you could use any fun shape or charm.

Enjoy!
~Bellingham

Day 9: Paper Heart Ornaments

2011-12-09T09:30:00.000-08:00

Materials:
- Assorted 12x12 Paper
- Paper Trimmer or Scissors
- Ruler
- Brad, eyelet or staples
- Fishing line or ribbon

Step 1:
You will want to select 3-4 double sided papers. For this post I used some of our lovely 12x12 Christmas papers.

Step 2:
Cut these into 1" wide strips. You will need:
- (2) 7" long
- (3) 6" long
- (2) 5" long

Step 3:
One of the 6 inch strips will be the center of your heart ornament. Starting about 2.5" from the bottom of your center piece you will want to place the top edges of the 5" long strips. They will go face down onto the center piece. One strip will go on each side. You can affix them there with a brad, eyelet or staple (I used brads). About a half inch above that you will do the same thing with the 6" long strips and another half inch above that you will affix the 7" strips.

Step 4:
Now you have a sort of inverted tree of paper strips and you will start to pull the top ends of your 5", 6", and 7" strips to the base of your center strip. Using one brad, eyelet, or staple hold them all in place there. This forms a natural heart shape and creates a darn cute ornament for a modern tree.

Happy crafting
~Allie from Bellingham

Day 8: Holiday Pop-Up Card

2011-12-08T08:56:00.000-08:00

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

- A-2 Folding Card

- Assorted paper (for decorating and covering the front of the card)

- Scissors

- Adhesive

Optional: You can also add a holiday greeting!

- Ribbon scraps

- Pens

- Embossing heat gun/embossing powder

- Holiday stamps/ink pads

- Assorted punches

Step 1:

Fold your card in half. You’re going to be making four cuts onto the folded seam side of the card.

Starting from the left side of your folded card (seam side toward you):

Cut 1: 2" deep

Cut 2: 1.5 " deep

Cut 3: 1.25" deep

Cut 4: 1" deep

Be sure to evenly space the cuts (about 1" apart) to ensure the presents inside are even.

Step 2:

Open the card to where you are looking at the inside, push on the back of the fold towards you and watch the present boxes pop out! Then close card to flatten all folds.

Step 3:

Decorate, decorate, decorate!

Add solid or patterned papers and embellishments to the cover of the card and the presents inside. Use some glitter ribbon on the presents for a festive effect!

Have fun and happy holidays!

- Seattle Paper Zone

Day 7: Origami Star Ornament

2011-12-07T08:37:00.000-08:00

Materials:

- (5) 4” Squares of Origami or Double-sided Scrapbook paper

- (2) 2 1/8” Squares for Covers

- (1) 18” Length of Thin Ribbon

- Double Stick Tape

Fold 4” square horizontally & vertically.

Fold diagonally twice.

Open up the square & you will have two diagonally folds, one vertical & one horizontal fold.

Fold into a triangle.

Fold the outer ends of the triangle inside towards the center. You will end up with a square.

Using double stick tape, attach the five squares. Keep each end free.

Fold the ribbon in half. Place double stick tape on each diagonal. Keep the looped end of the ribbon on the closed part of the square & the open length on the open end of the ornament.

Have fun!

- Tukwila Paper Zone

Day 6: Laminated Bookmarks

2011-12-06T09:00:00.000-08:00

Materials:
- Assorted Paper
- Scissors or paper trimmer
- Double stick tape or glue
- Laminator & Pouches
- Assported Ribbon

Step1:
Cut a base of 7”X 2.5” using two sided printed paper such as scrap-booking paper

Step2:
Decorate the base by using color coordinated papers, apply with double sticky back tape or glue stick.

Tip: Try to keep your project as flat as possible for best results!

To laminate: use an 8.5”X14” thermal laminating pouch. Position your book markers in the pouch so that they have ½ an inch of clearance on all sides. Run the sheet through your laminator and trim as desired.

Tip: You can punch a hole on the top and put a ribbon through the hole. Trim the edges with a corner trimmer for a finished look.

Add an artistic touch when you give books for gifts: you can also use photos, or gift wrap from a special occasion.

Lisa Noble: Tukwila Paper Zone

Day 5: Paper Straw Wreath

2011-12-05T08:54:00.000-08:00

This project was featured on the cover of "Women's Day" magazine. I was so excited when I saw this project... It looks great as a holiday piece or just some decoration for a bare wall.

Materials:

- Pencil
- 6" Flat Floral Ring
- (1) Box of 144 ct. Paper Straws
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Ribbon or Wire

Optional:
- Paper or Spray Paint

Step 1:

This step could be optional. Trace and cut out a copy of the floral ring from a sheet of paper. Adhere the paper copy to the ring. (Tip: You could also spray paint the ring whatever color you want.) I actually did not do this step on the featured sample and you could not see the ring behind all the straws.

Step 2:

Separate, measure and trim down the straws:
- (49) 6 1/2 inch straws
- (49) 5 1/2 inch straws
- (25) 3 7/8 inch straws (This size would be cutting the straws in half. You will get 50 total pieces for your project.)

Step 3:

Apply a dime sized drop of glue to the end of a 6 1/2 inch straw and adhere it to the ring. Make sure the straw is flush to end inner edge of the ring - continue until the entire ring is evenly covered with the 6 1/2 inch straws.

Step 4:

Repeat step 3 using the 5 1/2 inch straws. You will layer these in the crevices of the 6 1/2 inch straws already glued to the ring.

Step 5:

Repeat Step 3/4 using the 3 7/8 inch straws. You will layer these in the crevices of the 5 1/2 inch straws already glued to the ring.

Step 6:
Glue a piece of ribbon or wire on the back and hang!

Voila you are done! This is a fun idea and gives a bright pop of color to your walls. You can add a bow on the front or other holiday embellishments to spruce it up. I plan on using it just as holiday wall art through the season - then moving it to my blue and red kitchen as a fun piece to hang as decoration! You could also change it up and spray paint then entire piece with a solid silver or chrome finish spray paint for a clean and modern piece of wall art. You could also make a few experimenting with sizes/colors and you will have an entire wall of fun retro sunbursts.

Happy crafting!

- Stephanie

Day 4: Origami Letterhead Cards

2011-12-04T09:30:00.000-08:00

Materials you'll need:

- 8.5" x 11" Paper -- This is a great way to use up extra holiday letterhead!

- Insert card -- Ours is 4" x 5 3/4", once you have this technique down, you can play with different sized inserts and make the card any size you want!

Step 1:

Fold it in half lengthwise and give it a little pinch on one end to mark the middle Fold the corners in to the middle, so the sheet comes to a point at the top.

Step 2:

Fold one of the opposite corners in so it's edge is against the folds you just made.

Step 3:

Fold the last unfolded edge in half, so it should line up with the last side you folded in. You can keep it there, or fold it backwards to expose a strip of blank paper (that's what we did, so there is space to write a name).

Step 4:

Line up your insert card along the square end, so you know where to fold next. You'll be folding the pointed end of your sheet backwards, along the edge of the insert card. Now you should have a rectangle with a little point at the back edge.

Step 5:

Fold this point over the top of the card and tuck it into the fold at the front of the card. Insert your card into the pocket you've just created and you're good to go!

Happy Holidays!

-Portland Paper Zone

Day 3: Holiday To-Do Book

2011-12-03T09:00:00.000-08:00

Materials you'll need:

- (1) 8 1/2 x11 sheet of chipboard,for the front and back cover of the organizer

- (2) Christmas themed papers, to cover the chipboard

- (15) Sheets of text weight paper, for inner sheets

- Decorative ribbon, as much or little as you would like

- (3) 3/4 inch book rings

- Single Hole Punch

- Ruler

- Paper Trimmer or Scissors

- Adhesive

Optional:

- Gel pens (assorted colors)

- Decorative punch

Step 1

Cut two 4x9 pieces of chipboard

Step 2

Cut 4 sheets of holiday paper to cover the inside and outside of the front and back covers.

Step 3

Puch 3 holes a long the length of the chipboard. I punched the holes at the 2", 4 1/2" and 7" mark on your ruler

Step 4

Cut your text weight paper to 8 1/2" x 3 3/4", I used a couple different colors for the inside of my organizer. Then, punch holes a long the length of the paper to match up with the holes punched in the covers.

Step 5

Place text sheets in between the covers and secure with book rings. Decorate rings with your ribbon of choice.

Step 6 (optional)

You can punch out a decorative design and label the cover of your book. A couple extra goodies you might like to add: Adhere an A-1 envelope to the inside back cover for your receipts. I placed a Velcro dot at the tip of the envelope to make sure it stays sealed. You can also use cardstock or Christmas themed paper as dividers (Gift List, Cards, Food & Beverage/Party Supplies, Notes, etc). Those will need to be cut to 4" x 9" just like the cover of the book.

Have fun and enjoy!

- Beaverton Paper Zone

Day 2: Holiday Gift Card Holder

2011-12-02T08:34:00.000-08:00

A gift card always make a convenient and fast gift for anyone on your list. This great gift card holder gives your gift card a bit of a personal touch and you can make it for any occasion!

Cut your paper:

Base Paper - cut to 4.25x11

Paper layer -4x2.75

Score the base paper at 3, 5.5, 8. I have used the Martha Stewart Scoring Board. So easy, fast and professional!

Fold into a Mountain fold

Glue (tape) the mountain folds together around the edges, make sure not to go to far in so you can slide the gift card in the middle. I like to use the ¼ orange craft tape. This tape will hold any paper together.

Cut a slot on the inside fold to fit a gift card. Use a old gift card to measure how big the slot should be. Use an exacto knife.

Decorate the front. Layer pattern paper. The sample has a punched shape on the front, you will layer a piece of ribbon between the punched piece and the front and wrap around the gift card holder to keep it shut.

I think it is fun to put your personal touch on any gift. Have fun with this one!

Whitney

Tukwila Paper Zone

Day 1: Glitter Paper Globes

2011-12-01T07:49:00.000-08:00

Holiday Ornaments – Glitter Paper Globes

Use these sparkly ornaments to decorate your tree or take this basic design to a whole new level! This is a great starting point to get really creative: Shimmer Sprays, assorted embellishments, double-sided papers, different punch designs and the list goes on!

Materials -

- 2.5” Circle Punch

- Assorted Glitter Paper -or- Stardream Shimmer Paper

- Glue Gun, Glue Dots or another quick-drying adhesive

- Ribbon

- Scissors

Optional Accessories:

- Beads, Brads or Embellishments of your choice

- Floral wire or fishing line

Step 1) Punch out circles with your Circle Punch from your assorted paper. You can be adventurous with the quantity of circles you use for your design; however, I have found that 10 circles total work best.

(Tip: Try using a Christmas double sided paper or adhere a fun holiday paper to a glitter paper to achieve a totally different look.)

Step 2) Fold the circle in half with the design side out (for glitter paper – glitter side out).

Step 3) Put a drop of glue at each corner. Line up and glue the folded edges together at the seam. Continue to do this until the last one; however, do not glue the ornament closed.

Step 4) Knot off the bottom of your ribbon a few times then glue the excess ribbon up. Tie a loop at the top large enough to hang on the branch of a tree.

(Tip: You could also place a bead or glue a brad at the bottom instead of knotting off ribbon.)

Step 5) Take your ribbon and place it into the center of the ornament’s seam. Place some glue across the center of the ornament - press to seal your ornament closed and to glue your ribbon in.

Step 6) Glue the each flap of the ornament together with a small bead of glue. Repeat until the entire ornaments open flaps are glued shut.

Happy Holiday Crafting!

- Stephanie

Glitter Window Holiday Cards

2011-11-28T12:38:00.000-08:00

I have been stamping and card making for many years and today I would like to show you a fun technique that I learned a long time ago that is always a wow when giving a card.

You will need:

- Cardstock

- Punch - here I am using the Martha Stewart Anywhere Snowflake. I love this punch, because it is magnetic - you can place it anywhere on a piece of paper. You don’t have to worry if it will reach or not!

- Packing Tape

- Glitter

Cut your cardstock to fit the front of your card.

Place the punch in the center of the cardstock piece. To line this up nicely, I put the bottom of the punch on the back of the cardstock piece and make sure it is lined up evenly with the sides of the cardstock. Then you can place it on the top of the punch and the magnets with secure it together. Punch your shape.

Put your cardstock on a slick service, here I am using a glass mat. You could just use a piece of acetate or a plastic bag. The point is to not have the tape stick to your table. Place a piece of packing tape over the punched shape with the sticky part facing out the front of the card. Press into place.

Turn over the card and pour glitter on the tape. Burnish the glitter into the tape and pour the rest back in the bottle.

You can now mount your completed piece on the front of your card. If you don’t mind the tape on the back, you can do this technique on the front of the card so the recipient will see through the front to the inside of your card.

I finished my card by stamping a Christmas greeting. I love cards that are simple with that wow factor. You could definitely make 100 of these cards to send to everyone on your Christmas card list.

Happy Stamping!

Whitney

Tukwila Paper Zone

Holiday Gift Tags With Fun Flock

2011-11-25T12:31:00.000-08:00

Hi All! I am so happy to share a fun product with you all, Fun Flock embellished gift tags! Do you remember Fuzzy Posters from your childhood? Well, this product is Fuzziness in a jar! Paper Zone carries it in a variety of colors and I want to share a project with you that I made with the red flock.

The supplies needed for this project are the following:

Red Fun FLock, Black Memento ink pad, Quickie Glue Pen, rubber stamp, gift tag (I made my own by cutting white cardstock to 2.5 x 4 inches and snipping 2 edges off.) and Copic Markers (I used BG10 and R46).

Step 1: Stamp you image with the back ink onto the tag. Step 2: With the red Copic marker color in the scarf and hat or where ever you want the flocking to go. This is done to ensur the flocking really stands out and looks solid as some of it will rub-off slightly after application.

Step 3: Using the Cool Shadow Copic Marker color the inside edges of the stamped image to give it some dimension.

Step 4: Using the Quickie Glue Pen apply glue to the red areas where flocking is desired.

Step 5: Pour some flocking over the glue and press down with fingers. This is a similar process as applying glitter, but you want to make sure and press the flocking into the glue to ensure a lot of it stays.

Step 6: Finish off tag by adding an eyelet and ribbon.

Happy Black Friday! As you are out shopping for gifts, don't forget about the wrapping and making the package as memorable as the gift! Making holiday gift tags is one of my favorite holiday traditions, it's something I look forward to every year!

Happy Holidays!

Christina

Simple Scallop Christmas Tree Card

2011-11-17T13:58:00.000-08:00

Supplies you'll need:

1 sheet Astrobrights Celestial Blue cardstock

1 sheet Esse Texture Verde cardstock

1 sheet white cardstock

scrap of Green Grocer cardstock or any kraft-colored cardstock

Colorbax Frost White Pigment ink pad

Kaisercraft round red rhinestones

Kaisercraft blue flower rihinestones

scissors

Fiskars cloud edging scissors

Aleene's tacky glue

Cut two 1/2" x 8 1/2" strips from the green cardstock. Scallop the whole length of both pieces with the scissors.

Cut the strips apart into 6 separate pieces for each layer of branches. Snip the ends of the pieces at an angle as in the photo for a more "branchy" look. The bottom layer will be 6 scallops long, then 5 for the next, then 4, 3, 2, etc. until there's just one tiny scallop for the top layer.

Rub just the scalloped edge of each branch section against the white ink pad surface to give it a "snowy" look. Let them dry completely.

Cut a 1/2" square from the brown bag paper. This will be the tree trunk.

Cut 5" x 1 3/8" piece from the white cardstock. Scallop the long edge. This will be the snow.

Trim the blue cardstock to 7" x 10" and score down the middle so the card will fold to 5"x7". The Score-It-All board sold at Paper Zone makes this part very easy.

Glue everything in place with the tacky glue onto the front of the card referring to the photo for guidance on the finished result. Attach a flower rhinestone for the "star" on top of the tree and round red rhinestones for the "ornaments" on the tree branches.

Happy Card-making!

The Beaverton Team

Christmas Tree Card

2011-11-14T12:23:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone

Even though I am still anticipating Thanksgiving and the yummy feast we will have, I have started creating my Christmas Cards. I tend to find multiple ideas and can never decide on the one I like best, so I end up making a few of each one. Here is one idea that I really liked. Using 1/2 of a circle of cardstock, you create a Christmas tree by scoring a few lines and then folding the cardstock on those scores.

Ingredients for this card:

5 inch circle of double sided cardstock - I used Crate Paper - Wintergreen
5.5x8.5 Cardstock for the base of the card
Circle Cutter
Adhesives
Embellishments

Step 1

Cut a 5 inch circle out of your cardstock and cut the circle in half.

Step 2

Starting at about 2 inches down on the flat side, score a line through the 1/2 circle to create a base of about 2 to 2 1/2 inches.

Step 3

Fold along the score line. Using the flat side as a guide, line up your paper and create a new score line.

Step 4

Fold the score in the opposite direction as the first score and repeat the process of lining up the flat side as a guide and scoring another line.

Step 5

Fold your score line in the opposite direction and follow the previous step.

Your Christmas Tree should look like the picture below. If you want the color scheme to run the opposite way, then just reverse the folds.

Step 6.

Using adhesive, glue down the folds on the tree. Place the tree on your card and embellish as desired. I used American Crafts Ribbon, a clear rhinestone, and a Merry Christmas stamp.

Happy Crafting

Sandra

Folded Tag Flower

2011-11-10T15:44:00.000-08:00

Hello from Portland! A few weeks ago our super creative sales associate Mary made this lovely card for our store and it's become one of our most asked-about samples. It's a simple flower embellishment made with gift tags! You can customize it about a million ways and it's a great way to use up scraps. Today we'll show you how to make it with some of our holiday 12x12's.
Here's what you need:2-sided paper, tag & circle punch, 1/8 & 1/16 hole punch, scissors, adhesive, bone folder, brads, pencil, and metallic marker (optional).

Start by punching 8 tags out of your paper. Our tag punch doesn't make a hole, so we punched an extra tag out of scrap, folded it in half, and punched a 1/8" hole at the top. We used this as a template so the hole would be in the same place on all the tags. Fold the tag diagonally, using the tag's scalloped top as a guide. The left edge of the tag should be right under the scallops. Flip it over and cut off the excess so it's square. Fold the right edge (the one you just cut) back over itself, and crease with a bone folder. You can use a metallic marker to outline the edge, so it really pops.Repeat 7 times!Punch a circle out of paper. If you're using scraps you can choose a coordinating color, but we had enough to punch a circle out of the same 12x12 we used for the tags. You can use any size circle punch, so long as it's big enough to hold all 8 tags, and small enough that it doesn't show over the top of the tag. Our circle is 2 1/2". A little tip from Mary: it's easiest to attach the tags in quadrants. She punched an extra circle out of scrap, folded it in quarters, and snipped the top edge of each corner. Lay this template over your circle and mark a line for each quadrant. She also put a hole in the center so we could pre-punch a 1/16" hole for the brad we'll add later. Put adhesive on the backside of the tag, underneath the scallops. We took the opportunity to try out our new Stamp Runner from Tombo, and it worked perfectly! Stick your tags to the circle--points towards the center (above the hole for the brad), and the diagonal fold up against the pencil marks.Once you've got 4 tags stuck down in your quadrants, you can fill in the empty space with your 4 remaining tags.Pop a brad in the center and you're finished! You can attach this to a card, a scrapbook layout, the top of a gift box, or......Make another tag flower with the folds on the opposite edge, and you can stick them back-to-back for a super cute ornament! We're can't wait to put up our tree and cover it with tag flowers!Happy folding!-Portland Paper Zone

Holiday Maple-Bacon Bread Pudding

2011-11-07T07:50:00.000-08:00

I LOVE BACON and this was so yummy, I had to share! It's great during the holidays for brunch or dessert and will have your guests begging for the recipe! Be warned - this is not your grandmother's bread pudding! Serves 8-10.

HOLIDAY MAPLE-BACON BREAD PUDDING
6 cups - 1/2" cubes stale bread
4 large eggs
3-1/2 cups - heavy whipping cream
1 cup milk
1 cup 100% pure maple syrup, divided
1-1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1-1/2 tsp. pure vanailla extract, divided
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened + more for preparing the baking pan
1/3 cup coarely chopped toasted pecans, plus more for garnish
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1-1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 lb. bacon, cooked, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly butter a 9x13 baking dish. Pat bacon with paper towel to remove excess grease. Crumble half (8 oz.) of cooked bacon and leave the other half (8 oz.) in strips. Set aside.

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in 3 cups of the heavy whipping cream, milk, 1/2 cup of maple syrup, brown sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, pecans, salt, and spices. Add the bread and stir well. Mix in melted butter. Let sit for 30 minutes so the bread will absorb the egg mixture. Stir in the bacon cumbles to the bread mixture.

Pour into the prepared dish. Bake about 1 hour - until firm when pressed in the center. Cool about 20 minutes. Serve with Maple Cream Sauce.

MAPLE CREAM SAUCE:
In a small saucepan, heat the remaining cream, syrup, brown sugar, vanilla and salt. Cook until the sauce just begins to bubble. Remove from head. To serve, cut the bread pudding into 8-10 pieces. After plating, drizzle with the sauce with 1/2 slice of bacon and a small amount of toasted pecans. TIP: You can crumble the rest of the bacon if you don't want to serve slices...

Give Thanks! A Yummy Thanksgiving Table-Setting...

2011-11-03T21:03:00.000-07:00

Hello PZ'ers!

Now that Halloween is over, it's time to jump right into one of my favorite holidays - THANKSGIVING! A time to get ready for some home cookin' and family fun. This week I decided to show you a fun and yummy table setting that any guest would love!

Materials you'll need:

- Assorted Sheets of Paper & Cardstock (Thanksgiving-Inspired/Complimentary fall colors)
- 1 Sheet of Handmade Paper (may vary in size)

- Adhesive (Glue dots or ATG Gun work best)

- 6.5" x 9.5" Clear Bag Sleeve

- Floral Wire

- Raffia (natural colored twine)

- String or colored twine

- Thanksgiving Stamp & colored inks
- Assorted buttons

- Resee's Pieces
- 1/16" hole punch

- Scissors

- Crafting blade or paper trimmer

- Tape

Step 1) Candy Corn Treat Bag

To make your candy corn treat bag, you will need your clear bag sleeve, raffia, string, adhesive and candies.

First, wash your hands and seperate your Reese's Pieces to only use the yellow and maybe a few brown candies. (Eat up the rest!)

Second, cut your bag at an angle (see the red line I drew just as a reference). You want the bottom to remain sealed and the top to be open.

Third, you will put clear adhesive on the edges and fold each half in. I used the ATG gun which puts the perfect amount of glue with no dry time necessary.

(It should look like a kite when you are finished.)

Now this is a trickiest part, you will then have a cone; however, there will be the inside of the bag (with the sealed bottom) where the candies will go and the inside where you placed adhesive (this will make a cone too). If you place your candies in the part that is not sealed at the bottom - unfortunately, they will fall out and you will have to eat them. Silly thing to make note of but I don't want anyone to be confused with the two.

You will then need to bundle up a handful of the raffia and trim it to size. I put a little piece of tape at the bottom to keep it all bundled together when I place it at the top of our treat bag.

Take some of the wire and wrap it around tight holding the clear bag closed and the raffia in place.

I took a small swatch of the handmade paper we will be using on our table mat to tie it all together. I used a glue dot to adhere it around the wire.

Tie it off with some string and raffia and you are ready to start the next step - the name tag!

Step 2) Name Tag

Take three colors of paper and trim them to size:

- 4" x 3" (red)
- 3.75" x 2.75" (gold vellum)
- 3.5" x 2.5" (green cardstock)

Adhere and center each piece on top of each other.

Stamp your message in the center and write your guests name on the back.

(Tip: Lightly rub the stamp pad on the edges to create a more vintage feel to the note.)

Punch two holes in the left corner of the card and string on some matching buttons. Tie it off and you are done!

Step 3) Table Mat

To tie the whole look together, I created a matching table mat that can be used once and tossed.

(Tip: Don't want to throw it away? Laminate it then put it in your Thanksgiving box for next year.)

I took two pieces of 12 x 12 cardstock to use as my base.

I glued them together overlapping about 5.5".

I trimmed one of our handmade paper sheets down to (4) 14.5" x 8.5" sheets. There was also remnants from the trimmed edges that I used for the top of the candy corn treat bag and to wrap the silverware in. Center and adhere to the brown cardstock base. There should be about a 2" border of brown cardstock.

Step 4) Assemble and enjoy!

Set your table, wrap your napkin and place your treats on your guests plate. You are now all done! I hope your friends will enjoy this tasty table setting as much as I do!

Happy November & Happy Crafting - Feel free to leave comments or send your own thanksgiving-inspired craft ideas!

- Stephanie

Kristy's Eerie Halloween Card

2011-10-28T16:39:00.000-07:00

Supplies you'll need:

Black card stock (any size)
Standard cover stock for templates
Colorbox White stamp pad
Cosmetic sponge (leftover from Halloween last year!)
White Jellyroll pen
Pow Glitter Paper
Marvey Circle punch
Double-sided adhesive (we love the pink ribbon ATG gun)
Small witch-on-broomstick, bat, or other flying image (think Santa for the upcoming holidays!)

** By request we have uploaded a PDF printable "C ityScape" template! **

1. From scrap stock, cut cloud template (a bit wider than your card) and cityscape template.

2. Position cityscape at bottom of card.

3. Position cloud template near the top of the card. Ink up cosmetic sponge on ink pad, and gently dab onto card, overlapping dabs to create first layer of clouds.

4. Move cloud template down a little and shift its position to one side or the other, and repeat dabbing.

5. Continue creating cloud layers, shifting template, turning template over, to create random cloud puffs, all the way down to the cityscape. Dab well between the buildings.

6. Remove cityscape template and gently dab along very bottom of card to create "fog".

7. Use white Jellyroll pen to dot lit windows.

8. Punch out moon, adhere with double-stick adhesive.

9. Position witch/bat image over moon & you are done!

Thanks to Kristy at the Seattle store for creating this great Halloween card design.

Have fun PZ'ers making this super cute Halloween Card!

- Seattle Paper Zone

Sparkly Spider Treat Box

2011-10-27T16:39:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick and adorable project for those special trick-or-treaters, or perhaps a party favor for your Holidays guests.

First, let’s make sure we have all our supplies:

Trimmer

12x12 Patterned cardstock

Glitter Paper

Martha Stewart spider punch

Jute, twine or ribbon

Adhesive/Glue

3x2 box

Next, we are going to take your 12x12 patterned cardstock and cut it to 3”x12” .

You are now going to take that strip and score it at 1”, 2.5”, 4.5”, 7.5”, 9.5” and at 11”.

This will allow it to wrap beautifully around your 3x2 box full of goodies.

Add your favorite adhesive to the 1” end, wrap around your box and adhere.

Now we are going to punch out a couple of spiders, using the Martha Stewart punch.

Take two of these spiders and put them back to back so you can see it nicely from both sides.

Adhere the “bottoms” and back legs together, leaving the head and front legs not adhered. This will allow you to now put the spider over the corner of your box topper.

We are almost done! Wasn’t this easy?!

Now tie some jute, twine or ribbon around the boxes topper.

Add a tag and WALLAH!

You are done!

Leave us a comment and let us know how your project turned out!! We’d love to hear about it!

XO,

Shoreline Paper Zone

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-26T09:51:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again for yummy Halloween treats! What better way to give your treats than in festive handmade packaging! This is a simple and easy way to present a gift. For this project you will need the following items:

Tag punch, Happy Halloween stamp, cello treat bags, 1/4" hole punch, black and orange rhinestones, black ribbon, black ink pad, and orange cardstock.

First, start by punching out your tag shape from the orange cardstock. Then, punch a ribbon hole at the top of the tag.

Next, stamp 'Happy Halloween' diagonally on the tag. I also inked around the edges of the tag to give a distressed look.

Now it's time to embellish! Place a few of the orange and black rhinestones in the bottom right corner of your tag in a cluster.

Now, place your treats inside one of your cello bags. I used homemade white chocolate and coconut cookies, but you could use Halloween candy, a candied apple, or anything else festive! Then using the black American Crafts sheer ribbon, tie the tag around the top of your treat bag.

....and voila! Your festive Halloween treat gift is finished!

Happy Halloween and Happy Crafting!

-Malyse

Fall Fanned Out Faces

2011-10-21T15:18:00.000-07:00

Today I am sharing with you all another great Fall decoration idea brought to you by our crafty team in Seattle: Fall Fanned Out Faces!

We found this one in the October issue of Martha Stewart Magazine! Check out her new Halloween and Holiday Craft lines at any of our Paper Zone Locations!

What you’ll need:
- Three 8.5x11 sheets of text weight paper (Black : OWL, Orange: PUMPKIN)
- Double stick tape
- Scissors
- Oval hand punch
- Floral wire or Pipe cleaner
- A sheet of orange, yellow, and black –OWL Only
- A sheet of green –PUMPKIN Only
1: Score your three sheets of 8.5x11 paper; scoring the 11” side from top to bottom.

2:Use your double stick tape to attach all three pieces.

3: Secure middle with floral wire or pipe cleaner.
4: Again use your double stick tape to close the remaining open spots.

5: For Brow and Eye; Download the available PDF for the Owl’s Brow and eye and print. Trace the cut out shapes on your black and yellow paper.

6: For beak; Fold your orange 8.5x11 in half, using the top corner cut a 90 degree triangle off the top. Keeping your paper folded, draw the shape of beak you would like and cut. Open beak and punch two nostrils.

7: Double stick tape Brow, Eyes and Break on your Fanned Out Face.
8: Hole punch the top of your Fanned out face and hang.

Happy Fall Crafting!

Christina

Pumpkin Lanterns

2011-10-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

I am happy to share with you a project brought to you by our talented staff in Seattle. They have created the most amazing Halloween decoration including today's project: Pumpkin Lanterns! Below are instructions on how to make your own
What you’ll need:
-Paper Lantern
-Pipe Cleaners
-One sheet of green paper
-Glimmer Mist - Tiger Lily and/or Sun Flower
-Color Box Chalk Ink Pad – Tangerine
-Green Floral Tape

1: Spray your lantern with Glimmer Mist, and let dry for ten minutes.

2: Rub your ColorBox Chalk ink pad from top to bottom all the way around. Let dry for ten minutes.

3: Fold your 8.5x11 in half. Draw a half heart shape facing the fold. In the middle of the half heart draw the tail end of a crescent moon and begin to cut your leaf.

4: For curly tendrils, spiral two brown pipe cleaners around a marker, then slide off.

5: For leaf and stem; Attach leaf and tendrils to the paper lantern by winding the ends of the pipe cleaners around the wire frame. For stem, roll a few sheets of newspaper into a tapered shape; cut off wider end, then wrap other end with green floral tape. Wrap another brown pipe cleaner around base of stem; secure ends to wire frame.

6:Hang lanterns with fishing line.

Thanks, Seattle Team, for sharing your creative ideas with us!

Christina

P.S. Stay tuned: Next up will be instructions on how to make the cute fan faces as seen in the first photo!

Boo Card

2011-10-14T13:58:00.000-07:00

It is almost Halloween. Time for costumes, cider, and candy. All those fun fall things: Pumpkins, apples, and scarecrows. I saw this super cute card and had to make it. This is definitely one of my favorites I have made in a while.

Ingredients for this Card

Black Cardstock - 5.5x4.25
White Cardstock -4.25x11
Cardstock - 8.5x5.5 scored at 4.25 for the card base.
Black Stamp Pad
Deckle scissors
Googlie Eyes
Boo stamp or Alphabet letters Stamp
Paper Trimmer
Adhesives

Step One

Using your deckle scissors, cut the white piece of cardstock across at different angles. Cut another notch out of one of the pieces for the googlie eyes. Using your stamp pad, ink around the edges of the white paper. Don't worry if you get any extra ink on the paper.

Step Two

Layer the inked paper strips on top of the black 5.5x4.25 piece of cardstock. Making sure you leave the notch for the googlie eyes.

Step Three

Using a paper trimmer. Trim the edges so your piece is around 4x5.25.

Step Four

Attach googlie eyes and stamp "Boo" under the eyes. If you don't have a Boo stamp, using alphabet letters would work great.

Step Five

Attach this piece to your base card. I thought it looked best on black. Then you can use a white pen to write your message on the card.

Happy Crafting

Sandra

Mustaches Everywhere

2011-10-11T13:22:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone

It seems like mustaches are all the rage right now, and we have gotten in some fun mustache items in our stores. Growing up, my father always had a curly que mustache, so I think this is doubly fun. We have mustache overlays, erasers, and keychains. Oh, and the keychain talks! It says "Hello There!"

As I mentioned, my dad has sported a curly mustache all my life, so I just had to make him a card using the overlay!

I think it is very fitting! What do you think?

Even my kids have made up a song to sing about his mustache. It goes:

I wake up in the morning
and check my 'stache
It's lookin' little sloppy
so I use some wax!

I have had a lot of fun with these mustache items, and I hope you do too!

Happy Crafting

Sandra

Ruffle Lace Card

2011-10-06T10:16:00.000-07:00

I wanted to do something special for my first blog and this is card that I've made over & over.

This is a basic concept for a card that can be modified for any paper and edge punch. I choose to use a black/white pinstripe paper, a complimentary paper, and a white lace edge.

Step 1 - from a 5x7 card, trim 1/4" off the back side of the card.

Step 2 - Using your choice of edge punch, punch along the front side of the card. In addition, cut 2 more 8" strips of 'lace' from your edge punch.

Step 3 - Cut a 4-1/4"x7 strip of decorative paper and adhere to the card.

Step 4 - Attched one of the strips of lace trim, slightly above the first edge on the card and slightly offset. The final strip of lace trim should be attached to the edge of the decorative paper and again; slightly offset.

Step 5 - Trim the edges and attach a row of 'bling' between the edge of the decorative paper and the lace trim.

Step 6 - Cut out a decorative frame, using a complimentary paper to your card along with a contrasting 'shadow'. In additon, cut out an oval with a contrasting shadow. Stamp the oval with your greeting of choice

Step 7 - Adhere the decorative frame to it's 'shadow' and the oval to it's 'shadow'.

Step 8 - Attach the oval shapes to the decorative frames

Step 9 - Attach the frame & oval set to the card. Slightly lift the lace edges to give more dimension to the card. Enjoy!

Be creative with your papers, edges, bling and greetings. It can be used all year long and is very 'girly'.

Debbie McGowan

GirlFest 2011

2011-09-30T08:41:00.000-07:00

Hello PZ Crafters!

I should probably introduce myself (I'm Stephanie) and I am a new blogger for Paper Zone. I began working here in August and have been enjoying every minute of it.

For my first post, I wanted to share my experience at the annual GirlFest event in Seattle. GirlFest is put on by the Girl Scouts of Western Washington and is a great event for girls of all ages to come and have a blast being a girl! At our booth, we did a Make & Take but not just any M&T - fancy, glittery and fun flower pins that were a huge hit!

Check out these creative girls who participated in our GirlsFest M&T...

If you want to make your own flower pin you'll need:

- Pin Backs

- Scrap Paper (different colors)

- Assorted Punches (we used flowers)

- Adhesive or Scrapbooking Adhesive Squares

- Jewel Candy Dots

First: Cut your adhesive square in half and peel off one side of the square. Then adhere the sticky side on the pin back.

Second: Punch out your paper shapes for your flower pin.

Third: Layer your shapes and glue them together until your design is complete. You can use the adhesive squares or glue. Regular glue works but you will need to be patient and wait for it to completely dry. I suggest a glue stick - it is a good alternative and fast drying. Have fun with layering the shapes - the possibilities are endless!

Fourth: Decorate your flower with jewel candy dots.

Finally: Peel off the adhesive cover on the opposite side of your square (which should be attached to your pin already) and press your flower creation onto your pin.

Voila! You are finished and have your own flower pin to show off!

Be creative and have fun!

- Stephanie

Folded Leaf Card

2011-09-26T19:39:00.000-07:00

In lieu of the brand new origami line we brought into all eight of our stores last week, I wanted to share with you a quick and easy way to make a unique card using paper folding techniques. All you need is paper, a little adhesive, and good paper-folding fingers.

You can use any size rectangle, but I used a 12"X12" piece of thin scrapbook paper and cut it in half to 6"X12". To make the first fold, take the bottom right corner and fold up.

Next, fold the top right corner down.

After that, unfold it. You should see an X shaped crease on the right half of your paper.

Flip the paper over and accordion fold the top right corner down to the center of the X.

Keeping the accordion together, fold the bottom right corner up along the first crease you made.

The leaf should reveal itself as you flatten it out.

Next, using some double sided adhesive, glue down this flap so the leaf stays in place.

After that, fold the leaf flap down. This will create the top third of your card.

Then fold up the rest of your paper to finish the tri-fold card.

Voila! Your card is done. All you need to do is write your message, put in an envelope, and mail!

You can add variety to your collection of leaf cards by using many different kinds of sizes and patterns. I used the new blue line of 7" Chiyogami to create a tiny card as seen above.

Happy Crafting!

-Malyse

Another Good Bye

2011-09-23T09:13:00.000-07:00

One of the things I loved about my job was the creativity and fun that was part of every day at Paper Zone. I'm speaking in past tense because sadly, this will be my last blog post because I have left my job at Paper Zone. I left my job, but not the people.

I will have friends for life from Paper Zone and I will always be PZ's number one fan. I will miss coming up with projects for the blog and sharing with you PZ's amazing products. As a beginner crafter, writing for the blog was a challenge, but it was honestly one of my favorite things to do. So, for my last post I wanted to share with you my personal favorites of the posts I created in a little walk down memory lane.

My first favorite was the 3D Halloween card as shown above. It's that time of year again and I had a lot of fun taking this 3D design that I had used in a previous Christmas card and translating it to Halloween. BTW, I really loved Sandra's pop up Frankenstein too, so check it out if you are looking for some spooky and fun ideas!

Last year we tried something called the 12 days of Christmas and boy that was a lot of work! We really challenged ourselves to come up with a new idea every day and I think we really delivered. My favorite post was the geoball because it was such a challenge to figure out! Once I made the ornament, I was pretty pleased with myself. You will be happy to know that we now sell kits for these in the stores so you don't have to go through all of the measuring that I did to create these.

Also during the 12 days I posted about Christmas Crackers (which I already bought at PZ for this year!!) and ended up with one of my most favorite posts: "Behold the Rat Ring". I loved it because people embraced my weird side and I was able to trick my husband into posing for a photo for it. It was a win win post! :)

In addition to creating projects, I really loved writing about amazing things I saw that made me think of Paper Zone.

Like I still loved the chalk art I saw on my trip to Victoria (which made me think of PZ sidewalk chalk).

And I loved, loved, loved attending CHA and being able to share the amazing things I saw with all of you. The products were great, but the paper dresses and some of the paper art was amazing!!

Lastly, posts that were very dear to my heart were when you let me share details about my wedding. You all are like my family so it was fun to share with you the planning, making the topping on my cake and making place cards for the reception. I'm not exaggerating when I say I was texting the girls back at the office moments before I went down that aisle. You were all there with me in spirit and I could feel the love all the way in Hawaii.

I hope that over the last couple of years of blogging all you readers can feel our love that we put into this blog. I know it will continue to get bigger and better, but will always, always be done out of love: love for Paper Zone, love for crafting and sharing fun project ideas and love for our customer and fellow PZ'ers. It has been an honor to write for you. --Kim

New American Crafts Nightfall Collection

2011-09-06T21:28:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! I am happy to share with you the most

recent offerings from American Crafts, the Nightfall Collection!

I made this card and envelope set and want to show you how easy it was to create.

First I selected the matirials for the card. I chose a few pieces of patterned paper, a Facets card in Terra Cotta and some of the dimensional stickers.

After that I cut down the paper for the background (the blue polka-dot paper) to 4x5.25, rubbed black ink around the edges and mounted it to the a2 Facets card.

Next, I created an embellishment for the card by punched an oval out of the yellow patterned paper and placing one of the dimensional stickers on it.

Then, I cut a strip from another piece of patterned paper to measure 1.5 x 5.25 inches and mounted that to the card before adding the embellishment.

Next, to add a sentiment I stamped "thanks" to a small yellow strip of paper. Then I glued down all the elements to the card.

Then, to spruce up the envelope I wanted to make a liner. This was really easy to do, I just traced the envelope flap onto the paper I wanted to use as the liner. Then cut it out and scored it so that it would fold easier.

Finally I added one of the chalk-board labels to the front of the card to finish it off. These labels are also part of this new collection that just arrived in stores; they are the coolest thing!

Happy (soon to be) Fall!

Christina

The Indie Bloom Collection

2011-08-30T13:07:00.000-07:00

We have recently received in a new 12x12 collection of paper from Basic Grey called Indie Bloom. This collection is bright and colorful and full of great patterns. The collection also has some great embellishments that coordinate so well with the papers.

I decided to make a few different gate cards with this collection, and am so excited on how they turned out. I used 3 different papers:

Senora - Tortilla

and Tres Chic.

I also used the canvas boarders and the layered stickers and for these cards. The canvas boarders are my favorite embellishment from this line, and I am going to have to buy some more paper so I can use more of them!!!

Here are the instructions to make a simple Gate-Fold Card.

Ingredients

1 - 11 x 4.25 piece of cardstock for your card base
1 - 3.25 x 4 inch piece of coordinating patterned paper
1 – 2 x 4 inch piece of coordinating patterned paper
1 - 1.5 x 3.5 piece of cardstock for a closure
1 – 1 x 3 piece of cardstock for stamping a message
1 magnetic disc – I used the Basic Grey Magnetic Discs.
Embellishments
Scoring tool

Step one

Score your 11. x 4.25 piece of cardstock at 3.5 inches and 9 inches. Crease the score lines.

Step 2

After choosing the pattern design you like best, adhere the 3.25 x 4 inch piece of patterned paper on the larger fold and the 2 x 4 inch piece on the smaller fold.

Step 3

Stamp your message on the 1x3 inch piece of cardstock. After this dries, adhere it to the 1.5 x 3.5 piece of cardstock. You now have the closure for the card.

Step 4

Place adhesive on the left half of this piece. Position and adhere it to the front of your card. Put the positive and negative sides of the magnetic disks together. Peal off the seals and place the magnetic disc on the right side of the closure and adhere it to the card. After this sets, the magnets will be able to detach from each other easily.

Step 5

Embellish your card as desired.

Happy Crafting

Sandra

Sack Monkeys in Shoreline

2011-08-23T13:27:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

What's better than a free event that features a parade, food, and a ton of vendor booths? An event with a Paper Zone booth making free sack monkeys!!
This weekend we joined in to Celebrate Shoreline! and had a great time doing it. The smiling group above walked in the parade handing out candy, coupons and PZ good cheer.

While some of us worked the booth helping little ones make their very own paper sack monkey. Nothing beats the smile of a child with a paper sack on their hand with a big monkey grin on it!

If you weren't able to make the event but would still like to monkey around, here are some quick instructions for making your very own Sack Monkey:

You will need a paper lunch sack (which Paper Zone sells in singles!), some construction paper, adhesive, and googly eyes or black stickers for eyes.

For your convenience we put together this template to use for your monkey ears and mouth. Start by printing and cutting the monkey muzzle. You can trace the ears on dark brown and light brown paper.

To start, cut the mouth in half and use adhesive runner tape on the back to adhere to the paper sack. You'll want to strategically place the mouth on the fold of the "bottom" of the sack so that when your hand is in the sack, the mouth can open and close.

Next, use the adhesive tape to glue the inner ear to the outer ear and then glue the ears to the back of the sack.

Using either googly eyes or black stickers, finish off by giving your little monkey eyes to see. And voila! you've got yourself a sack monkey.

This is a GREAT project for kids of all ages and you can take the project a step further by personalizing your monkey. . .in fact check out the Paper Zone Facebook page to see some interesting paper sack creations of Paper Zone past!

It was great to see everyone at Celebrate Shoreline! We had a fun time!

Kim

Candle Wraps!

2011-08-17T08:58:00.000-07:00

We just got the new POW! Micro Glitter Paper from American Crafts. This paper is made with a brilliant sparkle that never rubs off and it's backed with a super pliable, thin cardstock. This paper runs through a die cut machine easily and punches perfectly. We have 12 colors in store and 12 new ones on the way! The first thing I thought of when I saw this paper was candle wraps. I wanted to show you how to make both a simple wrap and a more embellished one.Here is what you will need for the embellished one: Two shades of purple glitter paper, one sheet of patterned paper, an edge punch, a hole punch, paper flowers, buttons, adhesive, a paper cutter, and a candle. I used a 6 inch tall candle that I've had for a while. It's a bit of an eye sore so I wanted to pretty it up.

First, I cut a 5 inch strip of the light purple glitter paper, put lots of double sided tape from my ATG gun, and rolled it onto my candle. I found this was the easiest way to prevent air bubbles and make sure it lays evenly.

Next, I cut out two 12" strips from the pattern paper from my large edge punch.

This pattern paper is double sided. One side is patterned and the other is solid. Then I used my ATG gun again to adhere the two strips together. More ATG tape and I used the rolling technique again to adhere the strips onto the candle.

Next, I punched out a few 1/2" circles from the dark purple glitter paper, layered them on purple flowers, and used a light yellow button for the center of the flower. The ATG tape worked perfectly for this. Then using a 3D glue dot (any dimensional adhesive would be fine) I adhered the flowers to the candle right on the pattern strip.

I felt like this candle needed a little something more. I cut out 2 1/2"X12" strips and glued them to the top and bottom of the candle. Voila! This eye sore is now pretty and sparkly!

I found these candles to be too plain. Here is a quick, easy, and simple way to make them pop! You will need two different glitter papers, an edge punch, and some colored 'wraphia'.

First, I cut a 3"X12" strip of the darker colored glitter paper and edge punched one side of it. This is for the largest candle. The other two candles I just adjusted the size of the strips according to their specific size.

Next, I cut a 1" strip in the gold and glued it down in the center of the larger piece. Then using some yellow wraphia, I tied it around the center of the gold and tied a simple knot. I repeated the steps with all three candles.

Happy Crafting!

-Malyse

Carve Your Own Rubber Stamp!

2011-08-10T08:36:00.000-07:00

One project that I have been wanting to try for years is making my own rubber stamp and I finally got to try it out! Paper Zone has everything you need to get started; Speedball's cutting tool and rubber block.

The first step in creating your rubber stamp is to draw out the image with a pencil and paper.

Then you can transfer the image to the rubber block by simple placing the paper on top of the rubber block and gently rubbing.
Next I went over the pencil transfer with a pen so the image could be more easily seen.
Next using the cutting tool, start cutting away the rubber so that only the image you want remains.
Then it's the moment of truth! Test out your new stamp to see how you did!
I wanted to cover the paper with the zig-zag pattern of my stamp, so I simply stamped it a few times on my paper.
Then, I wanted to make a tag out of the paper, so I simply cut the paper into a tag shape.
Gathered a few supplies.
And created a simple tag.
This was so much fun, I can not believe I waited so long to give it a try! If you are a stamper or simply love anything handmade I would recommend this project!
Happy Stamping,
Christina

I want to give a special thank you to Christi in our Seattle store for inspiring me. She made the most amazing stamps, if you are in Seattle, you must visit the store to see them!

Back-to-School Notebooks

2011-08-03T16:01:00.000-07:00

I can’t believe it is already August and time to start thinking of going back to school. Not only is the summer flying by quickly, but my kids are getting so big. My son, Braden, will be starting 5th grade this year and my daughter, Amanda, will be a sophomore in college.

Back to school means lots of shopping, but there is always time for some crafting, too! I got the idea for these fun notebooks from my friend, Hue, who works at our Shoreline store. They are not difficult to make, and can be personalized to match your kid’s personalities and your kids can even help make them. Even if you don’t have any kid’s, it is a great way to personalize some stationary for yourself.

As I was talking to Hue, she suggested even making some of these little notebooks out of sticky notes and being able to carry them around in your purse. I love that idea, too.

Ingredients:

1 8.5x11 legal pad
2 coordinating 12x12s
Scoring tool
Assorted Embellishments
Paper cutter
Adhesives

I used Basic Gray, Life of the Party 12x12s, Party Clips, and Ribbon Doilies

Step 1

Score the 12x12 that you want to use as the back of your notebook at 8 10/16 and at 8 14/16. Crease the score lines.

This piece creates the back of your notebook, the left edge, and about a 3 inch front flap. It will look like this, when your legal pad is placed inside.

Step 2

Cut the other 12x12 in half, giving you 2 - 6x12 pieces.

Step 3

Measure and mark one of the 6x12 inch pieces at 7 inches on the left side and 6 inches on the right side. Using your paper cutter, line up the marks and cut. Using a corner rounder, round the top left and right corners and the bottom right corner. This piece will be the pocket.

Step 4

Place adhesive along the inner edge of the other 6x12 inch piece and line up the outer edge of this piece with the outer edge of the other 12x12. Adhere the 6x12 piece to the front flap. You know have your notebook cover

Step 5

Place adhesive on the inside left edge (7 inch side) and bottom of your pocket piece. Adhere this to the top piece of the cover to create a pocket.

Step 6.

Place a generous amount of adhesive on the back of the legal pad. Center the pad on the inside, back cover. Make sure that the left edge of the pad is flush with the score line, so the cover wraps around the legal pad correctly.

Step 7

Embellish the notebook. I used the Ribbon Doilies along the front crease, and stamped my kids initials on cardstock for my embellishments. I also used the Party Clips as tabs for the notebook!

Happy Crafting

Sandra

Lunch Sack Stars

2011-08-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

The following idea comes from our crafty ladies at our Seattle store! Who would have thought that a simple paper sack could be used to create fun (and cheap!) decorations??? Molley and Chelsey will demonstrate how easily you can recycle a plain little sack to starry magic. . .

With a few ordinary paper lunch sacks and some imagination you can create these fabulous hanging flowers. Decoration Perfection!

What you will need:
6 paper lunch sacks
¼ inch hole punch
Scissors
Double sided tape
String

Step 1
Fold the bottom of a bag in on itself. Cut above the lower fold, removing the bag's bottom. Trim the top into a petal shape.

Step 2
Punch a hole about 1/4 inch from the bottom. Repeat process with five more bags. Apply double-sided tape to the front edges of a bag. Place another bag on top, and repeat to stack all of the bags. Draw a length of string through the hole in the stack; knot it loosely.

Step 3
Pull the top and bottom bags around to form a flower shape and join the end petals with double-sided tape; in our project we used Glue Dots for convenience.

Step 4 Shape your flower by gently opening each petal, until your flower has taken shape.

Step 5
Suspend your completed paper bag flowers by string. That easy!

* For a little for more colored pizzazz we used our Glimmer Mist – Just a few spritzes and sprays and you’ve got your hanging decorations matching the color theme!Have fun! Molly & Chelsey, Seattle Paper Zone

Laminate It!

2011-07-26T13:07:00.000-07:00

These past few days I have been spending a lot of time getting organized around the house. While going through my cookbooks, I found a serious of scraps of paper and print outs containing some of my favorite recipes. Of course, they are all food stained (as they have been heavily used over the years) and in some cases only readable by me. I decided to transfer them all to recipe cards that could all be organized in this cute little box.

Of course that doesn't solve the food stain problem that is bound to occur the next time I make these things, so I decided to laminate them. We just got in a great new thermal laminating machine from 3M. It laminates items up to 9" wide and it's very light weight, easy to operate anad economical.

To start my recipe card project, I trimmed the edges of the card ever so slightly so that, once laminated, it would still fit into the box.

I used these 4x6 laminating pouches

And placed the card in the pouch like so making sure it was centered in the pouch to ensure that all sides would seal properly.

Just turn the machine on and once the green "ready" light lights up, you're good to go.

Adjust the guides as needed and just slide your piece through the machine sealed side first.

It only takes a few seconds to feed through and you end up with a perfectly laminated finished piece!

I just trimmed the edges and now it is a perfect fit in my recipe box! Only 30 or so more to go!

Here's another fun and practical project for the laminating machine...
I decided to plant some herbs and found that the seed packs I purchased had all of this great information about care for the plants and also some great artwork.

Usually when I plant the seeds, the packages they came in tend to go missing almost immediately. To preserve that great information I cropped down the packages and laminated the pieces so I could put stick them in the soil and have an ongoing identifier for each pot.

I am loving this new machine! What other fun uses can you think of? - Amanda

Kids Craft Kits

2011-07-19T20:27:00.000-07:00

Just in time for summer, kids craft kits have arrived at Paper Zone! Because these kits are new products for us, I was anxious to try them, and, I admit, the label (above) sucked me in!

So, I stopped by the Seattle Paper Zone and picked up two kinds of kits: the "Foam Fliers" and the "My Hand Prints". Next, I obtained two willing participants (left), my super awesome nephews Dorian and Dominic.

The first kit we tried was the Foam Fliers. Being that you get 4 planes for $5.99, I really thought this was a great bargain. The kit includes 4 easy-to-assemble planes, a paintbrush and some paints. I must admit we had to pilfer paint brushes from the My Hand Prints kits so you may want to pick up some spare brushes in order for everyone to have fun at the same time.

Tip #1: put down some butcher paper to protect your work surface, although I found this paint really easy to wash off, which was great!

After quickly assembling the planes, we went to work painting. This is creativity at its best! I was actually pretty impressed that the paints were more than enough to cover the entire body of all four planes. . .no skimping here!

During this test, we proved that both the kids and the adults had a great time creating their signature flier.

I purposefully made mine look more childlike so that the boys didn't get too jealous of my plane.

After about 30 minutes of painting fun, we set our planes out to dry. We had some pretty impressive results (below). I would say the planes fly 'okay', but you can't beat the easy assembly, the painting fun and it was a great family activity.

Up next: My Hand Prints. I have to say right off the bat the boys' mom was excited by this one. Really, this is an adorable way to take a snapshot of a moment in time.

This kit was so easy and mess free! I was prepared for a sticky, gooey mess, but the clay came out of the packet in one lump, stayed in a lump, spread easily and was great to work with.

First off, pat the clay into a size that will fit the hand print (or paw print) of your subject. Next, carefully press the widdle hand into the clay. I helped by adding extra pressure to their small fingers and got an incredible print. You could read their palm from the imprint it was so clear!

Tip#2: the instructions don't provide any guidelines, but I'd recommend using a wax paper below the clay when pressing. The first go on the butcher paper stuck and we had a re-do. Luckily that was not problem.

Before setting the prints aside to dry, I quickly used the handle of the paint brush to poke a hole in the print so later it could be hung and displayed (ribbon included in kit!).

The instructions says the clay hardens in 2 hours by air drying, but we let the prints dry overnight and they were still a bit soft. Even though they were soft, they were ready to paint and any new impressions quickly disappeared so it was actually pretty neat.

More painting fun! The hand painting was just as fun as the the foam planes and I have to say the boys got a little artsy on me with these which was awesome! What was great about having both kits is we had a whole bunch of colors to choose from too.

And the end result. . . .look at those smiles!! Thank you to my testers: Little D and Big D for testing our products and reminding me how simple things can be so much fun. It was a great afternoon and morning of crafts that I hope you all can enjoy with your friends and family! --Kim

Life of the Party!

2011-07-11T13:46:00.000-07:00

We have had Basic Grey's 'Life of the Party' line in for a while, but it is so cute I had to make something with it. Here are directions on how to make a birthday card with matching gift bag. You will need the following supplies: 2 different pattern papers, solid cardstock, solid color bag, happy birthday stamp, ink pad, scissors, twine or ribbon, dimensional foam tape, hole punch, 1" circle punch, and the Epic Six Letterpress machine used to diecut the banners.

In the picture above you can see the whole array of papers from this line, basic cardstock, the $.99 birthday stamp, and the twine. Start off by cutting your green cardstock to 10"X7". Next, score it right in the middle so you make a 5"X7" folded card.

Next, using the Epic Six machine and the banner cutting dies cut out five of the smallest size; three of one pattern and two of the other.

Next, arrange the cut out triangles in an angular pattern acorss the length of your green 5"X7" card and adhere down using the double sided foam adhesive to give the banner dimension.
Then, punch two holes at either end of your card just above the line of the banner. Tie knots on the underside so it stays put.

After that, cut a small piece of solid cardstock to 1.5"X2.5" and stamp 'Happy Birthday' on it. I prefer to use VersaFine ink because it goes on the easiest and it stamps clearly.

Lastly, mount the sentiment with the foam tape and adhere it to the bottom right corner of the card and Voila!

Now it's time to make the matching bag! First, I printed out the word 'HAPPY' on pink text weight paper. I also cut out the second smallest size of the banners from the cutting dies.

Next, using your 1" hole punch, cut out the letters you printed making sure they are centered.

Now, mount the cut out letters using the same dimensional foam tape and adhere them to the little banners.

Next, we need to thread the twine through the banners. The dies do cut out a little notch which works great for flat ribbon. However, since I am using a fibery twine, it is much easier to punch holes and thread them through that way.

Again, punch small holes in the top of the bag so that the twine can thread through. Make sure to tie knots so it will stay put. I also used more foam tape to hold the banner onto the bag. Next, I stamped 'birthday' on plain red cardstock and attached it under the banner.

Here is the completed bag! One great way to personalize this is to spell out the gift recipient's name or any other sentiment on the banner.

Happy Crafting!

-Malyse

Saying "Good Bye"

2011-07-08T13:14:00.000-07:00

Today we are losing a member of our Paper Zone family and a frequent blogger on our site, Lauren. Lauren has created some of my personal favorite Paper Zone blog posts because she always does something unique with our product. I loved her post on the small canvases she made as gifts and the hair bands she made out of scrapbooking embellishments. And let's not forget the shrink plastic golden girls!

Lauren is spreading her wings and moving on to new adventures, but she will always have a home in our hearts and will always be a part of the Paper Zone family. We wish her the best of luck on all of her future endeavors and will miss her like crazy. --Kim

Bind It All!

2011-07-04T13:39:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! I want to share with you a few projects I made with the Bind it All machine by Zutter. This machine is new to Paper Zone and we are having so much fun finding ways to use it.

Here's what I made with it: A mini book with photos of my recent girl's trip to Vegas!This is how I made it:

First I gathered supplies. I used card stock, photos, adhesive, heavy plastic overlay for front cover, clip-board wood for back cover, Bind It All machine and paper cutter.

After I cut down the colored card stock and mounted the photos to it, I cut down black card stock to 7.5 x 5 inches for the pages. After adhering the mounted photos to the black pages I used the Bind It All machine to punch holes for the binding.

Next I put the pages and covers onto the binding rings and then I cut the excess binding off. Then I adjusted the Bind It All to the size of binding rings I used and compressed the binding to close and finish it.

Next I worked on the front cover. I used the Hambly Clearly Heavy Overlay; this product comes in 12 x 12 size and has a protective layer on the top and bottom to protect from scratches.

I used Hambly washi tape and letter stickers to embellish and create a title for my book.

Pretty simple, right?

Next, I made a little "To Do List" notebook to keep on hand and toss into my purse.

To create this I first formatted the pages on the computer and printed it out on basic copy paper. Next I cut the pages down to 3 x 5.25 inches in size. Then I punched the holes in the pages for the binding. I used a piece of patterned card stock and a Hambly overlay for the front and back covers.

Finally I used some rub-ons to decorate and create a title for this little book.

I can not wait to see what our creative staff and customers make with this new machine.
Happy Book Making!
Christina

Have a festive 4th!

2011-07-01T10:25:00.000-07:00

We love parties so much that for the upcoming 4th of July we are providing you with not one, but THREE fun and easy do-it-yourself decorations for your upcoming bbq or patriotic bash. Thank you to Ally in Salem for coming up with these delightful ideas and wonderful blog post!

First the Stars & Strip Windsock:

What you need:

Cardboard tube (I used a cut down empty oatmeal canister)

2 sheets of 8.5 x 11 blue paper (not cardstock)

1 sheet each of 8.5 x 11 white and red paper

4 - 2 inch white stars (or stickers)

6 - 1.5 inch white stars (or stickers)

Glue

Roughly 10" red, white or blue ribbon

Scissors

Hole punch

Red and white crepe paper streamers

For the tube:

Step 1: Cut both blue sheets to 6.5 x 11 (6.5 inches is the height of my tube). Cut the red and white sheets into 2 pieces each measuring 4.25 x 11.

Step 2: Glue the two blue sheets together on the 6.5 inch edge to create one long piece. Glue the red and white pieces the same way.

Step 3: From the white you will need 2 strips of long paper at 1.5 inches wide and two strips at .5 inch wide. From the red you will need 2 strips of long paper at 1 inch wide. Reserve the remainder of the red paper for later.

Step 4: Glue the 1.5 inch strips to the top and bottom of the blue paper, then the 1 inch pieces, then finally the .5 inch pieces to create the stripes.

Step 5: Liberally glue the back of the sheet and line up carefully on the tube before rolling the tube onto the paper.

Step 6: Liberally glue the larger stars and space evenly in the blue area, followed by the smaller stars.

To hang it:

Step 1: Punch holes in the top of the tube on two sides. For strength, punch two holes on each side, one on top of each other (kind of like a "vampire bite").

Step 2: Pull the ribbon through the top hole from the inside then around the outside and back inside to tie. Tie a strong double knot. Repeat on the other side.

For the streamers:

Step 1: Cut 5 pieces at 18 inches long from both the white and the red.

Step 2: Fold the red in half, lengthwise, then in half again. Repeat for the white. Gently hold the sides and cut down the middle to create narrower strips.

Step 3: Remember that strip of red paper? Here's where you need it! Run a line of glue along the bottom of the strip and attach the streamers, overlapping a tiny bit.

Step 4: Turn the streamer strip over and run a line of glue down the length. Roll almost into a tube, not pushing hard enough to let the glue secure to the other side. Gently put into the tube, not touching the sides. When the streamer strip is far enough inside that you cannot see the red paper, push down in the middle, then roll the tube while pushing to attach completely. "Fluff" up the streamers and TA DA; a fun and inexpensive way to add a little happy to your Fourth of July!

Now, the 3D Stars:

What you need:

Star template (click here)

Heavy cardstocks in red, white and blue (1 sheet each per star)

Scissors

Hole punch (I used the Making Memories Instant Setter)

Ribbon

Pen or pencil

Scoring tool (I used the Scor-It)

No glue needed!

Step 1: Trace stars onto each sheet of paper then cut out.

Step 2: Score down the centers of the red and blue stars.

Step 3: With all three stars in a stack, punch two holes through them all and lace ribbon through, tying in a bow.

Step 4: Fold the red and blue stars outward to "fluff" the star and VOILA! (See finished product in picture at the top of this blog)

To hang, simply punch a hole through the tops of the stars and run a length of ribbon through to tie around a branch.

And finally, the Star Garland:

What you need:

Sewing machine

White thread

Red, white and blue paper

Step 1: Cut or punch out 12 red 3 inch stars, 12 blue 3 inch stars, and 24 white 2.5 inch stars.

Step 2: Glue the white stars on top of the blue and red, turning to fill in the spaces.

Step 3: Using the sewing machine on a wide stitch sew down the middle of each star, red then blue, with around a 1 inch or 1.5 inch gap between.

24 stars make a roughly 7 foot garland.

And here is a picture with all of Ally's fun and festive creations!

4th July Bag

2011-06-29T13:51:00.001-07:00

Happy 4th of July…almost. The 4th of July is definitely my favorite holiday of the year. It has been since I was a kid. The only expectation for the day is to have fun: BBQ, friends, family, and some fireworks if you are lucky.

This cute little pocket bag is perfect to hold poppers or crackers to give to the kids at your 4th of July gathering. It would also be great to hold a host of other treats.

Ingredients for this bag:

1 blue 12x12 for the bag
Red cardstock for stripes
White cardstock for stars
Adhesive
Scoring tool
Paper cutter

Directions:

1. Make 3 scores on a 12x12 at 6.5 inches, 6 inches, and then 5.5 inches.

2. Rotate the paper by a 90 degrees, and make 2 scores at 8.5 inches and 4 inches.

3. Crease both of these later scores and apply adhesive to the reverse side along one outside edge. Fold over and seal.

4. Fold the piece in half along the middle score with the sealed side facing out.

Now fold at the two remaining score lines in the opposite direction.

Put a small amount of adhesive in the middle of the inside short edge and adhere both edges together. You should now have your bag.

5. Punch two small holes on each side of the top of the bag.

Cut two 6 inch pieces of ribbon. Knot ribbon (I double knotted it to make it more substantial) on one end.

Thread ribbon through each set of holes and knot the opposite end to make the handles.

6. Cut ½ inch strips of red cardstock to use as stripes.

Place them on the bag and trim.

Adhere with adhesive.

7. Punch out stars from white cardstock

Adhere the stars to the bag.

Fill your bags with goodies!

Happy Crafting and Happy 4th of July

Sandra

Candy Bar Party Favor

2011-06-28T13:47:00.000-07:00

Usually, when I think of a candy bar I imagine your typical Hershey bar or something along those lines. This weekend I had the opportunity to go to a wedding where they put a creative twist on the "candy bar" by having and actual bar full of candy. Each of us found our specific take out box that indicated our table. I happened to be at the Sour Patch Cherries table.

Upon arrival we discovered a huge bowl of Sour Patch Cherries candy at our table free for the taking. Not only was this a fun and different favor, but each table had their own type of candy so we could all wander from table to table and meet other people along the way and collect our goodies - it was a great ice breaker.

Of course there was another table of supplemental candies just to make sure there was something for everyone.

This was such a simple but really creative idea, especially for anyone with a sweet tooth! -Amanda

Ooh-la-la!

2011-06-24T11:47:00.000-07:00

Every time we participate in Wedding Shows, people go absolutely nuts over this lingerie shower invitation. So many times, I've seen people walking down the crowded Convention Center aisles and watch their eyes zone in on this invite, and then bee-line it right to our booth. It's funny to watch, but I understand their reaction because it's super cute and a little risque at the same time - a perfectly playful and girly invitation.
And it's great for a bachelorette party or lingerie shower. While it looks like it might be complicated to create, it's actually pretty easy as long as you have our template, one piece of 8.5" x 11" lightly-colored cover weight paper, one black sheet of paper, and some ribbon and rhinestones for embellishments.

You will start by printing out the template on a piece of plain scrap paper, you will be cutting this out and tracing it on your nicer cardstock. I'll break the invite down step by step to make it easier for you.

Step 1: After printing the template, cut it out on the dotted lines and then trace it on your lightly colored paper; then cut out that shape that you just traced. This will be the base of your card (the "skin" part).

Step 2: Now, you want to take your cut out piece and fold that in half, since this part is the base of your card. I used a Scor-It Board to make sure I got a nice clean fold, as shown here:

Step 3: Take your template and now cut along the solid lines, this is going to create the template shapes for the underwear pieces.Next, line up your template on your black paper and trace those pieces.

Step 4: Cut out the traced out bra and panty piece and adhere the bra to the front of the card like so:

Step 5: Adhere the panty party to the back of the card and cut out little strips of paper and some ribbon to make the straps of the bra. Adhere the ribbon right on top of the black strip, and then adhere that to the card.

That's all there is to it! Easy, right? And once you have the templates cut out, you can make a bunch of these really quickly since it's just tracing and cutting. The best part of making this card is personalizing it and decorating it. I added some little cute ruffle ribbon to the back of mine to spruce it up.

I also LOVE the idea of blinging up the straps with rhinestones & glitter and switching up the color combos of the paper. Using some patterned paper for the bra and panty part would be super cute with some lacey ribbon. This is the kind of card that will make your phone start ringing with people asking you how you made it and wanting the template. Enjoy, and have fun with this one! --Lauren

Wood Veneer Paper is Here!

2011-06-22T13:00:00.000-07:00

Move over pulp, there's a new paper in town and it's simply made out of wood! One of our newest products is wood veneer paper and the possibilities for new and exciting creations using them are endless! Below, Whitney (our wonderfully talented Tukwila Store Manager) shares some fun samples they created using this new product. I also love ideas found on Oslo Press, which has a whole range of invitation ideas using the wood paper combined with traditional letter press. I am so excited to see what all of our creative peeps make with this fun new product! --Kim

Last week we got in this fun new paper. It is real wood veneer backed with paper. You can do most of the same things with it that you can do with thick cardstock. It comes in 8 1/2x 11 sheets, 2 colors - Cherry and Birch, and 3 weights.

Here in Tukwila, we had to get out all of our favorite tools and try it out! First of all, we could trim it in our paper cutter just like regular paper - no power tools needed here!

Look at all the fun things we were able to do with this paper.

Stamping:

On this sample, we stamped on the wood with Colorbox Chalk Inks. It took no time to dry and you can still see the wood grain. We had to accent it with one of our other favorite product - Liquid Pearls.

Wood Burning:

Lisa who works at our store has all sorts of hobbies, including wood burning. She brought in her wood burning tool and we tried it out. Just look at the results! She freehanded this design, but we were also able to stamp a design and follow the lines with the wood burning tool.

Embossing and Glimmer Mist:

Finally, we got out the Letterpress machine and put it to work. On this example, we were able to emboss the paper with an embossing folder and make the fancy swirl design. Then we die cut the circle shape and spritzed the finished piece with Tiger Lily Glimmer Mist. It is so shimmery in person and again you can still see the wood grain.

I am sure there are hundreds of other things you can do with wood paper - would love to see what you come up with.

Whitney, Tukwila Paper Zone

Ladybug Party!

2011-06-20T09:23:00.000-07:00

My daughter's 2nd birthday is coming up and we decided to do a ladybug theme. Pictured above is an invitation and a party favor box. These were really fun and easy to make and I think these could transfer over to all different kinds of kids parties. The possibilities are endless!

First, I will show you how to make the invitation.

For this you will need, a circle cutter, PZ Facets Scarlet cardstock and square envelopes, an ATG or double sided adhesive, small googly eyes, black cardstock and paper, vellum, mini glue dots (not pictured) and a small circle punch.

First, using your circle cutter, cut out two 4" circles from the red cardstock, one 4" circle from the vellum, and one 2" circle from your black cardstock.

Next, cut one red circle and the vellum circle in half. Stack the halves on top of each other and carefully cut an angled corner off only one end with scissors.

After that, using your mini glue dots, glue two googly eyes onto your 2" black circle.

Cut out about 8 small circles using your circle punch from the black paper and glue them on the top of your cut red circle in a random pattern. Above you can see what you will need to attach all the layers together; a 1/16" hole punch and small black brads.

The trick for this step is to use a small clamp to hold the pieces together while hole punching. Use your hole punch and make two small holes near the inside of the wings, just below the head.

Place the brads through the holes and flare out the backs to hold the layers together.

Lastly, I cut small strips of the black paper and glued them on the back with double sided adhesive to give the effect of antennae.

The brads allow for the wings to spread out. You can write the party information on the bottom red circle. When the wings are opened you can see the information. If you do not have enough room, you can always write on the backside. This invite fits perfectly inside the coordinating 5.75X5.75 square PZ Facets Scarlet envelope.

For the party favor box, you will use a lot of the same items and a couple new ones; black cardstock and paper, small circle punch, ATG/double sided adhesive, sharp scissors, small red take-out container, black pipe cleaner, large googly eyes, pop-up glue dots (not pictured) and black shredz.

Start by punching out several small circles from the black paper and glue them around the outside of the take-out container in a random pattern avoiding the flaps.

Next, using a large googly eye as a guide, trace around the eye and free-hand the shape of eyelashes. Carefully cut this out with your sharp scissors. Make sure to cut out two since you will need one for each eye.

Use your double sided adhesive to glue the googly eyes to the cut out eyelashes. Then, use your pop-up glue dots to glue them onto the top side of the take-out container.

Next, use one of the small black circles and cut off the top of it. Glue it below the eyes so the ladybug has a mouth. Then bend your black pipe cleaner in half and curl up the sides into a slight corkscrew shape. I used small red puffballs for the tips of my antennae, but you could put anything you like on there.

You can fill the inside of the box with shredz and either candy or toys or any other little goodies as the party favors. This is a great little gift for the kids to take home!
Happy Crafting!
-Malyse

Twisted Easel Card

2011-06-17T10:35:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone

Father’s day is upon us, which means that if you haven’t created your Father’s Day cards yet, it is time to get started! Here is a unique card that is quick and simple, and can be made just in the nick of time.

Ingredients for this card:

*1 5x10 piece of cardstock for the base of the card –I used Bazzill Basics 12x12 in Fawn.
*2 4 ¾ x 4 ¾ coordinating pieces of cardstock for the front and bottom of the card. I used Making Memories –12x12 Brun Antique Bees Handwriting
*Scoring Tool
*Adhesive
*Embellishments

Step One

Score the 5 x 10 inch cardstock in half at the 5 inch mark. Score the top panel diagonally from the top corner to the inside lower left corner. Fold in on the scoreline to create two triangles.

The front of the card should look like this.

Step Two:

Decorate your 4 3/4x 43/4 pieces of cardstock to use as the front and base of the card.

The decorations for the base of the card need to include some embellishments to use as a stopper to hold the front of the card in place. For my card, I used 3 small brads as a stopper.

Step Three:

Place adhesive on the lower triangle area as shown.

Step Four:

Rotate the front piece of the card 90 degrees to the left and adhere this piece of the card to the lower triangle. The front piece will be sidewise until folded down to create the front of the card.

Step Five:

Adhere the bottom piece to the base of the card, making sure that your stoppers are in line to hold the front of the card up.

Happy Crafting

Sandra