Book Review - Collage Lost and Found by Giuseppina Cirincione

reviewed on papercrafts.bellaonline.com

Collage Lost And Found: Creating Unique Projects With Vintage Ephemera

by Giuseppina "Josie" Cirincione
Publisher: North Light Books (May 2006)
ISBN:1581807872; Paperback book: 128 pages
Reviewed By Kim M. Bayne, Paper Crafts Editor for BellaOnline.comproduct
Rating: ★★★★★

Whether you prefer to manipulate metal, glass or paper or express your creativity through jewelry, home décor or greeting cards, you’ll find something new to oogle in this paperback by Josie Cirincione. It expands one's definition of paper crafts and collage beyond the ordinary.

Like many vintage collage artists, Josie is fond of layering imagery from the early to mid-20th Century, and I couldn’t help but notice her "Rosie the Riveter" obsession with hardware and electrical store finds. Then there are the enticing works in need of soldering irons. Projects range from a short 30 minutes for pulling together a simple domino pendant (page 86) to an afternoon mulling over vintage photos to embellish an elaborate metal family album (page 66).

One of my favorite projects is "A Preference for Leather" (page 116), a set of framed images mounted on a leather band. By sewing soldered microscope slides to an eyeleted scrap of leather, you can create a unique wristband for a night out with the girls. I pondered the idea of collaging photos of my daughter’s female relatives; aunts and grandmas and maybe even me, to combine the stories of one’s heritage with the timelessness of leather. It’s a thoughtful gift, whether the recipient is partial to Bohemian couture or loves sporting a wearable scrapbook.

Another fave project is "Magnetic Attraction" (page 118), a message center built of galvanized sheet metal and glass. In search of wall art to fill those odd and bare places? Create a thin horizontal familial grouping, complete with small magnets for posting notes. I do wish the author had provided dimensions of the pieces of metal and glass she used, since I wanted to follow her example. I’ll have to take a wild guess based on the pictures and proportions. If you decide to make this, be mindful of glass thickness, since magnets may not adhere if the overlay is too thick. While making the magnets, consider substituting adhesive page pebbles for the glaze, depending on the look you wish to achieve.

On pages 120 and 121, the author reproduces some vintage photographs, postcards and playing cards for use in assemblage. Although this section is titled "Collage Clippings," I wouldn’t suggest cutting out the ephemera. Take your book to the nearest copy center and make high quality single copies for your personal use, as suggested by the publisher. Photocopies are more versatile anyway, especially if you like playing with image transfers (pages 48-49).

Most collage is made for telling a story, and you’ll find several examples of artistic pictorials in "Collage Lost and Found." From paper shipping tags masquerading as historical bookmarks to tiny mint tins recycled into ancestral pocket shrines, this book is fun to browse even if a glue bottle is nowhere in sight. Dying for an excuse to rummage through your father’s desk drawers for old receipts? Go buy this book.

Product Resource Guide
· Buy Collage Lost And Found: Creating Unique Projects With Vintage Ephemera at Amazon.com
· Making Memories Clear Page Pebbles - Large Round
· Black & Decker CI500S Dual-Temp Soldering & Craft Iron
· Lead-Free Solder
· Browse for more Paper Crafts Books at Amazon.com

Article Description: Breathe life into your paper crafts style by expanding your definition of collage.

Project - Celebrate Fall with a Faux Copper Card Topper

I love the fall. Leaves turning colors. Greens blending into coppers and tans. It's the deep, rich palette of the season that calms me. Thanksgiving in the United States will soon be here and I'm inspired to create a few handmade invitations for a dinner party.

Copper is one of my favorite ways to express autumn, and I love its look as leaves. Unfortunately, when I use real copper -- even a small bit -- for an embellishment, the greeting card often feels heavy, floppy or lopsided. I've decided to fake it by substituting mirrored paper. Here's how I did it.


Fake Copper Leaves Embellish a Fall Card (click to enlarge)

Materials & Tools
· White Ink Jet Textured Note Cards with Envelopes, 4.25 by 5.5-inch, Heavyweight, by Avery
· Copper or burnt orange metallic or mirror-finish paper
· Scrap piece of card stock for mounting the stamped leaves
· Muted green handmade textured paper
· Deep purple or maroon colored card stock
· Woodblock Stripe Decorative Paper - Copper on Sienna, as found at Paper Mojo
· Gray cardstock
· Small leaf skeleton rubber stamp, like 1.5-inch size by Susan's Delusions
· Black solvent inkpad, like Jet Black by StazOn
· Glue stick
· Good pair of comfortable, teflon-like coated scissors, like Velvet Touch Scissors by Armada
· Paper trimmer, like 12" Portable Paper Trimmer by Fiskars
· Craft knife
· Metal ruler or straight edge
· 1/2-inch black foam adhesive squares, Peel and Stick, by Therm O Web

The Steps
(Click to enlarge images. Click back button to return to article.)

1. Using a template program to line up your text and an inkjet printer, add a Thanksgiving or other seasonal greeting to the inside of a note card.
2. Cut a small piece of copper-colored mirror paper, no bigger than 4 by 4 inches. Using permanent black ink, rubber stamp three small skeleton leaves on the paper...yes, you're looking at unmounted stamps. Notice that I stamped a bigger leaf on the paper, too. I wanted to compare the looks to see which leaf size and shape I preferred.


3. Mount the copper paper on card stock for stability then carefully cut out the leaves. There's something about the stark black ink on the coppery paper that fools the eye into seeing real metal.
4. Cut a 5 by 6 inch piece of muted green handmade textured paper. Glue to the front of the note card, using a straight edge and craft knife to trim the excess. For more texture, try decorative paper with bamboo or falling leaves designs.
5. Cut a 3 by 4.5 inch piece of deep purple or maroon colored card stock, depending on your color preference. Glue to the front of the green paper.
6. Cut a piece of 1.75 by 4.5 inch piece of copper striped sienna colored decorative paper. Glue to the front of the purple card stock.
7. Cut a piece of 3 by 3 inch gray cardstock. Glue to the front of the copper striped paper.
8. Gently tear the edges of the layered papers. You can also tear before gluing, but I liked the odd edges that came from peeling and tearing the glued layers.
9. Using foam squares, mount each of the leaves in place on top of the gray cardstock. I positioned the cut-outs in a circle to give the feeling of wind blowing fallen leaves.
10. Now slip your finished card into the envelope and send it on its way.

---

Product Resource Guide
· Most project photos taken with a 5.0 MP resolution KODAK EASYSHARE DX4530 Zoom Digital Camera
· Note Cards with Envelopes
· Mirror-finish paper
· Stripe Decorative Paper
· Black solvent inkpad
· Foam adhesive squares
· Bamboo leaf paper
· Falling leaves paper
· Browse for Paper Crafts Books at Amazon.com

Article Description: Like the look of copper but not the weight? Adorn the front of a Thanksgiving card with lightweight leaves made of your favorite metallic paper.

Book Review - Greeting Cards Using Digital Photos by Cheryl Owen

reviewed on papercraftseditor.blogspot.com

Greeting Cards Using Digital Photos: 18 Step-by-Step Projects for Uniquely Personal Greeting Cards

by Cheryl Owen
Publisher: Martingale and Company (August 2006)
ISBN:1564777162; Paperback book: 96 pages
Reviewed By Kim M. Bayne, Paper Crafts Editor for BellaOnline.comproduct
Rating: ★★★★

If you’re into quick and easy cards yet still wondering what to do with the hundreds of digital photos you’ve snapped this year, buy a copy of “Greeting Cards using Digital Photos.” Paper crafter Cheryl Owens outlines eighteen step-by-step projects that take little time but produce pleasing results. Relying on basic card-making techniques throughout (templates and deckling edges, for example), the 95-page paperback is a solid introduction for the beginning digital paper crafter. As a refresher for the experienced card maker, the book includes reminders of how to enlarge shapes using templates, properly use a craft knife, and create a deckle edge.

For the most part, Owen sticks to standard uses for typical embellishments, like using thin wire, instead of thread, for beading on the “Beaded Celebration Card” (pg. 42). On rare occasions, the author uses something new. For example, the Row of Rectangles hole punch, used in the “Filmstrip Bookmark” (pg. 50), isn’t in my collection, but it might be in yours.

“Bookmark,” you say? That’s not a card. Granted, there are few fun deviations from the primary task, and you can always incorporate them into scrapbook pages or mount them on a card. The “3D Specs” (pg. 46) are really cute, so think about transforming them into a beach party invitation.

The author has a sense of humor, too. One of my favorite card creations was the “Bobble-head Pet” (pg.54). Owen used a wound piece of wire to create a spring on which to mount the head of a white dog. Suspended over a checkerboard-like green and yellow background, the pup’s head completes the three-dimension look while wiggling hilariously over a body cut from a duplicate photo.

For a future edition of this paperback, I’d suggest a few enhancements.
1. I’d like to see more card variations pictured at each project end. For example, the “Birthday Truck” (pg. 32), “New Baby” (pg. 66) and “Retirement Landscape” (pg. 78) cards each show one variation on a theme, but I hungered for more.
2. The materials and tools lists are a bit generic, short of most details needed to procure the exact items featured in these projects. Who makes that cute tulip paper punch used in the “Mother’s Day Garden” (pg. 26)? The book doesn’t say. The one-page resource list on page 94 lacks the same attention to detail. Sure, I could probably search for something similar on the Web, but the author could have saved me some time. Owen encourages substitutions, but I can imagine wanting to have some of the real stuff on hand in a few cases in order to reproduce certain treatments, regardless of the card design.

If you’ve done any amount of paper crafting at all, you already own most of the supplies (scissors, rulers, paper and cardstock, adhesives and paint) needed to make more than a few of the cards in Owen's book, so don’t worry – you won’t need to make a major investment in new accessories to get started. Most of the projects can be completed in an hour or less. If you favor a more ornate style, like shabby chic, don’t discount this book. Think of each of the projects as the perfect starting point for something more elaborate, using it to jump-start an enjoyable paper crafting afternoon.

Product Resource Guide
· Buy Greeting Cards Using Digital Photos by Cheryl Owen at Amazon.com
· Browse for more Paper Crafts Books at Amazon.com

Article Description: Try something different with your digital photos. Print them out to use in your next greeting card project.

Project - Alter a Spiral Notebook

Spruce up a small spiral notebook by replacing and decorating the cover.
by Kim M. Bayne



Has this ever happened to you? You're out shopping and you suddenly think of a great crafts project. But you don't have anything to write on. So you buy the nearest thing -- a boring-looking spiral with plain notebook paper so you can jot down and remember your idea.

Several years back, I did just that. Now I keep that notebook in the car so I can sketch ideas anytime during car trips when a family member is driving.

But the other day, I looked at it closely. It was dog-eared, worn and sorry-looking. I didn't want to start over with a new sketchbook and I felt this one needed a bit of sprucing up.

My style? Very eclectic. I love mixing earth-tones with a surprising splash of modern metal -- so you'll notice I added silver beads and silver ribbon.

And while I stuck mostly with blues and neutrals, I couldn't resist throwing in a bit of olive-drab satin ribbon on the spiral plus a hint of gold with a star-shaped paper clip.

Here's what I did to my sketch book's front cover. Enjoy.

Altered Spiral Notebook

Materials & Tools
* Mead Fat Lil' Notebook, spiral-bound with 200 ruled sheets, sheet size 5.5 by 3.5 inch
* 1 piece of heavy-duty plain cardboard, discarded from packaging
* 1 piece of 80 lb. uncoated scrapbooking paper, like packages of 12 by 12-inch sheets by Provo Craft
* 1 piece indigo blue 80 lb. cardstock
* 1 piece of imprinted beige canvas ribbon with the word "inspire", 3/4-inch wide by 4.5 inches long
* 1 piece of silver metallic wire-edged ribbon, 1/2-inch wide by 5.5 inches long
* Assorted decorative, shaped metallic paper clips, with shapes like spirals, stars, etc.
* 1 scrap of brown rope netting
* 5 tarnished, flat silver beads or bead spacers, averaging 1/4-inch diameter each
* 3 discarded, dirty keys
* Assorted ribbons and strings, each about 4 inches long
* An extra 10-inch piece of brown string, for weaving through the netting
* Permanent bond glue stick, like Glue Stick Clear .70 oz by MANCO
* 1/2-inch wide double-stick tape, like Terrifically Tacky Tape by Art Accentz/Provo Craft
* 3/16-inch diameter mini glue dots by Glue Dots International
* 1/4-inch diameter pop dots by All Night Media, for adhering the silver beads
* Handheld paper punch, like 1/8-inch Round Punchline Punch Item #52400 by McGill
* Ordinary pencil, for marking where to cut on the cardboard and paper
* Jewelry pliers for bending the notebook spiral, for both removal and reattachment
* Good pair of comfortable, teflon-like coated scissors, like Velvet Touch Scissors by Armada, or a craft knife and a straight edge

The Steps
(Click to enlarge images. Click the back button to return to this article.)
1. Using the pliers, bend and remove the spiral from the notebook. Carefully put the notebook aside so you're able to put it back together later.


2. Use the original notebook cover to measure and cut a replacement cover out of the plain heavy cardboard, which you'll decorate. You can also decorate your original cover, if you wish. I chose to replace mine because it was plastic and I wanted a paper surface to work on.

3. Apply glue stick to the back of the scrapbook paper and adhere to your new cover.

4. Tear across the indigo blue cardstock to create an artsy edge. Use the glue stick to attach the cardstock on top of the scrapbook paper.


5. Turn over the notebook cover and use your scissors to trim the extra paper and card stock to fit the cover.

6. Use the hole punch to create holes in the new cover -- use the old cover to help line up where the holes need to go. Remember to hold steady and punch hard so you can go through all layers.


7. Apply flat ribbons to the front of the cover with the tacky double-stick tape.


8. Add the paper clips to the cover edge.


9. Position the keys on the cover over selected holes. Once you decide where you want to position the keys, put the notebook back together.


10. Wind the spiral through the new cover, stopping to put the keys on the spiral to hold them in place. Remember to use the jewelry pliers to bend the ends of the spiral again so the cover stays in place.

11. Hold the keys on the cover using the glue dots -- see the photo for a close-up of one key with the tiny glue dots on its back.


12. Randomly tie pieces of ribbon and string to the spiral -- one or more pieces of ribbon for each cover hole. To hold them securely, use a square knot. If you're concerned about the fibers coming loose, use a tiny dot of tacky glue on each knot.


13. Using the pop dots, attach the silver beads to the cover. If you don't like the 3D look of the pop dots, use flatter glue dots to adhere the beads.


14. To tie the scrap of brown netting to the cover, punch a few holes through the cover (close together) and tie off with brown string. You can untie/re-tie a few pieces of ribbon or string near the spiral to anchor the left-hand side of the netting, too. Finally, if you have any left-over brown
string, you can weave it through one edge of the netting, like I did here.


Remember to go back up to the top of this article to see the finished notebook again. For a variation on the same theme, look below.

---

Credits
* Most project photos on this page were taken with a 5.0 MP resolution KODAK EASYSHARE DX4530 Zoom Digital Camera

Project - Alter a Spiral Notebook

Has this ever happened to you? You're out shopping and you suddenly think of a great crafts project. But you don't have anything to write on. So you buy the nearest thing -- a boring-looking spiral with plain notebook paper so you can jot down and remember your idea.

Several years back, I did just that. Now I keep that notebook in the car so I can sketch ideas anytime during car trips when a family member is driving.

But the other day, I looked at it closely. It was dog-eared, worn and sorry-looking. I didn't want to start over with a new sketchbook and I felt this one needed a bit of sprucing up.

My style? Very eclectic. I love mixing earth-tones with a surprising splash of modern metal -- so you'll notice I added silver beads and silver ribbon.

And while I stuck mostly with blues and neutrals, I couldn't resist throwing in a bit of olive-drab satin ribbon on the spiral plus a hint of gold with a star-shaped paper clip.

Here's what I did to my sketch book's front cover. Enjoy.

Altered Spiral Notebook

Materials & Tools
· Mead Fat Lil' Notebook, spiral-bound with 200 ruled sheets, sheet size 5.5 by 3.5 inch
· 1 piece of heavy-duty plain cardboard, discarded from packaging
· 1 piece of 80 lb. uncoated scrapbooking paper, like packages of 12 by 12-inch sheets by Provo Craft
· 1 piece indigo blue 80 lb. cardstock
· 1 piece of imprinted beige canvas ribbon with the word "inspire", 3/4-inch wide by 4.5 inches long
· 1 piece of silver metallic wire-edged ribbon, 1/2-inch wide by 5.5 inches long
· Assorted decorative, shaped metallic paper clips, with shapes like spirals, stars, etc.
· 1 scrap of brown rope netting
· 5 tarnished, flat silver beads or bead spacers, averaging 1/4-inch diameter each
· 3 discarded, dirty keys
· Assorted ribbons and strings, each about 4 inches long
· An extra 10-inch piece of brown string, for weaving through the netting
· Permanent bond glue stick, like Glue Stick Clear .70 oz by MANCO
· 1/2-inch wide double-stick tape, like Terrifically Tacky Tape by Art Accentz/Provo Craft
· 3/16-inch diameter mini glue dots by Glue Dots International
· 1/4-inch diameter pop dots by All Night Media, for adhering the silver beads
· Handheld paper punch, like 1/8-inch Round Punchline Punch Item #52400 by McGill
· Ordinary pencil, for marking where to cut on the cardboard and paper
· Jewelry pliers for bending the notebook spiral, for both removal and reattachment
· Good pair of comfortable, teflon-like coated scissors, like Velvet Touch Scissors by Armada, or a craft knife and a straight edge

The Steps
(Click to enlarge images. Click the back button to return to this article.)
1. Using the pliers, bend and remove the spiral from the notebook. Carefully put the notebook aside so you're able to put it back together later.


2. Use the original notebook cover to measure and cut a replacement cover out of the plain heavy cardboard, which you'll decorate. You can also decorate your original cover, if you wish. I chose to replace mine because it was plastic and I wanted a paper surface to work on.

3. Apply glue stick to the back of the scrapbook paper and adhere to your new cover.

4. Tear across the indigo blue cardstock to create an artsy edge. Use the glue stick to attach the cardstock on top of the scrapbook paper.


5. Turn over the notebook cover and use your scissors to trim the extra paper and card stock to fit the cover.

6. Use the hole punch to create holes in the new cover -- use the old cover to help line up where the holes need to go. Remember to hold steady and punch hard so you can go through all layers.


7. Apply flat ribbons to the front of the cover with the tacky double-stick tape.


8. Add the paper clips to the cover edge.


9. Position the keys on the cover over selected holes. Once you decide where you want to position the keys, put the notebook back together.


10. Wind the spiral through the new cover, stopping to put the keys on the spiral to hold them in place. Remember to use the jewelry pliers to bend the ends of the spiral again so the cover stays in place.

11. Hold the keys on the cover using the glue dots -- see the photo for a close-up of one key with the tiny glue dots on its back.


12. Randomly tie pieces of ribbon and string to the spiral -- one or more pieces of ribbon for each cover hole. To hold them securely, use a square knot. If you're concerned about the fibers coming loose, use a tiny dot of tacky glue on each knot.


13. Using the pop dots, attach the silver beads to the cover. If you don't like the 3D look of the pop dots, use flatter glue dots to adhere the beads.


14. To tie the scrap of brown netting to the cover, punch a few holes through the cover (close together) and tie off with brown string. You can untie/re-tie a few pieces of ribbon or string near the spiral to anchor the left-hand side of the netting, too. Finally, if you have any left-over brown
string, you can weave it through one edge of the netting, like I did here.


Remember to go back up to the top of this article to see the finished notebook again. For a variation on the same theme, look below.

---

Credits
· Most project photos on this page were taken with a 5.0 MP resolution KODAK EASYSHARE DX4530 Zoom Digital Camera
· Browse for Paper Crafts Books at Amazon.com

Article Description: Spruce up a small spiral notebook by replacing and decorating the cover.

Book Review - Visual Chronicles by Linda Woods and Karen Dinino

reviewed on papercrafts.bellaonline.com

Visual Chronicles: The No-Fear Guide to Creating Art Journals, Creative Manifestos and Altered Books

by Linda Woods and Karen Dinino
Publisher: North Light Books (an imprint of F+W Publications), 2006
ISBN: 1581807708 ; Paperback book: 128 pages
Reviewed By Kim M. Bayne, Paper Crafts Editor for BellaOnline.comproduct
Rating: ★★★★

If you fear exploring your creativity, but are still drawn to the idea of documenting your personal history through artistic journals or altered books, two sisters – authors of “Visual Chronicles” – will inspire and enlighten you. Sisters Karen Dinino and Linda Woods guide novice book artists through stamping, collage, painting and writing with simple journaling projects designed to open your mind to new possibilities.

Tapping into the full breadth of the typical creative psyche, Karen (the lawyer) and Linda (the artist) combine their innate, individual talents to explore the application of colors and shapes to the scribing of expressive text. From chapter to chapter, the focus of their book is clear – it’s all about “me,” but in a good way. Fear-busting chapter titles include “I Have No Time,” “I’d Have to Do It All Alone,” and “Nothing Happens in My Life.”

“Good grief! They read my mind,” I thought as I glanced through the Table of Contents. In fact, when I spied the “Entry Denied” brick wall made of a line drawing and rubber stamps, I knew immediately we were all on the same page – literally. I had embraced the “brick wall” motif previously by applying dimensional paint to an altered book cover, so right then I knew I’d found kindred spirits in these two authors.

Artistic inspiration and projects aside, this book is simply entertaining reading. You could curl up and read it with nary an embellishment or glue stick in sight. You’d still come away satisfied that you’d shattered a few mental myths in the process. For example, Fear Buster No. 5 – titled "I Don’t Have Any Ephemera" – simply says "Ladies, look in your purse." For those of us reliant on fanny packs and multi-pocketed vests, we still get the picture. Ephemera can be merely the stuff that documents your lives – ticket stubs, receipts and wrappers are evidence that we have experienced life. In other words, “Every day is an artful journal,” write the authors.

So stop lamenting that you are not an artist and can’t draw a straight line. Pick up a copy of “Visual Chronicles” and start exploring your life today.

Product Resource Guide
· Buy Visual Chronicles at Amazon.com
· Browse for more Paper Crafts Books at Amazon.com

Article Description: Can't draw a straight line but want to document your life? Here's some help...with lots of flair.

Book Review - Art Stamping Workshop by Gloria Page

reviewed on papercrafts.bellaonline.com

Art Stamping Workshop: Create Hand-Carved Stamps for Unique Projects on Paper, Fabric, Polymer Clay and More

by Gloria Page
Publisher: F & W Publications, 2006
ISBN: 1581806965; Paperback: 128 pages
Reviewed By Kim M. Bayneproduct
Rating: ★★★★★

These days, with so many books on the market, it’s rare when I can pick up a new paper crafts title and actually see myself doing the majority of projects. Even rarer when I actually start doing most of them shortly after browsing.

Before I came across “Art Stamping Workshop” by Gloria Page, I was my usual skeptical self. My paper crafts style is an eclectic mix of shabby chic and whatever found art I almost threw away. In other words, it’s unlikely that some cutesy project book will appeal to me. Guess what? Gloria’s projects are anything but “cute.” Think simple yet stylish, creative yet uncluttered, and best of all, you’ll come away with a ton of new ideas. For example, I loved her Magnetic Bookmark Card project (page 48) -- the card incorporates two paper bookmarks into its design, so this work of art is practical as well.

Gloria’s Workshop demonstrates everything from how to carve your own stamps out of soft-block carving material – her photographs make these 20 projects look so simple, even the novice won’t be shy about carving – to rubber stamping with Staz-On Ink right on rocks. I was so inspired; I started gathering rocks outside my home so I could decorate the yard. My creations, based on the River Rock project (page 90) must have looked great because a few of them went missing in a few hours. Oh, well!

Gloria didn’t stop at altering rocks, either. A ceramic white tile, a plain wooden frame from the crafts store, and miscellaneous fabrics all became the recipients of Gloria’s unique stamping style. And no corner was left unexplored...literally. Gloria even decorated scrapbook photo corners with stamped triangles. There’s enough in this book to keep an altered art mind busy for weeks, if not months.

Now about the images in this book…all very clear and well photographed, with great lighting. I had no problem seeing the up-close details of an artist’s journal embellished with stamped craft sticks or a star ornament stamped out of polymer clay. Gloria’s pages left nothing to the imagination, except of course, for how you’ll apply her wonderful techniques and style to your own original projects. And if you're at a loss for how to outfit your crafts area for these projects, the author has included a few pages with more than a dozen material ideas for carving your own stamps.

If you’re a paper person, fabric fanatic or altered artist at heart, take heart! There’s something here for you. From the beginner to the advanced crafter, you’ll find a new way to look at rubber stamping. Gloria’s book is well worth the time and price. But beware – once you pick it up, nothing in your house will be safe from rubber and ink.

Product Resource Guide
· Buy Art Stamping Workshop at Amazon.com
· Browse for more Paper Crafts Books at Amazon.com

Article Description: Learn how to carve your own stamps for unusual projects on a variety of surfaces

Project - Hide a Sweet Surprise in a Box Tag

I couldn't decide what to do -- make a gift tag or make a box. So I made two-in-one. Now I can decorate a tag to my heart's desire while still having a place to stash some goodies.


Miniature Box Tag for Valentine's Day

Materials & Tools

Template for miniature box tag

Brown craft paper, card stock or other heavy weight paper

Inkjet printer

Good pair of comfortable, teflon-like coated scissors, like Velvet Touch Scissors by Armada, or a craft knife and a straight edge

Paper trimmer, like 12" Portable Paper Trimmer Item #95987097 by Fiskars

Double-stick tape

Pigment inkpad, in Red

Cosmetic wedges or sponges for applying ink

Small piece of a brown corrugated paper

Handheld paper punch, like 1/8-inch Round Punchline Punch Item #52400 by McGill

Gold twist ties, from a bag of bread

Red buttons

Small brass heart

Red glitter glue

Small cheap paint brush for applying glitter glue

Small red feather

Adhesive dots

Small red miniature rose embellishments

Red and gold fibers for the tag hole

The Steps
Click to enlarge images. Click the back button to return to this article.)

1. Download the miniature box tag template from here.

2. Cut an 8.5 by 11 inch piece of brown kraft paper. Print the template on to the paper with your inkjet printer. You can run the paper through the inkjet printer again, upside down, if you would like to make two box tags -- one on each end of the paper.


3. Using scissors (or a craft knife and straight edge), cut out the template.

4. Using the Fiskars paper cutter (with the folding blade inserted), crease the template on all the dotted lines to make folding easier.


5. Lay the template flat so you can decorate it. Using a cosmetic wedge or sponge, apply red pigment ink onto the back of the template -- that is, the side to face out after you have folded the box.

6. Cut a small piece of corrugated brown cardboard to fit the width of the folded box tag's front.

7. Line the red buttons up on the corrugated paper and mark through the holes so you know where to punch. Punch small holes in the paper, then thread the gold twist ties through the holes and tie on the two red buttons. While you're at it, punch the hold in the end of the box tag. Now trim the ties close to the button so only about a half inch remains on each end.

8. Apply the small brass heart to the corrugated piece using adhesive dots.

9. Use double stick tape to attach the corrugated piece to the upper front of the box tag.

10. Apply red glitter glue to the lower half of the box. While the glue is drying, add pieces of the red feather. Allow the box to dry completely.

11. After the box is dry, fold the box into shape. Fold and hide the extra tab using double stick tape.

12. Using adhesive dots, add the miniature roses to the tab stub.

13. Add the fibers to the tag hole using a Lark's Head knot.

14. Fill the box with M&Ms, miniature kisses or other small candies. Give the tag to your swwetheart on Valentine's Day

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Product Resource Guide
· Most project photos on this page were taken with a 5.0 MP resolution KODAK EASYSHARE DX4530 Zoom Digital Camera
· Browse for Paper Crafts Books at Amazon.com

Article Description: Create a miniature tag with a secret -- sweet treats for your Valentine.