Wood Veneer Paper is Here!

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

Spooktacular 3D Halloween Card

For this project you will need 2 sheets of 8 1/2 x 11 card stock paper, glue, a paper cutter, an xacto knife, a bone folding tool, a ruler, a Halloween stamp, a frame stamp, embossing powder, an embossing tool and some fun stickers for embellishing your card.

You can use any color and style of paper you like, but I used orange and black Stardream paper. For the fence I used stickers by Stampendous. The flying witch and crystal spider stickers came from the Making Memories Spook Alley collection. This is a lot of ingredients, but I assure you that this is quick and easy and the end results will be bewitching!

Start by cutting the orange paper down to two squares that are 5 1/2 inches by 5 1/2 inches.

With the bone tool, score two lines down both the left and right side of the orange squares. The first score should be 1/4 of an inch in from the edge. The second score should be 1/2 of an inch in from the edge. The end result is two scoring lines on each side of the card (creating two fold lines). Do this to both of your orange squares. TIP: Scoring is an important step when working with card stock so that you can insure that your folds are clean and straight and it prevents your paper from cracking.
Next, stamp the frame on one of the orange cards. The frame should be centered high so there is space to stamp the Happy Halloween below and it should be stamped so that the scored edges are on the right and left of the frame. After the ink has dried, carefully use an xacto knife to remove the center piece, leaving the outer frame line and a hole in your card.Next, stamp the Happy Halloween below the frame with clear ink, cover with embossing powder, and then use the embossing tool to heat the powder. This creates a raised, glossy effect on your "Happy Halloween". TIP: Before using the heating tool, I like to clean up the excess embossing powder using a small brush. Remember, once the powder is heated, you cannot remove it, so be sure the powder appears how you like it before heating it up.

Now, fold the scored edges so that you have two right angles and the card sits raised up when placed flat on the table. Do the exact opposite fold on the remaining orange square which will become the back of the 3D card. Once folded, cut down a piece of the black card stock to fit the inner folds of the back piece. Glue the black card stock in to create your background.

Now you can embellish the card with stickers. I like to create the folds in the card before embellishing so that I can play with the placement of the stickers to get the optimum 3D effect. For this card, I put the flying witch sticker on the inside of the card, stuck directly to the black card stock. I cut down the fence sticker and placed it on the outside, lower part of the frame.TIP: the back side of the sticker fence will still be sticky, so I dabbed the back of it with a Q-tip dipped in alcohol to remove the adhesive. This will prevent the card from sticking together when its folded together and mailed.

Next, glue the the front and back together before adding the final touches. Assembling the card is easy. Glue the outer lip of the back side of the card and carefully place the front side of the card so that it is aligned with the back. Be sure the front and back of the card aligns on all sides and that the card will stand on its own before the glue sets. Also, be sure that the card can fold in so that the final product will fit in an envelope. It will fold down to a mailable thickness, trust me! But you need to make sure it's perfect before the glue dries.
As a final touch I added the sparkling spider sticker to the outer corner to enhance the 3D effect.

Faster than you can say "trick or treat" you have an amazing card! The end product will fit in a standard A2 envelope. Keep checking in for more fun Halloween ideas in addition to the great ideas we've already had, like the frankin' fun card, the lanterns and the candy wrappers. And do not forget about the Crafters' Challenge!

Happy Crafting --Kim

Wanna thrill them? QUILL 'em!

I am oh so excited to write about the new quilling kits and supplies arriving this week at Paper Zone. After seeing some amazing quilling designs in a recent Oprah magazine, I asked Amanda to buy a kit as a sample and I think I heard angels sing when I opened the little box. First of all, the set is awesome. The kit includes a convenient carrying case, PAPER, quilling tools, tweezers, glue, and instructions that show you how to make basic shapes and designs.

For those of you that know me, you know that I can be crafty when guided, but oftentimes my projects end up looking like a 2nd grader did them. But this quilling was a snap! I kid you not that my first attempt was this little dragonfly to the left. It was so easy! You seriously just coil the paper using the tool, pinch it to shape and then glue it into place.

Next I attempted something bigger: the flower.

I was so happy with the results I decided to put the two together to make a little card using PZ facets, an embossing tool and powder for the "Thinking of You" and touching it up with some colorful rub-ons from American Crafts. Making this card was so fun, quick and easy I am so excited for everyone to try the art of quilling.

According to wikipedia, quilling was popular in the 18th century amongst "gentle ladies of quality" because the hobby was not too taxing on their minds. To that I say, "sign me up!".

I truly hope this art style makes a comeback because it's not only easy and fun, it's really quite beautiful and unique. . .yet another wonderful art form using our favorite medium: paper. Stay tuned for tutorial videos and hopefully a class or two. All you ladies (and gentlemen) of quality, get ready. . .your new hobby is here. --Kim