Sack Monkeys in Shoreline

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

3D Snowflake Pattern

Every year our Beaverton store makes these great hanging snowflakes and this year I snagged the pattern to share (thanks Darlla!). This is another simple decoration that is super easy and only requires paper, scissors and glue or tape.

In 5 easy steps you'll have a snowflake that won't melt or snarl traffic. Click here for a FREE template and instructions for making the 3D snowflake. The template contains the steps below, along with a diagram to guide you through the cutting and folding.

Start with a square piece of text weight paper any size. A 4" by 4" square will result in a medium sized snowflake. I suggest using a heavier text weight paper, such as a metallic, because they tend to hold their shape better and look festive. If you go with a 4" by 4" square, you will need 2 1/2 sheets of paper to make one snowflake.

Step 1: Fold the square diagonally to form a triangle.
Step 2: Fold the triangle again so that there is one side with a double fold and one side with 2 single folds.
Step 3: Cut 4 or 5 slits in the paper as pictured in the template.
Step 4: Unfold the paper carefully and attach the tips of the square to each other, alternating the direction you fold the paper. Attach the tips with either glue or tape. I like to cut a piece of tape into tiny strips before starting each section to make this go quicker.
Step 5: Attach 6 of the sections you made using Steps 1 - 4 by gluing, taping or stapling the tips together. Honestly this is the trickiest part, but I found a stapler works best.

This video demonstrates making one section:


I hope this is a bit of snow everyone can enjoy!! Have a great Thanksgiving everyone! --Kim

Paper Tweets

Because I like my crafts simple, I jumped at the chance to try this wonderful bird ornament that has been 'flying' around our stores. Practically all you need to make this is a sheet of cardstock and a pair of scissors.

Start with the Bird Ornament Template that can be printed off Paper Zone's website. Simply cut out the two shapes and trace them onto a piece of cardstock paper.
Tip:trace with a pencil because it's very faint and can be removed after the final pieces have been cut. You don't want a bird with marker on her wings! (note that in the pic I am using a marker and it didn't quite work out, thus the tip to use pencil)

Next, cut the pieces out of the cardstock. Using either your scissors, an xacto knife, or a box cutter, cut a slit where indicated by the dotted line on the template. The slit needs to be long enough to fit the wing piece through, but not much longer so the wing is snug.

Slide the wing through and you're done, that easy! Punch a hole and add a loop of ribbon and this little birdie is ready to fly. People will be oohing and awing over your amazing skills to make handmade ornaments.

Use colored or patterned paper for variations. Make a whole bunch and put a new meaning to "flocking" your tree! Enjoy. --Kim