Paper Arts

Constructing with magazines…

| plyders

The possibilities of magazine paper. I have often used magazines for various art and craft projects. Paper beads, collage, origami, paper mâché. For this project, I scoured old magazines for full color pages and rolled them tightly along the diagonal around a bamboo skewer, gluing the edge to create a tube. I then cut them with scissors to measured lengths, and used floral wire to construct open pyramid structures. Elsewhere on the Internet, I’ve seen these geometric structures made of metal tubes and have wanted to make them myself. But I didn’t want to have to buy any new materials (My craft bins are overloaded anyway.) I really like my version of the pyramid and how I was able to play with color in making these out of magazine paper.

Folding spheres from paper…

Image | | plyders

As I focus on making things with my two current favorite materials – paper and felt – I am revisiting some craft books I’ve had in my library for years. Extreme Origami by Kunihiko Kasahara includes instructions for weaving various spheres from strips of paper. One of the simpler spheres is made using four strips and a weaving technique that is similar to braiding with four strands. These small paper spheres can be scaled up to become ornaments or bowl fillers, or strung together in their miniature form to be used as garland or as part of a mobile.

Handmade crystal ornaments…

| plyders

Handmade ornaments are my traditional yearly Christmas gift to family. This year I made ornaments inspired by ones that I made for my daughter’s school auction decor. I used gold ribbon, recycled event “Save the Date” cards, gold glitter cardstock, and acrylic crystals to create a simple dangle ornament. First, I threaded about 6″ of ribbon through the acrylic crystal, pulled the ends even, and tied a simple overhand knot at the ends. Using a 1″ diameter hole punch, I cut a bunch of circles out of the event cards and glitter cardstock. I folded each circle in half and then glued them together to create a sphere shape, alternating the glitter cardstock and the event cards. Before gluing the last folded circles together, I wrapped the sphere around the ribbon and then added extra glue to fix the sphere in place.

Natural branch chandelier…

| plyders

Every Christmas, I alter our holiday decor a bit. This year I created a “chandelier” by suspending a juniper branch over our dining table and decorating it with handmade felted balls, Froebel stars, and crystal ornaments. The benefit of using a natural object for decor is that I can return it to nature when I am finished with it. And if I am lucky, this particular branch can be “found” again next holiday season.

A Modern Advent Calendar Card…

| plyders

Creating a handmade holiday card is an important tradition for me. I often have a list of creative options that I add to throughout the year and then a final choice just comes to me like an epiphany. I love advent calendars, and I chose to create a modern design inspired by a prefab shed I saw in Dwell magazine. Family photos fill most of the windows and a few additional seasonal decor images theme the calendar for Christmas. Cutting the windows and gluing the front to the back was quite a challenge. I tend to make do with what I have on hand, but I really could have used some special double stick tape. But as days in December were passing, and I was still working hard to complete cards to send, I decided to alter the design from a traditional advent calendar to just a double door card. What is the sense in receiving an advent calendar if half the days have passed? The double door design as easier to execute, so I finished them up and sent them off. Happy (Handmade) Holidays!

Origami pyramid centerpiece…

| plyders

Origami is one of the most simple and satisfying crafts for me. The cost is minimal, the required tools are only my two hands and the occasional scissors or cutting blade, yet the results are always awesome. This is an experiment for a pyramidal centerpiece. I chose stark, minimal white paper for this prototype.

Foldschool’s genius DIY furniture…

Image | | plyders

We all know that the most affordable furniture is self-made (time discounted of course.) Foldschool.com offers free patterns and instructions to make three different pieces of kid’s furniture – a chair, rocker, and stool. Using standard sheets of corrugated cardboard, you cut, fold, and glue to create a pint-sized chair, stool or rocker. Despite their size, they are sturdy enough to hold the average adult. Personally I love the natural craft-brown, but you and your child could paint it or cover it in decoupage, or otherwise decorate it in any number of ways.
Now I am just waiting for Foldschool to come up with a design for a little table… Anyone?…