Paper Crafting

With this lovely name card, a bird looks as if it has just landed daintily to tell your guest where to sit. Honeycomb paper is available online in a wide range of colors. When you buy it in sheets, you can make lots of paper balls of any  dimension, even the tiniest sizes.


                                                         Supplies

Bird-in-Flight Place Setting templates    Pencil   Card stock   Scissors for paper   Bone folder   Honeycomb paper  Glue   stick   Lightweight paper for bird   Liquid glue.


1.   Download the Bird-in-Flight Place Setting templates at www.chroniclebooks.com/sweetpaper. Using the pencil, trace the card template on card stock. Cut out using the scissors. Fold the card in half and score with the bone folder.


2.   Trace the half-circle honeycomb template on the honeycomb paper, making sure that the lines of the paper are perpendicular to the straight side of the template. Cut out  with the scissors. Using the glue stick, apply glue to each side of the half circle. Line up the straight edge of the half circle
with the folded edge of the card and press to adhere. Open the half circle to form a ball, and attach it to the other side of the card so that it grasps the card. Press to adhere.


3.   Trace the bird template on two layers of lightweight paper. Carefully cut out so that you have two identical birds. Be careful to cut inside the pencil line so that you don’t have to erase it later. Using the glue stick, apply glue to the beak, head, and body of one bird, but not to the wings and tail feathers. Place the other bird on the glue and press firmly all around the bird. Gently bend open the wings and tail feathers.


4.   Apply a thin line of liquid glue to the bottom curve of the bird’s body and gently place the bird on top of the  honeycomb ball, slightly off center, so that the bird looks as if it has just come in for a landing. Hold in place for a few minutes, then allow to dry thoroughly for about an hour.

This project is an exciting combination of surfaces and embellishments, which come together as a beautiful box to hold your stationery and correspondence. Fabric paper covers the exterior, fabriccovered foamcore pads line the interior, and ribbon and buttons add a decorative fl air. After you’ve completed the box, use the leftover fabric and paper scraps to create a coordinating set of handmade stationery and cards. If you are making this project as a gift, beware—you may be tempted to keep it for yourself !



                                    MATERIALS AND TOOLS
 
10¾" x 7¼" (27cm x 18cm) wooden box     decorative fabric paper    fabric    foamcore board    chipboard    button thread     26" (66cm) length of ½"     (12mm) decorative ribbon     3" (8cm) length of ¹⁄8" (3mm)     round elastic cord     needle     scissors      rotary cutter with pinking blade     fabric glue     industrial-strength glue     laminating liquid   acrylic paint: green     ¾" (19mm) wash brush
mother-of-pearl button   1" (3cm) antique button with shank   miniature decorative metal frame   (optional)  decorative glass knob   (for box handle)     pencil    metal ruler   hand drill   screwdriver    brayer   hot knife tool


1.  Paint box

Paint the entire box, inside and out, with green acrylic paint, using a ¾" (19mm) wash brush. Let the paint dry completely.

2.  Drill holes

Prepare for the clasp by hand-drilling two holes on the front center of the box—one hole on the base to accommodate the button and one hole on the lid to accommodate the elastic clasp loop. Use a ruler to determine the center point of the box lid’s top surface. Mark the point, then drill a third hole through it. 

3.   Cover exterior

Measure the top and side surfaces of the box exterior. Following these measurements, use a rotary cutter to cut decorative fabric paper to cover each side of the exterior, cutting separate pieces for each side of the box lid and bottom. Use laminating liquid to adhere the paper to the box, then run a brayer over the paper to burnish it in place.


4.  Insert lid handle

Locate the drilled hole on the box lid top, then puncture through the fabric paper to expose the hole. Insert a decorative knob into the hole and tighten to secure it in place, using a screwdriver, as necessary. If desired, embellish the lid by adding a miniature decorative frame around the knob, adhering it with industrial-strength glue.


5.  Create lid interior

Using a hot knife, cut a sheet of foamcore to fi t inside the interior of the lid. Cut a piece of fabric large enough to cover one side of the foamcore board. Adhere the fabric to the foamcore with fabric glue, pulling the ends of the fabric tightly over the edges of the foamcore before gluing in place.


6.  Line lid interior

Add two lengths of ribbon across the fabric-covered foamcore, forming an X, and adhere with glue. Pull the ends of the ribbon over each corner and secure with glue. Sew a button in the center of the X. Glue the fabric-covered foamcore into the lid interior.


7.  Line box base interior

Cut a piece of chipboard to fi t into the interior base bottom, then cut a piece of fabric large enough to cover one side of the chipboard. Adhere the fabric to the chipboard with fabric glue, pulling the ends of the fabric tightly over the edges of the board before gluing in place. 


8.  Line interior sides

Measure four panels of chipboard to fi t along each  interior side of the base. Cut four pieces of fabric  to cover each panel, then adhere the fabric to the board with fabric glue. Adhere the fabric-covered panels to the interior sides, using fabric glue to secure.

9.  Add clasp

Cut a length of elastic, then run both ends through the drilled hole on the box lid, forming a loop on the exterior of the lid. Be sure that the loop is large enough to fi t around the button you’ll be using for the clasp. Tie the two ends of the elastic together to secure the loop. Add industrial-strength glue to the back of the button. Insert the shank of the button into the drilled hole on the box base and through the liner added in step 8. Leave enough of the shank exposed to accommodate the elastic loop.

10.  Make coordinating stationery

Use scraps of the fabric paper to create coordinating notecards. Add embellishments, such as clay buttons and decorative borders, as desired. When fi nished, store the stationery in the box.

For something a little different, think outside the box—or maybe inside the box! This section focuses on special places to store personal keepsakes. Why shouldn’t the exterior of a container be as  impressive as, or more impressive than, its contents? And why should you bother wrapping a gift, when you can make the gift box itself a treasure? You might be surprised how just a little fabric, some ribbon and a few stitches can make a plain old container spectacular! Some of these projects incorporate store-bought containers, such as wooden and papier-mâché boxes. These are like prefabricated blank canvases, with surfaces that are ready to be decorated. Other containers are waiting to be discovered in the most unexpected places. Who would’ve guessed you could recycle old mint tins or crocheted potholders in such a unique way!




                                       MATERIALS AND TOOLS
 
papier-mâché boxes    (set of three, if desired)     cardstock    fabric (in three coordinating patterns,
if desired)    ribbon (coordinating with fabric)     scissors    fabric glue    liquid seam sealant (such as fray check)    hole punch     eyelets   eyelet setter   pencil    ruler   iron


 
1.  Cut fabric

__Cut a length of fabric to fi t around the sides of a papier-mâché box, allowing about 2" (5cm) of fabric     around the top edge of the box and 1" (3cm) of fabric (or less) around the bottom edge of the box .



2.   Adhere fabric to box

 Use fabric glue to adhere the fabric to the box. Fold the 2" (5cm) of extra fabric into the box,  adhering it to the interior sides with glue.

3.  Glue bottom edges of fabric

Fold the remaining fabric over the bottom edges of the box and glue the fabric to the bottom surface.

4.  Cover bottom surface with fabric

Cut a piece of the same fabric used to cover the box, trimming it just slightly smaller than the box’s bottom surface. Glue the fabric to the bottom, then add liquid seam sealant to the fabric edges.

5.  Line box interior

On a piece of cardstock, trace around the bottom edges of the box. Th en, measure the sides of the box; using these dimensions, measure and mark pieces of the same cardstock to line the box interior. Cut out the bottom and side pieces. Use the cardstock to line the box, adhering the pieces to the bottom and side panels with fabric glue.

6.  Cover box lid

Cut a piece of fabric 1" (3cm) wider and 1" (3cm) longer than the box top. Glue the fabric onto the top surface of the lid, centering the lid so there is ½" (12mm) of fabric on either side. Cut the corners of the fabric at an angle, then glue the corners in place for a mitred look.

7.  Prepare fabric for sides of lid

Measure the width of the box lid sides. Cut a long strip of fabric that is double this width. Fold in both sides of the strip to make the width equal to the sides of the box lid, then glue and iron the strip.


8.  Cover sides of lid

Glue the fabric strip around the sides of the lid. If the strip is not long enough to cover all four sides, repeat Step 7 to make another strip. Line the lid of the box, as you did the bottom in Step 5.


9.  Set Eyelets

Determine a center placement for the eyelets on two opposing sides of the box. Punch one hole on each side, then set the eyelets with an eyelet setter.






10.  Tie bow

Cut and place a length of ribbon around the exterior of the box, running each end through an eyelet. Put the lid on the box, then bring the ends of the ribbon on top of the lid and tie the ribbon in a bow. If desired, cover two more boxes with coordinating fabric to make a complete set.