Paper Art. Paper art can be traced back to Japan, where it originated over a thousand years ago. From complex paper cutting to book carving, this is an ever expanding area of design that is hardly talked about. These intricate paper designs grace museums and exauhibitions throughout the world and is becoming yet another exciting medium of expression for many designers. Some of the artists featured here use simple materials, such as A4 printing papeel, while others resort to unexpected materials, such as actual books, as their prime materials.
In this article, we’ll take a look at 13 remarkable artists and showcase their truly amazing pieces of paper art. Peter Callesen Visit website Jen Stark Visit website Simon Schubert Visit website Brian Dettmer: Book Sculptures Visit website Sher Christopher Visit website Elsa Mora Visit website Yulia Brodskaya Visit Website Su Blackwell Visit website Richard Sweeney Visit website Jolis Paons Visit website Bovey Lee Visit website Bert Simons Visit website Ingrid Siliakus Visit website. DIY Magazine Envelopes. As promised, here is a tutorial on making your own envelopes for stationery sets. While this template makes a rectangular envelope, you could certainly modify it to make squares as well, and as usual this image is scalable (the actual jpg is quite small, I printed it at 250% to make the cute envelopes shown in the tutorial--I just like cutesy small stuff, my original envelopes were much larger).
To make these envelopes you will need: Paper or magazine pages of your choosing. scissors or an X-Acto knife a ruler Envelope template (below) glue (elmer's or glue sticks work just fine--if you do not have glue, you can go without and use stickers to close your envelope as well) Start by printing the following template to your desired size: Cut out your template and trace it onto your paper of choice. You could use scrap booking paper, thicker card stock, magazines, maps, old book pages, etc. Now, you will want to fold all the flaps in with a harder crease. Spiral Braids with 12 to 28 Strands. You can make larger braids from 12 to 28 strands of thread using the same technique as the 8 strand spiral braid. These are woven from brights so you can easily see the structure and pattern, but they could also be worked in muted tones or even solid colored for specific applications.
If you’ve ever tried to find a trim to match a fabric at a craft store you know how nice it is to be able to make your own! This technique uses the braiding disk from the 8 strand spiral braid (click here for the download, printing, and cutting info.) This braid can be made in any size as long as the number of strands is a multiple of 4. I say in the title “up to 28” because that is the most the braiding disk I posted can accommodate. It should also be noted that, when small, the braid is very sturdy. Most interestingly, I found that, no matter how many strands I worked with, 12 inches of length per strand made about 7 inches of braid. This image has a box drawn around each pair of pairs. And turn the card. Paper Flowers - Anyone Can Do That.
Japanese Kusudama, this tutorial is featured on Craftuts Anyone can do that, I assure you. The proof: I can, just take a quick look at my result below. And, believe me, I am neither meticulous nor particularly patient. You could even say I’m the opposite. Below you can see my very first attempt to create paper flowers. What you will need to make your own Kusudama paper ball? 1. 3. 4. (optionally) I prefer torn paper instead of cut. You have to start with a single petal. Now you have to glue your 5 petals into a flower. Apply the glue to only one side of each petal, except for the last one, in this case cover both sides with glue. Your first flower is done. Don’t glue every petal right after you make it. When all 12 flowers are finished you have to glue them together. When two halves of Kusudama Flower Ball are ready you have to glue them together.
8 Clever Uses for Plastic Straws. Have you ever pried a straw out of the mouth of a young child, only to find it macerated and dripping in saliva? Let’s all let out a collective “eeeewww.” In general, my “clever uses” articles are meant to teach people how to get a second use out of something disposable. In the case of straws, I’m honestly going to have to suggest that you be very picky about which straws you reuse. I really don’t expect anyone to reuse chewed up, spit-covered drinking straws. Now: It is not too gross to wash plastic drinking straws and save them for DIY projects. That is, it is not too gross to wash plastic drinking straws that are in relatively decent condition.
Soak them in hot, soapy water, and maybe some nice disinfecting vinegar or vodka. When the plastic drinking straws are clean and dry and you’ve amassed a decent-sized collection, try your hand at one of the following projects. Drinking straw lamp shade: The L.A. Do you have any great uses for drinking straws? How to Make an Origami Boomerang. Alice's Soda Can Bookmarks. What does Wonderland's Alice have to do with Christmas? Absolutely nothing. Except that the same procedure with which I made her 'Drink me' bookmark I employed to make a more Christmas-y version. (PDFs of each design included.)
First, the ingredients: An empty aluminum can (one per bookmark)White card stockMatt fixativeCraft knifeBone folder1/8” spring punch/eyelet setter and eyelet/s (I have this one) Straight edgeCutting matBlack perle cotton or crochet cottonSmall silver bell or jingle bell for the Christmas option and one large and one small silver bead for the non-Christmas onePDF of the Christmas version or the 'Drink me' version available on my Scribd pageSticky-back tape220 grit sandpaper Step 1: Print the PDF image onto white card stock.
Step 2: Cut the middle section of the aluminum can into one large sheet. Step 3: Using your straight blade and craft knife, miter each of the corners of your aluminum. Step 4: Step 5: Place your straight edge along the long side of the image/print. Instructables - Make, How To, and DIY.