A Glammed Up, Girlie Paperweight That's Seriously Easy to Make

Whenever I pass by a Target store, I'll often stop to pick up a few things so I can look through their selection of Papyrus greeting cards.  These cards are very well designed, decorated with all sorts of embellishments, and perfect for creating some seriously cute paperweights.

 

For this project you'll need a greeting card and a paperweight kit.  The card used in the example is a birthday card from Papyrus ("Four Girls Playing Dress Up", papyrusonline.com)  Because I wanted to include as much of the design as possible in the paperweight, I used the largest paperweight kit we have available (PhotoWeights: Large Rectangle).

Each paperweight kit includes a pre-cut, self-adhesive mounting board.  Simply apply the adhesive side of the board to the back of the design and cut any paper that extends beyond the edge of the board.  The board is rigid, so it will act as an excellent cutting guide.  The photo above shows the artwork already mounted to the board.

A word about glitter.  I'm not a big fan of glittery greeting cards because the glitter can get everywhere - your hands, clothing, face.  Before you assemble your paperweight, I recommend removing any loose glitter by running a dry cloth or brush over the design.  A few gentle puffs from a can of compressed air will work nicely, too.

Before you begin this step, clean your paperweight with a streak-free glass cleaner.  After you check to make certain there are no smudges or dust particles on the glass, place your artwork face-down into the recessed are on the bottom of the paperweight.

For the finishing touch, cover the base of the paperweight with the pre-cut, self-adhesive bottom pad that's included in your paperweight kit.


Greeting card paperweights are perfect for holiday gifts because there are so many card designs to choose from.  As you can see, they're also a breeze to make.

Turning Old, Brass Hardware into Pretty Paperweights

If you look closely for the small things we tend to overlook when searching for design elements, you can discover a treasure trove of findings you can use to create some very beautiful and unique paperweights.

This paperweight was created with a brass key hole cover I found while sifting through a $1.00 box at an antique flea market.  The only other items required for the design include a couple pieces of scrapbook paper.

Pictured above are the elements needed to create this paperweight.  They include a paperweight kit (PhotoWeights: Round), key hole cover, a small piece of black, textured paper, and a swatch of scrapbook paper.  I used paper from a paper pad (MME #P0R6X6, Cowboy) that resembles an old, French newspaper.

The first step is to cover the self-adhesive mounting board (included with each paperweight kit) with the paper being used as the background.  Trim any paper that extends beyond the edge of the board.

Center the key hole cover onto the mounting board, or place it in the desired location.  Using a pen or pencil, outline the key hole opening and mark the location of any nail holes.

Nail holes are relatively small, so the area behind them can be blacked out with pen.  For the key hole opening, I glued a small piece of textured, black paper over the area that will be visible.

Because the back of they key hole cover is not smooth, and doesn't have any flat surfaces, I used hot melt glue to apply it to the background.  Keep the glue away from the key and nail openings.  Also be careful not to burn yourself.  When you're using hot glue on metal, the entire piece will heat up.

After you've cleaned your paperweight with streak-free glass cleaner, and removed any dust or particles from the paperweight and your artwork, place the mounting board face-down into the recessed area on the bottom of the paperweight.

To finish, place the plush, self-adhesive bottom pad over the base of the paperweight.


I hope this project will inspire you to see the design possibilities in objects you may not have looked for in the past.