Panic and Freak Out: Cute Frankenstein Paperweight for Halloween

With Halloween a little more than a month away, I wanted to post a fun design that will grab lots of attention at the office.  It's so cute, it may end up staying on your desk long after all the little ghouls and goblins have gone home. I used our Heirloom Rectangle paperweight kit for this project because it has a display area that will accommodate dimensional items.  You'll also need a few embellishment stickers and a sheet of decorative...

Old Fashioned Button Paperweight

 I love using buttons in my designs because they're available so many different colors, shapes, sizes, and materials.  You also have a choice between new buttons and vintage. For this project I used self-adhesive buttons that were part of wonderful embellishment kit (50-00376 Mother of Pearl Notion Kit) produced by Jolee's Boutique and inspired by the vintage notions sold by French General.  (You can visit French General's website...

Paperweight Backgrounds: Deconstructed Book

  Backgrounds are critical when it comes to building a design around a specific item.  The paperweight pictured above features an antique watch fob with a beautiful, intricate monogram in the center.  If the fob were attached to a plain paper background, the result would have been rather dull and unimaginative.  The combination of materials and textures brings it all together perfectly. This week I'm going to share...

Snow Globe Paperweight... Shake it Up!

During a recent visit to a local craft store, I discovered a very pretty set of snow globe stickers from K&Company (SW Botanical Snob Globe Stickers).  As soon as I saw them, I knew they'd be perfect for creating instant snow globe paperweights. The set of stickers (shown above) includes 13 pieces that feature the watercolor paintings of Susan Winget. The pieces include a large snow globe sticker (2 1/4"), four smaller snow globe...

A Beautifully Tattered Trading Card

I believe all of us have a soft spot in our hearts for particular items we've found ourselves collecting over the years.  Victorian trading cards have been a favorite of mine for more than a decade.  There's just something about these pieces of card, beautifully printed with decorative advertising. This die cut trading card, advertising Clark's Mile End thread, has taken up residency in a box of ephemera I've had for years. ...

A New Life for an Art Deco Birthday Card

  I'm sorry it's been so long since my last blog post.  I've collected so many wonderful finds over the past several weeks, I can't wait to get started on my new projects! This paperweight design is all about finding beautiful, useful artwork on items you may otherwise overlook when you're rummaging through bins at the flea market.  Once you spend some purpose-driven time looking for items to display in your paperweights,...

Vintage Valentine Paperweights

With Valentine's Day less than three weeks away, it's the perfect time to add a sentimental touch of romance (or schoolhouse puppy love) to your desk with a vintage Valentine Paperweight.  If you don't have any old Valentine's Day cards at hand, check with a local antique shop to see if they have a selection available. I had the luxury of sorting through a few boxes of old Valentine's Day cards earlier this month and chose three simple,...

Wedgwood Cabochon Paperweight

Sorting through mountains of costume jewelry is like therapy for me.  If you have the time and patience for it, I'd highly recommend it.  Just mind the brooches.  Getting poked by sharp pin is no fun at all. The Wedgwood cabochon I used for this project came from the heap of costume jewelry pictured below.  It's a nice piece that set me back $2.00, a bargain for any fan of Wedgwood Jasperware. Most cabochons sold by jewelry...

First Prize at the County Fair!

  Today's paperweight showcases a few items that were bundled together in an old scrapbook album I purchased.  I really love the look of vintage paper, especially when it's a bit tattered.  It really lends a lot of interest to to paperweight by creating depth, texture, and age.  This is why I often refer to PhotoWeights as little shadowboxes you keep on your desk. The items I used are pictured above.  Because...

Antique Puzzle Game Paperweights

Because hand-held, antique puzzle games are getting more and more difficult to find, I was thrilled to come across this Old Funny Face game from the 1920s for just $1.00.  It's a simple piece that includes a man's profile printed on a paper board, less the line for his nose.  In place of his nose, there's a metal chain that can be moved to form different shapes. This puzzle, I thought, would make a perfect paperweight. ...

Finding Inspiration in the Bottom of a Junk Box

On the third Sunday of each month, you can usually find me pulling my vintage shopping cart through the aisles of the Long Beach Antique Market in Long Beach, California.  This time I was on the lookout for old Valentine's Day cards.  I also came across a few bags filled with other goodies that I'm sure will take me a couple hours to sort through. If you create paperweights to sell in your shop or sell on Etsy, and occasionally...

Glass Dragonfly Paperweight with Script Background

Whenever I find myself at Michaels, I spend the longest time looking through their selection of charms and pendants.  With so many to choose from, it's hard to limit myself to just two or three. Some of my favorite pendant designs are by Bead Landing, a brand exclusive to Michaels.  Deco Chic, Bead Corner, and Industrial Chic are a few other lines with unique, interesting pieces. It's easy to design a paperweight around a pendant. ...