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 paper to use as the background.

The paper I chose for the background has "Now Panic and Freak Out" written across it in several different fonts.  (The reverse side reads, "Keep Calm and Carry On")  I thought the simple, black and white design would be a great base for the colorful stickers I used in this project.  (Paper:  Recollections 'Keep Calm' - Available at Michaels)

The dimensional stickers (Recollections 224552 - Available at Michaels) are made up of three layers separated by foam tape. Because they were a little too thick to fit inside the paperweight, I removed the foam tape from the back of each sticker and applied them to the background with glue.  This reduced the thickness of the stickers by a few millimeters.

When I'm working with dimensional items, I prefer to adhere the finished mounting board to the adhesive side of the paperweight kit's bottom pad, as shown above.   This is because the dimensional stickers prevent the mounting board from laying flat on the bottom of the paperweight, making it difficult to keep everything centered while applying the bottom pad.

The last step in completing your design is to apply the adhesive pad (artwork attached and facing down) to the bottom of your paperweight.


If you have any questions or comments regarding this project, or if you need help with a project of your own, please leave a comment.  We're more than happy to help.

Turn a Papyrus Halloween Card Into Three Adorable Paperweights

When I saw this Papyrus card in the store, I immediately pictured individual paperweights with a background for each character.  I love the results.  I hope you do, too.

The card (Papyrus - Halloween Icons, available at some Target stores) features a black cat, puppy, and an owl.  Each piece is made of felt with added embellishments - including a red, rhinestone collar for the cat.  At a cost of $6.95 for the card, you're paying a little more than $2.30 for each character which is truly a bargain.

Here's how I created these three paperweights:

The first step is to remove the felt characters from the card.  Do this as gently as possible to prevent them from being damaged.  Be especially careful with the owl's two delicate, die-cut feet.

Let's start with the black cat...

When I think of black cats at Halloween, I picture them sitting on a front porch surrounded by pumpkins and jack-o'-lanterns.  I thought this would be the perfect background.  Here's the easy peasy part.  I simply looked through a couple magazines and found the perfect photo.  Doesn't she look right at home?

I used the Heirloom Rectangle Paperweight Kit for this project.  The magazine photo was set on the adhesive side of the mounting board (shown above) and any paper that extended beyond the board was trimmed.  The cat was glued to the background with white glue.

Now for the owl...

For the fuzzy, little owl I used the greeting card's envelope to create an orange background.  Because I placed him in a dome paperweight (Dome Paperweight Kit - 1/2" Recess), I wanted to keep the background clean and simple.  Again, I used white glue to apply the owl to the background.

Last but not least, the puppy...

The background I used for the puppy is actually a Jimmy Dean magazine ad.  There was just enough space for him to fit right between the van and the text.

The background includes a photograph of real grass next to a paved area that's somewhat cartoonish.  It reminds me of the new children's shows that combine realiastic backgrounds with animated characters.  A little white glue will set him in place. By the way, I used the Round Paperweight Kit for the puppy. 

I hope these three designs will inspire you to create a Halloween paperweight of your own for your workspace, party, or as a gift.

Next week I'll post some fun, ghoulish paperweight designs that will grab anyone's attention.

Silhouette Halloween Paperweight - Witch & Owl

Because October is just three days away, I thought I'd bring you a Halloween project that's quite simple to put together.  It was created with PhotoWeights' Large Round Paperweight Kit using a Papyrus greeting card (Halloween Moon Silhouette, available at some Target stores).  The only other supplies you'll need include a pair of scissors and paper glue.

The greeting card (show above) features iridescent, hot foil paper placed behind a black silhouette.  The iridescent paper changes color when moved which really brings the design to life.

The first step in creating this paperweight is easy.  Cover the self-adhesive surface of the mounting board with the iridescent paper.  (A mounting board is included with each PhotoWeights kit).  Trim any overlapping paper.  The end result is shown above.

Lay the silhouette over the mounting board to determine which areas of the silhouette you would like to be seen in your paperweight.  Trim the silhouette leaving some extra paper for the final trim which will be done later.

Apply a small amount of glue to the reverse side of the silhouette and place it directly to the iridescent paper on the mounting board.  Once the glue has dried completely, trim any areas of black paper that extend beyond the mounting board.

Once these steps are complete, your paperweight may be finished by placing the artwork face-down onto the bottom of your paperweight.  The final step is applying the velvet bottom pad (included with each PhotoWeights kit) to the base of the paperweight.

Do you have any ideas for Halloween designs?  Please leave a comment and let us know.  We'd love to hear from you!