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.  The most difficult hurdle is choosing one that will fit your paperweight's display area, especially the depth.  Here's a tip...  Bring your paperweight to the store with you so you can see exactly how the pendant will look under glass.

The silver dragonfly paperweight was simple to assemble and cost just $5.50 for materials, in addition to the cost of the paperweight kit.  Here's how it was made:

Materials (above):  Deco Chic dragonfly pendant (Item #DC19923-101, Hirschberg Schutz & Co., Inc.), Script Cream scrapbook paper (Recollections, Michaels Stores), Dome Paperweight Kit (PhotoWeights).  You'll also need a hot melt glue gun.

Cover the round, self-adhesive mounting board (included in the paperweight kit) with a small piece of the scrapbook paper.  When finished, trim any paper that extends beyond the edge of the board.  Apply the pendant directly to the paper with hot melt glue.

Once the glue is has cooled, place the mounting board in the center of the adhesive-side of the bottom pad (also included in the paperweight kit).  Press gently around the pendant to ensure a tight bond.

 

After you've cleaned your paperweight with streak-free glass cleaner, finish by applying the bottom pad to the base of the paperweight.  Press along the outside edge to secure.

If you're into vintage, try using antique ephemera in place of the scrapbook paper.  A vintage postcard or advertising would make an excellent background. Be on the lookout for buttons, tokens, and pieces of antique jewelry to complete the look.  I recommend browsing through boxes of small, inexpensive baubles at antique shops and swap meets.  You never know what you'll find!

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.

Seahorse Paperweight - Displaying a Specimen in a Glass Dome Paperweight

I love displaying dimensional items in dome paperweights because the magnification has such a rich, 3-D effect.

Last weekend I purchased a small box of shells that included a seahorse skeleton. I thought this would be a nice specimen to show you how easy it is to create a magnificent paperweight using an item that has some dimension to it.

For this project I chose a dome paperweight with a 1/2" bottom recess (PhotoWeights: Dome 1/2" Recess). This features an interior cavity (display area) that will accommodate an item up to 1/2" thick. In order to determine how much of a recess your item will require, simply measure the thickest point and add enough extra space to accommodate your background material, mounting tape, glue, etc.

My supplies:   Paperweight kit (PhotoWeights: Dome 1/2" Recess); background paper (Jen Wilson Carefree "Graceful" Beautiful Blue Paper #291049); hot glue gun; seahorse skeleton.

The photo above shows the finished assembly.  The mounting board was covered with decorative scrapbooking paper that included a few shades of ocean blue.  The seahorse was glued directly to the scrapbooking paper with a hot melt gun.  Once this step was finished, the mounting board was placed directly to the adhesive side of the black bottom pad.   The assembly is now ready to apply to the bottom of the paperweight (pictured below).

 
What kind of interesting treasures can you think of to display in a paperweight?  Please share your ideas... the sillier the better!